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(Pferdewirt FN) Certified German trainer |
My Thoughts about improving communication (proper aids) between horse and rider:
In today's classical riding instructions predominantly the so-called artificial assistance are treated, which cannot be understood without extensive trainings(conditionings) of the horse. Many discords between horses and riders are resulting from (mostly unwittingly) neglectings of this fact by riders!
Lots of riders despair to their riding skills, cause they are using aids they have learned from an instruction book, negating that the poor horse, treated with such aids, is unable to read and ignorant.
The horse couldln't finally know that the rider read a book!
The equestrian literature presented at the market
is mostly a produkt of copying since ages, a few beautiful pictures
and some own thoughts in addition
finished is the new riding instructing.
This procedure offers still the advantage, that
facts borrowed from an equestrian Bible dont needed to be disussed, cause
since ages (mostly at the Cavallery) it had been done, like shown there.
Probably the predicates contained there, are correct but it must be realized for which purposes, for which clienteles with what kind of equestrian backgrounds, these books where written for.
Fast then is still forgotten that it
is a difference to exercise a horse for a kilometer-long march under
heavy luggage or for a few stretched strides on the square.
Here I would also like to point out
that training of horses and riders can be diametric sometimes.
For example some " old masters " mounted their horses
only after they were piaffed in the pilares . That shows , that the
riding background of these people was a completely different , from the
riding abilities of amateurs and professionals nowadays.
Foreseen of the fact that these authors could select themselves the best horses available, while average riders nowadays itselfs feel bounded or are bounded to their owned horse, and looking up for a way, to achieve with the available horse self defined targets, if possible without self-endangerment.
The today's riding teachers have the really difficult function to coordinate rider and horses in a given costing and time framework.
The high level dressage riders have an additional
problem. For any optical reasons, the horses bred for the highschool
exspecially are disliked from the judges.
The sport rider sees himself placed to
the difficult function to train horses which exteriereur actually is not
bred for these duties, nevertheless in the lessons of
the high school. The frequently bad, piaffs high-praised nevertheless
of tv speakers, are acknowledging this impressions.
The aids , described predominantly in classic riding literature,presuppose a very high level of training of the horse , or it is tacitly presupposed that it concerns a " normal " functioning (I use this terrible printout consciously) and built horse. Excludes thereby is how one trains a horse to the acceptance of these aids.
I prefered " trains ", to the
beautiful term " work ".
Acceptance of the propper aids is not only a psychological
kind of willing of the horse. It must be shown to the rider,
that for certain aids and execution of lessons also physiche prerequisites
must be available by the horse, which can be obtained only
by a systematic gym.
Its to be noticed that there are two categories
of aids:
Natural aids:
the horse is about to understand without conditioning
Learnable aids (artificial aids):
will be understood from the horse only after one
Konditinierung
Example:
Weight aids
Natural aids: blocked, working restraining.
Artificial aids:
working pushing forward, possibly collecting ,
if the horse's back bend was stretched by gymn.
Without expansion of the back tape it is not possible for the horse, to
place the hind legs with swinging back under the point of gravity.
Therefore also high level instructors recommend to start the pre piaffs
with the the so-called light seat and not to begin with
the full seat.
With raising exercises, the horse will learn to place his hind quarters under the point of gravity by full seat.
At the training of new lessons let the horse relax after samallest success. Thats the best reward for a horse, eases the rider 's nerves and avoids lots of resitants. Resistants of the horse is resulted frequently from pain, which the execution of the lesson in a certain attitude causes.
Therefore do not require the perfect execution of a lesson during a longer period from the outset. Start New lessons at the end of the training unit only and dismount after not perfect execution too. Do not repeat under any circumstances the new lesson.
For example teaching of the the full halt:
Start with easy seat preassures
Stop initiating the pressures again if the horse
is going slower. Give slag in the reins if the horse shows willing to follow
your aids. Dont try to stop with one aid, repeat them if the horse does
not stop . And dont correct the attitutes of the head first times. I f
u correct the horse is going to think that it will be punished by the briddle
if it stops.
This is the key to to teach all aids , taking fences etc..
Another example:
Teaching of waterjumps. Take it first time a the end
of the training unit , dismount ( at any case, exspecially if the horse
had jumped into , dont repeat) and walk with your horse to
the barn and feed .
Again in summary:
In the instruction phase of a lesson do not
require the perfect practice!!!
Please, do not understand my lines as a challenge to the
classical Reiterei. Not at all. It concerns the interpretation.
A conformity in placing aids should be except the horses exterieur or interieur
do require others. For most aids the classical riding instruction has a
whole number of comprehensible arguments. Horses can be teached to
react of a whole number of different aids for the same lesson. But the
big question is, which riding isntruction is the mos classic one??
the French, the austrian, the german???
On the other hand westernrriders must ask themselves, what they want to do. Horses breaking in? Let the poor animals in the glowing sun thirsting, starving? Days-long driving, of a thirsting and starving Bronco with again and again freshly brought horses, how the horse whisperer showed on tv as a new method of riding???
Probably not.
The westenstyle riders are dealing itselfs predominantly
with the natural aids!! This is a material statement and not
a devaluation of the priciples of classical school or an upgrading of
western style. I would like to compare the non show operated western
and classical school with the so-called Campagneschool.The organization
of the classic school campaign school and higher school quite made
sense. The misunderstandings described above do not step then so
easily on.
For my terms the nowadays classic riding school is concentrating too much on pure riding. The other part of the Horsemanship comes thereby into oblivion. The so-called habit exercises are there to a large extent unknown.
It will probably be, that the basic training of
each horse, which is not squeezed for fast sales, should be done
in the same or identical way.
Who is dealing with any kind of competition must
implement for itself that he departs from the basic riding school.
Classic and western competitions contain elemts of show.
Classic style riders are confrontaed with the problem
of diverging between regulations and judging. So Dr. Schulten Baumer told
at an interview.
Is also not crucial, which type of the Reiterei one operates,
but
deciding is " how " its done.
I know that the boundaries between natural and artificial aids are flowing and proper aids finaly are determinded of the horse's sensitivity.
The distinction into natural and artificial assistance
is however more than an abstract model of thoughts. It helps to avoid
problems communication and walking into riders dead ends.
Never forget :
aids are aids, no punishments!
I hope, my lines werenot not too boring, and energizes
a little bit for thinking. For riding have to be used brain and butt.