It's not what you do it's how you do.

There is so many different ways to get a horse to perform the same behavior. Leaving aside any abusive or excessively harsh methods there is still countless different approaches that will yield the same results. Hence the expression “many roads lead to Rome”. However, what method or exercise you do matters less than HOW you do it and how your horse responds.
Is your approach causing tension in the horse? If so, what is the cause of tension and are you allowing the horse to work through that before asking for more? When I used to have a tense horse my go to was to use an exercise or a technique to work through that tension. While that may still be the case sometimes, I’ve actually found that it’s not the exercises per say that are causing relaxation it is how I’m implementing it.
Something as simple as waiting an extra few seconds to let the horse process, or backing off slightly when I am met with resistance can have a really profound effect. It teaches the horse that I am listening, aware and in tune with their emotions. The conversation is now two sided which allows the horse to feel that they are in a safe space. That is what leads to them showing calming signals and relaxation in general.
Featured here is Tiger, a very sensitive and emotionally guarded thoroughbred. Working with him has been very fascinating and he is really teaching to be even more observant and mindful. photos by Jessica Farren