Lessons in Tuning Your Horse—and Yourself! (Growing our Horsemanship With Martin Black, Part Two)

By Mary Gallagher

I am still learning from our recent, fabulous clinic with Martin Black. I'd like to share what I've been doing lately with some of what I learned, though I'd recommend hearing it straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak, if you can. I can’t recommend Martin highly enough, and you can join us for his next clinic with us in March 2024 to experience much more, first hand!

I’ve been walking my students through a basic pattern of foot placement exercises learned from Martin, relating it to what I’ve been teaching for years. One of the students, a musician, commented that taking time to learn and refine these exercises was a lot like practicing scales. Musicians want to play songs and do the cool things they are inspired by in other musicians, but without developing dexterity and musical sense through patient practice of scales, the goal remains far away. I thought it was a great analogy. We tend to want to jump in and ‘make music’—get our horse ‘in frame’ by various means, trot, canter, and go right to the things we ride horses for. To get there, too often we solve issues with specialized tack, firmer aids, stronger grip…the list goes on.

In contrast, each time I review and practice Martin’s approach to the eight directions—four feet, two directions each—I know and feel a little more. My horse’s feet feel more connected to the ground, and I get a sense of calmness and balance coming through the horse. My horses are softer in the bridle with less contact, and I can feel which foot in which direction is out of tune. As I travel along I can pick that foot and tune it up to help the whole horse move better. You get my drift: we are building our abilities together, decreasing the need for struggle and control, increasing our ability to cooperate clearly and gracefully, in motion. 

Martin talked about the hind foot reaching under and across and our being able to know where it is headed. Practicing this awareness as I work each foot forward and backward has a way of improving my timing. Like practicing scales on an instrument, this is where you begin.

The sequence: Forward around the inside front, backward around the outside front, backward around the outside hind, forward around the inside hind. Carefully playing with each step to get it just right. Then increasing speed and trying different combinations to see if the steps maintain their quality.


Try doing this series on in a straight line—away from the fence or wall—with the line centering in your body. Try to see if you can rotate your horse’s body along that line by feeling it in your body, or whether you get carried away from the line. It’s a challenge worth taking time for and developing.

The basic sequence.

Knowing the degree of angle the hind foot travels is another way of tuning your awareness. Can you place the hind foot towards the opposite front foot (as in a shoulder in) or toward the opposite stirrup (similar to a side pass) or towards the rear cinch (as in a turn on the forehand)? No? Then you have your scales to practice!As I ride each day, I am thinking in this way—are the feet in tuned and balanced? Which foot in which direction would carry a better balance? 

By playing these scales as a warm up, I am finding that as I think in this language, my horse is instantly receptive to a correction. Everything we do together after that is better for it.

Join us in March 20-24, 2024 for another clinic with Martin Black!

Missed the first post? Read Part One!