‘Feel’ Can Be Taught !

. . . and here is how you do it!

Teaching “Feel”: The Path to Intuitive Riding

“Feel” is one of those elusive qualities we often talk about in the horse world—as if it’s something you either have or you don’t. But here’s the truth: feel is teachable. And as riding instructors, we can—and should—help our students develop it, step by step.

In this post, we’ll break it down:

• What is feel?
• What does it take to develop it?
• And how can we teach it with intention?

What Is “Feel” in Riding?

In horseback riding, feel is the rider’s ability to perceive, interpret, and respond appropriately to the horse’s actions, movement, posture, and subtle feedback—often before it becomes obvious.

It has two core dimensions:

1. Physical Feel
This is awareness through the seat, legs, hands, and balance. It’s how a rider senses footfalls, rhythm, stride length, tension, shifts in weight, etc.

2. Intuitive Feel
This is the ability to notice things like when a horse is distracted, emotionally unsettled, or about to change.

Too often, feel is left to be absorbed through experience. And while it does take time, we can teach feel intentionally—starting with proprioception.

Build Proprioception: The Foundation of Feel

Before a rider can feel the horse, they must first feel themselves.

Proprioception is the body’s ability to sense its own position and movement in space—without needing to look. It’s how you touch your nose with your eyes closed or balance on one leg.

In riding, proprioception helps students:

• Stay balanced and upright around turns.
• Keep hands and legs independent of the seat.
• Detect when their own weight shifts or posture changes.
• Adjust their aids with precision

Once riders develop body awareness, they become more capable of detecting subtle shifts in the horse:

• Changes in rhythm or gait.
• Movement in the horse’s back or rib cage.
• A hind leg stepping under—or not.
• Asymmetries 

How to build proprioception

• Practice off-horse exercises: balance boards, yoga balls, wiggling vaulting barrels.
• Ride without stirrups to build seat awareness.
• Incorporate bareback riding to help riders feel the horse’s back movement.
• Use terrain (poles, hills, varied footing) to highlight how movement changes.

Without proprioception, feel remains fuzzy—like trying to tune an instrument while wearing mittens.

Understand Equine Movement: Feel Needs a Framework

Feel isn’t just about reacting—it’s about timing and shaping movement. That takes knowledge of biomechanics.

Riders with a solid understanding of equine movement can better interpret what they feel and make timely decisions:

• Recognize when a horse is crooked or imbalanced
• Feel when the horse is on the forehand or engaging from behind
• Sense if the back is lifted or braced
• Identify which leg is pushing off
• Time aids with clarity and softness

When riders understand what’s happening beneath them, their aids can become more purposeful.

How to Teach It:

• Watch horses move in-hand, at liberty, on the lunge, and under saddle.
• Use slow-motion video to study stride phases and joint mechanics
• Discuss hoofprints and tracks in the arena
• Explore stride length and straightness
• Ride over poles, inclines, and uneven ground to feel movement changes
• Use imagery to connect sensation to anatomy (e.g., “feel the belly swing under your leg”)

Without a framework for understanding movement, even sensitive riders can’t apply what they sense.

Cultivate Intuition: The Art of Reading the Horse

The final layer of feel is intuition: the rider’s ability to “read” the horse emotionally and mentally, not just physically.

An intuitive rider:

• Develops a relationship with horses
• Notices subtle body language and shifts
• Feels tension before it becomes resistance
• Communicates with empathy, not just effectiveness
• Understands how their aids influence the horse’s movement

This level of feel isn’t magic—it’s built through intentional observation, reflection, and experience.

How to Develop It in Riders:

Slow Down and Pay Attention
Encourage riders to pause and ask:

• What is my horse sensing right now? (Think of all five senses.)
• What is the horse’s body language telling me?
• What am I doing that might be influencing my horse?

Replace Judgment with Curiosity
Intuition grows when riders feel safe to explore and make mistakes.

How to Teach It:

• Build pause-and-check moments into lessons.
• Celebrate observations, not just outcomes.
• Encourage questions and experimentation.
• Normalize mistakes as part of the learning process.

Intuition grows in environments that value attention over perfection.

Final Thoughts

Teaching ‘feel’ takes time—but developing a rider with that intuition becomes one of the most rewarding parts of our role as instructors. When we help riders develop awareness, understanding, and intuition, we’re not just teaching them to ride well – we’re teaching them to listen, to connect, and to communicate—with softness, empathy, and purpose.

Teaching feel isn’t just about improving technique—it’s about deepening the rider-horse relationship. Let’s commit to making feel a skill we grow, not a mystery we admire.