Friday, 10 September 2010
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• VOLUME 44 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine
Milagro
Milagro’s first question, or perhaps it is his first answer, is always, "up". So what do you do with a stallion that keeps wanting to stop and go up, and what is the right answer for a playful child who wants just and only to get into mischief and have fun!!!? The answer might seems simplistic. But sometimes simple is more complex and harder than we think. Building upon the things learnt with Dumbledore, we moved on to work with Milagro. Calmness.. for this young, just recently broken-in stallion.. Working on a sidepull – a bit proving just too much of a distraction for this ADD and mouthy stallion, Brie wisely began with lunging her horse. You could see the change right away begin to happen on the lunge line as the repetition of the movement soothed this stallion. Not too surprising, in a way, but interesting to see how in this yet highly distractable and on-the-go stallion that movement was the key. This is true for all horses, but it was especially apparent in Milagro. We took the lunging one step further to create a pattern for the horse to relax into. We worked him along the wall, circling him back to it each time he got too far ahead, with the handler moving around the entire arena. The wall provides a frame of reference, the pattern helps the young horse to know what to expect; having the wall lets him know where he is supposed to be; knowing what to expect he can begin to relax. So important when we begin working with our horses. Taking control by being the one to decide and keep the direction is a wonderful way to again have the horse relax as you take control - especially true for stallions.  While lunging, we noted his rhythm, the one rhythm where he seemed to naturally work and keep in best. We had music playing in the background and when a song came up that matched this active stallion, I quickly pounced and paused the song, ready to use it for the upcoming ride. As I knew that the lesson for the day for both rider and horse was to be rhythm, I just was not to know how important a lesson that this was going to be. It was important that we had already worked on the rider in a previous lesson on a different horse. That we had already worked on ensuring that the rider was as completely as possible released to the horse. Removing all possible impediment to the horse and the movement we wanted to encourage.  Once the rider was mounted, there was basically only one concept that I wanted to work on with the rider. One that is one of the most important aspects of riding, but given so little consideration by many riders. Simple to understand but so much harder to implement correctly. We hear about how rhythm tames the savage beast - with horses it does so much more. Often it is the answer that we don’t even know we are looking for.  Few riders know how to ride with absolute pure and absolute rhythm. Which is why I like to suggest that riders ride to music. What you pick is not as important as something that can help you keep in a continuous perfect rhythm. This is so important that it really cannot be overemphasized. Related Articles: http://horsesforlife.com/SteinbrechtTheClosedFist http://horsesforlife.com/WynmalenTrainingtheReinThroughtheLeadRope Besides all of the incredible differences it can make with the average horse, it can especially help with young horses or horses that need help calming down, to start working in the horse’s best rhythm which is very different for every horse. Of course, as we progress, we want to be able to change the rhythm to be able set or change the rhythm at will; this in essence is often the best way to begin to access collection. Rather than worrying about shortening or lengthening the frame, which often has riders stiffening their bodies either in their efforts to get the horse to provide more impulsion or stiffening through hands and arms as they try to shorten the stride. If instead we focus on rhythm, an entirely new dynamic arises. A dynamic where the different rhythm provides us with so much more. In rhythm we work within movement to find all of the changeability that resides within the horse. Not only do we find, but we are given smooth and easy access to, the entire horse. This access is key, this changeability is the base of finding true and easy collection within the horse.
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An Equestrian Legacy