Horses for Life

January 2008 • VOLUME 29 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine

What is classical Anyway? Chapter 1

Sometimes riders wonder what trust has to do with dressage. Isn’t dressage after all, about telling your horse exactly how you expect it to execute each movement? It’s not like a jumper or eventer who needs to trust their mount to make it over the obstacles, right? WRONG !

In order to understand the importance of a relationship with our horse based on trust, we need to understand the nature of horses. As a herd and prey animal the horse’s behavior is genetically hardwired to these two characteristics to ensure its survival in nature.

By simply repeating some of the dressage movements over and over again, surely you are not building trust.

It is my belief that our modern dressage training often has taken the fun and trust-building exercises out of the daily routine. You take him out of the stall, tack up, mount, two to three minutes of walk, maybe on loose rein, then “putting the horse on the aids,” start practicing for the next dressage test. End of the lesson, back to the stall.

How frustrating for an animal that is used to playing with its body, running grazing and enjoying the company of the herd. Most of the “Dressage horses” are turned out only by themselves in small paddocks. “We don’t want it to get injured.” After all, next weekend is our next competition.

If all this sounds somewhat familiar, I would like to invite you to consider a few ideas that you could easily incorporate into your daily routine. It is not my intention to write another article about how to execute any of the individual exercises in a dressage test: there are plenty of good books available to cover those details.

I would like to ask dressage riders to think outside the box.

When was the last time you did some ground work with your horse?

When was the last time you did some gymnastic jumps with your “dressage champion?”

When was the last time you went on a hack after or instead of a training lesson?

All of the above should be part of your work with the horse. Don’t reduce your training to what Walter Zettl calls: Poodle Dressage, by strictly practicing what is expected or required for your next dressage test.

Here are some alternative suggestions that can improve your relationship with your horse:

Ground work; In the 70s, Linda Tellington –Jones developed a method known as “The Tellington Touch.” This is a hands-on technique based on the findings of a scientist, Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, that improves the horse's body awareness, it increases the ability to learn, improves balance and deepens the relationship between horse and rider.

Top western trainers and “horse whisperers “ have successfully incorporated this knowledge into their training, as these exercises increase the sensitivity to leg aids, loosen up the mouth, help with “tongue problems" and improve body co-ordination, lateral work and the ability to collect.

Any rider, and particularly dressage riders, should make themselves familiar with these techniques. There are a number of books and videos published by Linda Tellington Jones. I had the good fortune to attend one of her clinics in the 90s at the “Equitana” in Hamburg, Germany and have since incorporated her teaching in all my training and teaching. I can truly say, happy horses perform better!

Dare to expand your approach to training and your horse will pay you back with more enthusiasm and lightness during your next test. THESE EXERCISES ARE NOT ONLY FOR WESTERN RIDERS – or problem horses. “Problem" horses are not born – they are made!

“Hands on” ground work will give you surprisingly powerful tools to solve many problems that you experience from the saddle.

The second important part of building trust is in a correct warm-up when mounted. After you have walked your horse on a loose rein for at least 8 to 10 minutes, carefully pick up the reins and start working your horse on serpentines and circles, of course on both hands to improve straightness of your horse. A straight horse means the horse is equally supple to both sides and therefore able to step up to the bit on both hands equally.

Frequently asking your horse to “chew the reins out of the hands” ensures that the horse will not develop any tension in the body. This part of your warming up is an important time for the rider as well. Are you fully present? Do you feel the horse's back moving and swinging? Are you sitting on both seat bones? And do you feel the nodding of the neck? Are your hands soft? Not just open – soft hands are the result of your shoulder blades gliding unobstructed behind your back, your elbow joints are relaxed, your wrist joints are relaxed – you feel the horse’s mouth!

When you have reached this state of your warm-up totally relaxed, it is time to decide:
a) Are you working your horse over ground poles, cavaletti or gymnastic jumps?
b) Are you going for a hack, practicing walk, trot, canter with shorter stirrups, changing your seat frequently?
c) Are you practicing some elements from your next dressage test?

The decision what to do should be based on a couple of questions:
a) What did we do yesterday?
b) How does my horse feel today?
c) How does the rider feel today?

Working with your horse should be a dialogue!

Allowing the horse to be part of the decision-making process will give you a much more successful training session. I am not suggesting that you should not have a training plan in mind, but if for some reason the horse is not focused today, a serious dressage lesson is bound to end in frustration and bitterness.

Occasionally do your horse a favor. Don’t stick to the plan if it does not feel right. Your horse will pay you back!

Next: obedience

Tell us what you think!

Would you like to see more joy and fun in your riding?

Do you agree that rollkur passes all international boundaries and that we need to speak up?

Tell us about your success!

What is dressage to you!

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Comments

No Bits....but what is the alternative?
Written by redpathranch on 2008-02-02 08:11:46

I am absolutely enthralled with your magazine! It is challenging, inspirational, informative and beautiful. The articles about bits and their negative effect on anatomy are disturbing however I have several questions and a suggestion. The subject horses in the studies that show gross anatomical damage, were they racehorses, jumpers, dressage horses that had been subjected to overly harsh treatment or were they horses that had been kindly used in gentle simple snaffles all of their lives? It seems to me that when ridden correctly, there should NEVER be more than a few ounces of pressure on a horses' tongue and absolutely NEVER EVER any pressure on the bars. And while the articles are negative on bits, what is the alternative? The primary bitless bridle on the market puts pressure on the underside of the jaw caausing the horse to raise it's head. I have never seen a horse in one that wasn't high-headed so obviously that is either not the equipment or is not being used correctly, just as the articles say that bits are. High heads and hollow backs will cause awful damage to a horse as well. So some articles on alternatives would be nice. I appreciate Alexander Nezrovsky and his method but, as he freely admits, he is also highly gifted. Some articles on reasonable alternatives to bits would be helpful to those of us who are trying to wander our way through the maze to lightness and the best for our horses. Thanks.

Alternative to bits
Written by Maurina51 on 2008-02-05 02:48:02

There are multiple alternatives to bits, aside from Dr. Cook's bridle. There is the LG bridle which is very simple and straightforward. There is also the rope halter, and the Jaquima. There are training methods that focus on the rope halter, including Parelli, Clinton Anderson, and others.

I have not used a bit on any of my horses since 2002 and have never had any issues. In fact I recently taught my 11 year old gelding to drive - in just a nylon halter and no blinders.

Bits are a substitute for training. If we spend the time to explain things to the horse and actually teach him, he will respond - to a neck rope, a halter, or whatever we decide.

The use of bits is based on thinking we must have leverage on a sensitive area to have "control" of a large animal. Horses originally wore nose rings, like cattle. We have progressed to bits, and now it's time to understand the horse and move to kinder methods. Control of the horse lies in our relationship. As anyone who has been run away with on a panicked horse - a bit is useless to truly control a horse.

Horses are highly sensitive animals with tremendous memories - we need to give the the respect they deserve and treat them like partners and not machines.

Horses for Life
Written by Maurina51 on 2008-02-05 02:52:14

I love your magazine and am so glad I stumbled across it. Horses are magnificent, generous, sensitive and intelligent creatures who deserve to be treated humanely and with respect.

It is such a pleasure to read a magazine that is for the horse and not for the ego of the rider!

What is Classical
Written by judyandshan on 2008-02-06 00:00:13

Classical.. to me ..is like classical music. There is only one sort of classical music. It is old, some call it boring..but have they listened??? Those tones , the rhythm, the putting together of all those instruments by the composer. How did he know what sounded good???

By practise , practise and practise. Is this always fun?? I for one practise with my horse, just about every day, in the paddock, in the arena, over some little jumps...but practise I do or rather we do .. my mare and I.
When we have reached a great point may it be only 10 minutes I will say thank you and see you tomorrow. They somehow seem to digest all information when we are away from them and come back the next day fresh.
When I say I practise, I do not mean I ride circle after circle or exercise after exercise. I have a plan in mind for the end result( which is the ultimate riding horse, comfortable in all terrains and in all situations) but I have no agenda when I get on my horse. I work with what is presenting itself to me in that moment. I am after developing the spine of the horse to be strong and subtle and have no kinks in it so energy can flow freely all the time.

Things like Piaffe and Passage the horse will offer to you this way. They happen when the horse is developed in the right way.

So Classical is that, old methods, tried and tested through time to be working and a good understanding of your partner , your horse.

Rollkur abomination
Written by kelpie77 on 2008-02-06 13:00:30

I have only recently found this great magazine on line, and it certainly gets my vote. It's probably the only one on the market that isn't reviewing the latest "gadget" - errr, I mean "training aid"... now available in pink. It is also a publication brave enough to not sit on the fence about serious 'shocking' issues such as the controversy surrounding the practice of Rollkur.

Well, I say controversy, but really it shouldn't be. It's hardly contraversial (in my book) to call Rollkur what it is - a total abomination against the horse. It is a systematic abuse of a kind and generous animal, and how anyone can even find something defensible to say about it is beyond my comprehension.

A few months ago there was a (now infamous) set of photos of a Dutch competition dressage pony being lunged in "Rollkur". All kinds of defences were put up to support the trainer and rider, it only happened for a couple of moments before they realised the error; it wasn't truly Rollkur, just working the horse short; etc.

Yet surely even the most novice of horse riders and lovers would recognise mal-fitted side-reins when they are adjusted THAT short? Surely the fact that the horse presents with breathing difficulties and a total inability to move the back legs in anything more than a sickening parody of true movement should ring some kind of alarm to even those not au fait with the finest points of the horse? So there is (in my mind) no defence to be offered against such abuse.

Yet the big organisations, high profile prize-winning riders and trainers are all 100% sticking to their guns on this one. Even those that claim to not use Rollkur support those colleagues that do. By presenting a united front they certainly provide protection for those guilty of abuse.

So thank you to your article writers who write openly and frankly about such issues... and not just "don't do this it's wrong" but what is right and why it is right. The information is out there for those that truly seek it, there are many excellent classical texts and - if you're truly lucky - classical instructors to learn from. We can't force anyone to see the truth, but the more information readily available to those prompted by what they see in the competition arena to look for another way, a better way, a more harmonious way... the more chance the horse has of gaining another better educated supporter.

Yes, there are people purporting to be "classical" who are anything but! There are also those who lay no claims to any such titles who are truly magnificent in their understanding and approach to the equine... I hope for the sake of the horse that the groundswell of revolution against the continuing - indeed increasing - barbarity now seen in competition rings across the world soon starts to gain a wider understanding and respect.

Don't complicate classical
Written by caper4650 on 2008-02-06 23:41:23

Classical is simply (but not easily) training your horse always with the intent of...
true balance of:
temperament, timing, and movement of BOTH the horse and the rider with the ultimate goal of preserving the natural movement of the horse.

Rollkur
Written by widget on 2008-02-16 07:51:15

It is truly amazing what lenghts us "superior" beings would go to for gratification to achieve what we might think is the ultimate in classical riding. Here we have a 600kg animal being subjecting to abuse and discomfort which is beyond my understanding. What has happened to the slow and progressive riding towards submission rather than SUBMIT OR ELSE attitude. Have they forgotten the feeling of when after months of building up a young horse you finally get the submission and flowing feeling of truly being one. Call me old fashioned if you wish but I wonder how would the "Rollkur" experts feel if we had to insist that they walk around bent over at the waiste and their wrists hobbled to their ankles!!!

Written by medcare651 on 2008-02-25 02:55:46

Well said widget. It is so simple it is complicated

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