Training Process For Independent Riders

In Western WI there are two kinds of students I routinely help. The first kind is the independent kind that wants to do the training themselves and the second kind is the kind who would like more interactive help but cannot afford it. It really makes no difference to me if the owner wants to or needs to do it themselves. The result is the same. I have to create a normal feel to show them how to train their horses. I learned that BJ Ragatz was one of the best equine dentists through the school of hard knocks. I have had probably 10 different float people over the last 30 years and no one can even come close to his skill level. When he floats a horse, the rider gets a normal mouth feel and that will help them in their training. Saddle fitting I have learned over the last 30 years by the school of hard knocks as well. Saddle fitters are a useful tool but you have to be very aware of your horses preferences. For Pete's sake, I now have several different makes and models of saddles at the barn and it really does help. Making a horse comfortable with its saddle creates a normal feel for the rider as well. Lameness or gait irregularity was learned along the way but pounded into my head in the L program or the learner judges training program. This was a year long program that focused on how to numerically score the horse. If I scored a horse in my test with a numerical score higher than a 5 which had any gait irregularity, I was going to fail the course. My instrucors were mainly Janet Foy (Olympic judge) and Thomas Poulin, (Grand Prix judge). It was not good enough to say irregular or unlevel steps, you had to say if the irregularity originated in the front or the back. You were asked publicly to state your ideas and defend them. The pressure to be sure was immense - so I studied like a crazy fool. I could not afford to flush the money I paid for the program down the drain - I wanted to make the most of the education and to pass. Heck I even went and sat with Marilyn Heath, another Grand Prix judge/instructor who was sometimes a bit abrupt but very bright, because her strength was one of my weaknesses. Riding and training a horse is a personal journey. I get that as there are some horses that I have had for extended personal journeys. But there is a system that governs the personal journey and makes it work. The L Program helped me understand dressage as a system which needed to be personaized to each horse and rider but was still a system non the less. My system for helping independent riders is as follows: 1. Make the horse completely comfortable and that means teeth, saddle, feet and Chiropractic (no exceptions!) At that point the rider who is learning to train will be able to feel that horse's normal. (Otherwise all the rider feels are the blocks that have not been solved) This step may have to be revisited from time to time especially in the saddle fitting area or in the soundness area if the rider increases the intensity of the work for the horse. For example, shoes may be needed as the work load of the horse increases. 2. Teach the basics step by step and help the rider develop the proper feel. At this stage the rider gets to do a lot of fun things and has a variety of things to work on and think about. 3. Help the rider develop a deeper understanding of how movements are connected to each other and what they do for the horse. This is when the rider is able to move up the levels successfully. Oddly, if there is a disagreement between the trainer and the student it usually is in reference to step one. I am not sure how step one - making the horse comfortable can be a stressy thing. The only thing I can think is that people are offended if it is pointed out that they inadvertantly made their horse uncomfortable. We all have had to learn the subtle signs of discomfort over the years and it is not a perfect science. Give yourself a break, solve the comfort piece and move on and enjoy your horses!

Can You Say Engagement?

Bacara and I rode in a Lientje Schueler dressage clinic over Labor Day weekend. This was a great follow-up to the Carole Grant clinic. From Carole I had some practical solutions to solving training issues. From Lientje, I learned much about gait improvement. We worked on half steps and engagement more than I have ever worked on them before. I have played with half steps myself but never had a ground person help me with them before. Bacara responded really well to the help and increased her engagement quite a bit. The over all message was that Bacara needed to accept more engagement and not block in her neck when asked for more. After doing the half steps - more engagement in the regular work seemed quite a bit easier. I widened my reins and pushed for more throughness in her lower neck. It seems like if there is a problem with the engagement and collection in my mare it is at the base of her neck. This work helped her engagement and balance so much that I felt like I had much more time for all of the movements. I had better placement of the steps and a slower but more engaged horse. I have always known that the half steps would help the horse's overall work - but this was very loud and very effective. I have not done any work in the past with a ground person because I really have no one here at the farm that is educated enough to do that for me. Lientje is by far one of the best clinicians for quality of gait improvement. I hope she knows how much us Wisconsinites appreciate her input!

Compassion is always the right answer!

Everyone seems to understand empathy (the ability to see things from anothers point of view).  But few people understand compassion.  Compassion is someone who has empathy and acts with kindness as a result of that knowledge.

The horse world is very funny.  Many horse owners, farriers, trainers and veterinarians will argue a point and literally stop talking to friends and associates over defending their particular theory.  The problem is that there is no one theory for every situation that works all of the time.  If compassion is the map for the decision making, then these issues would be fewer and farther between.

I had a student this spring who entered a horse show and was having a problem with her mare.  The problem was pain in her front feet.  This spring was a bit on the wet side and the mare had developed thrush.  The student was a big supporter of natural trimming and would not hear of putting shoes on to make her mare comfortable to show the mare. 

If you are working your horse with the idea of compassion and want to do the right thing by your horse these are the choices you have.  If your horse is sore and thrushy, give her time off as you treat her feet and let her heal.  It is less than kind to ride a horse with pain.  The second choice you would have is to purchase hoof boots and if this takes care of the problem, then you can ride your horse in these while you eradicate the thrush.  The third choice would be to use shoes on a very short term basis while you treat the thrush.

The basic problem with this particular horse was the show that they had entered was pricey.  Hoof boots were not allowed - so the only alternative would have been shoes temporarily or scratch the show.  Even glue on shoes that were feet friendly would have been enough to ride and show the mare with compassion.

It is o.k. to promote natural trimming and live with that theory.  It is not o.k. to ride a horse in pain.  If you have not taken very careful care of your horse's feet and the horse has developed thrush - you have an obligation to treat the thrush and to either give the horse time off to heal or make the horse comfortable with either boots or shoes. (What ever is allowed based on the activity you are choosing to engage in.)

Hoof pain does not always express itself as limping.  When there is pain in both front feet it can and often does present and an unwillingness to go forward.  An unwillingness to go forward is a red flag that your horse has something wrong.  That is something that should not be ignored.

We all can live together in harmony with our different theories as long as compassion is the guiding principle.

Carole Grant Clinic July 29 - July 30, 2013

I decided to ride in a Carole Grant clinic even though I had never met her before as she has a great reputation.  But of course I was a little nervous as my advanced horse is very sensitive and can get overwhelmed at times. Thank you Michelle Markquart and River Bluff for hosting this clinic!

On the first day it became apparent to me that I had compromised the relative straightness of my horse in the base of her neck.  I had done this in favor of having a good frame.  While this works somewhat - it does cause problems with upper level collection.  The other piece that became very clear on the first day was that pushing the horse on beat 2 of the canter really helps the horse put their croup lower. 

On the second day of the clinic we reviewed relative straightness but also looked at the individual movements a little more.  We worked on the rein back and how to eliminate any bracing in the horse.  Carole had me ask for the rein back and if bracing occurred, I was supposed to ask for a turn on the forhand.  This really did work to relax her and helped the rein back. 

We also worked on a pattern for individual flying changes to make them straighter.  (Straight flying changes are not always easy on a really flexible horse.)  The pattern was shoulder-for to Half Pass to shoulder for to flying change.  It became obvious very quickly that the changes were straight and easy for her this way.

We also took a look at the four tempis and the problem I have with them.  The problem is that Bacara likes doing changes so much that she gets excited in between the changes.  So oddly we would do a change and then a 10 meter circle and then back on the diagonal and then another change and then another circle and then another change etc. . .  It seems that the tempi changes are not the issue it is the canter in between them that needs to be really rideable.   The message was ride the possibilities.  In other words anything should be possible for your horse the next stride, when that happens, the canter is really easy to ride.

The other significant change I saw in my horse was the quality of her medium trot.  The pattern chosen to improve the medium trot was half pass to medium trot.  The half helps with better engagement and then the medium trot benefited from it.  The reach in the front end of the horse was significantly improved.

The other piece that really helped was an adjustment to the curb bit on the double bridle.  I was very concerned about having the snaffle bit and the curb cross and I guess I over compensated.  With the curb two holes higher, Bacara was very steady in the bridle and less bracey.

Wow, I would do this again!  There was so much information packed into two days, I had to write it down so I did not forget anything!

Warm-up Practices that work are not the same for every horse.

It has become quite clear to me that a different warm-up approach is needed based on the body type of the horse you are riding.  Yes they all have a psychological need to feel safe and appreciated but I am talking about the physical differences today.

My advanced horse Bacara, is very flexible and has quite a lot of movement.  I call her more flexible than strong.  As a flexible horse she needs to warm up is a slightly longer frame and let her strides swing.  This seems to help her back loosen up and be ready for more uphill work.  Other horses on the farm like this are Yatze, and Cest La Vie.  Both of these mares need to swing in their backs at least at the start of the ride to make things work properly.

Another technique that seems to work well with really flexible horses is counter bending on a circle, in both the trot and canter.  It seems these flexible horses easily place their shoulders out or swing their haunches in or out.  The counter bending really does help obtain alignment and help with longitudinal balance.  The flexible horse has an easier time with an uphill balance after this type of warm-up.

Then there are horses that are muscular and strong but are not as flexible as you would like.  These horses frequently have a better longitudinal balance to begin with but may have rhythm problems associated with not having enough flexibility.  Horses here that are like that are Ami, Saleena, Joey and Hazel.  These horses should not be pushed for more longitudinal movement under saddle as they will not be able to give it to you right away.  Instead these horses need lateral movement in their warm-ups to loosen their muscles.

Leg yeilding, Shoulder In. Haunches In and Half Pass are all helpful.  I have found Haunches In on a circle to be one of the most beneficial things I can do for these horses.  The haunches in on a circle really loosens the horse and allows it to bend enough to align its body parts to have better balance and rhythm.

When you ride enough horses per day, you start to see patterns of what is needed based on their body types.

The horses then trust you more as you warm them up with success because they think that they can do the job and their rider will not ask them to do more than they are able.

Whos Responsibility is it? Everyone's but the trainer is held to a higher standard of knowledge.

There are many things that go into a successful partnership with your horse.  It takes a team to make it work.  There are key players required for a successful team that need to work together for a common goal.

The owner must use all of the team members and failure to do so, can cause the whole project to fail.

The trainer is an important team member and a resource for accurate information about what may be needed from the rest of the team.  Each sport within the equestrian field may require slightly different things to come together for your horse to perform at the top of its ability. 

In dressage, a sport horse float is almost a necessity.  It is a sport where light contact for communication is required, so there needs to be total mouth comfort to allow the horse to hear without any stress.  Some folks do not believe in this kind of floating and that can work for them as long as their horse was born with a fairly good mouth.  When there is a problem with the mouth, then the float becomes critical.

The same thing applies to the farrier care.  If your horse has good feet you have more options on hoof care.  Natural trimming can work and does if the hoof structure sufficient.  If the rider rides the horse hard or on hard surfaces - the horse may simply need shoes to be able to function without pain like the rider needs it to.

Saddle fitting is also a big deal.  Your trainer can send you in the right direction, but ultimately having a good saddlefitter in your corner helps you ride your horse pain free.

I have seen people make teeth floating mistakes and farrier mistakes and saddle fitting mistakes.  Most of them willingly make adjustments when the discomfort is pointed out.  Not addressing these things is actually unkind to your horse and counter-productive to your goals.

As a trainer I try not to dwell on these things but I find sometimes I have to.  Pain blocks progress like nothing else I have seen.  The horse looses 1/2 of its I.Q. and is slow to learn at best and becomes dangerous to ride at worst.  No trainer wants her student to not progress or worse yet get hurt.  So at the point where there is a chronic pain problem that is not addressed, it is usually best to suspend the trainer - student relationship.

That being said, I love helping folks and their horses.  It makes my day when they progress and do well.  I love coming back from a horse show talking about what went well and what needs to be worked on to make things even better.  Those are great discussions that help focus the trainer and student for future successes.

It takes a team to make your horse experience a great one.  Pick your team wisely and have a great time.  This is supposed to be fun and educational.

How Complicated Can Riding be?

I know when I was younger it was simple to me.  I wanted a horse and I wanted to learn to ride.  I thought well how complicated can it be?  I was in for a suprise - that is for sure.

The horse needs to be sound and physically comfortable and I need to be ready willing and able to make that happen for my horse.  I also have to take care of myself physically as well.

Saddle fit is a big deal.  If there is a problem with a saddle and it does not fit your horse and your horse is uncomfortable, then right away there will be problems.  To complicate things even further, it seems like there are many horses who have an issue with their saddles even if the fit seems o.k.  I purchased a Lovatt and Rickets saddle a while ago - maybe a year ago.  It has a flair at the shoulder area and does not fit quite the same there and allows for more shoulder freedom.  Well many horses really prefer that kind of a tree.  It makes me wonder if more horses have something like mild kissings in their wither area than I ever realized.  All I know for sure is that for many horses, that saddle is a winner.

I purchased a horse, Soleil for a school horse a while back and I worked on comfort with her for a long time.  She is a Quarter Horse/Arab cross and has fairly wide sprung ribs.  (Great for deep breathing - but hard for saddle fitting.)  Non-slip pads do the trick for her and she is now quite happy.

Teeth floating is also a huge deal.  The horse really needs to be comfortable in their teeth so they can relax and move their jaw as they work.  I prefer an equine dentist for that.  It really makes a difference in performance.

Then of course there is the farrier.  I am not a huge fan of shoeing every horse but believe if it is necessary for comfort, shoes should be used.  Some breeds have better feet, like many Arabians and I have a few Lipizzaner mares at the farm that have good feet.  I also have some warmbloods that have nice feet.  With the warmbloods, it seems like the less TB blood in the mix, the better the feet.

O.K. now I am making the basic assumption that wormings and basic health is in order. 

Now you are ready to take your riding lesson or go to that show.  If you want to have a great time and learn your sport with the least amount of detours, take care of all of the above.