Ros Maindok - Equine Functional Solutions with Biomechanics

27/02/2026

Love the questions and whys !

Please have a read.

What Is Groundwork For?

Groundwork has become widely accepted as valuable. That’s a positive shift. But like anything in horsemanship, its value depends entirely on how thoughtfully it’s applied.

Nearly every professional has heard some version of this:
“I’ve already done lots of groundwork,” — which usually means, now I should be able to just get on and ride.

But what does that actually mean?
What kind of groundwork?
And more importantly — what is it teaching?

When I ask students questions about their groundwork, it’s not to dismiss them. It’s to sharpen their thinking.

For example, if someone is asking for lateral flexion on the ground, I’ll ask:
“Why are you doing that?”

“To get him with me,” they might say.

Okay. What does with you mean?
What are you looking for specifically?
What is the horse giving — and why does that matter?

If the answer is, “I want to see if he’s giving,” then I ask: giving what? His head? His jaw? His ribcage? His attention?

And furthermore - how does this connect into your ridden work? Where will you use it, and what does it build into?

A horse can physically bend his neck and still be mentally absent. He can “give” his head and still brace through his body. So does that lateral flexion actually prove he’s with you — or just that he has learned a motion?

Groundwork becomes meaningless when it turns into repetition without purpose. The horse learns to go through the motions. He anticipates. He falls onto a shoulder. He performs the shape without understanding the balance or the connection behind it.

Without a clear overarching theme, groundwork doesn’t build much of anything.

Sometimes people say they’re “getting the bucks out” before riding, or “making sure he remembers his homework.” But we should always ask:

How does what I’m doing right now connect to ridden work?
What feeling am I creating that will carry into the saddle?
Am I building the posture, balance, responsiveness, and mental state I want under saddle — or just burning energy?

Lunging is often criticized as mindlessly tiring the horse down — usually by those who haven’t seen it done thoughtfully. But if our groundwork lacks intention, aren’t we doing the same thing? Repeating movements until the horse is dull instead of organized? Winding him down instead of building him up?

Groundwork should develop clarity, balance, attentiveness, and coordination. It should prepare the horse for the ridden conversation — not replace it, not exhaust him before it, and not become a checklist.

To do that, we need:
• A clear picture of the end goal.
• An understanding of how each exercise connects to that goal.
• The ability to simplify when the horse doesn’t understand.
• The awareness to progress when he does.
• And the judgment to know when enough is enough.

Groundwork is not simply a warm up or some ritual we must do before riding.

It is educational, it is preparation — or it is noise.

And the difference lies entirely in the thought behind it.

26/02/2026

All of this !
Having had lessons with Celeste whilst doing the nerve release cert … the foundation of relationship to contact/connection came up every time. I was like this is the thing !!!

With “connection” being physical and emotional .. from being in the presence of or the feel of gear. Then there is the signals/communication of gear. How the ask, the patterns.

Everytime I am reminded and everytime I get inspired to work more with my own horses and also teach others.

It is like yes from the motion point of view/physics forces gravity combined with the relationship to ….

Even if I did nothing else in this world .. the privilege of being on this journey with my own horses is the best 🙏
❤️❤️

I had the opportunity to observe a lesson yesterday, and the take away was so foundational it’s easy to overlook.

The most impactful thing that happened in that session was helping the horse feel confident in their relationship to connection.

Before asking anything of this horse, there was space given to notice how he felt about neutral touch. A hand placed on his body without a request attached to it, just presence.

Were there areas he guarded?
Yes.

That information was treated as feedback leading us to consider is this pain, is this memory, or is this simply a lack of clarity in expectation.

If there is underlying brace in the body, we will never get an honest assessment of posture or range of motion. Brace distorts the picture and creates compensation patterns that look physical, and they are physical, but their origin can be mental or emotional.

That doesn’t mean brace is never structural.
It means if we don’t first address anxiety, lack of understanding, or nervous system dysregulation, we can’t accurately determine what is truly physical.

Regulation and connection have to come first.

The same lens was applied to the equipment.

How does this horse actually feel about the halter or the lead rope?
Do they understand the feel of pressure, or are they tolerating it?
Are they organizing themselves in response, or bracing against it?

There is a massive difference between compliance and comprehension.

And then there were the blind spots.

Most horses have natural laterality. That’s normal, but when a horse actively works to keep you in one eye, repositioning you to avoid vulnerability, that’s information about relationship.

It tells us how safe they feel.

Throughout the session, the quiet question underneath everything was:

Can this horse stay connected to himself… and to his handler?

Not dissociated or overstimulated or braced, just present.

When a horse feels secure in connection, in touch, in contact, in spatial relationship, their nervous system settles allowing posture to organize differently. Then movement can reflect what is actually available and range of motion becomes more accurate.

Confidence in connection changes the body.

It reminded me that so often what looks like a training issue is actually a relational one.

Stiffness may be protection and resistance may be vigilance.

I left thinking about how much can change without ever asking for more.

Sometimes the most powerful shift isn’t in what we request from the horse, but in how safe they feel standing beside us.

Holistic care asks us to remember that nothing exists in isolation. Diet, hoof balance, dentistry, training, bodywork are all part of the same loop with each influencing the others. We can enter that loop from different points, and no single entry point is the answer to everything.

Tending to a horse’s relationship to connection won’t solve every problem but, in many cases, it’s where we need to start.
Grateful to Celeste, and to Kris Anne and Ty, for allowing us to observe and learn from such a thoughtful session.

25/02/2026

🏠 Threat where you sleep...

Not many people consider this a problem unless it's physical threat.
I want to highlight the neurobiology of emotional threat - specifically where you sleep.

Sharing a house with a person or people where you don't feel emotionally safe is a highly underestimated problem.

Even if you don’t fully understand what’s happening, your nervous system does and deserves your attention.

When you feel emotionally unsafe in your home, your nervous system works overtime to try and keep you safe in the only way it knows how - reaction or suppression.
You're not getting out of this one right?

The arguments, the tension, the silent treatment, the blame, the put downs, the looks, the shrugs, the crying, the shouting, the tight muscles, the nausea, the sadness, the broken promises, the let downs, these are a little easier to deal with when they live outside of your home. But when they're inside your home, you can't get away from this, you can't create space as easily.

💤 Your home is supposed to be the place where you can allow yourself to be at your most vulnerable and feel safe doing it. When you sleep, you're at your most vulnerable.

Are you sleeping next to your predator?
Is your predator in the next room?

This is not safe, it is unsafe - it does not have to be physical to be unsafe.

🔬 Here’s the neurobiology:

Nervous systems are not designed to run high for prolonged periods of time.
After about 6-12 hours in a perceived threatening environment, the nervous system is already learning how to adapt to the environment to "cope", no matter how subtle or extreme the threat, an adaptation must occur.

Nervous systems are built for activation → resolution → recovery.

When activation becomes constant, there is a biological consequence.
Living and sleeping under a roof where most of the time you feel:
• uneasy
• worried
• scared
• uncertain
• hyper-alert
• emotionally on edge
is neurobiologically no different to sleeping under the stars while predators circle in your periphery.

Your nervous system does NOT discriminate “emotional threat” as lesser than physical threat.
It responds in the exact same way.

If you feel chronically on guard in your own home, your brain shifts into hunted mode.

● The amygdala (threat detector area) stays vigilant.
● Stress hormones remain elevated.
● Sleep becomes lighter.
● Recovery becomes incomplete.
● The PFC (decision making, reasoning and emotional regulation area) becomes stunted and over time reduces in size.
● Memory becomes impaired

⚠️ Long term, the brain structurally changes to accommodate for chronic elevated stress hormones. These changes make it physically harder to change behavioural patterns.

Your nervous system begins to believe:
“I am not safe AND I'm struggling to trust myself".
When the place meant for restoration feels unsafe, nervous system decompression cannot occur!

Our nervous systems are not designed to survive indefinitely in prey mode.

If you feel exhausted and can’t explain why, start with looking at the roof you sleep under.
Your nervous system might already know.

Happy brain training 🧠💪
Charlotte

24/02/2026

Good Morning from Western Australia 😊

BB had just finished bucking and crow hopping his heart out. He even tried a few rears. That was interesting to watch … of course I was observing his balance on both hinds 🙈 wanted to get it on camera but alas .. no

23/02/2026

Interesting if it is “common” for the left glute weakness .. which would play right into horses that like to excessively load RF and rotate (DSP) to right. Being able to oppose this will help with being more stable and assisting your horse.

23/02/2026

Bro !! this is how random accidents happen 🤦‍♀️

Commander was quite happy to utilise a dead tree branch to scratch inside his ear …

23/02/2026

Because my goal is being consistent .. (with drop down menus) .. I have signed up with Crystal 🙌
Other goals or objectives will organically come from the consistency 💕

“The quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits.” — James Clear

That hit hard this year.

I’ve spent so long prioritising work, supporting students, and training college horses… that somewhere along the way, I stopped prioritising me. My own horses sat in the background, waiting for ‘later’.

At the end of 2024, I made a promise: 2025 would be different. I had to make my own riding goals matter—or walk away.

And it started strong: a couple of clinics, a few events. But then… the knee injury. Everything on hold. Again.

Now, I can’t get back in the saddle just yet—but I can build the routines that will carry me forward. So I’ve created something for riders like me who want to reset… gently, consistently, and with purpose.

🌿 The EM Soft Reset
A 3-month challenge designed to support riders rebuilding from burnout, injury, or just a rough patch in life.

✨ The best part? I’m offering the first round to a small trial group—for free. If you want in, here’s what to do:

🔁 Share this post
💬 Comment “EM Soft Reset”
📩 I’ll reach out via PM and we can see if it’s a good fit for you.

Because even if you’re not ready for gallops and grids, you can still take one small step. Every day.

Let’s reset together.

21/02/2026

There is in hand and then there is SOM in hand. Deeper conversations via the body.

21/02/2026

Waiting for more magical poo 😬

20/02/2026

What does this mean ?

Your intention … you think I am going to do “….”
This could be right in the moment or in the future (although brain/nervous system) perceives as now.

Like the speed of light chemicals have been released, muscles have started to contract, systems of patterns have already pressed play. Patterns of Emotional and Physical … so fear based, mentally and physically. Patterns of protection from ….. again being hurt emotionally and physically. It might be to do with past experiences, perceived experiences. You may or may not have trust in your own balance to do the thing or the horse’s pattern of doing the whatever it is.
Your balance patterns will have an effect on the horse, who will also have their own balance patterns. Then as a team .. it is very interesting to notice what happens.

So as part of my “thing I can do” is noticing patterns.
Such as what happens everytime or sometimes when say someone prepares to trot or walk on. What the horse does as a response/reaction. There has been a load of “cues” conversation, dialogue, signals, aids … whatever you want to call them before you even “do the thing”.

The other day in teaching an exercise … there were times when I would ask the person ..do you notice this ? Or that the horse does this when you do that…
Can you place your reins on one hand, slow your trot, unlock your shoulders, breathe, look to the trees beyond. The whole time with an instruction.. there is noticing of did the person respond ? If so in what way and did the horse respond, if so in what way. The next instruction is based upon what the previous answer was.
I am looking for the horse/rider to come out or let go of some survival type patterns… to notice they have and to feel the difference.
In one exercise we walked along, first of all seeing if we are able to have the horse in an extended “look” .. I said look because there is a difference between stiff extended, unorganised extended, lethargic extended, too quick extended (probably look stiff also). So we were aiming for active, alive, organised walk where you can absolutely notice the difference of them having now the capacity to use movement muscles more efficiently and effectively. Now the challenge was to ask for a trot from there without ….. clicking in the patterns that would encourage, neck stiffness, an upside down neck, head lowering, utilising speed to transition, keep breathing … oh and ask as quietly as you can. Cause hey they have the capacity to read all these signals and do … that is how they operate as a species.

The patterns …

If someone asked me that their horse is having difficulty in the canter one way … I will listen to the problem and then absolutely go back to walk. Matching functional patterns of the horse and the rider and as the dynamic team. Now the fixes probably won’t be in the canter, but yes I would be wanting them to express in the canter. Is it magic and instant .. maybe only if you know how to be a clamp and sit/talk in a way that makes them.. but this is false because it won’t be a pattern that the horse takes on in daily life.

Same with things like my horse does something like buck after a jump … that could be something physical on the landing in the body, lower limb or the mouth .. they would be issues to do with the rotations and excessive loading that I chirp on about. And… then there is the things that we do after take off …. The signals that we may inadvertently do that the horse says “shut up” “you are in my way” “stop that” or even let me have some more neck … I need to balance, or you are holding me, or whatever .. again studying the patterns ..
The amount of excessive contact in motion … or bouncing reins .. we don’t realise that the sensory systems can be compromised.

Anyway that went on a tangent … but hey … that’s me