The Energy of Fear and Energy of Joy

It is well documented that horses naturally carry more of their weight with the forehand. For the horse to lift himself into what we call elevated self-carriage, some of the weight normally distributed over the front legs will be re-distributed to the rear legs as the joints of the hind limbs articulate more and accept this additional burden. The forehand is still bearing more weight than the hind end but it is freer to assist with the upward mobilization of the front end.
In a state of fear, much more weight shifts to the rear as the back flattens and grows rigid in a posture preparing for speed of flight. The hind quarters draw more energy(accumulating it) from the core of the animal in prepartion for a precise and propulsive getaway.
A state of joy is filled with tension as well. It is a differenet emotion, however, so the tension is in different places. In this state the back mounts, the withers rise, the core muscles engage and hind quarters do not absorb the bulk of energy as they would in a state of fear. Joyful tension is what we are seeking. To say we are wanting a relaxed state is slightly inaccurate. It takes incredible muscular control and tone to manage the advanced movements in dressage. What we want is joyful tension and not fearful tension. In joy we have a looseness and agility suitable for exuberant dance-like play.
We all want to live out to the end of a ride so we are not wise to set the horse up for play which we could not manage to stay with. So we must use prudence in this area, training ourselves to be more in control of our mind, our own body, and how our mind directs the body. We want the horse to feel free to express this joy in the partnership, so our job is to make ourselves ready to allow the horse to move as he should. We will learn to absorb the horse's wayward energy , suggestively re-position him, and re-direct this energy in another way.
But if we cannot deal with the motion the horse presents, it is as though we clip his wings just as he gloriously takes to the sky. Relying on saddlery to 'hold us' in place in some ideal position is entirely the wrong approach to take. We must learn to deal with our bodies in motion, developing the tone necessary not only to stay centered over the saddle but also to create the openings and closings of our joints and the muscular pulsations we will use to absorb or deflect or re-direct energy.