BH Dressage - Issue 27

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EDITORIAL

Editor-In-Chief Danielle Skerman editor@baroquehorse.com.au

SUB-EDITOR

Patty Taylor patty@baroquehorse.com.au

ART & PRODUCTION

Design & Production Manager: Danielle Skerman

DESIGN

Kasia Misiukanis-Celińska

ADMIN & MANAGEMENT Patty Taylor patty@baroquehorse.com.au

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PHOTOGRAPHERS

Katarzyna Okrzesik-Mikołajek, Stefan Seelig, Friederike Heidenhof and Bruno Barata.

CONTRIBUTORS

Danielle Skerman, Patty Taylor, Sofia Valenca, Cath McDowell, Dr John Kohnke, Dr Thomas Ritter, Teresa Burton, The Nude Horse, Jochen Schleese, Dr. Robert Stodulka and Uta Gräf.

PUBLISHER: Baroque Horse PTY LTD ACN: 159 279 848 PO Box 236 Millthorpe NSW, Australia 2798 ©Baroque Horse Magazine AU. 2011 All Rigths Reserved. No part of this publication, editorial or advertisement, may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. The content of the advertisements within this publication is the responsibility of the advertiser. Although due care is taken in the preparation and publication for all advertising material, the publisher cannot be held responsible for any errors or for any consequential effects. Opinions and statements made by others in submitted text may not be the same as those held by either the publisher or the editor.

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editors note

W all over the world.

w e l c o m e

hen it comes to educational articles, I would have to say this would have to be our 'meatiest' issue. We literally have a global issue with educational and inspirational articles and interviews from

For us, we try our best to make sure we present you with good training. And when I say good, I mean that is done in a way that works with the horse's biomechanics and in ways that'll aid the horse to stay sound and healthy for many years. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misguided information and training out there that isn't right for the horse. More often than not, the person who is giving this information or training, genuinely believes this is ok and this is what is required to reach the top level sport, putting the competition before the horse, and they are 100% wrong. Training techniques don't need to be forceful or cause the animal harm, pain or discomfort no matter how temporary they believe it to be. If horses are trained without their well-being being the priority, it is not a case of if they'll break down, but when they'll be when they break down!

It's inevitable Our advice is to carefully look at the rider/trainer you select and their way of treating a horse rather than their name or so-called achievements. Look at the horse's backs are they strong or looking hollow? In the three gaits, how far is the horse collecting under its belly? You need to look at the hind legs not solely the front. This and our articles should help to guide you in finding the right person for you and your horse. Educate yourself with the knowledge to make the right choice.

Our goal is to present to you the techniques from respected trainers/riders who put the horse's best interest as their top priority. This is something we are so passionate about, and we will never knowingly promote an incorrect/bad or any LDR or Rollkur uses!

In this issue, we cover one of our favourite topics which is Liberty work. It is one of the most underrated things you can do with your horse, and we are enjoying exploring and finding out about different trainers and their techniques.

We wanted to expand on the developing the trust and bond that is important for any horse and rider relationship and believe this is better established initially on the ground. You need to do more on the ground than just lunging your horse. All of our trusted riders and trainers in this issue all resonate with the same theme - less is more with training, and the horse should always come first. Always go back to the basics when a horse says no. Listen to the horse; there will be a reason whether it be health issues, trust or not understanding.

And lastly, I wanted to mention something we put in that is a little bit different! It's an extract from Maneige Royal by Monsieur de Pluvinel. Le Maneige Royal takes the form of a dialogue between master and pupil. The Master, de Pluvinel and the Pupil, the Dauphin (Luis XIII). This is so different and fascinating as you feel like you are experiencing a part of real history between the famous King Luis XIII and Monsieur de Pluvinel. We hope you enjoy it all.

As always, we welcome your feedback and comments and always look forward to hearing from you!

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/ Editor-In-Chief / Baroque Horse DRESSAGE / www.baroquehorse.com.au

contents

I S S U E

w h a t

27 i s

i n s i d e

01 Interviews Andreas Hausberger Luis Bastos - Modern Sport Lusitanos Ribbleton - Paulette Evens

02 Training 20 26 32 36 42 50

Uta Gräf - Training Outside the Box The Valença Method - Part 3 by Sofia Valença Meneige Royal - By Monsieur De Pluvinel Nuno Cavaco - Working In-Hand Half Halts - By Dr Thomas Ritter The Science and Art of Riding with Lightness

By Robert Stodulka, D.V.M.

On the cover: Stunning Carthusian Stallion JOCOSO XXVIII from Yeguada de La Cartuja.

PHOTO: Katarzyna Okrzesik-Mikołajek

We Recommend page:

11 44 54

04 Of Interest 60 82

page:

Bad Horse? By Jochen Schleese 5 Handy Hints by Dr John Kohnke Equine Hair Growth - By The Nude Horse Omega 3 - By KER Biognosis - By Catherine McDowell

Understanding Hay Riz's Rant page:

64 68 72 74 78

page:

03 Health

14 20 32 36

12

INTERVIEW BY: Danielle Skerman

I N T E R V I E W

AndreasHausberger LIVING THE DREAM at the

Spanish Riding School

Andreas Hausberger is one of those very exceptional people who live and breathe horses, and they are undoubtedly his life. His dedication is second to none. He has been Chief Rider at the famous Spanish Riding School (SRS) in Vienna since 2007. He was accepted into the school 1984 as an elève, and only three years later was promoted to Assistant Rider then made Rider in 1993. What an achievement to being at the SRS for over 30 years!

A

ndreas is someone who has dedicated much of his life to caring and training horses. He is a person who is extremely passionate about his love for horses and has a strong love that began at a very tender age. We chatted to Andreas to learn more about his story, life and training.

BHD: What was your introduction to horses and when did you realise that this was going to be your path in life?

AH: I grew up with horses, and at the age of seven I started to learn to ride. My parents bred Austrian horses, the Haflinger. You might know them because they are quite international.

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They are very, very nice horses to children, so this was an excellent introduction for me as a youngster learning to ride. Somewhere around the age of 12 or 13, I started to dream that I could become a professional equestrian rider. As I wanted to work with horses, and as an Austrian, you think first of course, of the Spanish Riding School. So at the young age of 15-years-old, I applied to the school.

BHD: Wow and you got in?

AH: No, not at 15-years-old and I continued to apply for the following three years, and each year they had a reason not to accept me. The first year it was, they didn't have space

Photo: Stefan Seelig

I N T E R V I E W

this to the Spanish Riding School that each and every elève has a graduation after three years. We guarantee all the elèves three years of training.

BHD: How many elèves would you take in each year?

AH: Each and every year about 400 people (male and female) apply to be an elève. Out of those 400, ten are invited for a test ride. Out of those 10, only two will make it. At the moment, we have eight apprentices. Out of those eight, just one will make it to a rider.

BHD: Wow. So, it's pretty special to be able to make it through.

AH: Yes, and it’s hard to get there, but it's even harder to remain there. You need to be really dedicated and really want to be a rider. If you do it just for fun, then you shouldn't even apply. Not only is the training difficult, but also there is the psychological aspect of it all, which is the most challenging part of it all.

Photo: © Julie Brass

for another elève (this is the French word for pupil). The second year I was too old and the third year was the same reason that I was too told.

I then gave up.

I worked on another farm, and I was quite happy there. To be honest, I had given up all hope of being accepted to the SRS. Surprisingly, after the third year, they called my mother out of the blue and asked her if I was still interested in becoming a member of the School. Of course, my mother said yes I was still interested! I was

Andreas with Ben Werndl and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl

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then invited for a test ride, and since then, since from the age of 19 (1984), I have been at the Spanish Riding School.

BHD: Wow, you have been there a very long time. I see that the Spanish Riding School accepts young students that you call elèves, can you expand on this for us please?

AH: Yes, we accept apprentices. The elèves as we call them should be between 15 and 20 when they apply.

The new management introduced

BHD: What's a typical day like for you at the school?

AH: I mount the first horse at 7:00 in the morning and between 7:00 and 12:30 I train all my eight stallions; each for 30 minutes and inbetween I teach the elèves. The other riders have a similar routine.

BHD: How do you feel about modern dressage versus classical dressage?

AH: At the Spanish Riding School, we believe that modern dressage is classical dressage. As you see it at the Olympic Games, they are required to complete a particular test. I am not talking about the training methods, but I am referring to the actual test, the movements themselves. The Piaffe is a Piaffe; the Pirouette is a Pirouette, the Half-pass is a Half-pass, and the Passage is a Passage.

It's totally the same at the Olympic test as it is at the Spanish Riding School. But the training methods are sometimes different because the classical art of riding is not just a human art form, but it is a training method. We, at the Spanish Riding School, practice the classical art of riding as a training method. Many, many, many Olympic riders do the same. Not all, but many.

The Piaffe is a Piaffe; the Pirouette is a Pirouette, the Half-pass is a Half-pass, and the

Passage is a Passage....

CLASSICAL ART of riding

is not just a human art form, but IS A

TRAINING METHOD.

Andreas as a child BHD: I know you train Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Benjamin Werndl, who else do you teach?

AH: I train many of the German riders. I trained Sönke Rothenberger for more than a year, he was one the German team members at Rio de Janeiro and won gold. I’m helping Sanneke and Semmieke Rothenberger, his sisters. Sanneke Rothenberger is the current U25 European Champion. Then I am helping Marlies van Baalen, the Dutch Olympic dressage rider.

BHD: You trained a lot of people who do competition dressage, why is this?

AH: Because they are coming back to the classical art of riding; the classical method of training horses.

BHD: Do you think there is a change from people wanting to be extremely dominant and aggressive, to wanting to be more attuned with the horse?

AH: To be attuned with the horse is the future. Even with the judges now, there is a tendency with the judges to go back to the classical art of riding; to do a beautiful correct classical Piaffe; to do a beautiful correct classical Passage, a classical Pirouette; to become at one with the horse in the test. That it looks harmonious and not just like a machine.

BHD: That is so nice to hear that more and more people are leaning towards a more classical training method; for correctness and kindness.

AH: Well, my experience tells me that in the last two or three years the very good dressage riders like international competitors, have gone back to the classical way of training a horse. For example, I have helped Jessica von Bredow-Werndl for the last ten years. I can tell you when I

go there; the horses are paramount.

The riding is just perfect, and the approach to the horses is just outstanding.

BHD: It’s refreshing to see that things are changing where many are taking a great positive step forward in how they train and treat horses.

AH: Yes, it is, and we also see this at the Spanish Riding School as more and more people are asking for our help, with those old traditional classical methods of training a horse.

BHD: How do you feel the classical training helps with competitive dressage?

AH: Because it brings harmony. It brings harmony to the riding, not this aggressiveness. Not to ask just for a Piaffe to get a high score. Of course, the score is important, but more important is the approach and the way of training.

You can see at a competition how a horse is trained. For example, if the horse has a fearful machine-like action in the Piaffe or Passage, and if

I N T E R V I E W

he is not really with the rider and acts like a mechanical instrument in the dressage test. Everything is reflected in their training methods.

BHD: Do you think people like Carl Hester, have made other people look at how they now approach their horse riding and training?

AH: Yes, Carl was in the pre-program

Photo © SRS-Michael Rzepa

WE WORK TOGETHER, I give you enough room, but we do it together and NOT

AGAINST EACH OTHER

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of the performance in London and Birmingham, and I know his approach, and I know his way of training a horse. He is a perfect example of how to become one with the horse, and to see the horse as a partner. He’s not the only one in the dressage world, particularly in Europe, there are many. What I'm really pleased about is that so many young riders, really young riders take the same path now, the classical way of training a horse.

BHD: If someone says, “What is classical training?” How do you define this?

AH: Well, the classical way - that’s quite easy and simple to explain. The classical art of riding works each and every muscle in the horse’s body. And the classical art of riding enables the horse to carry the weight of the rider without getting harmed. The aim is to make the horse more beautiful and keep it healthy.

BHD: What do you think is the most misunderstood or common mistake people do with horses?

AH: Blaming the horse for exercises not working or not being executed correctly.

BHD: When you’re training a horse, what is your favourite thing to do?

AH: Well, of course, everyone likes those high school movements. But my speciality is to work horses inhand, to train the Piaffe in-hand first and makes sure that they are good movements. This way I can read the horse’s body language, and I ensure that the horse can read my body language too.

BHD: Would you say reading the horse's body language is one of the most important factors when training?

AH: Exactly, and in particular on the ground. When you train a horse on the ground, you need to be able to read the horse’s body language, because this is how they mainly communicate with each other, and with you. I have to position myself as an alpha animal, and I have to be very sure, very secure and very selfconfident in my body language.

BHD: What do you do if you have a horse that might be giving you a lot of body language saying that they just don’t want to do it? How do you move forward from a horse that keeps saying no?

AH: Go back. Go back to basics, because of course, as much as the horse needs his space, obedience is a key word in training a horse, especially in stallions. When you follow the path, when you follow the methods of the classical art of riding, then it is not a challenge but a way to tell the horse, “We work together, I give you enough room, but we do it together and not against each other.” I as the trainer, I am the alpha animal. I’m not rude, and I don’t force the horse, but I use my knowledge and experience to make the horse obedient.

BHD: So, do you ever take on any troubled horses or problem horses to train or retrain?

AH: As I work so much now with those international dressage horses, they are not problem horses. Of course, I work with problem horses as well.

Again, if a problem shows up, go back.

Don’t hesitate to go back to basics. For example, just simple exercises like when you work a horse in-hand at the rail and if the horse is not obedient, running through the half halts, or coming in with the haunches, or is pushing on you with his body language then you have to go back. Go back and do halt, walk, halt, walk with the correct carriage, with the correct straightness, with the correct relaxation of course. And then you will be successful. Don’t carry on without the basics and always do the basics first. I always compare it to if a person wants to write a poem; he needs to learn how to write first. That is the same with the horse. If you aim for a good Piaffe, you need to have the basics.

BHD: Do you have anyone who has inspired you or whether it’s great masters or someone of today's times that you admire?

AH: Sure. There was, of course, Chief Rider George Wahl and I used to worked with him in my holidays and travelled into Switzerland to work with him. That was 25 years ago. Also First Chief Rider Tschautscher and First Chief Rider Kottas at the Spanish Riding School.

BHD: What would you say would be your philosophy?

AH: My Philosophy? It’s quite simple.

The horse is always first. The horse is paramount; the rider is second. And training doesn’t make perfect; perfect training makes it perfect!

BHD: If a horse is a bit stiff what exercise do you prefer to do that gets the horse motivated?

AH: Of course, don’t overwork the horse and if you don’t overwork the horse he will be motivated. Also by throughness, subtleness, the activity of the haunches; use of the horse’s back is very, very important. Again, the basics are paramount. Don’t forget the basics and then everything will fall into place. Maintain the philosophy and the training methods of the classical art of riding.

BHD: There is a lot of controversies around at the moment about the use of side reins. As soon as you mentioned side reins, a barrage of opinions arises of how horrible it is. Now, I’m aware that at the school they work with side reins, so what is your view on this?

AH: Yes, it’s very helpful when used correctly. I use them, the Spanish Riding School is also using them, and it’s traditional. It’s for the horse, not against the horse if they are used correctly, and it is very helpful when the training of the horse.

BHD: And how are they helpful?

What does it do for them when used

correctly, and how they’re used incorrectly?

AH: Incorrectly is when the rider wants to pull the head of the horse down with the side reins. Then the side reins are totally wrong and shouldn’t be used at all. Side reins are good if you want to give the horse a direction and work the back muscles.

It is also important that the side reins must not be too short.

Even at the young age, we lunge our four-year-old horses at the Spanish Riders School with side reins. Again, to give the horse a direction, not to bend and tie the head down.

BHD: Is there something you’re extremely passionate about when it comes to horse training?

AH: Well, I would say the horse dictates the tempo of training. If you can read the horse, then you are successful. If you think the horse is just a gadget to show off, then you are on the wrong path, entirely the wrong path.

BHD: Is there anything new or exciting happening with the school?

AH: In 2008, we got the first female elèves, and one of those female elèves has now qualified as a rider for the Spanish Riding School in 2016. She has already trained her stallion to become a fully-qualified rider.

BHD: So how is it like for you now, that have always been a boys club, and now you’ve got girls?

AH: You know, I tell you what, the team spirit improved a lot since we have girls. It's great.

BHD: Has the school ever consider riding mares? I suppose it would wreck the dynamic, wouldn’t it?

AH: It’s traditional that we ride stallions and train stallions. If we put

I NT TE ER RV VI EI EWW I N

IN TRAINING , at the moment we have

110 HORSES,

and I personally look after eight

the horses with the mares, we would lose a lot of concentration from the stallions. .

BHD: They all live in good harmony together, don’t they? All the boys have excellent temperaments. Do you ever have much of dominant issues with the stallions all working together?

AH: Some we do, but most stallions don’t. We do perform with mares sometimes when we do have special performances like the 450th anniversary in 2015. There were 8 [broadmares] from PIBER in Vienna to be part of the show, part of the performance and the stallions were all fine with it.

BHD: That's fantastic! That's such a testament to their training and breeding. So how many horses do you have at the school now?

AH: In training, at the moment we have 110 horses, and I personally look after eight. The Chief Riders have more stallions than the other riders.

Chief Riders have seven to nine, and the old riders have six to eight, and the younger riders have three to six, and the assistant rider has just one.

BHD: The stallions that you have there, are they ever made available to the public for sale or if they want to breed from them?

AH: There is a possibility to breed to them. But of course, we sell horses, the ones who do not meet our standards but that is not very often the case. I would say, each two years we sell one, out of a group of ten young stallions that we get each and every year from Piber. We don’t force the horses. If they don’t have the talent for this or that high school movement, we don’t force them into something.

BHD: Do you find that horses will have certain exercises or movement that they become almost like an expert to one area?

AH: Exactly. All the stallions at the

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Spanish Riding School are experts in this or that area. For example, very few stallions learn one of the three airs above the ground. Each of them is a specialist in their own area; in Levade, Capriole or Courbette.

BHD: When do you start to train those things? How do you know the horse has the talent?

AH: When you start the horse to work in-hand to train the Piaffe. Then the horse will demonstrate the talent for this or that. If you listen and pay attention, they will tell you.

BHD: What’s for the future? Is there anything that we can look forward to?

AH: Well, we will keep the good work up. We will do our tours and this year will go to the Netherlands and will alos have performances in Germany.

And hopefully, the next couple of years, we’ll go to the US again and do a tour there.

The Spanish Riding School has had the same program for nearly a hundred years now and has barely changed at all. Last fall when we toured the UK, and we had 25,000 people attending the performances.

The Spanish Riding school has stood the test of time, and the performances are renowned for their excellence, and this is a testament and as we still attract a substantial audience.

The Spanish Riding School has outstanding horses and talented young riders. We are the riding school with the highest standards in classical equitation and the classical art of riding. And we have maintained our path and our philosophy. The philosophy is still the same and will be unchanged for the next 450 years.

It was just a delight to talk with Andreas and discovering a bit more into his background and the Spanish Riding School. His riding skills and love for horses are commendable, and his longevity at the school is proof of this.

The Spanish Riding School is sure to be around for hundreds of years to come. a

For more info on the Spanish Riding School visit their web www.srs.at

Established in 1972 and the only Association in Australia to hold the stud books for the Purebred Spanish Andalusian, the Australian Andalusian, the Partbred Andalusian, the Hispano-Arabe and the Purebred Iberian (this registry is shared with the Lusitano Horse Association of Australia)

FOR INFORMATION ON THE BREED

Contact Andalusian Horse Association of Australasia (inc) PO Box 266, Torquay, Victoria, Australia 3228.

Telephone: 61 5263 3402 Email: ahaa@iprimus.com.au www.ahaa.org.au

20

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AUTHOR: UTA GRÄF PHOTOS BY: FRIEDERIKE HEIDENHOF

TR AI N I N G

“Outside the Box” WITH

U TA G R Ä F

In her new book, Uta Gräf ’s Effortless Dressage Program, German champion and Grand Prix dressage trainer Uta Gräf shares her winning system of bringing young prospects along and up through the levels without stress. With her cheerful nature and wild hair, Uta’s signature at competitions, clinics, and demonstrations is her content and satisfied horses, which have gained her immense respect worldwide.

In this excerpt, Uta explains some of the techniques she and her partner Stefan Schneider use to train “outside the box,” keeping their horses engaged, willing, and happy athletes.

A

pproved Rhinelander stallion Damon Jerome NRW proved himself to be a born candidate for work on long lines. As a four-yearold, he was full of uncontrollable energy and the need to move. We had to think a lot about how to keep him busy, and, at the same time, progress in his training to be a riding horse.

We took a lot of trouble to make dealing with him and riding him easy for later. Stefan made it a lot of fun, working with the horse from the ground, and I benefited from it!

Working with long lines has to be learned, but it is worth talking about it a little. Until I got to know Stefan, I never would have thought it could do so much for riding, as well as just the relationship with the horse. Groundwork welds horse and rider together in a way that gives them a totally different partner relationship. It is an ideal measurement of the degree of understanding I have for my horse. When I walk behind him with the long lines, he has to trust me, and I have to trust him. I was astounded, at first, with all that Stefan can do on the long lines: he has the

T R A I N I N G

of practice. It is invaluable to begin your own training in handling the long lines with a good, calm horse that takes directions.

Here are some of benefits of long-lining and how they transfer to riding: VOICE COMMANDS: Stefan uses a manageable set of voice aids: a calming “Ho,” an encouraging click or kissing noise as a forward aid, “Good job,” or “Good boy,” as praise. I also use the kissing sound to support the driving aids.

Praise with the voice helps my horses relax.

GROUNDWORK WELDS HORSE AND RIDER together in a way that gives them a totally different partner relationship........... he has to trust me, AND I HAVE TO TRUST HIM.

horse do all kinds of figures in the arena, steers him through the woods along narrow paths, and trains him up and down hills in the fields. He practices working in water in the creek, drives him over cavalletti, or lets him figure out obstacles on the trail course.

I am sure that work on long lines helped Damon Jerome NRW to better understand who the boss is in the ring. It was obviously significant that Stefan was responsible for the groundwork, and I for the rest of the training as rider. It takes a lot of experience to steer such an agile package of power from the ground and you have to be in good condition to keep up with a giant stride. Stefan is quick and agile.

He forgets everything around him when working with long lines and concentrates fully and completely on the horse. Scarcely any movement by the horse escapes him without his appropriate reaction. This fine steering is the result of many years

22 Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

RESPECT: Damon Jerome NRW has learned to better respect the rider and the ground personnel through work with long lines. It’s easier, as a general rule, to teach manners—for example, to stand still while mounting. I don’t have to deal with being “buffaloed” and can start with training right away.

FORWARD: Work on long lines has only one direction to begin with: forward, which is to say away from the human, regardless of what happens. This helps hugely with riding. I can much more easily correct dangerous situations or errors in training when moving forward when the horse already has this idea like a reflex in his head.

YIELDING: Long lines can also teach the horse to move sideways and backward as well as forward. It helps me practice lateral movements when he has already learned to yield to a sideways driving aid from the ground.

CONFIDENCE: Damon Jerome NRW is not exactly lacking in this, but there are horses that blossom right away. They have to rely on themselves more in long lines work than when they have a rider sitting on them. The horse has to go ahead of the rider, thus, gaining courage and selfconfidence. It is a huge win for dressage work when a timid horse learns to trust himself more.

DESENSITIZATION: Fearful horses benefit a great deal from being shown around while on long lines. Stefan takes them to see our cows that we keep for working equitation training, or past umbrellas, tarps, and other obstacles. The benefit for later riding is obvious.

As a serious dressage rider, it was hardly conceivable to me a few years ago to ride around cones. In the past, we didn’t think out of the box enough to see what riders of other disciplines were doing to achieve similar goals as those in the dressage arena. They often use different and, sometimes, more creative exercises. I have come to know these exercises through my husband who trains his horses for working equitation and trail competition.

I have experienced how the rideability of his horses improved and what a positive influence this was on the whole training as well as his relationship with the horses. Working Equitation stems from the tradition of the working horse and is therefore based on effortlessness.

For example, when Stefan wants to close a cattle gate from horseback, his horse must react to very fine aids.

In my eyes, trail riding is not contradictory to classical dressage training because it is also based on the foundation of the Training Scale. By this I mean that

trail exercises are not a circus act, but are an enriching change from dressage training. If dressage work follows too narrow a pattern, the horse can get mentally dull.

Consequently, I think it is a good idea to break out of the routine and to have creative alternatives. As dressage riders, we use only straight lines, voltes, circles, and serpentines.

By using poles and cones, we can increase the possibilities of multiple lines to follow and exercises to undertake. A four-leaf clover made of four cones can be ridden around and is nothing more than a series of half-voltes. But it provides a line to follow that can be challenging to ride and can only be correctly ridden if the horse is “through.” The goal is the same: to ride figures or exercises that are fun for the horse, rider, and spectators as a harmonious unit on a “through” horse. A positive side effect is that the horse gets accustomed to additional external stimuli, which helps to make riding more secure. A horse that has been exposed to barrels, cones, fluttering banners, bridges, or tarps at home is very likely going to be more relaxed later at a competition or out in the countryside.

I have tried Stefan’s trail course with Le Noir and also with Dandelion. The horses enjoyed seeing and doing something different. I was able to see if this was especially challenging for

them. Stefan’s Lusitanos are somewhat smaller and therefore easier to turn, but my two horses could canter around the cones in serpentines with flying changes in the middle just like their Portuguese friends. Finally, we went under fluttering streamers hanging down, over a bridge, and by our wooden cow. I could ring the bell and open the gate. We think that such a program is a great addition to effortless riding, as every rider can be creative with it.

The horses are exposed to more and weaknesses in throughness can be positively influenced. So, it pays to think out of the box!

Here are some ideas for a trail course to benefit your dressage training: CONES: Place three to four cones in a line.

The distance between the cones depends on the size and the level of training of the horse. Ride through in a serpentine at first at the walk, then at the trot, and later at the canter. Take note of correct flexing and bend. Maintain activity and tempo.

BARRELS: Take two rain barrels and place them about 4 to 6 feet apart and ride figure eights around them. For more advanced horses, ride pirouettes around the barrels.

T R A I N I N G

gate, open it, hang on to it and have the horse move forward step by step. Turn the horse and close the gate.

BRIDGE: There are a lot of advantages to acquainting a horse to walking over unfamiliar ground. You need a stable wood platform without sharp edges. This is good training for walking onto the loading ramp of a trailer.

BE CREATIVE: Look around your barn for places that are unfamiliar to the horse and think about an exercise. For example, while riding, take your jacket off and place it on a vertical standard and pick it up again; put up fluttering banners and streamers, and ride through them, and so on.

...to stimulate and motivate SO THE HORSE HAS FUN WORKING WITH YOU. To me, this is a central prerequisite for fine, EFFORTLESS RIDING.

POLES: Place two poles parallel to each other on the ground. Ride forward and backward between the poles. To increase the difficulty, make an “L” out of the poles and back up through it.

SIDEPASS: Place one pole on the ground.

With the horse’s forehand on one side of the pole and the hind end on the other side of the pole (the pole is under the middle of the horse), move the horse sideways along the pole.

GATES: A good exercise for developing fine communication between horse and rider is to open and close a gate from horseback. Move sideways to the closed

24 Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

Such exercises can be helpful in bringing a little variety to everyday training for advanced dressage horses or jumpers. The new stimuli appeal to their desire to play.

Horse psychologist Wilhelm Blendinger says that the concepts of “work” and “sport” are foreign to the horse. You can use the drive to play, to stimulate and motivate so the horse has fun working with you. To me, this is a central prerequisite for fine, effortless riding.

This excerpt from Uta Gräf ’s Effortless Dressage Program was reprinted with permission from Trafalgar Square Books.

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26 T R A I N I N G

The

3

L E V E L 3

Valenรงa Method

When establishing the basics in your horse training, it's important to remember that each horse takes his own time and we should follow and respect the length of time that it takes them individually to establish the basics. It's very important to not jump a step or progress too quickly if the basics are not solid. You should only progress to Level 3 when the horse shows a good solid understanding of Levels 1 and 2. Therefore he understands the riders aids, the hands, the legs, the whip, and has good balance in the three gaits and an understanding of simple two track work.

26

Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

BY: Sofia Valenรงa

curb

INTRODUCING

THE

REIN

T R A I N I N G

kh All 3 images are of flexion see text on How to do these flextions for more details.

As we move through the levels, the difficulty increases as does the potential for failure! However, you should not be afraid of failure as long as you have established a language that allows the horse to understand your requests.

It is important that the rider realises that at this stage the aids must become more refined and precise. We are starting a new phase of horsemanship which enables the horse to execute the higher level exercises with greater precision. The snaffle by itself is not always sufficiently effective for the control of the horse's body to progress to this higher level.

now require. However, first, we must introduce the curb action of the bit to the horse.

The role of the snaffle is to relax the jaw, and once this is achieved, we can introduce the action of the curb to position his body more precisely.

Without the required relaxation from the snaffle, the curb should never be used. It is for this reason that we hold the snaffle rein on the outside and the curb on the inside because when we act with the hand on the reins, the snaffle comes into play slightly ahead of the curb rein; first the relaxation and then the position.

WHY THE DOUBLE BRIDLE? The double bridle is a combination of two actions on the horse's mouth, which enables us to position the horse with the greater precision that we

HOW TO INTRODUCE THE CURB. As with all new things we have to be careful that at first he accepts and understands the tools that we use. In

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this case, it is the curb. When we first introduce the double bridle to the horse, we place some honey on the curb so that he doesn't feel the cold of the metal just the same as we did in the beginning with the snaffle.

Now we introduce something that is not very common nowadays, however always works! We use this method not teach the horse, but so that he accepts these new aids without force and with a lot of lightness. I am speaking about flexions.

HOW TO DO THESE FLEXIONS. We stand in front of the horse holding the snaffle reins, one in each hand and we put pressure inwards so that the joint of the snaffle presses upwards on the roof of the horse's mouth which encourages the horse to release the jaw and allows the tongue to move so that he chews on the bit. When the horse learns this easily, we introduce another flexion. This time we hold both the curb and the snaffle reins, the snaffle rein held on the nose to ask for relaxation. The hand on the nose works upwards as if you are levering a nail out of a piece of wood.

And when this is achieved the curb, held under the jaw, asks in the direction of the throat As soon as the horse responds to these actions, we start to ask for lateral flexions.

In this way, the horse learns how to give the position from the curb but always after the correct response to the snaffle. In this way when we progress to the ridden work, the horse will not be surprised or have a q

In-hand travers

WHEN THE HORSE shows enough understanding between your hand and leg action, you can become bolder AND START TO INTRODUCE some sideways movements q

In-hand renvers

negative response to the curb. Without this preparation, he may be fearful of the bit and is more likely to contract the muscles of the neck and adopt an incorrect position of his back. This is a very important process so that he accepts this new tool.

When we succeed with these actions we will introduce the work in-hand exercise that we did in Level 1 and 2 , the direct and reverse pirouette.

Before we start the movement we ask for the lateral flexion to the side we are going to work on and ask for the movement with the whip and the action of the opposite rein to the flexion, in the outside rein. This movement

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T R A I N I N G

ď °

u

Renvers with help of the rider on the ground

Traver with help of the rider on the ground

we ask from the ground, and the aids are not so intrusive as they are when we ride.

In this case, the rider on the horse must hold the snaffle and the rider on the ground controls the curb rein while executing the same exercises in level 1 and 2, lateral work, direct and reverse pirouettes and whenever necessary. We stop and ask for the lateral flexion again to help the horse to avoid or cancel any resistance =or even unblock the body. The precision of the hands of the rider and the action of the legs enables the aids to be lighter and more effective.

The degree of difficulty increases for both the horse and the rider which is why the rider must have the perfect understanding of how to work with precision. In a few lessons, the horse understands the action of the curb at which point we no longer need the rider on the ground. In this phase, the lessons require a lot of work in walk, at least until we have absolute control of how to eliminate any resistance in the whole body of the horse. When we work in trot, we should do a lot of transitions to walk or even to halt and ask for lateral flexion whenever the horse offers any resistance. In this kind of work, we have a horse that is more available and flexible as we constantly search for ways to eliminate any resistance. This allows the horse to be more comfortable with his own body and can only be started when the horse is relaxed and accepts the flexion without force and resistance. Whenever we feel resistance to the lateral position, we must stop and ask for lateral flexion again to cancel any unrequired tension.

Once these actions are well understood by the horse, we move onto the ridden work.

This must be started with the help of the rider on the ground like we did for VM Level 2 and these exercises must be done with two people. It is always easier to introduce new work with the horse from the ground. The horse finds it easier to understand us when

consequently happier.

The canter work in this initial phase is not a priority at least until the horse fully understands the action of the curb rein.

With the progression of the lessons we go back to the normal work and do all the exercises that should be part of our regular work. a u

Flexion with help from rider from the ground

30 Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

For more info visit thevalencamethod.com/en/

32

E D U C AT I O N A L

Maneige Royal

BY MONSIEUR DE PLUVINEL PART II

His Majesty B E G I N S

TO RIDE

Le Maneige Royal takes the form of a dialogue between master and pupil. The Master, de Pluvinel and the Pupil, the Dauphin (Luis XIII).

This work describes not only the progress of the royal pupil but also de Pluvinel’s desire to develop a more humane approach to training horses.

Unquestionably one of the most important books ever written about the art of horsemanship, de Pluvinel's treatise is complete with the celebrated illustrations

by Crispin de Pas. Translated from the 1926 edition, this is the foundation stone of any collection of equestrian literature.

THE KING Monsieur de Pluvinel, let us return to our passades which are dear to your heart and which you estimate as being above all the other airs. This is a reasonable assumption and I agree with you since it seems to me that at the passades one observes the grace of the Horseman and the skill and cooperation of the horse.

PLUVINEL Your Majesty is quite correct when he holds good passades in high esteem for they

32 Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

are, indeed, the basis upon which one can recognize with certitude a good horse from a poor horse. Because with the passades one can determine the horse’s speed by the tension on the hand when one stops, whether he has a good or a bad mouth when one turns, his skill and his grace, and by taking off over and over again one can determine his strength and vigour, as well as his loyalty.

This is the air so dear to my heart and it is important to teach it well to the horse. And once the horse has learned to gallop and to stop straight, it is important to make him advance two steps and, at the second step,

Antione de Pluvinel lived from 1555 to 1620. Of gentle birth, he was a courtier to three kings of France: Henry III, Henry IV, and Louis XIII. He studied equitation from an early age, and spent six years as a pupil of the great Giovanni Battista Pignatelli in Napoles (southern Italy).

When de Pluvinel returned to France, he opened an academy for young gentlemen at the Faubourg St. Honoré, where the subjects of music, literature, painting, mathematics and riding were taught.

Monsieur de Pluvinel’s reputation for honesty and his clarity of method in teaching were such that he was appointed Governor to the Dauphin (the future Louis XIII). The fact that de Pluvinel’s pupils understood him so well and were themselves, people of importance, helped spread his fame abroad and caused people to accept his methods. Thus, de Pluvinel forged a definite link between the Neapolitan school of riding and the French school of riding. Pignatelli, through his student, was instrumental in initiating the French 'Golden Age of Equitation,' an era of exploration of training as a high art, funded by the royal coffers that would last for two hundred years, until that aristocratic focus was ended by the French Revolution.

one must see to it that he raises forward and straight out the right leg, and, at the same time, turn to the right to do, at the walk, a demivolte, always continuing to move forward. This will make the horse cross his left fore leg over his right fore leg and, soon thereafter, he will do the same with the hind legs; otherwise the demi-voltes will be neither correct nor well-executed. Likewise, at the other end of the passade, he must be made to do the demi-volte to the left, and he must continue in like manner until he knows how to execute the movement properly.

We call this movement passager la volte.

If the horse does this well, I am certain that by pushing him at full speed, he will execute, without difficulty, some good passades, be it at the terre à terre or at the courbette, provided he has learned to perform well around the pillar at the terre à terre, or do the courbette between two pillars, as I indicated earlier.

THE KING Is there a certain distance and proportion that one must observe when doing the passades?

PLUVINEL No, Sire, mainly when one fights in a duel or in battle. I believe that the shortest passades are the best. However, during a tourney or at school, it seems to me that the most beautiful passades are those that are well distanced at about five or six lengths of a horse, for one can notice best at this distance the speed and vigour of a horse. If the distances were any longer the horse could not take off again so swiftly four or five times, as is

necessary. At the demi-volte the passade must be tight, in a semi oval, provided the horse continues to go forward. And to make sure that this is done at the right moment, it is necessary to begin to turn the bridle hand at the second or third glide and falcade when the horse stops to take the demi-volte at a good and easy terre à terre, for the horse has already learned to perform around the pillar. And while he will have made firm and completed successfully his demivolte to the right, he should be made to take off again with all his strength, then, stopping him at the other end of the passade, make him take likewise a demivolte to the left, and go on in this vein at the discretion of the Horseman which will be in the order of five passades, that is to say, make him do a demi-volte to the right, a demi-volte to the left, a demi-volte to the right, a demi-volte to the left, and a demi-volte to the right, all of it in one breath and which the horse should execute gaily without being beaten and by means of a very few aids.

THE KING So much for the passades at the terre à terre. And in order to execute some good and beautiful passades relevées must one not add or decrease proportions and distances?

PLUVINEL There is no difference between these two types of passades, Sire, except that the demi-volte of the passades relevées must be executed at the courbettes, and which should consist of nine in all at each demi-volte, that is, three courbettes

YOUNGER THAN FIVE YEARS, a horse is not mature enough to engage in more complex exercises.

If we respect these timings, we then allow the horse to grow with a MORE HEALTHY MIND and be stress-free.

E D U C AT I O N A L

before turning the horse, three while turning him, and three while tightening the circle at the end of the demi-volte, more or less at the discretion of the Horseman. For it is during a tourney when one duels sometimes with a sword, one to one, that one must, indeed, always speed up or slow down, because horses do not move at the same speed or wait for their companions. Thus one should always put the horse to a courbette to mark time, so that both Horsemen can take off again at the same time. In this manner the Horseman and the horse will remain in perfect harmony in this action. This is one of the most beautiful of all tourneys or triumphs which can be executed on horseback.

THE KING But you have an important rule which one must learn right away and which is particular to you, according to those who watch you riding. When you speak to a pupil you advance your horse walking sideways; then, as you reason with another, you pull your horse back; then, when you greet another who is arriving, you turn your horse with the other hand, and while saying goodbye to yet another who is returning, you turn your horse with the other hand. In this way your hands and heels are always doing something that is correct, a feat that is quite remarkable. For suddenly, at times without removing your coat, one observes you taking the reins by the ends, and raising the right arm and turning slightly the left hand, the horse is put correctly to his air, which is something your pupils, due to their impatience have, in my opinion, never been able to understand.

PLUVINEL Indeed, Sire, it is true that I have success in schooling horses in the manner Your Majesty has observed. I consider this method the best one used to teach horses the various airs, first of all because it is the gentlest, and also because the Horseman can show the horse all the science he possesses with respect to the function of the hands and heels, without making the horse angry. One must avoid using force for I have never seen anything positive come out of a horse if such is the case. That is why the goal of all my lessons, which is the successful

34 Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

schooling of a horse, is to work with them gently, for a short while, and often. For if the horse is incapable of walking correctly, beginning with the head, going to the rest of his body, up to his legs, it is impossible for him ever to be schooled properly. Thus, Sire, to return to our lesson and to do it well, it is necessary that, while walking the horse, he be made to cross his legs, either while walking sideways or while turning, and using less the hind legs than the fore legs. The legs, while turning, must make a circle more or less in proportion to his total length, and the hind legs must make another circle about two thirds smaller. There is no doubt that, having walked the horse in this manner several times, he will obey my hand when I want him to turn or back, and I can push him back and forth because he fears my spurs.

I am thus able to handle him without any difficulty whether I use a free rein, a tight rein, a short one, a long one, or an exact one, for, as I stated earlier, all the science with respect to schooling a horse lies in his perfect obedience to the hand, the bridle, and the heels. However, I take care to determine whether the horse obeys less willingly the one heel or the other, or whether the bridle hand turns him more easily to the right or to the left. I almost always work him at what he finds most difficult, until he finally obeys me.

For there is not a horse that does not have his alibi or, rather, his strong-headedness, small or great, and which one must overcome through patience and gentleness rather than force. However, if the horse is malicious, one must be moderately rigorous by putting him once more at the pillar or between two pillars, or else putting his head against the wall and make him move in place or sideways, depending upon what is necessary.

But above all, this must be done briefly but frequently. Because horses can only learn by means of good and repeated lessons so that they can become mere habit. For horses have, in general, a poor memory. That is why I see no difficulty in working with them every day, because the horse is a creature who cannot endure anything for a long period of

HORSES CAN ONLY LEARN by means of good and repeated lessons so that they CAN BECOME MERE HABIT

time. Thus the method that we use makes it possible to use a schooled horse for a longer period of time, whereas before the introduction of my inventions, the majority of the horses very often became old and used up rather than wellschooled.

THE KING After having walked the horse so that he obeys the bridle hand and the two heels properly, you then put him to his particular air and other movements, if you think that he is well balanced.

PLUVINEL I make sure, Sire, that if the horse satisfies at the walk, he will also perform well at the voltes and the passades be they long or short ones, even if he is only doing them at the terre à terre. And if his air is relevé, be it high or mid air, it will be executed according to his strength and vigour, and in keeping with what a good school horse can do, be they increased voltes, forward and backward, sideways, back and forth, in serpentine, or at one place at the ferme à ferme, which is the seal of the master when it comes to obedience. For the other movements are drawn from the ferme à ferme. a To purchase the book go to xenophonepress.com or a digital version can be found on Amazon.com

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36

AUTHOR: TERESA BURTON PHOTOS BY: BRUNO BARATA

T R A I N I N G

Hand WORKING IN

C O N T E N T

P R O V I D E D

B Y

Nuno Cavaco 

Traditionally, in-hand work was used to teach high school exercises such as piaffe and passage especially in classical establishments. However nowadays equestrian folk are recognising the many benefits in-hand work offers horses and handlers at all levels and in all riding disciplines.

T

here is no doubt that it is an excellent way to teach horses how to use their bodies correctly in order to develop strength, suppleness, balance and rhythm. In this series Nuno Cavaco will take you through the steps to begin an ‘in hand’ training programme with your horse.

ABOUT NUNO

N

uno Cavaco is a former rider at the prestigious Portuguese School of Equestrian Art (EPAE). Where he worked for 25 years training with many masters such as Dr. Guilherme

36

Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

Borba, D. José de Atayde, Dr. Filipe Graciosa, Master Luís Valenca and present day’s master chief riders João Pedro Rodrigues. Not to forget António Borba Monteiro, Nuno Palma Santos and Miguel Nuno Ralão.

Today, he is a director in Lusitano Horse Finder and he provides lessons in classical dressage, in-hand work and trains horses at all levels in Portugal.

Nuno tells us: Choosing to work your horse in-hand is a dynamic way to improve your communication and build a mutual confidence and trust. Good in-hand work requires awareness and sensitivity from us

nuno cavaco

Nuno & Acarus

Nuno is a former rider at the prestigious Portuguese School of Equestrian Art (EPAE).

T R A I N I N G

especially to the finer details which in ridden exercises we may miss when on our horse.

Other benefits include: • Warming up muscles before riding • Recovering from an injury • It allows us to see what ‘mood’ our horse is in before riding • Identify stiffness, tension and relax the horse - especially good for young horses before riding to relax and focus them • Teach your horse new movements before riding them such as lateral work 1

grooming your horse yourself cannot be underestimated.

It’s an excellent way to get to know each other better, discover tensions or extra sensitive areas on your horse’s body.

Grooming builds trust, partnership and communication.

Before you start working your horse in-hand Nuno points out that, particularly with a young horse, it is good to lunge a for a short while first in order to see how he is moving, begin communication and to let him release excess energy.

GETTING STARTED – WHERE TO POSITION YOURSELF

W

2

WORKING IN HAND BEGINS FROM THE MOMENT YOU GO TO YOUR HORSE

N

uno is a firm believer of remaining ‘aware’ of everything you do with your horse from the moment you go to him. He states that for him the importance and value of 3

hen introducing horses to “in-hand training” Nuno puts the horse in a simple cavesson or sometimes a snaffle bridle depending on the horse’s level and behaviour.

To begin with you need to make sure that you can walk beside your horse’s shoulder, facing forward on both sides while controlling the pace. You need to be positioned a little bit further back than you normally would, when you for instance are leading your horse to turn him out. When necessary he touches the horse gently with the whip along the horse’s side to give impulsion. If the horse rushes away he uses the cavesson or snaffle to bend head and neck to slow down the pace.

4

5

/1/ Nuno walks alongside Acarus teaching him to walk with him in a calm, steady and relaxed manner. /2/ Walk beside your horse holding the lead rope lightly only applying a little pressure if required should your horse rush ahead or walk into you. /3/ Nuno asks Acarus to halt with the aim that he always halts squarely with his hind legs underneath him. /4/ W hen Acarus is in halt in order to teach him to halt squarely him squarely himself Nuno lightly taps his hind leg that is off so he lifts and moves it alongside the other and underneath his body. /5/ Once in a square halt let your horse stand quietly in this position and pat him as a reward. It is important that his hind legs are well underneath his body. This can be improved each time as your horse becomes more supple. /6/ Square Halt, see how Nuno only uses the whip very lightly to assist Acarus. /7/ Nuno walks Acarus on a circle gently asking him to pass his inside hind leg under his body. /8/ Nuno asks Acarus to pass his hind leg under his body in a small circle.

6

7

Important here is that the horse does not lag behind you, or run ahead of you, walks into you or away from you but instead allows you take the lead positioned at his shoulder. Halt by turning your body towards the horse, gently put the whip up on his crop letting the crop rest there. Ask your horse halt in a square position; if he is not square you can use the whip to tap on the hind leg that you wish your horse to move forward. Always pat and reward you horse verbally. Once you can control the pace, halt squarely, move in a straight line, make circles and turns in both directions, and do this on both sides of your horse, you and your horse are ready for the next step.

SIMPLE LATERAL MOVEMENTS

T

o begin the lateral movements you need to teach your horse to cross over his legs. Nuno does this by walking on a 15 to 20 meter circle giving the horse an inside bend.

Notice that now you have to change your position slightly alongside the hand in which you hold the lunging rope. If you are on a circle to the left you hold the rope in the left hand, the whip in the right hand and are turned more towards the horse. With the bend you ask your horse to put his inside hind leg a little more

8

T R A I N I N G

Nuno points out that it is very important to be aware of how your body language and position influences the horse, his impulsion and bend.

When your horse steps well in under his belly with his inside leg at both directions if you are not using the snaffle this is the time to introduce it if your of course you can continue with just a cavesson.

INTRODUCING THE BRIDLE

I

9

in and under his belly so he is no longer tracking.

Nuno points out that a common misconception is that it is better if the horse works in a faster walk, but, suppleness and correct muscle development does not come from

10 11

/9/ Nuno walks Acarus on a circle gently asking him to pass his inside hind leg under his body. /10/ The correct way to hold the reins on your snaffle bridle you can now do all the same exercises using the bridle and guiding with the reins.

11/ W hen using a snaffle bridle and guiding your horse by the reins they should be held lightly but precisely - this is perfect for teaching a young horse to become accustomed to the reins and light contact in the mouth.

f your horse is young and in the stage of backing this is a good way to introduce rein contact. Put on a snaffle bridle with reins under the cavesson and keep the lunge line on. Here the idea is the same as with the earlier work but now you also take the inside rein only in the same hand as the lunging rope. Gently you give the horse guidance with the rein using the cavesson as support. It is important that

speed, it comes from slowly lifting, angling and putting the hoof well under the belly.

Keep your horse in a slow walk, maintain impulsion, don’t let him rush.

Look at your horse’s back and loin muscles to observe that they are working correctly.

The more confirmed your horse becomes in this work the more you can ask him to step in with his inside hind leg. The more established he is the more you can change your position, facing both towards the horse and towards his hindquarters, positioned closer to his head or closer towards his hindquarters.

the horse follows the rein when you open towards the inside. When the horse offers the bend you release, just the same as when you are riding. If your horse resists use the cavesson more to guide. When your horse is comfortable and follows the guidance you provide with the inside rein it is time to pick up the outside rein. Continue to guide your horse with the reins together with the cavesson until your horse understands the rein aids and takes soft contact with the bit. When he is ready you can remove the cavesson. ■

– NEXT IN THE SERIES – will be followed up with steps for introducing the basic laterals, shoulder in and leg yield. www.lusitanohorsefinder.com

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E D U C AT I O N A L

Half HALTS

BY DR THOMAS RITTER

O

ne of the issues that our members in the Artistic Dressage Community on Facebook wanted to learn more about is the Half Halt. It is one of those terms that everybody seems to USE (sometimes for no other reason than that it makes the user sound knowledgeable) but nobody seems to EXPLAIN. That’s why it is shrouded in mystery for many riders. But it doesn’t need to be. The theory behind it is actually quite straightforward.

PURPOSE The purpose of the half halt is to flex the grounded hind leg more under the weight and to keep it on the ground longer, so that it supports a larger share of the body mass of horse and rider.

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TIMING The aids can only work with the natural movements of the horse and accentuate or diminish those movements. Each hind leg reaches forward through the air, touches down in front of the vertical, receives the weight, flexes its joints, then passes the vertical, as the body moves forward in space, and extends its joints again when it starts to push the body mass forward.

The job of the half halt is to increase the flexion of the joints of the hind leg, and sometimes to prolong the weight bearing phase by keeping the hind leg on the ground longer and slowing the tempo down.

From the job description it is obvious that the only moment in the footfall sequence that is suitable for the half halt is the weight bearing phase, i.e. when the

hind leg is on the ground and in front of the vertical.

If you apply the half halt when the hind leg is in the air, it is unable to respond to it.

If you apply the half halt when the hind leg is on the ground behind the vertical, it is already extending its joints again and pushing the body forward.

The half halt would then be diametrically opposed to the natural movement of the hind leg: the horse would fight against the aid because it would be physically impossible to comply with it. And in the long run the hind leg would be at risk of developing wind puffs and spavin.

AIDS There are several possible aids that you can use to apply half halts.

With your seat (pelvic floor or your seat bones) you can use your own body weight to load the hind leg and keep it grounded longer.

A stirrup pressure on the same side and at the same time that the targeted hind leg is on the ground will also send the rider’s weight through the horse’s hind leg into the ground. So, if you want to half halt into the outside hind leg, you could apply a little pressure against your outside stirrup when the outside hind leg is on the ground.

A rein pressure from either rein will take the weight and the leverage of the horse’s head and neck and transfer it to the grounded hind leg. You can use either the rein on the same side, or the diagonal rein for this half halt. The diagonal rein frames the diagonal shoulder, if it would otherwise escape sideways. Rein aids can therefore act as weight aids.

All these aids will only be successful if the rider engages her core muscles more.

Depending on the horse’s conformation, temperament, training level, and the rider’s weight and height you can use one of these aids, or a combination of two (seat + stirrup, rein + stirrup, seat + rein), or even all three. You need to experiment with which aid produces the best result.

Some horses have sensitive or weak backs and will invert right away, if you try to sit deeper or heavier in the saddle. They

will respond better to stirrup and rein pressure. Horses with a very strong back and strong, straight hind legs may need a much stronger aid from the pelvic floor and the seat bones, especially if the rider is small and lightweight. The intensity and composition of the ideal half halt will also change through the horse’s career because the horse’s needs and abilities change.

HOW DO I FEEL THE RIGHT MOMENT? The moment for the half halt is relatively easy to feel. When the hind leg touches down, the hip rises slightly, so that the rider feels a little bump in her seat bone on the same side. If you don’t feel it, check if you are sitting straight. If you are leaning forward or hollowing your back, your seat bones will be too far away from the horse so that you can’t feel the movements of the hind legs with them.

Another reason why you may not feel the touchdown of the hind leg is if the horse is not moving with enough energy.

You can also feel a slight “pulse” in the rein on the same side. When the hind leg travels forward through the air, it fills the rein on the same side. This culminates at the moment when the hind leg touches down. This feels a little like the pulse of an artery. If you can’t feel it, check if your reins are too long or too short. If the reins

are too long, there will be no connection and consequently no communication between the reins and the hind legs. If the reins are too short, the horse will not be able to move his body freely enough, so that the movement of the hind legs are stifled.

If you still can’t feel it well enough, you can glance down at the horse’s shoulder blade. When the shoulder blade moves forward, the front leg is in the air, and in the walk and trot the hind leg on the same side is on the ground. In the trot it’s easiest to see because the horse’s legs move in diagonal pairs. When the outside shoulder blade moves back, the outside front leg and the inside hind leg are grounded. Glancing down at the horse’s shoulder can be a good way to develop one’s feel for where the horse’s feet are.

In the canter the outside hind leg is on the ground during the highest point of the canter stride. The inside hind leg (+ the outside front leg) is on the ground when the rider’s seat gets pulled forward in the saddle.

This is a brief overview over the purpose, timing, and aids of the half halt. I hope you find these explanations useful. You can try these things out the next time you ride your horse. Let me know what you find out and contact me with any questions you have. a

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I N T E R V I E W

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Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

AUTHOR: TERESA BURTON, LUSITANO HORSE FINDER PHOTOS BY: BRUNO BARATA

THE Art OF PRODUCING

MODERN SPORT LUSITANOS

Timeless Quality WITH

Interview with Luís Bastos

owner of Coudelaria Luís Bastos breeders of Lusitano Horses in Portugal

Luís Bastos started his stud farm with the desire to produce pure bred sport Lusitanos that retain the true qualities of the authentic Lusitano, the characteristics that make this ancient breed stand out.

Luís firmly believes that even with the closed stud book that currently exists a pure bred Lusitano can still bred within the bloodlines to produce top dressage horses with the quality to compete Internationally.

Gradually he has been proving that his vision can be achieved. Today the stud is producing high quality, promising young horses that are both sporty whilst still maintianing the characteristics we all love about the breed.

Their young horses are regularly claiming titles and championships in model and gaits classes – many have achieved the Gold medal award. The stud has been best breeder more than once and achieved Champion of Champions at the APSL International breed show 2016. What’s more the Stud’s keystone Stallion Escorial is competing successfully in France with top dressage rider Carlos Pinto. In discussion with Luís I was keen to learn more about how he makes his breeding choices and his vision for the future.

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They are athletes with a lot of power SO THEY REQUIRE the right amount of work to match.

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 Luís tell us how you select your Lusitano mares for breeding?

The most important characteristics I require to compliment my breeding profile is good locomotion. I analysis the three gaits not only looking at how they place the hoof during the range of the movements but on the hind leg ability to push forward. They must

have very good limbs, be upright, I am not worried about how much bone they have, more that they have to be upright, standing correctly with hind legs under them. I like to see a good shoulder, an uphill conformation and that they can achieve good suspension.

Good elasticity, a strong back and a good connection to the loin and of course a good character. I always begin by looking to the backend of the horse, in my opinion the engine –The hind quarters and legs – they must be able to push well from behind. We

are very fortunate to have a breeding stallion and mares that have these characteristics. Particularly my stallion Escorial, he’s successfully transmitting these qualities to his off spring.

Many claim that a ‘Good Dressage Lusitano’ (which is my main breeding aim) is difficult to produce within the traditional breed morphology. I do not agree with this at all.

I believe it is very possible to create typical pure bred Lusitanos that at the same time are excellent riding horses and are capable of achieving real success in dressage competition – even in top international competition.

These days you will see that the breeders of German horses are seeking to produce horses no more than 170cms and with better ability to collect. In the breeding of Lusitanos

now you can produce horses between 1.65 and 170 cms (approx 16 - 16.3hh).

My mares have a lot of Agareno blood, (One of the ‘The heads of Lineage‘) in fact I have four mares that are fully Agareno, meaning they have a lot of Veiga blood. I do place importance on top bloodlines. They are not all highly punctuated mares, nor are they particularly showy, but they are mares with excellent characteristics. They all have a very high consanguinity which doesn’t make them very tall but when they are inseminated with stallions from other bloodlines they give tall foals. I have 8 Lusitano mares which are consistently producing off spring with the qualities I listed earlier. I am delighted with this result as for my project aims this is an extremely important element.

I have now started breeding with mares that are daughters of my stallion Escorial which is the next phase and very exciting for us. I have a firm policy of only ever having 10 mares breeding at any one time. Because of this policy my mare selection is extremely thorough. Keeping to a small number it is easier to monitor and maintain the quality of the foals. It is vital that I don’t lose control over this.

I firmly believe it’s possible to produce very typical Lusitano horses with a great aptitude for dressage – I want horses that from 50 yards away you can identify perfectly well to be a Lusitano and what’s more they are excelling in dressage. The proof is in my stallion Escorial, who is currently competing in France with the Portuguese rider Carlos Pinto. He is already performing dressage tests with some PSG exercises and achieving scores around 73%, when you look at Escorial you will see that he is a very typical example.

Escorial was the Champion of Champions in model and gaits. He is a horse that has all the features that I find fundamental for a good dressage Lusitano. He is a horse that pushes from behind really well, that’s always moving under mass, he has a fantastic shoulder and he has a good loin, he swings the back very well.

The Lusitanos I am producing are horses with some hot blood, so they may not suit every rider. They are athletes with a lot of power so they require the right amount of work to match. They tend to have a lot more sensitivity than typical German or Dutch warmbloods.

 In the past Lusitanos were predominately grey (80% and the remaining 20% bay and some other colours) these days the balance has changed dramatically. What are your thoughts about colour in the breed?

I think the colour is important but certainly not fundamental. If you have a choice then great, I personally prefer a horse with colour, but I will always place quality over colour, in my opinion it’s simply the icing on the cake to have the colour you want.

In a showing or dressage arena many

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YOU MUST NEVER over stretch the young horse or put too much intensity or repetition into PREPARING THEM

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think a coloured horse is much more eye catching than a grey horse.

MODEL AND GAITS COMPETITIONS  You show your young stock at the breed show and Golega each year what are your reasons and thoughts on this?

There are many people against model and gaits competitions, however I am of the opinion that these shows are important. This is because model and gaits events are usually the first opportunity for your youngsters to be shown to others, you can compare your young stock and have experienced professional judges and other breeders confirm how you are performing in your breeding programme.

The Lusitano judges are looking for beauty and the vital characteristics befitting a true Lusitano, as I said earlier – good locomotion, hind leg, rib cage, shoulder, a good back and

good character – these features define a quality riding horse. All the colts and fillies I select to be shown are prepared in a very careful manner, it’s vital to me to prevent all types of injuries that are connected with these competitions.

You must never over stretch the young horse or put too much intensity or repetition into preparing them, their limbs are still growing. I believe you only really see if a horse is truly good or not when it is ridden. However, the young stocks competitions provide us with official conformation we are on the right path for future riding horses.

I enter these competitions to confirm my breeding programme. =I am very happy to have already achieved as a fairly new breeder many awards with my young stock. Receiving these awards and most importantly the conformation that my young horses are still retaining the typical aspects of the Lusitano really motivates me to do even better and keep on my path producing Modern Sport Lusitanos with Timeless Quality!  Thank you Luís we look forward to following your work and seeing your horses perform in dressage competition.

More about Coudelaria Luís Bastos can be found at www.coudaria-luis-bastos.com

Lusitano

HORSE ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALASIA

THE LUSITANO HORSE ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALASIA WAS FOUNDED TO PROMOTE ALL ASPECTS OF THE LUSITANO BREED IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND Help is available in a number of areas * ADVICE FOR PROSPECTIVE OWNERS ON FINDING A SUITABLE LUSITANO * INFORMATION ON PAPERS AND REGISTRATION AND MEMBERSHIP * LISTS OF BREEDERS INTERNATIONALLY IN PORTUGAL, BRAZIL, U.S.A, AND GREAT BRITAIN * IMPORT RESTRICTIONS AND INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT

LUSITANO HORSE ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIASIA E-MAIL: info@lusitano.com.au PH: +61 2 4887 1042 Sylvia Coyle | Ph 02 63 376521 | scoyle960@gmail.com

PO Box 1857, Bowral NSW 2576 Australia

lusitano.com.au facebook.com/lusitanohorseassociation

50 T R A I N I N G

The

Science

and

art of Riding with Lightness

by Dr. Robert Stodulka, D.V.M.

Book 1

WHY DRESSAGE AND SUPPLING EXERCISES: Only Art for the Sake of Art? When one examines the anatomy or the spinal column of the horse, it becomes clear that it is subjected to enormous static and biomechanical forces due to its shape. The spinal column connects the hind legs to the front end in the form of a bridge, the top being connected by the nuchal and spinous ligaments and the bottom braced by the sinewy Linea alba, thus forming the circle of muscles whereby the horse is elastically “positioned.�

T

hrough the gravitational weight of the innards of the horse, a continual downward pull is generated on the spinal column, thus bringing the dorsal vertebral processes closer together. A reflex contraction of the muscles of the belly work against this force. Furthermore, a horse living free in nature spends at least twenty hours a day grazing whereby the nuchal

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ligament is always under tension as the head of the horse remains mainly in a lowered position. The lever action of the lowered head while grazing raises the withers and the thoracic vertebrae up to the middle of the thorax, giving stability to the spinous processes. In this way the downward pull of gravity on the spinal column is physiologically counteracted. The weight of the rider increases this pull.

W W W. X E N P H O N P R E S S . C O M

T R A I N I N G

D

amage occurs to the horse when he attempts to carry a rider unless there is additional muscle training and lifting of the back.

When one watches a green horse on the lunge, it becomes very clear that a young, unbalanced horse finds it hard, if not impossible to bend and move evenly on a circle. The young horse will look to the outside, fall in on the circle with the shoulder and the hindquarters will often float to the outside, which is a sign of lack of pushing and carrying ability and especially lack of balance.

(Fig. 3.1 and 9.4a) Here, it is worth mentioning “natural crookedness.” This is a phenomenon present in all four-legged animals, yet it brings with it a specific challenge to the training of the riding horse, since the riding horse should be able to work equally on both reins.

DEFINITION:

“Natural crookedness”

is a congenital one-sidedness, that is explained, on the one hand, by the way the foal lies in the uterus and, on the other hand, by its “triangular form.”

Fig. 3.1. A lack of auto-equilibration (shown at left) in the young horse makes him unable to follow the circle line with his spine; instead the horse takes on an outward curve and use his neck and head as “balance-pole” to navigate the circle. Despite careful gymnastic exercising and straight- ening, the complete maintenance of a circular bend through the entire horse’s spine is anatomically impossible (due to the fact that his forehand is narrower than his haunches); nevertheless, the horse should be flexible to both sides. Thus he can be relatively parallel with the circle his is on (shown at right).

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This “triangular form” implies wide, powerfully driving hindquarters that attach to the forehand which becomes narrower towards the head. In the young horse, the lack of coordination and balance in the beginning causes the driving force to be transmitted in a crooked way and not in a straight line through the spinal column. Because of this, the horse will not track up evenly with the two hind legs. Instead, he will prefer working in one direction more than the other. In this way muscle shortening is developed and creates the apparently easier or hollow or concave side; the “stiff” side is much more difficult to bend.

Consequently, one of the goals of correct use of gymnastic exercises must be the consistent and symmetrical training of both sides of the body, in order for the horse to perform all the lessons effectively in both directions.

In the event of an obstructed vertebra or osteopathic lesion, it is of vital importance to have this adjusted

before the training of the horse so that the central mobility of the spinal column is recuperated. Otherwise the reflex posture the horse adapts to prevent damage will cause more tension and resistance.

The second goal of gymnastic exercises should be to establish the horse’s balance under the rider. Once the horse has managed to reach the stage of automatically balancing himself through the correct lungeing by the rider, without the use of accessory training aids, and he can move on a big circle (20 meter) with regular, rhythmic and cadenced steps, one should attempt to ask for contact by attaching long side reins. The neck of the horse is essential for finding balance and to keep this balance. Thus the side rein should not be attached too early and never too tightly, as one will then run the risk of destroying the forward movement, building up tensions in the back and neck, and bad behavior will be preconditioned.

Following this phase the horse should be able to bend and stretch lightly to the inside as he follows the line of the circle when the side reins are attached at the same length.

Fig. 3.1

Fig. 9.4a

Fig. 3.2

Fig. 3.2. With correct forward and downward movement of the neck, the withers elevate slightly and support the rider’s weight.

Due to the elon- gation of the neck, the horse is able to lengthen the stride. After stretch- ing, when he is collected and in self-carriage, the strides should become shorter without disturbing the engaged movement of his back.

Seeing that we are only addressing the first three steps of the training tree (regularity, freedom, contact), one cannot ask for true bend, due to the fact that the horse is not yet capable of straightness.

It would be a big mistake to shorten the inside rein in order to coerce the horse into the inside bend. The only thing that will happen is that the horse will progressively get more tension in his neck and lose his balance. Finding the contact through carefully directed stretching that starts from the hindquarters will be more difficult if the head is fixed to the inside.

Once the horse succeeds in finding his balance on the line of the circle, the rider should gently sit on the horse, with an independent seat, and attempt not to disturb the horse’s balance. Trying to get the horse on the bit at this early stage will make any reasonable activity of the back impossible and suppress the development of impulsion and regular steps.

Note: The horse should search for the contact due to the rounding of the back on the basis of the engaged hind legs and not because the rider wants to enforce a certain shape.

This is one of the underlying faults often repeated in the training of a horse.

TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK W W W. X E N P H O N P R E S S . C O M

The horse must, in this stage of his training (perhaps even in a round pen) be able to find his balance under the rider with a freely moving neck. Once he has managed to do this, the contact is a result thereof. The horse will also discover, as long as the rider praises him every time he shows some signs of the stretching, that carrying a rider with a rounded back is much easier than with a hollow back. (Fig. 3.2) It is assumed that the horse does not fall into muscle fatigue at this junction.

For this reason, short riding bursts of ten minutes are sufficient in the beginning.

In the course of systematic training, the horse develops and strengthens the important muscles of the back, hindquarters, abdomen and neck. All of that enables the horse to carry us without difficulty.

One must never forget that a rider sits mainly on the thoracic-lumbar intersection, which has very little bony support, yet it is furnished with greater mobility. It is for this reason that this area is very susceptible to tension and osteopathic lesions and thus rendered more fragile. When the gymnastic development of the young horse is disregarded, it is not possible for the horse to show good quality in the basic gaits. This will lead, through the absence of suppleness in the horse’s back, to the back being “split in two.” The push from the hindquarters will break down in the middle of the thoracic vertebrae due to the hollow back. No collection will be possible under these circumstances. The rest of the impulsion will be transferred to the more or less rigid front end of the horse, and the joints and ligaments will be exposed to a reinforced burden. On account of the extra burden on the front end, the locomotive muscle chains will cause tension in the neck vertebrae and, in turn, lead to difficulty with contact and cooperation. Hence the importance of gymnastic work for horses in all age groups, for only a body that works in perfect harmony is capable of excellent athletic performance. a

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INTERVIEW BY: Danielle Skerman PHOTOS: Supplied

I N T E R V I E W

Ribbleton

CREATING CONVERSATION AND COMMUNICATION

with

Paulette Evens

Growing up in the famous Snowy Mountains of Australia, Paulette Evens had a truly iconic childhood of riding horses and droving cattle in the highlands, swimming in the dams with her horses and all these things that make up a great recipe for a wonderful childhood. Horses have been her life for as long as she can remember and in her late teens she was introduced to dressage and started to breed Warmbloods.

Paulette now owns and runs Ribbletons Warmbloods and has spent many years refining her attunement method which is about creating a positive energy, working in harmony and creating responsiveness with the horse. We had the opportunity to talk with Paulette to learn more about her and her attunement.

BH: Hi Paulette, thank you for taking the time to talk with us, can you explain how it all began for you?

put onto the horses and the pace at which we expected them to progress was very intense. It didn’t create a feeling of harmony.

PE: I had a very traditional early relationship with horses. Most horse pursuits use the same type of training, which is pressure-based. Put pressure on the horse until it yields and does what it is told. When it does what it is told, the pressure is taken away. My country upbringing was based around “the horse must show me respect”. Respect wasn’t a two-way street. When I moved into the world of dressage, the demands

Most horse training methods focus on submission so you can get the horse to do what you want them to do. Some methods are more creative than others, and some are gentler than others, but the end goal is still the same “how do I get my horse to give me what I want”. That was what I was doing for most of my horse life.

It was always about me until a very powerful strong willed mare called Foxy Lady gave me no choice but to

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listen. Foxy is a blessing. She arrived in my life to facilitate a positive change all over the world for horses and people.

BH: You talk of attunement, what exactly is this?

PE: Attunement means ‘to work in harmony, with responsiveness’. The way we see it is that it’s about working in harmony and inspiring responsiveness with the horse.

It’s fairly simple, really; it’s about fostering a positive energy between you and the horse. A very important element of what we do and what

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makes Ribbleton Attunement different from most other horse training is that our focus is on “what is in it for the horse?”. If you change your focus from what can I get from my horse, to what is in it for my horse, then our horses will also benefit from the interaction.

This is why our horses are waiting at the gate for training. They want to learn, they know that we won’t push them beyond what they can handle and we will follow their lead.

We listen.

BH: You study yoga, meditation and mindfulness and also attend the School of Philosophy, how do you think this has helped you with your journey of discovery with your horses?

PE: The best decision I ever made was to stop listening to horse trainers and start listening to the horses. This listening led me to realise that I struggled with many things that my horses needed. I needed to understand concepts like “oneness”, “give to get”, “being vs. becoming” and so much more. This depth of understanding is critical to finding harmony with our horses (and humans). The study of yoga, meditation and philosophy has helped me to grow as a person; to connect with the horses and to be able to teach others. Teaching this work is really beautiful, particularly when I see how the changes in the students flow into their personal lives. I feel very honoured to do this work.

BH: What does true liberty mean to you? (as opposed to an obedient training of it type thing) PE: There are so many people teaching “liberty” training all over the world. The word liberty means “freedom”. Most of the horses doing liberty don’t feel free. I have watched videos of people with horses at “liberty” loading onto a trailer from a long, long distance away. At first glance, it looks impressive, but if you look closely at the horses you will see they have an undertone of anxiety, they don’t make eye contact with their trainer, they are not happy – they are obedient. There is no freedom. This to me is one of the saddest things to watch. Even

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a horse that is several hundred meters away can be forced to do what the human says. People say “ you can’t make a 500kg animal do something it doesn’t want to do”. This is simply untrue and I see if every single day. Horses are creatures of harmony. They will do their best to keep the harmony.

BH: How much choice do you give/ allow a horse to have and why?

PE: Choice is really great up until the point it causes uncertainty. Horses don’t like uncertainty, so if we give too many choices, we can create an environment of unease. The key is teaching our horses to constructively communicate with us.

When they are able to do this, they tell us if they are uncertain and we can then assist them in understanding.

BH: Can you explain your way of being with a horse PE: Our way is to change our focus from controlling to listening and understanding what the horse is saying. By doing this, your relationship becomes one of harmony.

It’s no different to our human-human relationships. The horse is then happy because we are listening to them. With this freedom of the mind, they become willing and inspired to learn with you.

They trust you, and they want to be with you. The impact on your relationship can be quite extraordinary. It’s true joy!

BH: Some people might say that they don’t have any problems with their horses and they are very obedient and that something like this wouldn’t be for them, what would your response be to them? How could this help their relationship with their horse?

PE: I guess it comes back to the motivation of the person. Do you want your horse to be happy and engaged in what you are doing together or do you want a robot?

An obedient horse usually doesn’t want to do what is being asked, but they do it because they don’t want to experience the pressure that happens when they don’t do what is being asked. Just like people, some horses avoid conflict and would rather keep the peace regardless of how they actually feel.

I find that most of these obedient horses end up going in one of two directions, 1) they become lacklustre, they don’t like to move forward, they may trip, they can be dull and sometimes called lazy or stubborn, or 2) they become reactive, and things happen out of the blue. I often hear people say “I don’t know why he did that”. The horse might spook, leap or even worse buck. These horses are in an automatic pilot mode, just waiting for the next request. They are not really present and every now and again they come into the present and often react suddenly.

BH: What sort of person would you say this sort of training be for?

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS is where the horse has given up trying to communicate. ... It has a huge affect on the whole life of the horse. Some people say, “I only want your attention for 1 hour in 24 hours. IT’S NOT MUCH” PE: Ribbleton Attunement Training is for everyone regardless of the discipline. Most of us have a great love for our horses and desire to be in harmony with them. We can help show you how to do this.

It’s often a particular horse that leads a person to look for other ways to relate to horses. Some people can feel that something is missing. They feel that their horse isn’t as happy as they should be. Other people will meet a horse that doesn’t agree with being dominated all the time, a horse that doesn’t want to submit. A horse that is prepared to stand up for themselves. Usually, these horses are sold and moved on or sometimes even worse. But sometimes the person decides to try a different way.

That’s what I did, and that’s what a lot of my students and clients have done now. That’s how they come to me. Like Foxy Lady, some horses have a very big voice. They are yelling at us to listen.

A lady in Perth (Western Australia), bred a horse just like this. From a very young age, this horse insisted that respect was a two-way street. Nothing this lady tried would work because all of the methods were based on submission. Over the years, this horse became dangerous, but her owner was determined to find a path of harmony.

When I met them both the change didn’t happen overnight. The trust had to be earnt. The lady had to do a lot of listening before this horse softened her outlook. I have so much admiration for horses like this. There are not that many of them. Most horses don’t like to fight, they just submit and loose their sense of self. The horses that are willing to fight for their rights are here to create great change in the world for their fellow horse.

BH: Is this attunement only for liberty work or can you apply it to ridden work?

PE: I like to think of attunement as a state of mind, rather than with or without tack. I work my horses without tack, in the halter, in-hand riding on the ground and riding on their backs. In every aspect I want my horses to have freedom of the mind where we have a continual dialogue happening. A horse has to have freedom of the mind if we want to find harmony.

BH: In your documentary you talk about learned helplessness, what is this exactly and how do you identify it in horses?

PE: To me learned helplessness is

where the horse has given up trying to communicate. I see this in all equine disciplines. It has a huge affect on the whole life of the horse. Some people say, “I only want your attention for 1 hour in 24 hours. It’s not much”. But over time that 1 hour can completely diminish a horse in its whole life.

They loose their sense of self. It’s not different in humans. People who are in a relationship with a dominant, controlling person over time loose their spirit as well. How do you know if your horse has learned helplessness?

I encourage people to explore our online training course on ribbleton. com “Inspiration begins with Communication”. This online course has been designed to help people understand their horse better and develop their communication together.

BH: Who would be your mentors and or people who inspire you?

PE: My greatest mentors are the horses. Most years I am working with around 300 horses. I work very hard on encouraging these horses to express how they feel to me. I listen to these horses and I am guided by their responses. Each horse is unique and fascinating. They have so much to teach us about ourselves if we are truly open to hearing their lessons.

I N T E R V I E W

I am very inspired by our human students.

I watch our students open themselves up to learn from their horses. They reveal to me the hugely positive outcomes that emerge from stepping into the arena of vulnerability. It is precisely when we expose ourselves that we have experiences that bring purpose and meaning to our lives.

There are three horse trainers that I hold in high regard. The first is a French couple, Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon. I encourage people to look on Youtube for their videos, they are really amazing with horses and have a beautiful way of following the direction of the horse. We run Ribbleton Horse-led retreats with them in France. The other person is a lady called Imke Spilker. She has a book called Empowered Horses which is a real eyeopener. It is the type of book that you just read one page and then let that resonate and play out during your day. Imke’s lessons have become my moral compass.

Whenever my horses don’t want to be with me, it’s Imke’s lessons that come to mind.

BH: Many people think that a horse may love them or think certain things they do is affection, however, may be driven by the love of food (e.g. come running when they hear your car or voice). How can you tell the difference, what are the signs or things horses will genuinely do to show affection?

PE: Personally I’m not a big fan of using

food or clickers in training. I feel that it creates a false motivation in the horse. The horse is behaving because of the clicker and or food. It doesn’t allow us to see the truth.

Many horses want the food, so they will do whatever is needed to get it. To see the truth, we need to take away the food, stop using pressure in training (perhaps put your whips away for a few sessions), take off the tack and give them plenty of space. Then you will see how the horse really feels about you.

BH: Can you tell us about your documentary?

PE: It really is quite amazing the impact Foxy Lady has had on my life and the lives of so many other people around the world.

As part of the development of Ribbleton Attunement, I met with a creative design

company. I wanted them to make a 3-5 minute video about our work that we could put on our website. We had two meetings where I sat down with the team, and they asked me questions about what we do. They were fascinated with what I was saying and quickly realised that our work is unique and liberating people and horses all over the world.

They asked if they could interview some students to get a deeper understanding of the effects of our teachings. The interviews often left the interviewer in tears! At our next meeting, they said: “we have got to tell your story to the world”.

We then embarked on creating the documentary film “Living the Horse”.

The making of this film has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. The whole process was organic without stress. Each step just unfolded with ease as it was needed. It very much mirrored my training with my own horses. Our film has won awards including winning the Hollywood International Documentary Film Award and also the Jury Award at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. I’m excited for the future with this film and to all the people that might create just a little change with their horses and open up a new world of happiness between them both.

We would like to thank Paulette for talking to us and letting us into her life of horses and Attunement. It is something that I'm sure all horses and humans would get a lot from. For those who would like to know more, please do go and check out her web ribbleton.com a

58 Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

WHY USE

A Slow

Feed

HAY NET

There are many reasons to use a slow hay feeding net and first and foremost is for health reasons. The main reason is slow down your horse's rate of consumpiton and so he is also kept busy throughtout the day. Another reason is to save on wastage and reduce costs.

What are the advantages of using a slow feeding hay net?

• •

Slows down consumption by up to 50%

Reduces incidence of choke, colic and gut ulcers by providing a constant slow source of food •

Allows horses to graze keeping them calmer •

• • •

Avoids eye injuries from grass seeds

Prevents hay wastage by keeping hay contained

Aids in soaking hay for horses with metabolic disorders

Encourage exercise by placing multiple bags around the horses paddock Tips to Introducing a slow feeding net.

1) Pluck some hay through the holes in the net to help your horse get started 2) Avoid introducing a net to your horse when he is very hungry, try to provide hay constantly.

Whoa, Steady Neddy have slow feeding nets that are durable, handmade and unique. They are unique because they have incorpaorated a specialised knot system and handles that not only make them easier to use but safer for your horses too. They are fully closed so the ropes will not need an adjustment as the horse empties the net.



Various sizes available to suit your feeding routine, nets available in 3 or 4 cm holes. 

All 4cm nets are made with heavy duty 60ply UV treated and heat strengthened knots.

whoasteadyneddy.com.au whoasteadyneddy.com.au

60 O F

I N T E R E S T

Understanding HAY W

hat type of hay do you buy?

It does get confusing on what is the best for your horse.

Price can also be a factor on why you buy which hay but let's take a look a the benefits or drawbacks of each type.

The traditional hays are made from cereal (pasture), legume or grass.

Whatever type of hay you choose the nutritional level will depend on many factors, for example, where it is grown, the type or the stage/time it is at when it is harvested. If the hay is weather damaged (rained on while drying), then it can reduce the nutritional level. In some cases, this can be a good thing, for example, in Lucerne, the water damage reduces the starch/sugar which is better for horses prone to laminitis. You can also do this yourself by soaking the hay about half an hour before feeding and can be fed wet or dry.

If hay is the main diet for your horse, it's possible that your horse could consume too much starch, which can cause problems like obesity and laminitis. It is important to know that hay should not be more the 50% of the forage that is consumed by your horse each day.

Let's look at some of the most commonly fed types of hay and the up and downsides of them. Where one might be a beneficial for one horse may not for another. It's important that you look at your individual horse's needs.

•

Lactating mares and growing foal

•

Performance horses

•

Laminitic prone horses

BARLEY HAY (should be green when fresh) •

A good fibre source

•

High in starch / NSC

•

Low levels of energy

•

The seed awns from the heads can catch in the horse's mouth

•

Low levels of protein (approx 9%)

•

Should not be given to horse with insulin resistance (IR)/laminatis or equine metabolic syndrome (EMS)

Best for: •

Horses that don't need extra energy

ALFALFA/LUCERNE •

Is a palatable legume

CLOVER (White & Red)

•

Rich in protein and calcium

•

High forage quality

•

Has high-fibre

•

Palatable

•

Excellent source of nutrients

•

Acceptable levels of protein

•

High in energy

•

•

Low level in starch/NSC (nonstructural carbohydrates)

Fungus can occur in warm, humid weather

•

Too rich for young horses

•

Can lead to obesity is horses

•

High calcium can cause digestive issues

FORAGE HAY

•

May need to add a high-phosphorus mineral to better balance the calciumto-phosphorus ratio

•

Multi-grain hay made from oats, wheat and barley

•

Good feed source

•

A palatable hay

Best for:

60

•

Horses that need extra energy

Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

OAT/WHEATEN HAY

GRASS HAY

•

Is a natural and whole grain hay that is the closest to the horse's natural diet.

•

An excellent horse hay

•

It is a palatable hay

•

A palatable hay

•

Digestible fibre.

•

A good source of fibre

•

The highest carbohydrate content of all the cereals

•

A good source of copper and zinc

•

High in nitrates and sugar, it is commonly known as 'sweet hay'

•

Low in protein (approx. 10%)

•

•

Has low levels of potassium and nitrate nitrogen

High in fructans (bad sugar), so not ideal for horses who tend to put on weight and can cause laminitis.

•

Typically low in protein

•

Possible inverted calcium-phosphorus ratio

•

Marginal calcium content.

•

Wheaten and oaten hay and chaff are similar in feed value

Best for:

Best for: •

Steamed oats improve the digestibility for older horses with poor teeth.

•

An oats/alfa mix is higher in protein and suitable for growing horses and broodmares

•

Horse's with moderate to heavy workloads

WHY STEAM YOUR HORSE FEED Steamers provide a hygienic, dust-free, hydrated, palatable and easily digestible forage, resulting in a healthier horse and can be used to increase forage intake when feeding low mould hay.

OAT / WHEAT / BARLEY STRAW

Benefits of Steaming

•

Can also be used as a feed supplement/roughage as well as bedding material.

•

Steaming hay retains the goodness of minerals, vitamins and nutrients

•

Mix the straw with alfalfa hay and molasses to add roughage to your horse's diet.

•

•

Oaten hay can be softer and more palatable than wheat or barley straw

Steamed hay can help to prevent respiratory diseases and heaves in horses, as there's barely anything left to inhale.

•

Steamed hay can be more palatable

•

Not a worthwhile sole food source

•

•

High in lignin (fibrous substance) that makes it difficult to digest

•

low in sugar/starch

As the hay is steamed at high temperatures therefore most dust mites, bacteria and fungal spores are killed off whilst potentially damaging dust particles are dampened down

•

Can be dry and course

•

Best, not to be fed to young horse as they don't have the digestive capacity

• As with all horse's diets, it is best to first discuss your horse's specific dietary needs with an equine expert before changing any feeding regime. a

When you care about the quality & quantity of the hay your horse consumes, you can trust Haygain Haygain Steamers provide the only scientifically proven method for purifying hay

Feeding forage at a natural pace.

That’s pure horse sense.

Official Haygain distributor in Australia Pelletmate | www.haygain.com.au | T: 03 5248 2274

Equine International Airfreight THE POINT (TO POINT) OF DIFFERENCE

England to Australia transport reaches for the sky with opening of new quarantine facility

F

lying horses across the world has improved dramatically over time, but it remains a highly specialised field. Horses can’t check in online (well, not yet anyway) and, unlike humans, have to undergo a period of quarantine.

The responsibility of caring for and ensuring the safe delivery of horses from A to B should only be entrusted to those with a good track record. That’s where Equine International Airfreight (EIAF) comes in. EIAF has established a considerable hoof print on global transport in recent years and has now taken another massive stride forward with the announcement that it is opening a new quarantine facility in England.

Based in Newmarket - the heart of horse country - Blackhorse Farm is spread over 60 acres of lovely, pastured land with modern stabling, safe fencing (Diamond Mesh), turn out paddocks, a horse walker and lunging ring, outdoor dressage arena, veterinary facilities and isolation stables.

Managed by well known and highly respected horseperson, Leanne Needham, Blackhorse Farm is an Australian Government approved quarantine facility and will present owners with a professional and competitive edge to transport horses from the United Kingdom to Australia.

“This is tremendous news for EIAF, but more importantly, a great leap for our clients,” EIAF’s Managing Director, Cameron Croucher, points out. "EIAF already has an established quarantine facility in Europe, from which it has safely transported horses out of the region for quite some time, but the approved farm in England really opens up the playing field for those with horse interests in the United Kingdom that are Aussie-bound.

As a consequence, EIAF has formed an association with the highly reputable BBA Shipping and Equine Logistics Company in the United Kingdom which will now allow

62 Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

EIAF to vie for the 300 plus horses that currently make the journey from the UK to Australia each year.

Where once a monopoly existed, this now gives clients a much more competitive and price sensitive edge, while maintaining the same level of experience and professionalism that is vital for the safe transport of horses.

Blackhorse Farm is an impressive operation and specialises in the movement of thoroughbreds, sport and polo horses - all breeds actually - and is an ideal quarantine facility which was immediately approved when inspected recently by the Australian Department of Agriculture.

Aside from Louise (Needham) overseeing the Blackhorse day-to-day, all veterinary requirements are catered for by Dr David Bartram and Dr David Dugdale from the Newmarket Equine Hospital.

EIAF has always aligned itself with credible, experienced shipping operations and has a close association with one of the world’s leading shipping companies in Europe with Guido Klatte.

This new association with BBA Shipping and Equine Logistics Company really opens up the field though and provides owners with a viable alternative - both in terms of professionalism and pricing.

BBA is owned and managed by Kevin Needham, whose knowledge of air transport is second to none, while Equine Logistics Company is owned by Lina Churchward and Australian bound horses will be under the management of Lydia Boult.

Having people of such high regard on board is certainly cause to give clients great confidence.

What’s more, up until now there has been no competition in this market place, and that is about to change for the better.

Without competition, people end up paying

a premium, but now the landscape will change.” explains Cameron.

While the company has been in operation for 18 years, EIAF was ‘re-branded’ in 2014 with its acquisition by Croucher and retail leviathan Gerry Harvey, who is also the owner of the Magic Millions sales company (of which EIAF is the partner shipping agency).

With decades-long experience in business, before taking over the role as CEO of one of Australia’s major thoroughbred stud farms, Croucher has always had an association with equine air travel and jumped at the opportunity to become more closely involved.

“It’s a fascinating field really,” Croucher enthuses. “Equine air freight companies are charged with a huge responsibility, and there are many arms to the business. For instance, things like insurance and currency exchange rates. EIAF is not tied to any one insurance company and can therefore source the best available rate on behalf of clients. Trust me, rates ebb and flow in relation to a whole range of matters and you don’t want to be tied into one company. It’s much the same with our foreign currency exchange service that surpasses the offerings of major banks.

EIAF offers a real-time flight tracking system too, and coordinates exports to and from Australia to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North America and now, Britain.

Naturally, professionalism is key and EIAF only uses experienced staff. Our head groom, Peter Anderson, for example, has supervised well over 1000 individual horse flights.

Securing the quarantine facility in England is a tremendous boost for EIAF and our clients, but I’m also proud of the fact that we are sticking true to our ‘points of difference’ … a personalised service in that clients talk to the person who is actually organising the flights, quotes etcetera, we have a secondto-none level of communication and, importantly, offer competitive pricing.” a

FLY UK TO AUSTRALIA WITH EIAF

NEW Australian Approved Quarantine Farm now opened in Newmarket

Contact Kevin Needham +44 1638 665 021

Contact Cameron Croucher +61 2 8817 0300

Contact Lydia Boult +44 1798 867 301

64

AUTHOR: Jochen Schleese, CMS, CSFT, CSE ©2017 Saddlefit 4 Life® All Rights Reserved

E D U C AT I O N

Bad

Horse?!

Horse Rearing - Photo Credit - Shutterstock

REALLY? HOW ABOUT ‘BAD RIDER!’ OR ‘BAD SADDLE!’??

Many people agree with the statement that ‘horses do not consciously behave badly’. They react to outside stimuli – either a poorly fitting saddle or an incompetent or untrained rider can cause these kinds of behaviours. How and where a rider’s weight is carried can make a huge difference. And dangerous horses can quickly be created when aids are misunderstood or mishandled. Sometimes horses will develop resistant or evasive behaviours because the handler does not know how to get what he/she is asking for, but remember that this does not make a ‘bad horse’ – it's simply a horse behaving badly! (Although granted – just like there are simply mean people on this earth, there is the occasionally encountered simply ‘mean horse’.) Some of the ‘strategic behaviour’ horses have adopted have developed into what humans denote as ‘stereotypical’ – but these are not vices, as vices would infer that the horse is at fault.

64 Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

Photo courtesy Karen Loshbaugh - Horse reacting to being saddled

T

here have been a proliferation of articles appearing over the past year in all sorts of publications discussing “how to slow down the rushing horse”; “how to ride the stumble out of your horse”; “how to make your horse go forward”; how to how to how to. All of these negative and unwanted ‘behaviours’ of your horse may actually be due to something as simple as a poorly fitting saddle which impacts the reflex points and causes simple instinctive reactions rather than conscious behaviours.

But these articles all seem to point to the fact that these indicators are a result of rider error, and attempt to address corrections by either offering solutions to change rider behaviour, or – more drastically – calling in a vet to administer pharmaceuticals to address the issues.

Obviously sometimes there are absolutely valid psycho-somatic reasons behind some of these things, or actual illnesses causing these kinds of behaviour (or even lameness), but I would like to suggest that before you have to resort to expensive veterinary or ‘neuroscientific’ treatments, you invest in a simple diagnostic evaluation of your saddle fit using a qualified saddle fitter who understands equine biomechanics and anatomy and the ramifications for your horse if the saddle doesn’t fit properly.

If the saddle puts pressure on the reflex points along the spine because of a gullet channel which is too narrow, or because it twists during movement because of natural asymmetry the horse will reflexively lower its back to escape the pressure/pain. The goal to have the horse engage its back or bring it up during riding is unachievable. The forward impulse and momentum is lost, defensive behaviour from the horse and not going on the bit, and a rider out of balance are just some of the other ramifications. This results in a frustrating experience for both horse and rider. The horse would like to respond to the aids the rider gives him, but the pressure on his reflex points inhibits his ability to do so. Think about your knee reflex: even if the doctor told you to try and refrain from kicking him when he taps your patella, you would anyway

and there would be nothing you could consciously try to do about it.

So it would make sense that a saddle which consistently puts pressure on the horse’s reflex points would be frustrating and eventually even damaging to the horse. Let’s say you give your horse the signal to move forward. However, if the tree angle is too wide, or the tree width is too narrow, and the saddletree is putting too much pressure on Cranial Nerve 11, then the horse cannot really comply. The reason for this is that the saddle hits a reflex point which hinders the ability to move. The actual instinctual reaction at this point is dropping the back, locking the shoulder, and rotating the pelvis (just like when the stallion bites the mare at this exact point during breeding!). Despite its best intentions, the horse instinctively will not, and more importantly, cannot move forward. He experiences the inner battle of wanting to obey his rider (“let’s go forward”) and his instincts (“stay still!”). A losing proposition for the horse – and possibly physical and psychological pain for the horse, as the rider thinks that this immobility is simply stubbornness and starts using spurs and whip. Consider trying to drive your car briskly away, but your handbrake is still on. Tires will squeal, you can move only haltingly, and smoke is generated from burning of the brake pads. That’s what your horse goes through, and what it feels like.

Of course, there are occasionally genetic reasons for a horse not wanting to move forward – specifically HYPP (Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis) which occurs as a hereditary muscle disorder in quarter horses, or PSSM (Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy) which occurs in many other breeds – both of which can cause ‘tying up’ and seeming reluctance to move. Obviously, these potential causes need to be eliminated as well.

Let’s listen a little more to what the horse is trying to tell us – horses can’t speak, but their behavior speaks volumes! Sometimes due diligence is necessary to determine the cause. a

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66 Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

5

68 H E A LT H

Handy

HINTS

P O P U L A R H A N D Y H I N T S A N D P R A C T I C A L A D V I C E F R O M K O H N K E ’ S O W N ~ D R J O H N K O H N K E B V S C R D A

Check out some great tips from one of Australia’s most popular and knowledgeable veterinarians! You can also find more great advice on his Facebook page www.facebook.com/johnkohnkeproducts

1. HOOF CARE DURING AUTUMN Autumn weather in many parts of Australia usually sees a lot of rain. This wet weather can make your horses hooves become very soft and waterlogged, as the hooves soak up the extra water. Wet muddy paddock or yards also increase the risk of hoof abscesses developing as soil bacteria and contaminates are drawn into any cracks that may be present. These wet muddy conditions also see problems such as Thrush which is caused by a fungal microbe that thrives in wet conditions.

To help prevent any hoof problems during this wet weather, it is important to keep your horse’s hooves as dry as possible. Applying Kohnke’s Own Hoof-Seal to the hooves, frog and sole, twice a week will help to minimise moisture absorption by the hooves. Keep horses out of muddy, waterlogged areas, such as gateways, laneways or low lying areas, a temporary electric fence is useful for restricting access to these areas.

Avoid riding on wet, or waterlogged surfaces, and ensure feet are cleaned daily to remove any mud, particularly from around the frog area.

2. WEANING THE FOAL Weaning the foal during early Autumn is common practice, especially in a big stud situation. Weaning can be stressful for the foal, and often a setback in their growth may be noticeable in the first 3-4 weeks of weaning as they become accustomed to being separated from their mother. Weaning in early Autumn allows them to adjust to their new diet and situation before the cold winter weather arrives.

For mares that are in foal again, having their foal weaned in Autumn gives their body time to rest and recover before the next foal arrives. During Autumn, the mare is normally entering the last trimester of her pregnancy, and this stage is the most important for the growth and development of her unborn foal. Weaning her nursing foal allows her energy and nutrients to be directed to the unborn foal rather than milk production.

Weaning the foal also allows you to better control his diet, ensuring that he is getting the correct balance of essential nutrients that he requires to continue to grow and develop into a sound, mature horse. The foal’s energy, protein and nutrient levels will be different from the mares at this stage, so weaning allows separate feeding with a suitable diet for both of them.

68 Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

H E A LT H 3. LAMINITIS Laminitis can be a problem during this time of year. Laminitis is not just associated with lush, green growing pasture. Dry pastures that appear to be dead, often contain high levels of sugars at the base of the plant and in the root system. These sugars are stored ready for the event of rain or suitable weather conditions, where the plant can use these stores to shoot very quickly and encourage rapid leaf growth. Horses that are able to graze these pastures unrestricted, with limited supplementation of hay, may be at risk of excessive sugar intake, ponies and horses with metabolic conditions are at greater risk of developing Laminitis during this situation.

If you have a susceptible horse or pony, it is important to restrict grazing to a couple of hours per day, and supplement the diet with soaked hay which will greatly reduce the sugar intake. Monitor your horses body condition, as well as signs of fat deposits such as a cresty neck that may indicate the possibility of a Lamanitic episode developing.

4. TRAVELLING WITH A HEALTHY DIGESTIVE SYSTEM A healthy digestive system is essential for normal health and vitality of your horse. Horses are known as trickle feeders, meaning that they eat small amounts often. The digestive system is often compromised when pasture is low, the horse is not provided with enough feed, or the horse encounters long periods of time without feed. Acid secretion within the digestive system is continual, and if the horse does not have access to feed for long periods of time such as overnight or during travel, then the digestive system becomes very acidic, which can increase the risk of gastric ulcers developing. Saliva is used to buffer the gastric acid, and is only produced as the horse is chewing.

70 Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

When travelling, especially long distances, it is a good idea to provide a biscuit of dampened Lucerne hay for the horse to eat during the journey. Kohnke’s Own Gastro-Coat added to 4 litres of Lucerne chaff, fed 30 minutes before travel will help to reduce any discomfort during travel caused by the gastric acid splashing onto sensitive parts of the stomach lining.

Always offer your horse water during and after travel as hydration is important.

5. STRINGHALT – WHAT IS IT? Stringhalt, or more correctly named Pasture Associated Stringhalt or Australian Stringhalt, is a condition that effects horses that have grazed pastures containing Flatweed. The leaf of the flatweed contains a nerve damaging chemical that damages the protective nerve sheath. Symptoms can vary from slightly unco-ordinated hind limbs when initially walked off, to a highly-exaggerated gate with the inability to walk backwards. Symptoms will develop within 7-21 days of consuming the flatweed.

Horses should be removed from the affected pastures immediately to prevent any further ingestion of the weeds that will cause further damage. Recovery can take from several weeks up to 12 months, depending on the severity of the condition. Pastures should be regularly monitored for weeds and removed or sprayed. Increased cases of Stringhalt are seen in Autumn as this flatweed is quick to grow as soon as there is any rain after the dry summer months, the horses seek out these freshly growing green leaves. a

72

E D U C AT I O N

Equine

HAIR GROWTH By

The Nude Horse

(Equine Epidemiologist)

Healthy hair growth occurs when dietary needs are met adequately, supplying the necessary building blocks for the natural biological processes to occur according to genetic makeup.

Often in domestic confinement, as most horses are kept in modern times, necessary nutrients may be unavailable in the correct ratios to assist this process to occur naturally at a speed we would expect.

Horses confined to paddocks or stables, are also often in close proximity to other horses creating a breeding ground for diseases and parasites.

Diseases that cause damage to the hair shaft or follicle include bacterial, fungal or parasitic infections. Diseases that can directly inhibit or slow hair follicle growth include nutritional deficiencies or hormone imbalances (hypothyroidism). Temporary hair loss can also occur after a severe illness or fever.

Sarcoptes is perhaps the best known cause of itch and hair loss in the mane and tail of horses. The microscopic female mite when impregnated tunnels into the skin and deposits eggs in the burrow. The larvae hatch in 3 to 10 days, move about on the skin as they mature into adult mites. Adult mites live three to four weeks in the host’s skin.

The action of the mites moving within the skin and on the surface itself produces an intense itch that may resemble symptoms of QLD Itch. Their excreted faeces resemble dandruff or scurf and are often mistaken as just that. Thinning of the hair occurs as they damage the hair follicles causing reduced hair growth and hair thinning.

Some skin disorders do not cause itching, but secondary infections such as bacterial or yeast infections cause the horse to itch and subsequently hair loss. It is possible the time the itch occurs the initial skin disorder is long gone. Your vet will perform a skin

72 Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au

scraping to identify the cause of the itch, likely parasites are considered as the first cause of an itch.

Rain scald can be attributed to Dermatophilus Congolensis. This organism likes to infect traumatized skin, particularly in the presence of high moisture. Young horses with poorly developed immune systems are at a higher risk of getting rain scald. Skin trauma can be initiated by abrasions, insect bites or frequent rain exposure that softens the skin, particularly along the horse’s topline.

The Science behind hair growth Hair has two distinct structures the follicle and the hair shaft.

The hair follicle is a tunnel like segment of the epidermis that extends down into the dermis (skin). The structure contains several layers that all have separate functions. At the base of the follicle is the papilla which contains capillaries that nourish the cells.

The living part of the hair is the bottom

part surrounding the papilla, called the bulb. There are two sheaths that protect the growing hair shaft. The inner sheath follows the hair shaft and ends below the opening of a sebaceous gland (produces sebum).

Protecting the follicle from damage, chemicals and itch enables normal hair growth to occur.

It has been documented that hair growth can be stimulated through dietary supplementing and also external application of various substances. Of interest are Emu Oil, Lavender Oil and Coconut Oil for their therapeutic properties including being non-comedogenic, antiinflammatory and potential follicle stimulants. A. Topical application of a blend of oils suited to intense hair conditioning and follicle protection can potentially improve hair growth and quality.

Experts already know that there is a strong link between hair loss/growth and nutrition.

Listed here are a few key nutrients ideally included in the equine diet in scientifically balanced proportions to ensure healthy hair growth.

NUTRIENTS TO SUPPORT HAIR GROWTH Methionine: Methionine is an essential amino acid that helps against premature hair loss. It also improves hair texture, quality and growth. Methionine is a powerful anti oxidant and a good source of sulphur, a necessary nutrient that helps prevent hair disorders. Methionine increases blood flow to the skin surface thereby increasing nutrient supply to hair follicles and aiding hair production.

Organic Selenium: The antioxidants of selenium help the body absorb Vitamin E. Selenium also aids the body in processing and using proteins that are consumed. Hair is primarily composed of proteins so when the body is able to better process the proteins, hair growth will follow. Deficiencies in selenium (and zinc) often lead to hair loss. Organic Selenium has been found to have higher digestibility than inorganic selenium.

Organic Manganese: Deficiencies of this important mineral may result in impaired hair growth, poor wound healing and other skin issues as well as loss of hair colour. Without Manganese biotin cannot be used efficiently.

Organic Chelated Zinc: Like the skin, the hair has considerable need for the mineral nutrient zinc. Zinc is involved in the building of keratin, which is one of the main components of hair, skin and hooves. A horse needs zinc for the formation of collagen which helps anchor the hair in the skin. Zinc also facilitates the necessary cell division which makes the growth of hair possible. Hair loss may be the first sign of zinc deficiency.

In an chelated organic form zinc is able to be absorbed and utilised more efficiently.

Biotin: Biotin has long been associated with equine hoof care and hair growth. A horse fed Biotin can expect a shinier healthier coat with improved overall skin condition. Biotin is best fed in conjunction with Manganese for optimum function.

Omega Fatty Acids A 6 month trial on women with hair loss were given a mix that included 460mg of Fish Oil per day with these impressive results: • 89.9% said their overall hair loss has decreased • 78.5% said their hair diameter had improved • 86.1 of said their hair was shinier • 85.9% said their hair had more volume • 84.8% said their hair was softer B. Cod liver oil is natures own correctly balanced Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratio and delivers forms of ALA, EPA and DHA. Plant based omega 3 fats such as flaxseed/linseed deliver a small amount (less than 10 percent) able to be converted into EPA and DHA. Fish oil on the other hand provides preformed EPA and DHA ready to be absorbed and utilised.C. A. http://www.google.com/patents/WO1996034596A2?cl=en B. http://www.hairsentinel.com/omega-fatty-acids-and-hairloss.html C. http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/health/naturalhealth/flaxseed-vs-fish-oil/news story/3bed1de7cd8aea60c2ca34a8b3982366

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ARTICLE BY: KER

H E A LT H

H e a l t h

B e n e f i t s

feeding

from

Omega–3 Fatty Acids

The benefits of feeding fat as a source of energy to horses are now widely accepted. Fat is scarce in forages and is therefore a seemingly unnatural feedstuff for horses, but its nutritional advantages are now well recognised. Substitution of starch with fat can help relieve painful muscle conditions, modify behavior and help control metabolic conditions. Now that the advantages of fat are accepted almost universally by horsemen, scientists are further exploring how certain fats help horses.

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omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids aid in the maintenance of cell membrane stability, development and function of central nervous system tissue, oxygen transfer and immune functions.

Scientists have not determined the optimal rato of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids for horses. Even without an exact rato, general knowledge of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and typical equine management practices uncover some potentially undesirable trends.

The natural diet of horses—primarily fresh and dried forages— contains more omega-3 fatty acids than diets consisting of a mixture of forage and cereal grains or premixed concentrate feeds. Domesticated horses are often fed concentrated sources of energy in the form of grain meals. Grains and oils possess more omega-6 fatty acids than forages, creating a balance of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids that may be inappropriate. Horses that must expend high levels of energy—performance horses such as eventers, showjumpers, polo ponies and racehorses—are typically fed high-grain or high-oil diets. Lactating broodmares and yearlings often also fit into this category. Such diets may require the addition of an omega-3 fatty acid supplement to reap the benefits of a ration high in omega-3 fatty acids.

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esearchers have focused their attention on two distinct families of fatty acids: the omega-3 family and the omega-6 family. The omega-3 family stems from alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), and the omega-6 family originates from linoleic acid (LA).

ALA and LA are considered “essential fatty acids” because they are instrumental in the life cycle, yet they cannot be manufactured in the body and must be obtained from dietary sources.

Significant members of the omega-3 family shown to have positive effects on the body are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Interestngly, the horse’s body can convert ALA to EPA and DHA when insufficient quantities of ALA are consumed, although this process is not entirely efficient. ALA is found in leafy plants and commonly fed linseed oil. It is preferable to provide omega-3 fatty acids in the form of EPA and DHA as they are ready to use by the body. These fatty acids are found in fish oil. Therefore, when considering supplementing with an omega-3 supplement, it is highly beneficial to choose fish oil where EPA and DHA are already available for use in the horse’s body.

THE OMEGA-3 TO OMEGA-6 RATIO: A BALANCING ACT

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mega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids must be balanced within the body in order for both to be effective. Each fatty acid is necessary for the production and distribution of a class of hormones called prostaglandins. The prostaglandins that evolve from consumption of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids have different effects on inflammatory processes in the body. In addition to their effects on inflammatory responses,

THE BENEFITS OF OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS

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nterest in omega-3 fatty acids has heightened among all species in recent years and equine researchers have begun to study their effectiveness in horses. Research is full of possibilities. As such, scientists are looking into other ways in which omega-3 fatty acids may benefit horses. Many studies have been undertaken by scientists to investigate the potential benefits of supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids, and promising results have come to light.

1.

Benefits of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation for inflammation and immune function. Scientists at Texas A&M University have reported that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids reduced joint inflammation in both yearlings and older, arthritic horses. Horses fed the omega-3 supplement had lower synovial fluid white blood cell counts than those in the control group. Raised white blood cell counts are indicative of local inflammation, and arthritic horses will typically have a much higher number of white blood cells than non-arthritic horses.

T RE A H A IL N T IHN G

Reproductve specialists obtained encouraging results in studies carried out on stallions. In some stallions there was a significant boost in the number of normally shaped sperm, motility after chilling or thawing frozen semen and a rise in the concentration of spermatozoa in the semen.

3.

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACID supplementation is a smart way to offset the skewed ratio of OMEGA-3 to OMEGA-6 FATTY ACIDS when high-grain rations are fed to horses.

Studies conducted by Michigan State University concluded that horses supplemented with a dietary source of EPA and DHA showed a significant increase in the plasma fatty acid profile. In this study, adding the EPA and DHA forms of omega-3 to the horse’s diet resulted in a longer trot stride length, presumably as a result of the reduced inflammation and decreased joint pain.

For horses suffering from allergies and skin conditions, omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to help with skin and coat hypersensitvity associated with insect bites and other allergic reactions.

2.

Benefits of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation for mares and stallions. Researchers are studying the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on estrous cycles and pregnancy rates of mares, with a possible connection to reproductive function.

In mares, supplementation with fish oil has led to reduced prostaglandin secretion and increased progesterone levels and this may aid embryo survival. Nutritonists uncovered interesting results when omega-3 fatty acids were fed to pregnant mares.

The mares passed along the fatty acids to their foals in their milk. These foals seemed to have a stronger immune status than foals suckling mares not fed omega-3 fatty acids.

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Benefits of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation for performance horses. The higher energy requirements of performance horses means that we often have to provide them with a hard feed in addition to the forage component of their diet. As mentioned, this means they are often provided with more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids. All horses on high-grain, high-oil or high- concentrate diets will benefit from the addition of a dedicated omega-3 fatty acid supplement. The addition of fish oil may also have a desirable effect on insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism in response to exercise.

Performance horses often spend a portion of time out of the paddock and in a stable, which can sometimes be a contributing factor in respiratory conditions. Approximately 15% of horses are affected by recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) or inflammatory airway disease (IAD). Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation provides an additional benefit to a low-dust diet in the management of horses with chronic lower airway disease. Therefore, supplementing with an EPA and DHA supplement may assist in reducing respiratory inflammation.

Omega-3 fatty acids play a role in the flexibility of cell walls. Increased flexibility of the membranes of red blood cells is crucial, especially during exercise when heart rates increase, blood thickens and packed cell volume rises. Increased

elasticity of red blood cells allows easier passage through narrow blood vessels in the lungs and muscles, thereby improving blood supply and oxygen delivery. Promising results in human medicine have led researchers to explore the effects of a combined dose of DHA and EPA on reducing signs of EIPH. Scientists at Kansas State University reported a reduction of EIPH severity (bleeders) in Thoroughbreds after being fed a diet enriched with fish oil for 83 days. Other studies have reported increased red blood cell membrane fluidity during exercise in horses fed a diet enriched with DHA and EPA and this or the anti-inflammatory effect may lead to the reduced severity of EIPH. GIVE OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS TIME TO WORK

I

t is important to realize that rapidness of response to supplementation is dependent on the pathway of action. Elevated plasma levels and endocrine and cytokine actions are more rapid than enhanced semen or red blood cell characteristics. It takes about 60 days for the full spermatogenesis process to occur and the life cycle of a red blood cell is approximately 120 days. Therefore, a positive effect on bleeders requires at least 150 days of supplementation in order for DHA and EPA to be fully incorporated into all the red blood cells.

Rich in omega-6 fatty acids: corn oil, safflower oil, rice bran oil and sunflower oil. Corn oil is probably the most popular fat supplement offered to horses—it is affordable, palatable and readily available. Feeding one or more of these, especially in combination with a high-grain diet, may supply a horse with a surplus of omega-6 fatty acids, skewing the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids.

Rich in omega-3 fatty acids: fish oils (cold-water species) and linseed oil. Fish oil is a direct source of EPA and DHA. Linseed oil, on the other hand, yields ALA, which then must be converted to EPA and DHA by an enzyme that has competition for its activity. In the past, these oils were typically not as palatable as those that provide omega-6 fatty acids. However, recent studies at KER have addressed the palatability issue, in the form of a deodorized and flavored omega-3 product called EO-3.

KERx EO-3 is a rich source of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA in a palatable liquid form. EO-3 can be fed to all horses including foals, breeding stock and performance horses to improve the critical ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 in the diet, provide preferential precursors for production of less inflammatory local hormones and regulate gene expression to positively affect insulin sensitivity. With an omega-3 to omega-6 ratio of 12:1, feeding just 30ml of EO-3 daily can have a positive impact on your horse’s health.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS AND POINTS TO REMEMBER

WHERE TO FIND THE OMEGAS

F

eedstuffs have varying levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Some may already have a place on your feed room shelves, but others may not. Here’s a quick reference list.

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mega-3 fatty acid supplementation is a smart way to offset the skewed ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids when high-grain rations are fed to horses. Grains and most oils contain low levels of omega-3 fatty acids, so as more cereal grains are fed the percentage of omega-3 fatty acids in the diet decreases. Positive effects on reproduction and fertility, joint health, airway inflammation and exerciseinduced pulmonary hemorrhage (bleeders) have been reported after supplementation with long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Commonly supplemented fats such as corn or vegetable oils have a low omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio and therefore only compound the problem of too few omega-3 fatty acids in the diet. Linseed oil is the most widely available source of omega-3 fatty acids, but the most effective way of delivering the beneficial DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids is through the feeding of fish oil. It is very important to remember that you need to feed a lot more linseed oil than you do fish oil and the exact rate of conversion is unknown.

Adding just 30ml of EO-3 can have a positive impact on your horse’s health when used in conjunction with a wellformulated and balanced diet.

For more information on adding OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS or for help with formulating your horse’s ration, contact Kentucky Equine Research’s FREE nutrition consultation service on  1800 772 198 or e-mail: advice@ker.com

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AUTHOR: CATHERINE MCDOWELL – HERBALIST

H E A LT H

Bio

By Catherine McDowell 

G N O S I S

JOINING THE DOTS BETWEEN THE Equine Intestinal Microbiota, Herbs, Soil AND CHRONIC DISEASES SUCH AS LAMINITIS AND Equine Metabolic Syndrome

I

was first introduced to the concept of Herbal Lore when I was very young. I think one of the earliest influences I can remember was from my grandparents, who were very traditional Bathurst farmers of the well known Cox family. My grandfather had the “people’s home library” which was a compendium of all kinds of home cures. Herbal Medicine is, at its core, studying nature and the humanities. It’s about observing our diet, our environment and how we respond.

Keeping a balance is difficult in the modern era as we are no longer interacting with our environment in the same way as we may have done even as little as a 100 years ago.

As a Dorothy Hall graduate working along side the well known Robert McDowell for many years and furthering my education with Dennis Stewart, I have developed my own unique application of herbal remedies. Working primarily with animals (Horses and Dogs) has been the most rewarding. Having seen herbs work so well in so many cases has proven to me time and again the under-utilised power of herbal medicine. It is heartening to see now Vets, and some Medical Doctors seeing the traditional application of herbs as useful. My comprehensive service includes free animal consultations 24/7 via my web site, and face to face consultation in Bathurst – www.mcdowellsherbal.com ■

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The equine intestinal tract contains a complex microbial population (microbiota) that plays an important role in health and disease. Despite the undeniable importance of a ‘normal’ microbiota, understanding of the composition and function of this population is currently limited. As methods to characterize the microbiota and its genetic makeup (the microbiome) have evolved, the composition and complexity of this population are starting to be revealed, Marcio Costa – DOI: 10.1017/S1466252312000035 Source: PubMed There is now plenty of research that is looking at the Microbiota’s genetic makeup. What is absolutely fascinating to me is the realisation that the genetic

material of the Microbiome contributes to upwards 60% of the genetic material of the horse! This topic is a massive one, and to take it on requires a dedication to years of research.

For the purpose of this article I am limiting the discussion to the Microbiota, natural systems and chronic disease.

I just love reductionist science! Breaking life down into smaller and smaller particles seems to be the main aim of researchers, trying to find the one single pathogen, microbe or gene that will provide the key to unlocking ill health.

Unfortunately this may lead to propaganda science and excessive supplement recommendations in a readymade market for a new brand of pro biotic that addresses these deficiencies. Inoculation of the gut is not a new idea- pro biotics are very popular for both people and animals and are very profitable for the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture them.

Whilst it’s very interesting looking at the Equine Microbiome under the microscope, there are some very obvious connections that we need to make here in order for this information to be remotely of value to us as managers of our domesticated horses.

LET’S JOIN THE DOTS….

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he most significant fact that we do know about the horse’s intestinal tract and Microbiota is that The microbiome appears to be profoundly altered in certain disease states and It is ascertained that a better understanding of these alterations may offer hope for novel preventive and therapeutic measures DOI: 10.1017/S1466252312000035 Source: PubMed HERBS AND EPIGENETICS You may have heard about Epigenetics- the idea that our genes are not fixed, and that certain genes can be switched on to health, whilst other genes that make us susceptible to disease can be switched off.A study at Thailand University shows how herbs alter genes and enzymes –see this study https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2011/816714/for very interesting reading.

IF HERBS CAN IMPACT GENES SO SIGNIFICANTLY, HOW WILL HERBS IMPACT THE MICROBIOME?

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razing animals (Herbivores) have a unique microbiota due to the fact that they have their head down grazing all day long, eating plants, fungi and ingesting enormous amounts of naturally occurring microbes. This feed becomes “compost “for the microbiota (eco system) that exists in the horses GIT. The horse being a mono gastric (unlike Ruminants) are hind gut fermenters and require a simple high roughage diet (and a healthy soil with plenty of Microbes) to ensure

that the conditions are perfect for the whole health of the horse. Nutritionally, the microbiota contribute to the overall nutritional profile of the horses as die off of microbes can provide essentials like Vitamin B 12 and other enzymes that enable a better breakdown of the plant matter ingested.

Recent research done in Australia with Dr David Wood has identified that “leaky gut“ is a side effect of the unhealthy Microbiota in a horse. Leaky Gut is commonly understood in alternative human health as being the origin of many chronic diseases.

SUGGESTED IMPACTS ON THE MICROBIOTA • Anything that kills (that is chemicals), worming paste antibiotics are the main considerations.

• Lack of good simple roughage • An oversupply of rich hay, green grasses and too much fat and grain • Too many synthesised supplements (as extras or in the pre-mixed feed) which I feel can change the Ph. of the GIT, (imagine how too much fertiliser may impact the plants that you spread it on) MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS (THEY DO NOT REPLACE GOOD FOOD!)

S

upplements can be useful. High Oxalate pastures and supplements of magnesium and calcium are a good example. However, I find that when I am treating very unwell animals and people, removing synthesised supplements is a good idea. Why? In researching this idea further I have come across some interesting ideas about synthetic supplements.

Synthetically replicated natural substances are crystalline in structure, and it is suggested that these kinds of supplements enter the system and can act like an antagonist, causing an inflammatory response.

I have also found that clients who are too caring, and give an overdose of vitamin and mineral supplements seem to promote kidney problems and crystals in the bladder, causing all kinds of urinary tract problems.

If you add this complication to the idea of a leaky gut, these crystalline particles are possibly moving through the wall of the intestine and causing inflammatory havoc.

The profound affect this can have on systemic inflammation is in my opinion the main cause of significant health problems such as Equine Metabolic Syndrome and

T RE A H A IL N T IHN G

laminitis, influencing my treatment protocols in the practice.

In people, you see this all time with fluid build-up and oedema.Lymphedema is one chronic condition that is well managed with diet and herbs.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR THE PRESENCE OF OEDEMA IN HORSES WITH LAMINITIS

A

Scottish researcher named Susan Kempson was one of the first to identify a new theory of the initial event in the pathogenesis of laminitis.

Up until the presentation of Susan’s research in 2006, it was assumed that laminitis was caused by the restriction of blood to the laminae by the AVA’s (Avas are vessels that connect an artery to a vein and act as shunts to bypass the capillary bed).

Susan’s theory proposes that the primary event in Laminitis is actually the formation of Oedema within the

WHAT CAUSES THIS INCREASED PERMEABILITY? • Toxins • Immune reactions • Bacterial infections • Vitamin C deficiency • Trauma • Mineral-corticoid excess • Acute kidney failure • Liver disease causing a decrease in plasma proteins.

In the practice of classical herbal medicine this makes perfect sense, and as such we treat horses with EMS and Laminitis with a 12 week course of “Blood Cleansers” which are herbs that aids intracellular fluid balance, promotes lymphatic drainage and encourages the elimination of metabolites RUDOLF STEINER AND BIODYNAMIC AGRICULTURE

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foot. This occurs when excess fluid accumulates in the extra cellular spaces of the tissue, due to either abnormal leakage or fluid from plasma (like a systemic inflammatory response) to the interstitial spaces, or when there is failure for the lymphatic system to return fluid from these spaces back to the blood.

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he truth is that none of this is new to us. Rudolph Steiner highlighted the need to keep beneficial microbial populations diverse and flourishing in a balanced eco system as part of his philosophy that we are all living in a synergistic alive system. He also discussed that major disturbances to this system were going to result in reduced soil health. The earth and the soil that grows our food and keeps billions of plants and insects alive along with air and water, is critical for the world populations to maintain health. You cannot separate any beinganimal, insect or mineral, because we all breathe the same air, live on the same earth and drink the same water.

We live in a Macro closed system made up of smaller diverse eco systems and each of these systems impact the weather on a macro level, as we impact the soil on a micro level. Every time we use Round Up or similar poisons on the soil, it kills more of the wonderful Microbes needed to keep our earth, our animals and us healthy.

The Biodynamic Agriculture System was Rudolf Steiner’s legacy to us in order to try and preserve our world and our health into the future.

HERBAL PROGRAMS AS THE ONLY SOLUTION TO PROMOTE NATURAL EQUINE INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA

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n my own property in Bathurst NSW I used the Biodynamic system to maintain a healthy environment for my horses and as a result had never experienced the problems that you see today with laminitis and equine metabolic syndrome.

My first experience of this syndrome was about 10 years ago when I bought an extremely expensive new horse from a stud. The perfect storm of the long distance trip, the carrier feeding Lucerne hay and the horse’s initial overweight over fed system whilst stabled resulted in a two year journey of correcting the syndrome. What I learnt in those two years

of treating this one horse enabled me to develop the in depth treatment programs that I use successfully today in hundreds of similar cases.

For those of you who are familiar with the benefits of herbal medicine and Biodynamic agriculture I am not suggesting anything new, however, for those that are unfamiliar with the power of herbal medicine to address the cause of the increased permeability in laminitis this will come as a novel concept.

In practice, I am proven correct time and again as I prescribe diets and herbal programs that address all the causal factors involved.

From the information provided above I can confidently say that composting herbal tonics (like kombucha and the vinegar herbal tonics I manufacture) as well as good herbage as gentle nourishment is best for the Equine Microbiota and the best for Equine health long term. ■

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER: Herbs that address the cause of inflammation and oedema as well as support the Microbiota for a robust healthy and sound horse.

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RR Riz's Rant

By Riz

I

think along the way of being with horses; we lose something. We lose the joy; the essence of why we started in the first place.

In the quest of training, of “being better” or of knowing more, of the next show or a better trail ride or a faster stop, we lose the pure childlike bliss of simply being with the horse for the very joy of it.

I found this out, many years ago. At that time, I had a friend who was a truly exceptional horse trainer, and as part of our daily rides, we would go on what he termed “urban trail rides” through the town. His horse was always so well behaved, so calm and educated, that very soon I asked him to help me learn more about training horses. He didn’t say yes. Instead, he asked me if I really wanted to learn.

I was confused. Wanted to learn…? I had been riding with him for weeks, and his horse was perfect; of course I wanted to learn.

Then he told me he would teach me, yes, but he didn’t want to and felt like it was a mistake on my part. He said he had watched me ride many times a week for quite some time, and he was afraid if we started to train, the smile on my face when I rode my horse might not be there any longer. I didn’t understand. I loved horses. I always would. Training wouldn’t destroy that.

Or would it?

My friend then went on to explain that the pure joy we feel when we are

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young - or when we simply ride our horses for the pure joy of it. When we weren't worried that what we are doing something incorrectly. When we didn't question if we are on the right diagonal or the wrong lead — you just had fun and that, that was the good way to be. However, that innocent, childlike, and near-primal joy will be ruined forever once we start “training.” We will stop riding for fun, and we will start riding for perfection.

In our endless quest of trying to improve, we will start judging our ride, our horse, every footstep and every piece of tack. We will watch with critical eyes the riders around us, the pictures they send and the videos they post. And most of all, we will judge ourselves.

We will worship the idea of perfection, and getting better and better, and when we fall short, we will torment ourselves with the feeling of failure, guilt, and even anger at the fact that things aren’t working out the way we "think" they should.

The sheer joy we felt at being around and on our horse is given up, and we trade it for frustration. The horse we previously adored in every way simply becomes the horse that is not capable of this piaffe or that sliding stop, isn’t good enough and isn’t what we thought. We become negative without meaning to, never reaching our own standard, and we wonder why riding has lost its joy.

So, years ago, my friend asked me: Do

Ilyas

I really want to learn? I said yes that day. And years later, as rewarding as it has been training my horses and helping others learn to train their own, I have to agree with him. In some ways, it was more fun before.

So I leave you with this.

If someone is smiling and having fun, truly there simply for the love of horses and the joy of being with them, and that their lack of knowledge is not causing themselves or their horse harm — leave them alone. If they and the horse are safe, if the horse is content — let them enjoy what they do.

This is not saying that you can't have fun in learning, just if you do, try not to let it consume you to a level that you have to take the enjoyment and thrill of riding from others and ultimately, from yourself.

There is more to horses than being perfect. There is joy. a

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