A classical cavesson is a specialized training tool rooted in traditional equestrian practices. It features a padded noseband, with a center ring for attachment. Its design ensures precise control and communication with the horse while prioritizing the horse's comfort and anatomy. This center ring becomes foundation for all flexion and lateral rotation of the cervical vertebrae. This plays a key role in the correction, development, and stabilization of this region of the horse's body.
Importance and Benefits of a Classical Cavesson:
Anatomical Consideration:
The padded noseband distributes pressure evenly across the nasal bridge without pinching or causing discomfort.
Unlike a rope halter, which can apply uneven or sharp pressure to sensitive areas like the poll and nose, a cavesson ensures that communication is softer and more specific to avoid injury, or irritation.
Versatile Training Tool:
A cavesson allows for refined groundwork and lunging without interfering with the horse's mouth. This is especially valuable for young horses or those needing retraining, as it avoids creating negative associations with the bit.
Biomechanics Support:
By encouraging natural flexion and alignment, the cavesson supports proper muscle development. It facilitates exercises that improve the horse's topline, balance, and engagement, reducing the risk of strain or long-term issues.
Precision and Subtlety:
Its structure enables trainers to use subtle cues, enhancing communication. This refinement promotes relaxation and responsiveness, key elements of classical training principles.
Differences from Rope Halters:
Pressure Points: Rope halters exert pressure in concentrated areas and can cause discomfort if used incorrectly. Cavessons, with their broader, padded design, minimize discomfort and provide a consistent feel.
Control: Rope halters lack the precision of a cavesson, making them less ideal for activities requiring detailed head and neck positioning.
Purpose: While rope halters are often used for general groundwork and leading, cavessons are designed for advanced training, such as lunging, flexion exercises, and in-hand work.
Origin of the Cavesson:
The cavesson's history dates back to classical European riding traditions, particularly in Spain, Portugal, and France. It was a staple in the training systems of the masters of haute école (high school riding), who prioritized harmony, balance, and the horse’s well-being. The design has evolved over centuries to meet the needs of precision training, particularly in the realms of dressage and in-hand work.
Tara Jones' Approach:
Tara Jones’ Muscle Modification Lunging System is a signature method that integrates anatomical awareness and subtle energy techniques to enhance the horse’s biomechanical function during movement This approach may differ from traditional cavesson use by emphasizing adjustments that align the horse’s musculature and energy flow for optimum performance and healing.
Her book, has drawn on the wisdom of classical and modern equestrian masters, blending their techniques with her unique understanding of anatomy, energy, and biomechanics. Her system offers a more holistic take on traditional lunging, combining classical principles with modern insights and In-Hand work.
Development of the Combination Cavesson:
Tara Jones’ Combination Cavesson is a uniquely designed, 100% handmade training tool crafted to support her Muscle Modification Lunging System. This system integrates classical equestrian principles, movement therapy, and Somatic Spatial Fluency to enhance the horse’s biomechanical function and overall well-being. The cavesson is tailored for precision and anatomical alignment, ensuring it works harmoniously with the horse’s natural movements. Comfort, and durability are top priority as well as fit, and safety.
Why the Combination Cavesson is Unique
Design and Craftsmanship:
Handmade with meticulous attention to detail, the cavesson combines the best features of traditional designs with modern innovations. This ensures comfort, durability, and versatility in training.
Its structure allows for multiple attachment points, enabling refined communication without interfering with the horse’s mouth or causing undue pressure.
Integration with Somatic Principles:
The cavesson’s design supports Tara’s focus on movement therapy, which emphasizes the horse’s somatic (body-based) experience. By guiding the horse through exercises that encourage proprioception and balance, it facilitates the release of tension and the development of healthy movement patterns.
Support for the Cervical Vertebrae:
The cervical vertebrae (neck bones) play a critical role in a horse’s balance, movement, and posture. Unlike tools like rope halters that can cause uneven or sharp pressure, the Combination Cavesson applies pressure in a broad, even manner along the nasal bridge. This avoids strain or misalignment in the cervical vertebrae.
The cavesson enables exercises that promote correct flexion and alignment, ensuring that the cervical spine remains supported and mobile. Proper alignment here influences the rest of the spine, promoting relaxation, engagement of the hindquarters, and overall biomechanical health.
Movement Therapy and Somatics
Tara’s system blends the classical tradition of lunging with modern somatic practices, creating a holistic approach to training. Movement therapy focuses on restoring fluid, functional movement in the horse by addressing both physical and energetic imbalances. Somatics enhances this by encouraging the horse to experience its own body more consciously, enabling deeper releases of tension and fostering a sense of ease and trust in its movements.
By using the Combination Cavesson within this system:
The horse is guided into exercises that build strength and flexibility while maintaining relaxation.
The focus on anatomical alignment and somatic awareness helps prevent injury and supports long-term soundness.
The horse’s mental and physical well-being are prioritized, ensuring a harmonious partnership between horse and handler.
Why the Cavesson Outperforms a Rope Halter
When working with the cervical vertebrae and encouraging healthy movement patterns, the cavesson offers significant advantages over a rope halter:
Pressure Distribution: The padded noseband spreads pressure evenly, protecting delicate structures in the nasal and cervical areas.
Precision in Flexion: The cavesson allows for subtle, precise guidance, encouraging proper neck alignment without the sharp, inconsistent pressure of a rope halter.
Encouragement of Healthy Biomechanics: The cervical vertebrae are pivotal to spinal alignment and engagement. Proper positioning here ensures that the horse moves in a way that supports its entire musculoskeletal system.
Tara Jones' Holistic Approach to Poll Alignment and Postural Balance
Tara Jones’ Muscle Modification Lunging System, supported by her Combination Cavesson, emphasizes exercises that target critical areas of the horse’s anatomy to improve alignment, posture, and movement. Key components of her approach—dorsal poll release, ventral gullet relaxation, and atlanto-occipital (A/O) joint expansion—address proper poll alignment while enhancing overall balance and biomechanics. These exercises form the foundation for more advanced work targeting the thoracic sling, core musculature, diaphragmatic breathing, and topline reconstruction.
Poll Alignment and A/O Joint Expansion
The poll is a pivotal area for a horse’s posture and movement. Misalignments here can cause tension that radiates through the neck, shoulders, and back. Tara’s exercises focus on:
Dorsal Poll Release: Encourages relaxation in the upper poll area, allowing for improved neck flexibility and tension relief.
Ventral Gullet Relaxation: Opens up the throat latch area, enabling better airflow and reducing resistance through the neck and jaw.
A/O Joint Expansion: Enhances the horse’s ability to articulate its head and neck freely, promoting natural alignment and facilitating proper flexion and balance.
These targeted releases improve the horse’s posture by addressing key tension points and enabling a healthy connection between the head, neck, and spine.
Thoracic Sling and Core Musculature
The thoracic sling, comprising muscles like the serratus ventralis and pectorals, plays a crucial role in supporting the horse’s forehand. Tara’s system emphasizes the importance of engaging the thoracic sling to:
Lift the horse’s chest and withers, promoting lightness in the forehand.
Encourage proper engagement of the hindquarters, creating a balanced and uphill posture.
By activating the core musculature, Tara helps the horse build strength in its abdominal and oblique muscles. This core engagement:
Supports the spine and enhances overall stability.
Prevents excessive strain on the horse’s limbs and back.
Diaphragmatic Breathing and Topline Reconstruction
Tara’s exercises incorporate diaphragmatic breathing, which encourages relaxation and promotes a deeper connection between the horse’s physical and energetic systems. Controlled breathing improves oxygenation and reduces stress, which is essential for:
Softening the ribcage and thoracic sling.
Enhancing movement efficiency and endurance.
Through topline reconstruction, Tara focuses on rebuilding the muscles along the horse’s neck, back, and hindquarters. This work aims to:
Correct muscle imbalances and develop symmetry.
Improve the horse’s ability to carry itself correctly, both at rest and in motion.
Postural Benefits: Static and Dynamic Balance
Tara’s integrated approach improves the horse’s balance and posture in both static and dynamic scenarios:
Static Balance:
Encourages proper alignment of the head, neck, spine, and limbs while standing.
Reduces compensatory tension, allowing the horse to stand more squarely and evenly.
Dynamic Balance:
Improves the horse’s ability to transition smoothly between gaits.
Enhances coordination, elasticity, and rhythm, creating fluid, balanced movement under saddle or during groundwork.
Tying It All Together
Using the Combination Cavesson, Tara’s system works with the horse’s natural anatomy to release tension, build strength, and create alignment from poll to tail. By addressing key areas such as the poll, thoracic sling, core, and topline—and integrating diaphragmatic breathing—her exercises promote long-term health, soundness, and performance. This holistic approach transforms the horse’s posture and balance, fostering a harmonious connection between horse and handler while unlocking the horse’s full potential.