If we learned to swim in a sea that constantly changes direction — waves swelling from gentle ripples to surging forces that pull us under — our journey would look very different from one begun in the still water of a pool. In the pool, we float on a noodle if we lose balance; we can touch the bottom whenever things feel uncertain. We find our rhythm without fear. Learning on the right horse — and teaching on one — feels just like that. The motion is steady, the feedback kind. You still...

I like to think of suppleness as “freedom in motion” — the point where training, posture, and mindset meet harmony.

We often measure strength in obvious ways: force, resistance, the ability to fight. Some riders love the battle itself — the tension, the...