09/27/2024
To find harmony with your horse, your focus needs to be on training for balance. There are many elements to this, which I have discussed in previous articles. There are many factors to consider before you just focus on the actual ridden work.
If in every discipline, the trainer was to focus on the art of training properly (Rhythm , balance, suppleness and straightness), rather than the techniques for achieving results, there would be many more happy, healthy horses and riders in the world.
Understanding the horseās anatomy and natural way of going is absolutely necessary to begin trying to train for balance. For the horse to stay physically and mentally sound, we need to train the horseās body to move in such a way that it can find balance and rhythm with a rider, without damaging itself in the process.
The first focus needs to be on helping the horse get fit. This process can either benefit or damage the horse, so understanding what exercises are appropriate for each horse needs to be understood. Getting a horse fit has many avenues and there are many factors (which I briefly went over in our previous articles). Age, breed type, health and soundness are the major factors. Then understanding how to train specific muscles and what workouts are appropriate for each situation needs to be understood.
We also need to begin creating a dialogue for proper communication. If the horse doesnāt understand what we are asking, or if we do not know HOW to ask or what answersā to look for; then a proper dialogue for training can never be established and this will result in a very frustrated horse and rider/trainer.
How do we introduce a dialogue & what does this mean?
If I merely put a rope on my horse and tried to send him/her around to exercise, how can I expect to control the horse? If I can not teach the horse what it is I am asking it to do, and If I can not understand what the horse is trying to communicate to meā¦. then there can never be harmony or genuine confidence of what is being asked. So, if I flap around or threaten the horseā¦.it moves forward, and then, if I tug or pull on his/her faceā¦it stops? Why should this be a base for communication? A good trainer needs to figure out how to create some sort of two-way communication. As a good trainer, you also need to consider general instincts and the horseās natural way of communication: proper communication needs to provide clarity, structure, and confidence.
So, for example, If I am teaching a horse how to move away from me, I need to think of what my ultimate goal for that command would be. This command needs to be consistent. (if I were teaching English to someone who doesnāt speak the language, the word HAPPY should always remain the word HAPPY. I cannot go back and tell that person the word happy now is frolic or any other wordā¦happy is the word happy.)
When training a horse, we are essentially teaching a language that the horse can understand, and In return we need to try and understand what the horse is telling us.
If I am teaching the horse to move away from me in any certain direction; I first think of how I want the command to be. If it is a word, a cluck, a motion, or touch? If I am working the horse on a line and I want it to move away I will FIRST do the command that I ultimately want to be the final cue. I call this a pre cueā. Then I have an āenforcer cueā. This would be the secondary action that follows the pre cue that helps the horse understand what it is I want him/her to do. So, If Iām asking my horse to move forward/away; my pre cue would be to lean in the direction AWAY from where Iām sending the horse, then usually followed by a verbal cue. Always in that order. Then If the horse does not understand or give me a response, then the secondary cue is given; but, in this sequence. I ask again with the āpre cueā, then immediately follow that with a more dramatic motion to move. Timing is key and understanding how much energy is needed takes skill.
Unfortunately, the more dramatic motion is usually where a rider starts: so, kick for go, or whip for go or any other enforcer commandā¦which eventually desensitizes the horse from the command because it is offensive and or uncomfortable. My enforcer command can be anything from making a bigger motion with my body to whapping the ground or touching the horse. NEVER EVER USING REPEATED FORCE. This only encourages fear and puts the horse in a defense mode instead of a learning mode. I use as much āforceā as necessary for the situation which never involves pain to the horseās body. So, if I have a sensitive horse, usually a slap of the ground or noise from the whip is enough to relay āmove nowā. If I have a more stoic or desensitized horse, I may need to get creative in moving the feet. so, a flag might work better. But You must always keep in mind, If a secondary command doesnāt get a positive response, extra force isnāt the answerā¦ taking a step back and figuring out where the communication was lost needs to happen first. This takes Practice and skill.
Creating a dialogue is tedious and takes just as much patience from the trainer/rider as it does from the horse. Figuring out what works best to relay your messages and listening to the horseās answer IS TRAINING.
Getting the horse in shape should include many hours of in hand work and line work before the horse is expected to know how to interpret commands and execute them under saddle.
So here is a basic description of the work I do when starting a horse/Restarting a horse:
Relationship build, while I created the strength and dialogue FROM THE GROUND FIRST. Use ridden time as a period of āmetal down timeā and light fitness work. So āgym timeā can be long line work, lunge work, ground driving and work in hand to build the beginning pieces for your ridden conversation and build strength. Then rides out or rides only covering basic transitions for fitness. I build on this gradually, as I notice a horse beginning to understand what I am asking from the ground, showing strength and balance without the rider and confidence with the commands, then I can add little periods of a specific command to my rides. Drilling a horse is never good for the mind or body. Know how much to push and when to back off and rest. Your horse will always communicate this. Know the difference between a freshā horse being silly, and a scared or stressed-out horse. Generally, a fresh horse will exhibit silly behavior during random times for very different reasons (horses are horses), But a horse showing defensive behaviors that become a habitā¦this is a signal that your horse has been trying to communicate stress, anxiety or discomfort and this needs to be sorted out before moving on with work. Iāve heard many trainers say, āwell this horse is just difficult, or this horse is just high spirited or whateverā¦.ā But I know for a fact, horses displaying bad habits or dangerous behavior habitually are horses that are trying to communicate their anxiety. I have worked with (I currently own) horses with EXTREMLY strong personalities, and while this can make training a bit more challenging, there is never a point where my horse needs to be defensive or stressed out. If I notice this happening, I take a step back and figure out where it began and why. (Typically, it is discomfort or confusion in what was being asked.)
Some more examples of creating dialogue and teaching balance: Here are some basic cues that need to be taught. How to ask, and what to look for as a response from your horse.
To teach your horse how to balance, they must build the correct muscles, but they also need to understand how to place their bodies where we ask. We can begin teaching these commands from the ground before we expect them to execute the movements with a rider. Many trainers believe this can be done entirely from the saddle. It can. But during that process while the horse is trying to learn what it is you are asking there will be many periods of resistance and in order to regain control or try and get the horse to execute the command being asked you are accidentally having to use more force than necessary to keep the horse in balance with you on its back all the while trying to get it to respond to the command you gave it initially. Why not break this up into more training segments that lessen the chance of the horse misunderstanding and building resistance, or even injuring themselves or the rider?
To help you visualize what it means to help your horse balance; imagine someone on your shoulders, if they lean forward, you either need to lean forward to catch themā¦or you dip back, and they fall. Imagine how it feels every time they move from side to side and what you would need to do to keep them in balance with you? Or imagine walking with a bowl of water, what kind of movements would cause the water to splash out, how would you stabilize the water as you move?
The horse needs to be able to use its neck for balance, have mobility in its jaw/mouth so it can breathe and release tension, and learn to elevate its posture so it can better carry a rider and create impulsion. Regardless of discipline, if a horse isnāt properly taught this posture, it will deteriorate its body in an effort to try and balance a rider and execute the movements being asked.
Because horses have four legs, and generally travel with front legs moving and then hind legs pushing, we must improve this motion and try and teach the horse to step under āitself and create a cycle of energy that is relaxed yet powerful. Elevating the thoracic sling, using its core and providing a ācushionā between the rider and the horse back while also being able to travel in and out of transitions with ease. āWhen it has to carry a rider an untrained horse will overload its forelegs and will very soon damage them if it is not educated to redistribute the weight more equally .ā
I think of the horse like an ant, with segments. I need to try and teach the horse to get straight/ upright, but I have segments that I need to align. The higher the poll, the lower the haunches and the horse should collect more. The more open and level the poll is, should also open the stride. This requires proper strength and a correct series of commands to help the horse learn how to do this without force or resistance.
To help a horse find this posture itās important to teach proper gymnastic steps. Learning these positions will create ease of handling in every movement being asked for later in training. Lateral movements, transitions and release & flexion exercises are the first steps to creating balance.
When starting to create a dialogue for these movements, you first need to imagine the side of your horse having ābuttonsā. Each button can help direct the feet or body to move in a direction. When teaching these buttons understand that eventually these buttons will become a secondary command, and that, the use of these buttons needs to always mean the same thing. So. if I touch by the girth, I wish the horse to move the front end of the body, if I touch slightly behind the girth I wish to move the rib cage, and if I touch further back, I with to move the hind end. The leg will eventually be the āthe toolā for this secondary command under saddle. The hand or whip can be the toolā from the ground.
On the topic of the whip: Iām going to go off on a tangent and say there is a lot of stigma behind the use of the whip. Personally, I say ANY TOOL CAN hurt your horse! Your tack or your aids. Common sense needs to be applied to everything we do. I use the whip in exactly the way I would use my sense of touch. I DO NOT WHIP a horse; I do not ever use the whip as a devise for punishment! It is a tool to touch. Even when I train tricks; I was taught to tap tap tapā¦this is annoying and unnecessary. I DO touch, or tap depending on the situation, enough to get the response. But this should never be a repeated motion and should never be used with excess force. If I do not get a response I need to think of a better way!!! This is the art of learning how to do what is right. A dressage whip or long whip can be used to reach places that our legs or hands cannot while we are trying to build a library of commands to the horse. If I touch a certain spot, it should mean a āwordā/ command for a certain motion. We DO NOT USE THE WHIP TO HARM THE HORSE. If any tool needs excessive use, proper training has NOT been done. Same thing with a lunge whip; if I need more action, Iāll take the whip to the ground or lash the whip and make noise. Slap the ground or add a flag if I need more energy. I do not use the whip to punish the horse. Itās a directional tool. When I lunge a horse and I need an extra step I might flicker his tail or touch his leg, we do not whip the horse. And Iām going to repeatā¦If use of the whip is needed repeatedly, there is a miscommunication in training.
Back to, creating a dialogue to help the horse balance: āButtonsā is a lose term for aids or commands. When we are trying to teach balance, we need to structure a library of proper aids to help the horse understand how want him/her to place their feet and body and move in āhorizontal equilibriumā that is, with weight equally distributed over the fore and hind limbs.. This dialogue begins with MANY small questions to the horse, what our job is to create the questionā which is to be the aid, then condition the response so that the horse understands what it is we are asking him to do. The problem with most riders is they donāt understand the intricacy of the process and typically just see a basic picture. āā I want my horse to gallop. I kick horse. Horse must gallop. Keep doing thatā¦. The endāā. Do you know what kind of balance it takes for the horse to gallop with a rider, at the tempo the rider asks and in the direction the rider is asking? If all you ever did was kick for goā¦.that doesnāt feel good, eventually the horse braces and tries to defendā its body against the pounding, so instead of becoming lighter to the aidsā¦the horse learns to resist aids (aka every lesson horse on the planetš) If that horse is just learning to gallopā¦being kicked is no fun, first off, then as the horse tries to ārun away ā from that feeling you then have to try and balance yourself on that motion which usually ends up in the horseās mouth ā¹ then the horse is confused as to why you kicked him to move and pulled him to stop?? Or go...? What did you mean!? And if there is not a dialogue for direction or balanceā¦. its just a series of this horrible confusing forceā¦until the horse figures out what you want at some point and is just trying its best not to get kicked or pulled more. During this process, the horse becomes desensitized, unconfident in the conversation you both are having AND the body goes through far more stress and strain during the process of trying to figure out what it is you are trying to āteachā it. All of this can be avoided if the proper steps in training are followed; analyzing the situation (horses breed, age type, temperament, health and level of training), getting a horse fit using proper techniques, creating a library of commands that help the horse understand what it is you are asking it do, and focusing on the answers your horse gives to the questions you ask, to help build a proper conversation in training for balance, rhythm and control. Training yourself, to know how to do all this. #1
Creating balance takes a series of commands that help your horse know how to place its feet and body. Because the horse is an āantā so to speak, we need to show the horse where to place the feet, where to hold the body and where to keep the poll and nose; all while, trying to relax and create energy. That is A LOT of conversation happening!!
Ill go back to our threeā basic buttonsā, on the body of the horse. If I am working in hand a great way to teach the horse balance is through the use of gymnastic positions. Shoulder in, renvers, and haunches in are a few of the first gymnastic movements I teach the horse.
The half halt, release and flexion are the other most important first commands to teach. Without the understanding of any of these, we cannot piece together balance. This is why I believe ādressageā should be for every discipline. If any horse; western, jumper, dressage, or pleasure horse understands how to balance and move through its paces with confidence in the conversation and strength in their bodies, they all can do so beautifully without the use of force and gadgets, and have very long happy healthy careers!
When I go about teaching the movements in hand, the horse needs to understand the aids: each one of these aids can be compartmentalized and taught clearly so the horse can piece together full conversations later.
What does it mean when:
ā¢ (question) I make contact with the bit/ mouth? (desired answer) chew, swallow, mobilize the mouth
ā¢ (question) make contact and elevate the poll (desired answer) take the contact, lower the haunches, elevate the chest/front end
ā¢ (question) If I cluck (desired answer) movement of the feet. Motion
ā¢ (question) touch by the shoulder (desired answer) elevate that shoulder or move that foreleg forward
ā¢ (question) touch low on the haunch (desired answer) bring that hindleg forward
ā¢ (question) touch behind the girth (desired answer) move the hind end over. this will eventually be asked from the seat. But from the ground we begin teaching this command with use of that ābuttonā
ā¢ I also want the horse to understand that when I open the rein to one side, that door is open, and his nose can follow that direction. If I hold the opposite rein close to the horse, I want that door to be closed or offer a motion to move away from that feel. This can also lead to flexion exercises, release exercises, and intro duction of the half halt. These are all done with tactful use of the hand and trying to create whatās almost like sign language to the mouth/poll/ nose of the horse. Making sure the horse understands it can take the bit and chew is absolutely necessary. Focusing on the ears being level and the skull not tilted is also a focus in this lesson.
Those are very basic commands that need to be fully understood. The next steps involve combining those aids with others to create a movement. If the horse does not understand these basic aids, then there will be confusion when trying to add steps to the conversation. In later articles I will break these training movements down even further to help you understand what to do, what to feel, what to watch for and what results to expect. I also feel it is very difficult to explain, without actually seeing and doing. I will try my best to describe the process.
So, if the horse understands what those first commands are we can then add those aids to movement and create a conversation. For example:
Shoulder in: I would ask for āgoā, I would then ask for the shoulder to move over and the inside hind active. the hands would communicate the direction of the nose, poll and shoulder and then I would need to make sure there was a release of tension. When you look at it this way, do you see now how many conversations youāre having with different areas of the horseās body?? Which eventually I would love to be able to motion slightly and the horse understand my conversation and answer with the correct movement.
The gymnastics positions need to be taught to build strength in the areas that the horse uses to create balance. These movements need to be taught correctly or else they encourage the opposite of straightness and balance. The beginning blocks of creating strength and balance are steps to creating a conversation so that the horse understands where to place its body. If we only use force to place, push and hold the horseā¦the horse wild mentally and physically deteriorate.
Every lesson we teach early on in training needs to be completed so that the horse is fit and confident enough to go to the next step. All too many times humans rush this process. An extremely talented horse may seem alright at first, but eventually will hit a wall or become injured. The importance of understanding what balance is and how to train for it is necessary for every rider. Every touch or motion we have as a rider is a way of communication to the horse. For us to understand each other, training in dialogue is needed. If we only tell the horse what to do and try and āconditionā that response, without ever learning to listen to the horseās answer we can never truly find harmony in our rides.
