Back when I was a ‘normal’ dressage trainer, I probably would have rated myself much like you have. My horse was doing Grand Prix and he was a ‘good boy’ with no big issues (or so I thought).

Insight:
Why settle for ‘good enough’? When I started going deep into creating a happier partnership with my Grand Prix horse everything changed. Truly my whole life changed - and my horse transformed from a ‘good boy’ to keen and playful. I saw tensions and mistrust that had been hidden. When I saw him with new eyes, and had ways of improving our relationship it was like the doors opened and his beautiful self came out.

My Best Advice:
Start looking at all the little moments of your horse’s life (the ones you may not have been thinking about) and asking yourself how you could make them better. Discover what your horse likes and doesn’t like. Honor what he doesn’t like, and do more of what he does like. Look at every interaction you have and see how you can give him more of a voice and more of a choice.

Also do some self-reflection. How can you show up as your best self for your horse?

It will be helpful for you to immerse yourself in a supportive community that honors the happiness of horses. Join our Dressage Naturally Land Facebook Group.

Recommendation:
The DN resource that would be best for diving deep into the partnership is the Habits For Excellent Horsemanship course. It is exactly what you need. It will give you a good picture of how cooperative a partnership you can have, and will explain how to do it. You have lifetime access to the program, and it includes live Q&A calls 4 times a year... on-going!