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When trainer Geoff Case talks about great riders, he doesn’t start by listing medals or miles. He talks about feel. It’s that elusive, intuitive quality that turns skill into art.
“Feel is everything,” he said. “It’s how you know when to go forward, when to wait, when to soften, and when to do nothing.” But feel isn’t magic. It’s built through time, mistakes, and awareness.
Learning to Listen
Case believes that some of the best lessons happen when no one’s telling you what to do. “When you don’t have a trainer in your ear, you have to actually listen to your horse,” he said. “You start figuring out what the horse is saying back.”
That process of trial, feedback, and adjustment is how riders develop true sensitivity. “If he leans, try something. If it works, remember it. If it doesn’t, try something else,” Case explained. “That’s how you learn timing.”
He compares it to learning a language. “The horse is talking all the time,” he said. “You just have to learn the language.”
The Power of Pressure and Release
Feel starts on the ground. Case says groundwork is one of the best ways to understand timing and communication before you ever get in the saddle. “Every horse on the ground teaches you about pressure and release,” he said. “You ask, they move, you release. They learn that the release is the reward. That’s horsemanship.”
He encourages riders to notice those same cues under saddle. “When you put your leg on and they move off, take it off,” he said. “Reward the try. That’s what creates softness.”
This rhythm, ask, feel, release, is the foundation of connection. “If you’re just pulling or kicking, you’re not having a conversation,” he added. “You’re just yelling at the horse.”
Mistakes Are Part of the Process
Many riders get frustrated when they can’t “feel” something right away. Case reminds them that learning to feel is about paying attention.
“You don’t wake up one day and suddenly have feel,” he said. “You get it by making mistakes and noticing them.”
He encourages riders to replace self-criticism with curiosity. “Don’t get mad when something goes wrong,” he said. “Ask yourself why it happened. That’s how you get better.”
The difference, he added, is reflection. “Everybody makes mistakes. The best riders are the ones who learn from them right away and don’t make the same ones again.”
Quiet Hands, Quiet Mind
Feel isn’t just physical; it’s mental. Case says riders develop better awareness when they learn to quiet their thoughts and ride in the present. “You can’t have feel if your brain’s running ten miles ahead,” he said with a laugh. “You can’t have feel if you’re thinking about your grocery list.”
He encourages riders to think less about what they’re doing and more about what they’re feeling. “If you’re staring at the next jump and your horse’s back is tight, you’ve already missed it,” he said. “The horse tells you everything if you pay attention.”
That mindfulness can’t be taught. It has to be practiced. “Every time you get on, try to notice one new thing,” Case said. “How does your horse’s stride feel today? How soft is he in the bridle? That’s how you start training your feel.”
Feel Can Be Trained
While Case insists that some riders have a natural sense of timing, he believes everyone can improve their feel with practice. “It’s like a muscle,” he said. “The more you use it, the better it gets.”
That means staying engaged, experimenting, and reflecting. “If you do the same thing every ride and never think about it, your feel won’t grow,” he said. “But if you ride ten different horses and pay attention, it will.”
He also warns against relying too heavily on constant instruction. “It’s easy to depend on a trainer telling you what to fix,” he said. “But if you always wait for someone else to notice it first, you’ll never develop your own timing.”
Instead, he suggests alternating between guided lessons and self-driven rides. “You need both,” he said. “You need lessons to learn the tools, and you need rides by yourself to practice them. That’s when things start to click.”
The Reward
When riders commit to developing feel, Case says everything about their riding changes. “When you get feel, you stop being a passenger and start being a partner,” he said. “The horse starts trusting you, and that’s when real progress happens.”
And for those who feel stuck, Case offers one last reminder: “Feel takes time, but it’s worth it,” he said. “Once you have it, it’s yours forever, and it’ll make every horse you ride better.”
Want more insight from Geoff Case? Listen to episode 404 of The Plaidcast and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform for conversations with the most influential voices in the equestrian world.
