--- title: What Can Two Minutes Tell You About Your Riding? description: Unlock insights about your riding in just two minutes with our Initial Assessment. Discover your habits and enhance your skills at Willow & Withers Stables. image: https://willowandwithers.ca/hubfs/IMG_7363.jpeg --- [![Willow and Withers Stables](https://willowandwithers.ca/hubfs/willow-and-withers-stables-logo-350.png)](https://willowandwithers.ca) - [Home](https://willowandwithers.ca) - [Horse Simulator](https://willowandwithers.ca/horse-simulator) - [Will-oh! FAQ](https://willowandwithers.ca/willoh-faq) - [Training Options](https://willowandwithers.ca/training-options) - [Coaches](https://willowandwithers.ca/coaches) - [Barn Nights](https://willowandwithers.ca/barn-nights) - [Rehab for Riders](https://willowandwithers.ca/rehab) - [Book Will-oh! 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But what we do with that information is where the real learning begins.* Have you ever finished a riding lesson feeling like everything had finally clicked, only to find yourself struggling to reproduce that feeling the next time you rode? Or perhaps you've been told that you favour one side, your lower leg moves too much, or your hands aren't quite as steady as you think they are. As riders, we develop habits over time, and we aren't always aware of them. Something can feel perfectly straight, balanced or symmetrical even when our bodies are doing something quite different. So what if we could take a closer look? At Will-oh!, our equestrian simulator at Willow & Withers Stables, we can gather some surprisingly useful information about your riding in just two minutes. It's one of the starting points for our Initial Assessment, a 55-minute coached session designed to help you better understand how you ride, explore your movement and identify opportunities for improvement. But those two minutes are only the beginning. ## First, let's get comfortable We don't start by putting you through a test. In fact, we typically spend the first ten minutes simply getting comfortable on Will-oh! You'll have an opportunity to experience the simulator at walk, trot and canter, become familiar with how it moves, and begin to relax into the experience. For some riders, this is their first time on an equestrian simulator, so we want to give them time to settle in and feel what's happening underneath them. This warm-up is valuable in its own right. Without needing to steer, navigate an arena or manage a live horse, you can begin paying closer attention to your own body and how it responds to movement. Once you're comfortable, we're ready to take our first snapshot. ## What happens during those two minutes? Will-oh! has an assessment function that allows us to gather information about several aspects of your riding. We can look at: **Balance and weight distribution.** Are you sitting evenly, or do you tend to carry more weight to one side? Does that change as you move through different gaits? **Lower leg stability.** How consistently are you maintaining your leg position? Is there a difference between your left and right legs? **Rein contact.** How steady is your contact, and are you maintaining similar contact on both reins? **Left and right differences.** Do you ride differently in one direction than the other? Sometimes these differences are subtle, and sometimes they're quite revealing. The assessment gives us measurable information about these aspects of your riding, but it doesn't tell us everything. It can't explain why you're favouring one side, for example, or whether a particular movement pattern is related to habit, tension, mobility or something else. That's where the coaching, conversation and experimentation come in. ## The numbers are a starting point, not a scorecard ![coached-session-with-willowoh-2](https://willowandwithers.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/New%20SIM%20Images/coached-session-with-willowoh-2.jpg?width=800&height=800&name=coached-session-with-willowoh-2.jpg)I think this is one of the most important things for riders to understand about our Initial Assessment. We're not looking for a perfect score, and we're certainly not trying to produce a list of everything you're doing wrong. Instead, we're looking for patterns and opportunities to explore. Perhaps the assessment suggests that you're carrying more weight on one side. Is that something you can feel? Does the information surprise you? What happens if we introduce an exercise designed to bring more awareness to your pelvis or the way you're distributing your weight? Or perhaps your lower leg is less stable than you realized. Rather than simply instructing you to keep it still, we might explore what's happening elsewhere in your body. Are you gripping? Is there tension in your hips? Does changing how you organize your body influence what happens to your leg? There isn't always a simple answer, and that's part of what makes this work interesting. The assessment helps us decide where to focus our attention, but the rider plays an equally important role in interpreting what happens next. ## What happens during the rest of your session? Once we've reviewed the initial assessment, we use what we've learned to guide the remainder of our time together. That might involve exploring a particular movement, working on balance or coordination, or using exercises that help you become more aware of what different parts of your body are doing. Increasingly, I'm incorporating techniques from my training with Train Your Seat Equestrian Training, including the use of Franklin Balls, bands, movement exercises and imagery. These give us different ways to explore how the body moves and responds, both on and off the simulator. One exercise might help you recognize tension you weren't aware of. Another might give you a clearer sense of how your pelvis moves with the horse. Sometimes deliberately exaggerating a movement helps you understand what happens when you do the opposite. And sometimes the most valuable thing we can do is simply pause and ask a question. What did you notice? Did that feel easier? Could you feel a difference between your left and right sides? Do you think you'd recognize that sensation again? These questions matter because the goal isn't just to improve your riding while someone is watching and offering instructions. It's to help you develop the awareness and understanding to recognize what's happening when you're riding independently. ## Can we measure what has changed? Quite often, we'll repeat the two-minute assessment towards the end of the session. This gives us an opportunity to compare the information with our original baseline and see whether anything has changed. Perhaps your balance has become more even, your rein contact steadier or your lower leg more stable. Sometimes the differences are quite noticeable, and sometimes they're more subtle. Of course, not every change will be reflected in the numbers, and not every improvement happens within a single session. Learning new movement patterns takes time, and some discoveries need to be explored and practised before they become consistent. What's particularly valuable is bringing the information together with the rider's own experience. Maybe the numbers have changed, but did the movement feel different? Can you recognize what you did differently? Do you understand what helped? That connection between measurable feedback and personal awareness is where I think the real value lies. ## What will you take away from your Initial Assessment? My hope is that you'll leave with a better understanding of your riding than you had when you arrived. You may discover something you weren't aware of, gain a clearer understanding of a challenge you've been working on, or experience a movement in a way that suddenly makes more sense. You'll also have had an opportunity to experiment with different approaches and identify ideas you can continue exploring when you're back on your own horse. And that's really the point. I don't want riders to become dependent on a simulator or on someone constantly telling them how to adjust their position. I want them to become more curious about their own riding, more aware of what they're feeling and better equipped to make adjustments for themselves. ## Do you need to have a problem to benefit? Absolutely not! Our Initial Assessment is suitable for riders from different disciplines and with a wide range of experience. You might be returning to riding after a break, developing your confidence, working towards a specific goal or simply curious about what you could learn about your riding. In fact, experienced riders can find the process particularly interesting. We often become very accustomed to our own movement patterns, and it can be surprising to discover a difference between what we think we're doing and what the assessment reveals. You don't need to arrive with a particular problem to solve. Sometimes curiosity is the best starting point. ## Ready to discover what your riding can tell you? A Will-oh! Initial Assessment is a 55-minute coached session that combines time on our equestrian simulator, measurable feedback, movement exploration and personalized coaching. We'll establish a starting point, explore what the information tells us, and work together to discover what might help you ride with greater awareness, balance and confidence. **Will-oh! Initial Assessment** 55 minutes | $125 + HST Willow & Withers Stables, Sheffield Mills, Nova Scotia **[![Book Will-oh! Now](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/47975399/interactive-213208741049.png)](https://willowandwithers.ca/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLIE1cHuDnvWpcYCgMMXJR%2F0c1xo9NcY8DUBpNiX3I418GcVRRMwllB5MfHm0faoOOzOJGPFTqmSmqR4InIMJ5linisueLrCTTdxgArm7U1MmHzJ4HnarO%2F2kP9nuMGJTT6430RN9Fn%2FHsQCQ%2FCYZOQA%2FhSYqPJ3eCa3e7DCRedY6TLb8nOFP8RF8X9CU5TDyNkmkqmo8aVXHjgEtBrje%2F5DJCp7hRxscLXAoVpHmSswKfecy3aQeMk%2BsvlHEV3eTqC%2FZGo1o2Lfm81aRg%3D%3D&webInteractiveContentId=213208741049&portalId=47975399)** Because sometimes two minutes can be the beginning of a whole new understanding of your riding. ## Similar posts ### [Franklin Balls & Will-oh! — A New Way to Feel Your Ride](https://willowandwithers.ca/en/blog/franklin-balls-will-oh-a-new-way-to-feel-your-ride) Melanie Nov 8, 2025 ### [Have You Ridden a Horse Simulator Before?](https://willowandwithers.ca/en/blog/have-you-ridden-a-horse-simulator-before) Melanie Oct 3, 2025 Riding Simulator ### [From Feel to Real: Transform Your Riding with Ship-In + Simulator Sessions at Will-oh!](https://willowandwithers.ca/en/blog/from-feel-to-real-transform-your-riding-with-ship-in-simulator-sessions-at-will-oh) Melanie Apr 18, 2026 ### Horsing Around Get occasional updates about our stables, our boarders, and their owners. ### Subscribe to our blog, and never miss a great horse story [![Willow and Withers Stables](https://willowandwithers.ca/hubfs/willow-and-withers-stables-logo-350.png)](https://willowandwithers.ca) #### Willow & Withers Stables 1575 Middle Dyke Road Sheffield Mills Annapolis Valley Nova Scotia ### Our Stables - [Home](https://willowandwithers.ca) - [Will-oh!](https://willowandwithers.ca/horse-simulator) - [FAQ](https://willowandwithers.ca/faq) - [Map](https://willowandwithers.ca/map) - [About](https://willowandwithers.ca/about) - [Contact](https://willowandwithers.ca/contact) We use security cameras on site, when on property, you may be on camera.   © 2026 Willow & Withers Stables All rights reserved [Privacy Policy](https://47975399.hs-sites.com/privacy) [Powered by Atlas - a B2B SaaS HubSpot theme](https://www.kalungi.com/atlas-hubspot-theme-for-b2b-saas-software) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Melanie", "url" : "https://willowandwithers.ca/en/blog/author/melanie" }, "dateModified" : "2026-11-03T00:34:40.695Z", "datePublished" : "2026-11-03T00:34:40.000Z", "headline" : "What Can Two Minutes Tell You About Your Riding?", "image" : [ "https://willowandwithers.ca/hubfs/IMG_7363.jpeg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://willowandwithers.ca/en/blog/what-can-two-minutes-tell-you-about-your-riding", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://willowandwithers.ca/hubfs/willow-and-withers-stables-logo-350.png" }, "name" : "433788 Nova Scotia Ltd" } } ```