Thoughts on Training - Jan 2003

There was an additional session on handling horses from the ground where it was touch and go as to who was going to be first to back down - the horse or Erik. It provoked an interesting discussion as to how much one should confront a horse that is going to be handed back to someone with less experience and confidence. Personally, I would not have liked to have got into as much confrontation with a horse because I am not sure that I would have been able to handle the situation effectively. I have my own ways of achieving my aims and while they may not be perfect, I have confidence in them. To challenge a horse and "lose" merely shows the horse how weak we are and a strong minded or "lead horse" is likely to take advantage of that situation. However, in the hands of an experienced person like Erik, a great deal of ground was covered in a short period and the horse has greatly improved as a result.

So here is the question: As a rider/owner, should we ask (allow?) a trainer to go beyond what we are prepared to do ourselves? If we have doubts about our own ability to work on the same lines, should we voice those doubts or just have faith in the trainer. Furthermore, as trainers should we take the horse to a higher level than the rider/owner is prepared to work towards themselves? Should we sacrifice the horse's progress for the rider's lack of ability or should we push ahead with what we know the horse needs and hope that the rider will catch on to the idea? Like any relationship, a horse and rider can exist in total harmony without any confrontations provided that both horse and rider agree to the same things. (We don't jump if it's more than 2 foot; we have only 2 speeds, dead slow and stop; we always gallop in this field; we never bend to the right). Of course, when another rider tries to change the status quo, all hell can break loose and an apparently amenable horse can turn very belligerent in deed! This is a strong case for letting "sleeping dogs lie".

However, if the owner/rider wants to progress, he or she must be prepared to work with the trainer to improve his or her skills to the same level as the horse. If they have strong doubts about being willing or able to continue along the same lines as the trainer, it is very unlikely that any permanent progress will be made by either horse or rider. No matter how hard the trainer works with the horse or how successful he or she is, the work will always be undermined by the negative attitude of the owner/rider. Where this is most common is when an inexperienced rider takes on a young horse. At this stage of development, the horse needs positive leadership and if the rider has not the skills or confidence to provide it, both horse and rider will suffer. The trainer is also frustrated because he or she knows what the horse needs and would have no difficulty in providing the necessary leadership to enable the horse to progress with confidence. Without that leadership is likely that neither horse nor rider will progress as quickly as they would if they had different more experienced partners. It does not imply that either the horse or the rider is "bad", just that they are not helping each other to progress.

This doesn't just happen to novice riders. Any rider or trainer can meet a horse that is beyond their capabilities and it takes as much guts to admit one's own deficiencies as it does to rise above them. Sometimes it is just a simple matter of not being able to "click" with a particular horse. Other times it is outside influences such as the horse needs working every day and a stressful full time job may make that impossible. Either way it is important to be honest with yourself/your trainer/your pupil, to give you and your horse the best possible chance of success

So next time you, as a rider, hit a problem, ask yourself:
"What am I prepared to do to overcome these problems?".
Next time you, as a trainer, hit a problem, ask yourself:
"Has this rider got the will to overcome these problems herself?"

If you hesitate to answer these questions, perhaps now is not the time to push ahead "Let sleeping dogs lie" for a bit longer until the rider is "hungry" for that next step up the ladder of horsemanship!

Annual Arrow Training Week

This years course proved to be even better than last year. The gods smiled on us and while the rest of Britain was suffering torrential rain, we bathed in glorious sunshine with only a couple of light showers - just enough to take the sting out of the ground for our cross country session. Once again the combination of lectures, demonstrations and tasters proved to be very popular with calls for more in the future. Most people worked hard on their positions on the lunge then put their skills to the test in the class lessons. Most people have a problem with knowing how best to work their horse; which exercises or school figures to choose and when. There is a process and on our last Arrow Day we tried to write a flow chart to show how this process worked. We are still working on it! However, you should always start with a good position and a positive mental attitude. Without those, your work will be severely compromised. As for the horse:
1 CALM
2 FREELY FORWARD
3 STRAIGHT which also implies
4 EVENLY BENT ON BOTH REINS
5 EVENLY YIELDED OFF BOTH LEGS

If you keep these in mind at all times and work on simple school figures such as circles, serpentines, loops etc… you can't go far wrong.

Most people took advantage of the opportunity to ride Susie's new advanced dressage horses (see below) and found that "advanced" does not always equate with "easy to ride"! However, the reward of getting things right is always worth the extra challenge.

The start of a group lesson in the outdoor school	over pole, exit left, make a circle, over next pole etc.
Individual instruction	A welcome wash down after a hot days work

Tai Chi with Brian Williams
This was a lovely way to wind down after a busy day. All the exercises are very slow and gentle designed to help the flow of "chi energy" throughout the body. This energy is believed to be the source of good health and the body breaks down wherever this energy is blocked. The breathing is very important and helps to "centre" you in your lower abdomen. We also did some "sticking" exercises where one person leads and their partner follows with their eyes closed trying to keep a consistent contact with one hand. All this is extremely relevant for riders and everyone found something of value from the session. Tai Chi movements are based on martial arts techniques but much to one students disappointment, you don't get to kill people!

Pilates with Richard Dilworth
Many people had not experienced this form of exercise so Richard gave us a brief introductory session. The technique has great similarities with Alexander Technique in that it was pioneered by one man who overcame his own physical/health problems through designing this exercise programme. It puts great emphasis on "core stability" and correct (thoracic) breathing. You may have heard the expression "zip and hollow" which requires you to engage the pelvic floor muscles and allow the belly button to "sink" towards the spine on the out breath. We spent a great deal of time mastering these essential principles and most of us found that it was quite difficult to maintain them whilst doing the simplest of exercises! However, this is only a layman's interpretation (mine!) so to really find out what it is about, you should ask an expert! I found it had great similarities to Tai Chi, Yoga and Alexander Technique and that it was enormously useful to horse riders. Hopefully we will do some more on future courses.

Alexander Technique with Sally Tottle and Maxine Stewart.
Need I say more? They worked their usual magic on old and new pupils during group and individual sessions. There were several instant converts to the Technique as people found new ways to correct old habits. The technique is a wonderful addition to riding skills and the carriage and freedom that it gives you always makes the horse go better without even trying. It fits in perfectly with our Arrow philosophy in that it is up to the rider to get it right so that the horse is able to perform to its maximum, not the other way around.

Remedial Shoeing with Mark Evans
Mark has spent many years in the trade and has studied many techniques, old and new. He has a great depth and breadth of knowledge so it was refreshing to hear him say that good old fashioned shoeing techniques were what really counted and no new trends could make up for a lack of skill in the basics. It was interesting to hear that dressage horses can end up having the worst feet. Is it the shoeing or the work they do? The "natural method" was also discussed but Mark emphasised that it was a complete system of care and that just to take the shoes off your horse was not necessarily the best thing to do for your horse. In fact he said that in this country we tend to do so much road work that it was probably impractical for most people. Mark answered a wide range of questions from 4-point shoeing to laminitis and was very approachable and communicative. Not only that but he also arrived exactly when he said he would which is probably why he is so popular!

Lunging, Long Reining and Work in Hand
These sessions have only just finished due to holidays, weddings and ill health - Sue, Susie and horses all at different times. But what fun we have had! Doe's Milo has proved to be the main attraction and it is hard to believe that the (almost) angelic animal is the same horse that came to the first session in April. As I have always said, if you haven't been towed around an arena or dropped the lunge line at some time, you haven't lunged and Doe's "Milo" has done much to expand people's knowledge in this area. It is amusing to note that "to lunge" also means "to make a sudden start in some direction" and "to plunge or rush" - I wonder why? William and Murphy have also been called upon to offer insight and understanding and we now have several people and horses showing some really good work. I have high hopes for a long reining quadrille in the not too distant future.

Sylvia Locke - Weight Aids Workshop.
This was a very interesting dismounted afternoon organised by the Classical Riding Club. Sylvia presented us with all sorts of exercises and theories which we were then encouraged to practice on our feet or on our chairs or with a partner. She made us aware of weight and pressure and how a small shift can make a huge difference. As usual I had to ask the questions and we had a very interesting discussion on the position of the inside leg in shoulder in. Sylvia obviously took my comments to heart because I received a long involved letter from her and it became a topic for the next CRC newsletter. The fact emerged that "leg on the girth" means different things to different people so leg forward or backwards from this point can result in similar leg positions or something completely different. Very few books give exact locations for the legs or their uses although Erik's (Herbermann) definition of "on the girth" is probably the best: where the leg hangs below the saddle flap it should lie directly behind the girth. I might add, because of my short legs and a long saddle flap that perhaps the "upper calf" should lie directly behind the girth. Then of course it depends on the type of saddle as the girth and seat positions vary from a dressage saddle to a jumping saddle. The various permutations are endless….. However, it is interesting to note that when we tell you to "keep your inside leg on the girth" what we mean and what we say are not necessarily the same thing.
Sylvia also had us playing with a hula hoop. This demonstrated very clearly which was our dominant/stronger side as, assuming that we could master the basic technique, all of us found one side to be far more difficult than the other. Another chance to practice riding skills when not on a horse.

New Developments at Weston!

Thank you to all the people who answered my questionnaire. The results make interesting reading with a high percentage of people wanting to come for short courses and ride schoolmasters. Meanwhile, Weston project continues but slowly as we now wait for planning permission before we can apply for a grant. Tired of waiting for this and getting a bit desperate for horse accommodation, I now plan to have my new stables up by the end of August. Meanwhile, I have horses stuffed in every conceivable corner and more on their way. I have acquired two medium advanced schoolmasters - Meastro and Black Russian - who have established lateral work and changes so should be a very useful addition to my "old timers".

Black Russian	Maestro

As I am writing this newsletter the horses are still on trial but I hope to use them at Arrow week for those who want to get a feel for advanced movements. Unfortunately you still have to be able to "ride" because the problem with advanced schoolmasters is that they know an awful lot of tricks and sometimes you get more than you bargained for. I have also bought two Iberian horses………

Shopping in Spain and Portugal

Icaro	Icaro's first experience of an English field
Cantinero	Cantinero

This little trip resulted in the purchase of one Lusitano (Portuguese) and one Andalusian (Spanish), both stallions, both grey. I have justified the expense - VASTE expense - by telling myself (and Ron) that they will be "good for business" because how often does anyone get a chance to ride these special horses? In truth however, they are the fulfillment of my own dreams, (and you might be allowed to sit on one if you are very, very lucky).

I had a wonderful few days "horse hunting" in both Spain and Portugal which, forgive my ignorance, I found to be very different cultures. The Spanish horses were mostly in a constant state of alert resulting in some spectacular work but at the expense of the softness and harmony that we are more used to. I rode a 5 year old 16.3hh Andalusian who, with a good dose of spur and curb, performed just about all the Grand Prix movements. Very impressive in some respects and great fun to ride but his neck was far too short for a young horse and predictably his hocks were in the next county. They say that the Spanish horses are very sensitive but in fact I found that they were so used to being ridden in this way that they didn't necessarily respond to anything lighter. "Light in the hand" was sometimes just "behind the bit". It was as if you had to wind them up into a frenzy first so some of them were simply "too sharp" and frightened of the aids. Even at Jerez, the National School, the horses seemed in a constant state of fever pitch with foaming mouths and dripping with sweat. The results were spectacular and the (male) riders all sat superbly but a horse like Bird would have killed them and William would be dead within a week! My conclusion was that the Spanish horse are as tough as nails and that those that aren't get sold to England for rehab. However, it taught me a lot about impulsion and how to handle it. I also had an interesting discussion about bullfighting and I think if you understand that, you can understand the way they ride.

I ended up buying a little Spanish horse which was very uptight but workable. He had been badly ridden before but has been in training with Herman Mellado and his sons for about a year. The youngest son was in Germany training with the Spanish dressage team as reserve rider for the world Games. Unfortunately I didn't see him ride.

Another horse which caught my eye was a 3 year old which was with Antonio Quinta, the top Doma Vaquera (not sure about the spelling!) rider of Spain. If you have seen Doma Vaquera demos, it was probably Antonio. He was training a horse when we arrived, not a Spanish horse although it was working like one, but a thoroughbred. I would have loved to have spent some time training with him - a true horseman. I also went to an amazing stud which was owned by a self made man who was one of the top carriage drivers in Spain. This was a lovely set up with cool stables and a courtyard with a drinking trough - just the sort of thing one imagines in Spain. All his horses were impeccably behaved and he is one of the few people, maybe the only person, who drives a mixed team of mares and stallions.

Portugal was a bit more "Irish" if you know what I mean. Far more laid back and the horses we were shown were usually produced on a headcollar and loose rein, often left to stand in the yard while someone went to get the tack. Like the Spanish horses, they were "twirled" rather than lunged but without the stress and there was a sense that the owners secretly indulged them and loved them as individuals. We spent part of our stay with Jorge Pereira who also teaches in England. He had a fantastic big moving 3 year old and, when he showed it to us, he gave a rueful smile and told us that it had only taken him an hour to put a cavesson on it!

Jorge was a very generous teacher and I had great fun on one of his schoolmasters. Lots of passage-canter-passage transitions and it was quite novel to ride a horse that was stiff to the right as opposed to my horses which tend to be stiff to the left.. Jorge also found my horse for me. I went with him to ride one which was quite advanced but had very bad melanomas. We both agreed that it was not suitable but as Jorge had not seen me ride before, it was a good trial. It did all the tricks - changes, piaffe, passage but was quite crooked and weak in one hind leg. We then "dropped in" on a riding teacher to persuade him to sell me his own horse. This teacher was obviously a very fine rider but had a worsening back problem and his doctors had told him to stop riding. For this reason the horse is not very advanced for its age but the basic work is faultless. I hope that I will be able to continue the good work and teach him the advanced movements that I know he is capable of. Jorge seemed completely confident that he could have the horse doing all the advanced movements in "a couple of days". I think I will have to take things one step at a time!

Having found my horse, I then seized every opportunity to ride as many horses as possible. I went to a dealer who had approx 70 horses of all ages and sizes. He showed me a very nervous horse which had just arrived from Spain. The interesting thing was that it didn't matter what you did, this horse constantly "over revved". I tried being super quiet and relaxed, then gave up and just went ahead and "pressed buttons". I expected an explosion but actually it made little difference. I also rode a very nice 4 year old with a lovely attitude to work, but his conformation was not great. The owner of these stables, Luis Valencia, then spent the next 3 hours showing me just about every horse on the place including his favourite who at 29 is still beautifully muscled and performs in his displays (eg The Royal Horse Gala). There were some lovely horses, all shapes and sizes including one belonging to Heather Moffat. She had bought it recently but it is staying there for one year to be schooled - she must be richer than I me! We were also shown a black cow that they use for training for bull fighting. He told me that she was very good and challenged the horses without being really dangerous, but, he added "don't try to go near her on your feet!". These black bulls and cows are completely wild, not like your average beast in the field. Luis has known them refuse food and drink and die rather than be "domesticated".

We then moved on to Lisbon to ride with "Quiko" (Frasisco Bessa de Carvalho) who is one of the top riders at the Royal Portuguese School of Equestrian Art . He was quite different to Jorge and very exacting but enormously helpful with my flying changes. He was entirely "classical" with no fancy tricks or fiddling with the reins - just good solid riding. He was like a mellow Erik but who knows how mellow he would have been after 16 years of teaching me! His chief rider, Luis was absolutely charming and Mum and I were completely bowled over by him. He gave Mum two super lessons and helped me with a 4 year old that they hoped I would buy. It was so refreshing to find a young man with so much talent and yet entirely modest and unassuming. He told me that his aim is to join the Royal School as an apprentice but not for a few years because he was "not yet good enough". It just shows how high their standards are. Meanwhile, Quiko spent a large part of my lesson just standing admiring Mum's riding. Erik would have been proud because she rode "like a professional"!

Finally, Quiko offered us the chance to see the Royal Schools weekly performance in Queluz. I say offered but in fact if it wasn't for the fact that he told us that he couldn't teach in the morning because "we have our display to do" we would not have known anything about it. He seemed very surprised that we were interested in seeing it. He immediately gave us free tickets and invited us to meet him in the Royal stables to have a look round. The palace is undergoing restoration and the gardens have been sadly neglected but the stables were superb. All "Alter Real" bay Lusitano stallions bred at the royal stud and selected for the school. The performance was fantastic with an energy and freedom of movement that you rarely see today. I thought they were far superior to the Spanish Riding School of Vienna , perhaps not in content because they did not do so many "tricks" but the quality of the work was pure gold. The stallions had so much energy and joy in their work and even though there were some mistakes, there was not one disharmonious moment. There were plenty of explosions out in the warm up area but all handled calmly and without any fuss. It seemed that both horses and riders were sharing the same joke! I felt even more privileged to have had lessons with one of the great modern day masters. I very much hope that I can go back to both Jorge and Quicko, but first I have to pay for my new horses!

More pictures of Icaro's first outing

Evening Theory and Practice Sessions - Lunging, Work in Hand and Long Reining on Thursday evenings at 6.30pm . I have been inspired watching the Spanish Riding School and Richard Hinreichs video so all my horses are being "tuned up" in hand. I also did some work with Erik Herbermann when he was here for a brief, (very brief), visit and I find the work really helps both horse and rider/trainer to understand correct aiding. Payment for all these sessions is £8 for members, £10 for non members. If you pay for 5 sessions in advance you get the 6th session free. Please book early but payment can be made on the day. Numbers will be strictly limited but if oversubscribed, we will run two separate sessions.

Words of Wisdom

Thoughts on Learning
I am including this again in this newsletter because it is so good and some of you may not have read it before!

"I have been having weekly lessons for about 4 years and although I have the opportunity to practice in between sessions, I am not always as diligent as I could be, although I think I am keen to improve. My teacher, himself a pupil of a master, gave me these words, written by his Master, to think about"

"Skills cannot be developed without effort and a practical understanding of what you are doing. Western society in general is impatient - we want things to work now - often believing that if we pay enough money, the skill will be obtained with minimum effort on our part. Many give up before they gain any real benefits, failing to realize why progress is slow or seemingly non-existent. By its very nature, it involves a great deal of patience due to the level of personal development required. Skill in any art cannot be obtained by osmosis. Constant searching is required and I don't mean for the teacher that can offer the supposed short cuts! Search within yourself to gain a clear understanding of your goals, then search for information beyond that of your teacher alone to gain clear clarification and cross-reference. There are no secrets; everything is obtainable by all of us with patience and perseverance."

I found these words to be very thought provoking and inspirational. They are from Professor Cheng Man Ching, a Tai Chi Master
SEA

How much Responsibility do we take for our own Learning?
Ultimately, we are all responsible for our own learning, good bad or indifferent, and we are lucky if we find a teacher who provides all the answers. In fact, I would say that it is impossible to find anyone who can give you all the answers and even if they could, what is absolutely 100% correct for them may not be the same "correctness" for you. Just because someone is a successful rider does not mean that they can teach. Some talented riders have no idea what they do so are quite incapable of imparting any meaningful knowledge to someone else. Worse still, they may be telling their pupils to emulate some idiosyncrasy of their own which has little to do with their success as a rider and is actually detrimental for other riders. My heart always sinks when a new pupil tells me that such-and-such a rider/trainer can make her horse do all sorts of wonderful "tricks" when it is perfectly obvious to me that neither horse nor rider have sufficient understanding of the basics. Confidence takes years to build and only seconds to ruin and it is very important that both horse and rider work within their capabilities; led up to the edge without being pushed over it.

I agree with the Tai Chi Master, that everything is possible with patience and perseverance and that it is vital to cross reference and search beyond the information given by your teacher. All good teachers should encourage their pupils to search for "more" and while flitting from one teacher to another depending on who happens to be the flavour of the month has little use, intelligent cross referencing is extremely useful..

Outside of your riding lesson time, there are plenty of ways in which to enhance your learning either by reading books or by exploring complimentary techniques eg: NLP and visulisation, physical exercise other than riding, massage, Alexander Technique, Pilates etc… etc.

During the riding lessons, use your teacher like a living mirror which provides verbal feedback. Sometimes a "Yes" at the appropriate moment is all that is needed. Sometimes the feedback is needed in much more detail. ("What I am seeing is that the horse bends left and pushes the saddle off to the right causing you to sit crookedly on the horse, leaning left with your upper body to compensate for sliding right with your seat"). In this way, you can usefully experiment to gain a correct "feel" while being guided by your "mirror". "Sit straight!" is of no use to a rider who has no understanding of her crookedness and how to correct it. In fact it is more use for the rider to experiment with the position and exaggerate the crookedness or make a mirror image of it so that he/she starts to develop his/her own feel for what is right.

Useful Experimentation
First there are a few "MUST HAVES"

A good attitude to the horse * a correct seat * a lack of tension * a positive attitude.

Without these there is no true horsemanship and no real progression - a rider cannot experiment effectively if they have not yet learnt sufficient control over their own bodies and emotions. However, a novice rider can very usefully explore the possibilities within their own limitations. For example, even a real beginner can walk and halt without losing the "4 must haves". Some useful experimentation might be:

• Can you feel how your horse is standing
  
• Can you feel which is the last leg to step into halt
  
• Can you feel which is the first leg to move into walk
  
• Can you feel each leg as it steps
  
• Can you measure the pace of your horse so that he steps over a pole with his right fore first
  
• Can you halt with the front legs one side of a pole and the back legs the other side of a pole
  

But what if access to a horse is limited? Is there another way of improving my riding?

The Driving Seat
No, not what you imagine but making use of time spent off the horse - for example, while driving your car! Most of us spend hours sitting badly at the wheel of a car and yet it is not that difficult to convert that time into something of use. OK, so I am a fanatic and can't even drive a car without thinking how it affects my riding, but if nothing else a good posture will help prevent back ache and tension. Following on from the above, some useful experimentation might be:
Is your pelvis and spine aligned correctly
Are you aware of your seat bones (some set adjustment may be necessary to keep upright)
Do you have equal weight on each seat bone, going straight and while turning
Notice what muscles you use to keep yourself upright
Can you keep your shoulders square against the back of the seat and be totally independent with the arms and hands
Can you push the steering wheel rather than pull it when you steer
Does each hand have the same weight going straight and while turning
Do you have an "open front line" or are you collapsed
Do your shoulders and elbows remain heavy and relaxed at all times
Does your torso remain relaxed when accelerating or braking
Next time you drive to your riding lesson, think of these things and see what a difference it makes to your riding. Instead of arriving tense and rattled, you will already be mentally and physically prepared to get the most from your riding. Your horse will certainly enjoy the difference!