Riding with Empathy Clients

25/06/2024

𝗢𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰.....𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸!

A very busy day with nutrition calls. Lizzie Drury Equine Nutritionist supporting clients with horses that are not coping with the increase in temperature.
"𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬, 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘉𝘜𝘛 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥.
𝘋𝘦𝘩𝘺𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘺𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘘𝘜𝘐𝘊𝘒𝘓𝘠 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘜𝘋𝘋𝘌𝘕𝘓𝘠.
𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 9 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴.
𝘞𝘩𝘺?…. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴:
* 𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨…. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘵?
* 𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 ‘𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨’ 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥…… 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦….. 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨?
* 𝘌𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘪𝘧 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘳
* 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩….. 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯?
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘬.
𝘊𝘏𝘌𝘊𝘒 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘺𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺! 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘦𝘵𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦.
𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘜𝘛 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵.
𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘬.
𝘜𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦!"

If you are concerned about how your horse is coping in the warmer weather, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our nutrition team
☎ 01622 718487

25/06/2024

CLINIC QUOTES

"If the horse does a mistake during his work, it is always the mistake of the rider; just like it is never the mistake of the violin, but the violinist."

(Christian Carde 2014)

22/06/2024

20/06/2024

Training horses and their riders is not without difficulty.
Many riders do not do as the trainer has asked; to send the horse forward.

Fear is often the driving factor and once the horse understands, he would learn to “go” from the leg, and any underlying contractions would finally disappear.

But riding not only takes knowledge, it also takes a little courage.
Instead of learning the lesson after numerous teachers trying to teach this lesson, the rider instead of having a little courage, goes to yet another teacher hoping for some miracle.
They never learn to think for themselves and what actions they are continually doing or not doing perpetuating further failures.

"Millions of people never analyze themselves. Mentally they are products of the factory of their environment. They don’t know what or why they are seeking, nor why they never realise lasting satisfaction.
By evading self analysis, people go on like robots, conditioned by their environment.
True self analysis is the greatest art of progress."
(Paramahansa Yogananda)

It is difficult to really look at oneself and it is easier just to blame 'another'.

The idea of forward is a classical teaching as taught by what I regard as the basis of classical horsemanship; the great French Masters de la Gueriniere, Baucher, Beudant and of course the late Portuguese Master Nuno Oliveira, who at the end of his life gave his heart and soul back to the teachings of the famous Baucher.
Francois Baucher, a Frenchman who was not part of the elite (even in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries elitism was a driving factor to those who felt image was above substance)
Despite this Baucher would again and again demonstrate his training in horses no one else could train, for that he was either revered, or maligned. Sad for such a dedicated horseman who tried to demonstrate that his method of training could work on “any" horse.

Training forward should be the feeling as Alexis Hotte described once as the shooting of the pip of an orange seed pressed between two fingers. It should be immediate.
This eventually becomes “psychological” for the horse, as each time he feels the slightest pressure from the leg of the rider he immediately goes forward. No question.

It is of course initially ‘trained’ with the lesson of the leg by the language of the aids, which is how we speak to our horse. It is not by using more leg, as many teachers seem to attest, but educating the horse as to the understanding of the rider's leg. (There is no point other than to make the horse numb to the continuing application of the leg which the horse has never been taught to understand!)

But we do not keep him going forward initially, so as to tire the horse, but come back to a slower pace and reify the lesson of the leg. So as to cement the understanding. And we give plenty of praise. Balance is the fundamental key.
As Nuno said if the horse is already on the shoulders, we do not ask him to keep going forward as now he not only is on his shoulders but all his propelling weight is too.
(It is no wonder so many horses have pain due to overloaded joints - they are never balanced on all four legs)

We introduce all lessons incrementally, from the simplest to the more difficult so that it is clear.
We always have recourse to the simpler teachings if there are contractions as we progress. We work on the weaknesses.
(That is not to say we do not send the horse forward immediately if he becomes 'stuck', but that we develop the feel and confidence to do that when it is required)

As in any good training the lessons must be of short duration and the slightest giving of the horse needs to be rewarded.
One must understand however that before we can have the horse go forward, he must learn balance and forward added incrementally. Then the rider can be assured he has a horse who is light to the hand and light to the leg. That he is in balance.

Too many riders think the French traditional school is all about flexions at the halt and there is no real forward.
That is of course totally incorrect, but the horse needs to understand balance first. Therein is the major difference between the German and French teachings. Riding in the French Tradition is simply “balance before movement”, not the other way round.
This takes a great deal of time and dedication. One must believe as well as it is this also, during the sometimes difficult road in training horses that keeps one true to the path. Equestrian tact does not come without a rider who can give deep thought to his training and his horses responses.

This is of course difficult to understand as it is rarely taught to the majority of riders ingrained in the competition arena.
Lightness does not come from laziness, it comes from activity, but the horse is trained in parts so that there is no confusion.
It takes longer, but it is a superior level of understanding for both the horse and the horseman.

19/06/2024

16/06/2024

Christopher Bartle is a genius trainer in all disciplines and he is currently starring as the British Eventing coach:
“Christopher has a very simple system to communicate with the horse. First, you make a POSITION STATEMENT, putting the body into position to tell the horse what it’s going to do. It’s the preparation. Next we use BODY LANGUAGE to tell the horse when it’s going to do it. It’s the action. This is then supported by the SEAT for length of stride and the LEG which is for energy and FINALLY THE HAND.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2023/12/christopher-bartle-this-is-a-truly-amazing-article/

14/06/2024

A must read article. 😊

EVERYTHING you need to know about straightness – why do we need it? How do we train it? Eric Herbermann tells us how:
“The subject of straightness is one which rightfully pre-occupies all serious horsemen. It is one of the most fundamental elements which must be addressed if our work is to be correct, and thus progress favourably.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2022/02/the-roots-of-straightness-what-it-is-and-how-to-achieve-it/

11/06/2024

Too true ❤️🐴

05/06/2024

Multi-medal winning event rider, William Fox-Pitt on training, and it’s for all riders!
“The warm up is so important, there’s a lot of muscle bulk in a horse, they need to be warmed and stretched before you start to put the hard work in. Start to do a bit of counter canter, a few lateral movements, and I always start with the young horses, once he’s trotting around nicely, a leg yield. It’s very simple, quite rewarding, and a very productive exercise that doesn’t require a lot of training.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2024/06/eventing-with-william-fox-pitt-part-two/

04/06/2024

04/06/2024

Pat them. Pat them pat them pat them. If your horse even thinks about thinking about how to think about the thing you want him to think about, PAT HIM. Praise every right thing, all of the time.

DO NOT ‘make the right thing easy and make the wrong thing hard’.

JUST MAKE THE RIGHT THING EASY, and forget about any botched efforts or wrong answers. Don’t take it personally if the horse doesn’t get it right first time. He doesn’t speak your language. He doesn’t understand your ambitions. He doesn’t understand conflict through the lens of human interpretation. He just knows how to horse, yet he is willing to learn, adapt and change for YOU. Make sure you do the same for HIM.

Horses are the only animal on the planet willing to try for us and to give us everything they have, for absolutely no return for themselves whatsoever.

If you do not foster the horse’s desire to try, you will lose this most precious gift.

03/06/2024

Everything comes with a price

A sensitive horse is going to be sensitive to both light aids AND your accidental aids and mistakes

A quiet school horse is going to give you room to fumble with your hands and legs, and they are also likely to ignore them when you mean to use them.

It isn’t fair to want the reward without the price. It isn’t fair to take from a horse without giving- and it all comes down to working on ourselves: our expectations, riding abilities, mindset, and awareness. You can’t have a perfectly performing horse without putting in your own work. A horse is not a computer or a robot- they rise to, or fall to, the level of the horseman.

Photo by Melinda Yelvington

03/06/2024

Today I was incredibly lucky to attend a clinic with the amazing Manolo Mendez at Dovecote Stables. If you are passionate about training horses ethically, kindly and at all levels then I highly recommend you check out Equinethos - so keep an eye out for upcoming dates with amazing trainers. You will learn so much by watching and whether you compete or not this is what proper dressage is all about. It’s something I feel very strongly about - helping the horse to be a happy athlete in partnership with you ensuring they are sane, sound and at peace throughout their life.

01/06/2024

❤️

31/05/2024

Carl Hester talks about canter, and Rembrandt working with Harry Boldt:
“I remember Nicole Uphoff, she could gallop Rembrandt from one end of the arena to the other, and in one stride she was cantering on the spot. Forward is easy, back and still forward, not so easy.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2023/01/riding-the-canter-with-carl-hester/

26/05/2024

Excellent words as always.

Carl Hester tells us how to warm up at a competition – to win:“You still have to stick to your basics of waiting until you get the stretch from the horse, waiting until you get your relaxation. That’s where people need a hand sometimes.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2020/10/tips-from-the-top-with-carl-hester/

26/05/2024

1. We must never forget it’s a privilege to ride horses. It’s not easy to do well but it’s definitely worth it.
2. Love the horse more than the sport and more time taken to know your horse is never wasted
3. If your horse doesn’t understand then explain it better and don’t take it so personally
4. Your horse doesn’t have ambition but it does need all its needs met. Don’t scrimp on basic care and maybe get a different hobby or attitude
5. There’s nothing better than daily grooming to know your horse really well and to bond. (Unless they hate it!). Hacking also good for bonding
6. Horses don’t judge on anything other than pure instinct. They have no idea how good you think you are or whether you’re better than someone else.
7. Horses will give you more highs and lows than anything else that’s legal. If it looks like someone is only having good times remember that social media is not the full picture
8. Don’t judge anyone. You don’t know what’s going on in their life, their past or their brains.
9. Be kind and consistent and most people get the horse they deserve.
10 There are easier sports where you can ignore the above if you want.

22/05/2024

22/05/2024

Look at the back legs and the back. Flashy front legs are not the goal of real dressage.

Dr Gerd Heuschmann reminds us what a ‘leg mover’ looks like:
“Leg movers move without using the spine. The movements are hard and tense, not ground covering, are either rushing or too sluggish and earthbound. The leg mover is either behind the aids or leaning on the reins, and is not reliably obedient.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/04/more-truth-from-dr-gerd-heuschmann/