Alejandra Abella - Learning Through Animals

15/11/2025

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Voice aids are to be allowed in dressage in what has been welcomed as a 'positive step' for the sport. Read more below

15/11/2025

A very Valencian "between the ears" shot for our second ride today: an olive tree and a blossoming orange tree. Hope to be riding out amongst the spring blossoms soon! Also, bought a giraffe too 😜.

14/11/2025

Why do I go slow when training horses, and make sure to get all work done on the ground first? Because there are moments like this! Fun to discover today that my GoPro was also taking pictures during a recent longeing session. I didn't even know it was doing that!

14/11/2025

Awesome day yesterday, with my first ride on the new mare on our property! Yes, finally feeling like the work on the ground is solid and yes, I always take it slow because: 1) I want the horse adapted to the new property without pressure or tension, and that simply means time, and 2) If the horse won't do it on the ground, he sure won't do it under saddle. Get everything confirmed on the ground, then start the mounted work.

And the verdict from yesterday? She did great, much better than I expected or learned from her the one and only time I tried her before she came here. With a simple, double-jointed snaffle in her mouth, I discovered a much more flexible and willing horse than the one I first met. Onward and upward!

11/11/2025

Fantastic news!!

The FEI General Assembly 2025 has approved a key modification to the FEI Dressage Rules, allowing riders the option to compete in a snaffle bridle up to CDI3*/CDIO3* Big Tour level from 1 January 2026 ✅

Read more: https://www.equestrianlife.com.au/articles/fei-approves-the-use-of-snaffle-bridles-up-to-cdi3-level/

09/11/2025

New horse - A little desensitizing with a feed bag, and moving up to the top nose ring on the longeing cavesson. Little by little, easy does it.

24/10/2025

Day five after a break, and the new girl not only remembered the prior work, but was ready for a bit more complexity. Looking forward to more with this smart girl!

23/10/2025

HEAR! HEAR! And hear again!! I was just saying this to a group of riders yesterday!

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬

Polework is the most undervalued training tool we have and it shows. Everyone says they want a sound, confident, long lasting horse. But then you see ponies Grade A at seven years old, and you can’t help but wonder, how much jumping did that take? How many schooling rounds? How many miles on joints that aren’t even fully developed until they’re eight?

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 “𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭.” 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩.

At six and seven, horses should still be learning how to use their body, not hammering around 1.20m tracks twice a weekend. By rights, their job at that age should be rhythm, straightness, balance not chasing points.

And this is where people roll their eyes, because the truth isn’t glamorous, polework is where the real training happens. Not when you’re on top of a fence. Before you ever get there.

A horse that can’t regulate its stride over poles won’t suddenly fix it over a jump. A horse that can’t stay straight on the ground won’t stay straight in the air. If your polework is weak, your jumping is a lie. You’re skipping steps. And skipping steps comes with a bill later usually in the form of lameness or fear.

We don’t have a jumping problem. We have a patience problem. Everyone wants the result, nobody wants to put in the miles. Polework doesn’t “look impressive” on a sales video. It doesn’t get likes online. But you know who did polework religiously? The horses that were still winning in their late teens, the ones who stayed sound long after their peers were “retired due to injury.”

You put a young horse through poles like the set up shown below, and you will learn very quickly if they drift, if they rush, if they lengthen one stride and shorten the next, if they think their way through questions, or panic through them. That’s education.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐝𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰.

It’s not talent that makes a future horse. It’s time. Time spent in walk over poles. Time spent in trot learning rhythm. Time spent building the brain before asking for the jump. Anyone can point a brave horse at a fence. A horseman builds one from the ground up.

And let’s be honest, this industry has stopped prioritising the horse. It’s not about producing athletes anymore; it’s about producing price tags. Horses are being fast tracked up the levels not because they’re ready, but because someone wants to sell them before the weaknesses start to show. We talk about welfare, but then applaud speed of production. The answer isn’t more jumping. It’s more polework.

𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆.

Photo credit: RFS

21/10/2025

Here’s what you need to know about this type of colic most often found in older horses. Click the link in the comments to learn more.