30/01/2024
Insightful words for those of us juggling jobs homes and horses.
Be kind to yourselves and steeds with respect to expectations, taking steady steps to progress.
Help can be had at the many Pony Clubs and Adult Rider groups where sharing instruction and education combine with fun for your horse. Orange Grove (OGAR) join up is this weekend, Saturday 10am to 12 at KARINYA in Grant Street.
Orange Grove Adult Riders Inc
Orange Grove Horse & Pony Club
Karinya Equestrian Park
The principles of training I share are from the French classical school. However, over the years it’s become clear that for the riders I’m fortunate enough to work with, teaching this in isolation isn’t enough.
When we look at the riders of those European classical schools there are some key things to notice. They were typically men from the privileged classes, who, from an early age could dedicate their lives to the study of the horse. They accessed several years of riding school master mounts, including many hours on the lunge, They rode multiple horses a day, and received daily tuition from masters of this art. They had time to study texts and ideas and application. The horses they were presented with were usually bred for the task of ‘dressage’; Lipizzaners, Lusitanos, warmbloods. Collectively they experienced an immersive, academic, demanding, life-long education in the classical horse.
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Most of the people I teach are not these riders. They are usually female, with many other things going on in their lives; care taking families. earning a living (or three) keeping a household afloat. If they get to ride once a day that’s rare, and very often that’s just the one horse; they don’t have access to multiple steeds. They may have returned to riding later in life, and it’s really unlikely they’ve had years on the lunge to develop an independent seat. And, while their horses are hugely beloved, they may not have even been bred with riding as their primary function.
I feel like being honest about this is an important starting point. You’re not a failure as a rider - you just didn’t spend a decade riding 6 horses a day with masterful classical tuition. The specific angle of shoulder-in required for a horse of that conformation hasn’t been drummed into you.
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This is why other disciplines are so necessary for most of us. For instance, the vital grounding that good horsemanship can provide a horse and human partnership. There is no point worrying about ‘collection’, if you’re not sure how to help a horse feel really good about having their feet handled, or confident about leading in a way which is safe and good for you both. You can develop these skills on the ground, day by day with your horse and then when it comes to a ridden lesson where you need to know where your horses hind feet are, you will be in a much better position to tap in to this.
Learning some basic body work skills can really help improve your feel. Spending time with your hands on a horses body - noticing how they respond to your touch - will contribute to how well you will be able to converse down the reins and through your seat.
Committing time to observing horses- potentially with someone who can help you ‘see’ - can develop your ability to notice what your horse is telling you and better understand how to make sense to them.
Working with ‘rider or seat trainer’ coaches is often essential for us. We haven’t had years on the lunge, we don’t have access to school masters, so we need to develop our own balance and independence as riders in whatever way we can. This is going to be essential if you want to use your hands according to classical principles.
I absolutely believe that French classical riding is the best training system for the horse. However, for many riders we need to develop a wide range of skills BEFORE we can really begin that part of our education. Our foundations need to be broader and more established in order to give us both a fighting chance of implementing these principles.
I want people I work with to succeed, that means starting where we actually are, and being proud of doing something very difficult. Not everyone tries to do that with their lives
Maida Vale Mobile Vet - Dr Shelley Teakle
