“Most artists don't struggle because they don't know anatomy. They struggle because they don't know what to look for.”

For years, I did everything I could to avoid anatomy. Not because I thought it wasn't useful, but simply because it didn't appeal to me at all. Drawing muscles and bones wasn't a way of learning that resonated with me. And because I've always wanted learning to be enjoyable, I made sure to stay well away from that part.

So, without really realizing it, I took a different path: I learned to observe.

It wasn't a conscious decision. It just happened naturally. Of course, I looked at photos to draw from them, but I also spent a lot of time watching horses in real life, especially my own mare. Out in the field, while she was grazing, I would watch her posture, her balance, her lines. When I was riding, I loved watching the way her feet touched the ground and how they moved.

And then there were those magical sounds: the steady, almost hypnotic rhythm of hooves on the ground, or the quiet sound of her chewing hay or grass... irreplaceable. 🥰

So, when I was drawing, instead of asking myself “What exactly is the shape of this muscle?”, I found myself asking different questions:

• What shape am I actually seeing?
• Which lines matter the most?
• Where does the volume change?
• What is this light revealing? What about this shadow?
• Why does this horse feel right? And why doesn't this one?

Little by little, I developed my own visual landmarks, my own way of working.

And years later, when I finally looked into anatomy out of curiosity, I had a funny realization: I already recognized many of those structures, without knowing their precise forms.

I had learned them through observation, at least those that could be perceived from the outside.

Anatomy as a tool, not a goal

That's also why the anatomy module in my Expressive Horse Art course is a little different.

The goal isn't to memorize every muscle or every bone of the horse. It's about understanding what you're actually looking at, so your observation becomes simpler, more intuitive and, ultimately, more accurate and personal.

Anatomy can be incredibly useful. But for me, it works best as a tool to support observation, rather than something that needs to come first.

And this is something I see often: artists think they struggle because they don't know enough anatomy, when what they really need is to learn what to look for.

Sometimes, the biggest improvement doesn't come from learning more information. It comes from learning to see the information that's already there.

7 simple tips for better horse drawings

This is also the idea behind my video 7 Horse Drawing Tips.

Before anatomy can really help, there are a few simple habits that can completely change the way you approach a drawing: loosening your grip, starting with the overall shape, not copying your reference exactly, simplifying the details, choosing a reference photo that actually helps your drawing, allowing yourself to make mistakes, and giving yourself enough space to draw.

These may sound like small things, but they can make a much bigger difference than you might expect.

🎥 Watch the video →

And if you'd like to explore this approach further, you can find the anatomy module, along with the rest of the course, inside Expressive Horse Art.

Observe first. Understand what you see. Then use anatomy to go further.

That is, ultimately, how I learned to draw horses.

And perhaps that's also why I still believe that learning to see is just as important as learning to draw.