Cognitive overload freeze is not a reaction of a “difficult horse,” nor is it caused by lack of bravery or stubbornness. It occurs when a horse is unable to make a motor decision due to information overload — and in sport, this overload is very easy to create unintentionally. The good news is that most freeze episodes CAN be prevented. This is possible when the rider maintains consistency in signals, awareness of tension, and a clear structure of actions.

Below are practical principles that protect the horse from freeze and prevent this behaviour from becoming reinforced.

1. Start with a ritual for entering the arena

Horses with sensitive nervous systems need predictability.

No structure = no sense of safety = higher risk of overload.

Introduce:

• a fixed sequence of actions right before the start,
• a short breath/relaxation moment before approaching the first jump,
• 1–2 micro-tasks: a transition, a half-circle, a bit of leg yield,
• a calm tempo before adding energy.

This ritual acts like a “map” that organises the horse’s brain and reduces the risk of a shutdown

2. The first approach must be planned so the horse does NOT enter overload (even if the jump order is fixed)

At a show, you cannot choose the first fence — but you can fully control how the horse arrives at the situation of the first jump. It’s the approach, not the jump itself, that determines the freeze risk.

The most dangerous situations for the horse are when the first approach begins from:

• a very short line after crossing the start,
• a tight turn,
• a rapid tempo change,
• “out of nowhere” without building rhythm,
• rider tension and rushing in the first seconds,
• too much speed on a still “cold” nervous system.

That’s why your job BEFORE the first approach is to:

✔ stabilise rhythm and breathing,

✔ give the horse 1–2 easy transitions,

✔ guide the neck clearly in the chosen direction,

✔ quiet your seat,

✔ enter the line with energy established early enough,

✔ avoid increasing pressure while the horse is “collecting data” about the course.

You cannot change the first fence — but you can change the quality of information your horse receives before reaching it. That’s what reduces overload and prevents freeze.

3. Never add aids at the moment the horse begins to lose impulsion

When a horse loses impulsion, the rider’s instinct is to use more leg or push with the seat.

That is the most dangerous moment.

Adding strong aids right when the horse’s nervous system enters overload works like:

➡ pressing five keys at once when the computer is already starting to freeze.

The result?

Signal conflict → no possibility of response → freeze.

Instead:

✔ still your body,

✔ reduce your aids instead of intensifying them,

✔ return to a micro-task (a half-circle / one step forward / slight neck softening),

✔ return to the approach only after rhythm is restored.

4. Neutral seat instead of a pushing seat

A pushing seat is one of the most common triggers of freeze.

The horse doesn’t know:

• should it go faster?
• should it go higher?
• where to put the energy?
• what the forward signal actually is?

Neutral seat = a body that does not generate conflicting impulses.

In practice:

• open hips,
• soft, balanced alignment,
• no pressure on the seat bones,
• closed rib line,
• a guiding, not pulling, hand.

Neutral seat = no chaos.

No chaos = no overload = no freeze.

5. Minimalistic aids – less is more

During freeze, clarity of signal matters far more than strength.

An overloaded horse will not respond to stronger aids.

It will respond to clearer ones.

Therefore:

✔ instead of both legs → one leg,

✔ instead of pushing → one simple direction cue with the neck,

✔ instead of a nervous hand → one micro half-halt,

✔ instead of “go!” → a calm, repeatable rhythm.

The more precisely you direct the energy, the less the horse must analyse.

Every reduction in stimuli = lower freeze risk.

6. Avoid escalating pressure

The worst thing you can do when a horse starts to block is:

• add more leg,
• use the whip,
• increase speed,
• “push” it forward,
• “force” it into position.

This creates a sequence:

pressure → no answer → more pressure → freeze → reinforcement

Horses learn through patterns. If every hesitation leads to more pressure, the horse learns:

“When I don’t know what to do → things get harder → better to brace.”

Freeze becomes a strategy.

7. Practice “small decisions” regularly before big decisions are needed

The best way to prevent freeze is to teach the horse micro-decision-making:

• choosing shoulder placement on a circle,
• maintaining rhythm independently,
• responding to subtle half-halts,
• reacting to minimal neck guidance.

When a horse can make small decisions, big ones (like the first approach) are no longer overwhelming.

Summary

To prevent freeze, the rider must:

✔ be predictable,

✔ give one signal at a time,

✔ avoid escalating pressure,

✔ avoid pushing in moments of hesitation,

✔ protect rhythm and task structure,

✔ start with the simplest first jumps,

✔ support the horse’s decision-making, not take it away.

Freeze does not arise from lack of courage.

It arises from lack of ability to respond.

If we do not take that ability away from the horse, freeze will never appear