"Establishing Equestrian Ideals"

A paper written by Erik F Herbermann, author of "Dressage Formula " and "A Horsemans Notes", and reproduced here by his kind permission.

Spooking and how to deal with it.

Now that I have a sound method of dealing with this problem it has generally ceased to be a problem but I remember the sheer frustration of riding a horse that was very spooky. Erik is the only trainer I know who deals with it clearly and successfully. As he says "Bring me any maniac and I will have him trotting around like any old plod within a couple of days"

So how does he do it?

Walking on the buckle consistently and calmly is the perfect antidote for horses that get nervous or excited but you need to know how to do it well. This is a whole other subject and not one than easily translates into words. One needs to practice steering and aiding on the buckle on a calm horse before dealing with a nervous or excited horse and in any case, a nervous and/or inexperienced rider on a nervous/excited horse is a recipe for disaster! Above anything else the rider needs to be completely calm and confident to help this type of horse.

One also needs to learn the "Fire Drill". The "Fire Drill" is a quick and safe way to pick up the reins in one smooth movement without panicking so that you can gain control quickly and calmly. You take the end of the reins in one hand while the other hand (with the whip) is placed around both reins close to the withers. You then draw the reins through your whip hand until the reins are short, then take up the reins in both hands and bring the horse to an immediate halt while saying "whoa" clearly and calmly. (This makes you breathe and gives the horse an additional cue to stop). As soon as the horse has stopped, go back to walk on the buckle. Repeat as necessary but DO NOT HOLD the horses in any way. This needs to be practised when there is no need for it so that when you do need it you react instinctively and easily rather than grabbing the reins in a panic.

There is a slight difference between

• a) a horse that is "not listening" and or distracted by something - another horse calling to him for example - and
• b) a horse that seems frightened and/or spooks at an object or won't go into a particular area within the school.

In the first instance you have to be a bigger distraction than whatever it is the horse hears or sees. The frequent turns and small circles are essential so that the horse focuses on the work, NOT on the rider. If the rider is engrossed in the work, rather than the horse, the horse will also start to focus on the work as it's small brain will not have space to think about anything else. In the latter case, the horse may be anxious about the actual work especially if he has been over pushed in the past, so it is important that the rider recognises the signs that perhaps the work is overly demanding and backs off or gives the horse a break. It may be that the horse has no confidence in his rider and feels that he has to be on constant alert to any dangers - he lacks sufficient leadership from his rider. However, in both cases the following guidelines will regain calm and establish confidence between rider and horse .

NB. The method below relates to work in an enclosed area as clearly it would be foolhardy to allow a horse to wander around on a loose rein when riding on a busy main road although the riders attitude (1 below) should be the same..

• It is vital that you pay absolutely no attention to the horse's antics or to whatever it is that spooks him. You see and hear nothing and remain physically, mentally and emotionally calm and detached.
• Learn the "Fire Drill" so that you can ride him "on the buckle", (ie a loose rein) confidently.
• Stay at a safe distance from whatever it is that is spooking him. Do NOT try to force the horse into the "spooky corner" or whatever it is. When he is calm and confident he will go there all by himself.
• Distract the horse by riding small circles and turns left and right on a long/loose rein - "on the buckle". Again, this needs to be done calmly and competently and has nothing to do with twirling the horse around ever decreasing circles. Use an active (gentle, persistent and insistent) inside rein if the horse continues to try to look at whatever it is that has distracted him. This is the only time you can use an active inside rein on its own and it should say "Look this way please, look this way". It absolutely does not say "Get your head down" although the end result when the horse has relaxed and regained its confidence will probably be that he will lowers his head. This is a by-product, not the aim.
• There must not be any hint of holding the horse , especially at the site of the "hidden tiger" as this will always result in more tension.
• The legs should remain passive until the horse has regained calm. An active leg when the horse is against the rider mentally and physically would probably have to be quite loud (rough?) to get the horse's attention and therefore would not be useful and would only add to the tension.
• If the shying is only very brief a gentle "check - soft" on both the reins may be all that is necessary to maintain calm and focus.
• Bending away from the object of "fear" is also useful in an emergency but it works best if done way ahead of time so that the hand can soften at the actual sight of the spook.
• No matter how badly the horse behaves it is vital that the rider has no thought of punishing the horse. Smacking him "to tell him he is being naughty" is simply counter productive and generally adds fuel to the flames. Getting off to thrash him is even worse! The horse instantly recognises the anger or fear behind your actions which is why a spooky horse will sometimes be very calm with a novice, non-reactionary, non demanding rider and yet produce all sorts of "bad behaviour" with an experienced but more demanding or aggressive rider.

One of my pupils told me a brilliant story which illustrates perfectly the way to deal with nervous horses - it may not be word for word so I hope she will forgive me for any inaccuracies. She went sailing with a friend who was an experienced yachtsman. While out at sea, a storm got up and she became absolutely terrified. Her friend seemed totally calm and told her it was nothing to worry about but that he was going to take her back to shore and safety. However, he then asked her to help him and talked her through a number of simple tasks to keep her busy. She soon became calm and forgot her fears and they got safely back to dry land.

There are a number of important points here.

• He didn't tell her that he was concerned about the conditions, quite the opposite in fact; he acted like he sailed in those conditions all the time and it was no big deal.
• However, he acknowledged her fear and acted on it even if he couldn't see anything to be afraid of himself. This is very important as it would not have worked if he had said "Yippee, let's see if we can make it to France!" which would have escalated her fears considerably.
• He distracted her from her fears by giving her something to do. He didn't give her some impossible task, just kept her quietly busy so that while she was following his directions she forgot about the fear.
• At no point did he show any signs of his own misgivings and yet he told her later that it was in fact a severe storm. This is another important point as it doesn't matter if the fear was real or imagined, he acted as if it was nothing.

"She" is like the nervous horse and "he" acted like the knowledgeable rider and the storm was the spooky corner - a tiger ready to pounce and no matter whether it is real or imagined. It is the same thing to a horse.

Horses that are nervous, aggressive or excitable need competent handling and this applies to work "on the ground" as well as in the saddle. In this respect, some "Natural Horsemanship" techniques may be the best starting point for the novice horse owner. However good ground work does not guarantee good ridden work and someone who is extremely competent on the ground may lack sufficient skills in the saddle and , of course, visa versa. Likewise, some horses can be angelic under saddle and evil in the stable. Either way, it is up to the rider to acquire the necessary skills to find a solution to the horse's difficulties. You should also recognise that the horse is a flight animal and even the most unflappable horse can still surprise one. If that frightens you, then stick to mechanical horses!

"The horse already knows how to be a horse; the task of horsemanship lies entirely with the rider"
Erik Herbermann

A Weekend with Felicity Mann, BHSII and MSTAT and her Mechanical Horse and a visit to Lucinda MacAlpine

Thanks to Felicity we had a wonderful week end in Devon enjoying her beautiful new house and garden and benefiting from her Alexander and riding expertise plus extra hands on with Jenny Sampson, MSTAT. Felicity had also arranged a guided tour and demo with Lucinda McAlpine, the dressage rider who keeps all her horses out in herds as naturally as possible. With wonderful weather and excellent food at the local pub, the only blot was Felicity's mechanical horse which went lame after the first day! Luckily all but one of us managed to enjoy a session on it and everyone went for a repeat booking the next month when it behaved impeccably even cantering non stop for 40 minutes with some riders. Obviously Felicity has been working on its fitness levels...

The experience of Alexander "hands on" while the horse is moving is incredibly useful. Obviously the movement is not exactly like a real horse, but one is able to practice a variety of riding skills without ever having to worry about the horse. It will keep the same rhythm hour upon hour while you just focus on yourself. The added advantage of being surrounded by mirrors also enables both teacher and pupil to have a 360 degree view at all times. If you find yourself travelling down the M5 near Tiverton, make a short detour for a lesson. You will find it invaluable.

The afternoon with Lucinda was both entertaining and interesting and she was extremely generous with her time. Her horses all looked very sleek and well and she demonstrated canter and flying changes on the road to prove just how good horses could be without shoes. I was very pleased to hear that she had a properly qualified farrier to trim the feet but she said that generally little was done once the horses were worked properly in balance on a variety of surfaces. She demonstrated her loose schooling as well as her riding and entertained us with her stories of Boris, her advanced German warm blood who took a bit of convincing that "Natural" was better than what he was used to. It was obvious that she had a great rapport with all her horses and the only thing that surprised me was that she rode them surprisingly deep given that everything else was so "natural". However, she has pioneered a more natural way of keeping and caring for horses in a (dressage) world where they are often denied such simple pleasures as going out with other horses and grooming each other. Those who had a lunge lesson with her found it very enlightening and were amazed at how responsive her horses were.

You can book Alexander Technique lessons on Felicity's mechanical horse by contacting Felicity direct on 01823 681 176. You can contact Lucinda McAlpine on 01823 680321. Both live in Culmstock in Devon just 10 minutes off the M5.

Les Quatre Ecoles d'art Equestre, Paris

I am so glad I actually managed to see this as it was truly inspirational. With approx 40 horses, (and a couple of Selle Francais mares amongst the stallions) in a 20 x 60m arena, it just brought tears to my eyes. My mother and I went on the final display on Sunday afternoon and it is possible that everyone had relaxed more than they did at the earlier displays because to me it looked like both horses and riders were really enjoying the event. I have heard quite a bit of criticism from "the experts" - "x" being an unknown quantity and "spurt" being a drip under pressure...) but I did not see "bad riding" and "cruelty" even on the DVD of the Friday performance. If one was being picky, there were moments when things were not perfect and perhaps a horse or two was pushed a bit too far (mostly to huge applause from the audience, so who was most at fault?) but all in all it was a magical performance and a far cry from anything one might see at most Dressage competitions or demos.

Seeing the 4 schools "side by side" as it were made me aware of both the similarities in horsemanship and the differences in culture. The Spanish were typically flamboyant and occasionally OTT, with more emphasis on their own (male) ego than their horses. They performed for the audience and the audience loved them. In many respects they wer the most "fun" to watch and I particularly liked their pink bows around their necks which only a "real" man would be brave enough to wear. The French were extremely stylish (and included a woman - Hurrah!!) and every rider was tall, willowy and elegant with legs to die for. They also had a lot of gold on their jackets (Dior possibly?) Part of their display included horses jumping over a table where the other riders were enjoying a glass of wine. They then jumped a smaller stand and eventually jumped just the post on its own amid much clapping and raising of glasses. The French quadrille was also a pleasure to watch with some lovely floor patterns and beautiful music. The Portuguese included some very "comfortable" figures with ample girths and their gear seemed a little down at heel compared to the other countries who glittered and sparkled in the spotlights, but I still loved most of their work. ("All that glitters is not gold"). Their "Airs Above the Ground" were amongst the best and it was great to see some pretty good caprioles and levades interspersed with complete calm and relaxation. They are the only ones to perform piaffe and "terre a terre" on boards so one can hear the 2-time foot fall and a very dark bay horse kept perfect rhythm and produced some lovely steps. The Viennese (Spanish Riding School) were immaculate with not a hair out of place and very precise and solemn. While the others were making the most of the occasion with some obvious showmanship, the Viennese stuck to their normal routine and exited the arena at a very stately walk when the music and clapping screamed "passage". However, I believe they had the edge over the other schools in terms of excellence although all 4 schools had some magical moments. Actually, the biggest and most genuine smile I saw all evening was from an Austrian rider after his horse had performed a wonderfully deep levade. This smile was not for the audience, just for his horse. It was a lovely moment and I was lucky to be seated at just the right spot to catch that. At the other end of the scale, Raphael Soto Andrade performed his Olympic freestyle on Invasor and his smiles were all for the audience. What a showman! He brought the house down and I have never seen Invasor go so superbly. What a difference it makes to perform without the steely eye of a judge and the pressure of medals. His show would appeal to anyone as he had great choreography and lots of places where the audience could clap in time with the music. Raphael was beside himself with joy - had he been celebrating at lunch time? - and his riding became ever more flamboyant with body, arms and legs working to the music. He couldn't have been more different from the Vienna riders.

The Airs above the Ground were amazing with approx 16 horses in the arena. They all prepared (or rested) around the outside track and when there was a gap went across the short diagonal to perform. The Spanish enthusiasm frequently collided with the Viennese calm, head on in some cases. And at one point the Viennese rider nearly hit the deck as his horse jumped in several directions all at once to avoid a crash. I don't think the Lippizanners horses had ever worked in such mayhem - I am sure it was character building. It was interesting to see a couple of horses gearing up for caprioles with masses of impulsion but lacking straightness with almost disastrous results which makes me even more convinced that straightness comes before impulsion in the scales of training. I also enjoy the wonderful elasticity in the (better) horses when they land after their jumps. and not so well by our portly gentleman - the head of the school. Perhaps the horse was struggling under the weight. However, the rider is in his seventies and still rides better than most of us so lets not be too judgmental. He was also almost single-handedly responsible for resurrecting the School which had been disbanded during the Civil war. No mean achievement. His piaffe backwards (intentional I believe) was "interesting" as was the work in the pillars which looked quite scary. All I can say is that I am glad I was merely a spectator. Without knowing the full background it would be hard to say why the horse was so tense. Of course I am sure the "experts" have an opinion but perhaps we were witnessing a masterful display of horsemanship which kept the horse from completely losing the plot and galloping full tilt out of the arena. (That is what most of our horses would do if faced by several thousand people clapping and cheering amid flashing lights and loud music.) What do you do when your much practised party piece goes "tits up"? Hope the horse will get better with another show? Pull the plug and leave the arena with as much composure as you can manage? Hard to say unless you were in such a position yourself. (As if!!!).

There were other less-than-great parts of the show. A Spanish horse performed a couple of spectacular Courbettes then the trainer kept him going and going and going and then into a pirouette still on his back legs with his hocks buckling under the strain. Of course the audience went wild, or at least most of them did. And I wish the Viennese school would find some better music for their canter work. It is positively turgid! The Portuguese also had (in my opinion) an unfortunate choice of music which made their paces look choppier than they were. The French horses were a bit too competition like for me - good in front and not a lot behind with backs not as "carried" as the Iberians and a rather flashy passagey trot from one horse. Was it intentional or yet another display of great riding which prevented said horse from exploding? Who knows?

However, in general the show was fantastic. The Spanish gave a great display of Vaquera skills with 6 horses all twirling together at great speed and flying sideways across the arena. The Viennese quadrille had an incredibly steep angled half pass from the corner to the opposite side and back across to the HALF MARKER! That is difficult even in an ordinary single track trot. There were great pirouettes, passages which sprang off the ground, piaffes which were soft, elastic and rhythmical and some fantastic displays of directed energy in the airs above the ground. I loved it!

Annual Arrow Week

I always enjoy Arrow Week and every year it just gets better. It is great to work with friends, old and new, and see riders and horses achieving real breakthroughs. The dismounted sessions - Alexander Technique with Philippa, Feldenkrais and Pilates with Sarah and Craniosacral work with Viv - are always very worthwhile as were the additional theory/demos. Nickatie gave us lots to think about trying to untangle which muscle goes where and what it did - the more you know the more you realise that you know nothing! Joy joined us to show her progress on the Long Reins with Milo and gave almost everyone a taste of how to start their own horse. Felicity and I taught the ridden work with Felicity's Alexander tuition on horseback giving the riders an additional focus. Then we had some very valuable evening workshops with the video and "live action" to further improve our observation skills. The video sessions give much more meaning to the sessions in the school with live action. For the final workshop we were able to study a video of one of our class lessons in relation to "The Scales of Training" (see below) and this produced a really worthwhile discussion. So often this subject is only related to fantastic dressage horses which are outside of our own reality. Seeing how the Scales relate to our own training was extremely useful and did much to demystify this buzz expression that is bandied around everywhere.

Christopher Bartle - "The Scales of Training"

This was a recent BHS Refresher course at Hartpury College so it seems fitting that I write about what we discussed during Arrow Week and what was said at Hartpury, especially as we seemed to be saying the same things.

Christopher talked about the pre requisites of the Scales - "stop, go and turn" while Erik talks about "calm, forward and straight" but both agree that there is a simple basic language without which rhythm, relaxation, contact, straightness, impulsion and collection cannot work. It was a joy to hear Christopher tell the riders to give their hands forward and not to worry about the horse's head! He said gravity works for them and if the horse is relaxed it will hang it's head on the vertical anyway. Unfortunately all the guinea pigs produced for CB were from Hartpury, some from the "Elite squad" whatever that means and some were tutors there, and all of them pulled the horse's heads in so none of them could really show what he wanted. It would have been very heartening for some of my pupils to see the mess they made of leg yield! By the end of the afternoon he seemed to have virtually given up "teaching" as clearly they were not going to change their riding. With each horse and rider he started with these basics and there were serious gaps here. Most of the horses were calm but lack of forwardness, straightness and steering caused many of the problems throughout the day. Some riders resorted to shoving and kicking, (quite an unpleasant display of rough riding at one point), one couldn't go from canter to trot, just got slower and slower and slower... Most had problems understanding what "small" meant when asked to do a small circle and I think sometimes it is a huge disadvantage to have an enormous school which encourages riders to just thunder around the outside track with no attempt at any school figure. "Be on line and in line" was a much repeated phrase. ("School figure pre empts everything" - Erik Herbermann). CB also talked about a 3-way partnership - which is the senior partner? The horse, the rider or the trainer. In Germany it is always the trainer which is great because the riders do exactly what they are told! However, in a competition, there is no trainer so the rider has to be the senior partner and if the senior partner gets it wrong there is no way that the junior partner (the horse) will get it right. He also talked about the rider making "a position statement" meaning that the body language must be clear. If you want canter right your position must indicate that and there were some clear examples where this was not the case and predictably, the horse "got it wrong"! CB is obviously a great teacher and his comments were generally clear and to the point without taking people to pieces.

With regard to the Scales of Training

The information below has been gleaned from a variety of sources including CB, Erik and others, and if you want further information there are plenty of website ( classical dressage.com), which have some good explanations.

Rhythm (and Balance)

The legs say "energy" the seat says "length of stride". The term "rhythm" refers to the regularity of the steps or strides in each gait: They should cover equal distances and also be of equal duration. It is the relaxed muscles which are able to operate to their full potential so that the limbs swing evenly and the whole horse's body is involved. Sometimes rhythm is sacrificed in an effort to get some forward momentum as without it the horse would not reach into the bridle. However, the rhythm must be maintained at all times especially before and after transitions. Trot to walk is just that not trot, go a bit slower, shuffle into an amble, then walk. If the rider has a good sense of rhythm obviously everything becomes easier for the horse. The aids should be within the horse's rhythm, in time with his steps and obviously this implies that both horse and rider also need to be balanced. Those of you who have tried the pom pom exercise will know that a loss of balance results in a loss of rhythm. CB also told his riders to go slightly forward in their balance to help the horses to go forward and slightly more upright to slow down always returning to neutral balance as soon as possible.

The walk rhythm can be counted as "121, 122, 121, 122" or "Is there a halt, is there a halt" if the horse is running or too quick or "is there a trot, is there a trot" if the horse is a bit lethargic.

The trot rhythm is "1,2,3,4,5,6,7" with the emphasis slightly drawn out on the 7 to make it match 8 steps. There is a nice lilt to this when you get it right.

The canter rhythm is invariably is the same rhythm as the walk except that the count is per stride, not per leg (left, right, left, right in the walk). The beat is slightly different as in musical 4/4 for walk and 6/8 for canter hence Highland jigs are usually a very good canter beat.

Relaxation and Contact

Relaxation or "Looseness" which is a sometimes used are very poor words for what is actually meant. (Losgelassenheit in German). For example, a calm but lazy horse may look "relaxed" but it will not demonstrate "relaxation" as it means in the Scales. Neither will a horse that is calm but stiff. Likewise, if you notice that a horse has very active hocks the chances are that they are being used at the expense of some other part of the horse, the hip or back for example. The horse should not look really "expressive" until later in the training when impulsion and collection are asked for. There should be suppleness throughout the body and the movement should be smooth, harmonious, a pleasure to watch. This "Relaxation" is a prerequisite for all further training and, along with rhythm, is an essential aim of the preliminary training phase. Even if the rhythm is maintained, the movement cannot be considered correct unless the horse is working through its back, and the muscles are free from tension. Only if the horse is physically and mentally free from tension or constraint can it work with relaxation and can it use itself to the full. The horse's joints should bend and straighten equally on each side of its body and with each step or stride, and the horse should convey the impression that it is putting its whole mind and body into it's work. Indications of relaxation are a swinging back and tail, regular breathing and snorting, and a light foam around the lips. It has been achieved when the horse will stretch its head and neck forwards and downwards in all three gaits. This has nothing to do with putting it's head down artificially or having it's nose behind the vertical. True relaxation means that the horse offers it willingly and I would say that it is one of the major problems in modern training. None of the horses at Hartpury were able to demonstrate true relaxation and therefore the work was not as good as it could have been and the training of the horses was "stuck" at this level.

The contact comes from the horse working smoothly and evenly through its body so that the rider "receives" the energy in the reins. It should be 50:50 between horse and rider and 50:50 between right and left. The horse should go rhythmically forward from the rider's driving aids and "seek" a contact with the rider's hand, thus "going onto" the contact. A correct, steady contact allows the horse to find its balance under the rider and find a rhythm in each of the gaits. The poll should always be the highest point of the neck, except when the horse is being ridden forwards and downwards, and the nose should always be on or just in front of the vertical, never behind. The contact should never be achieved through a backward action of the hands; it should result from the correctly delivered forward thrust of the hind legs. The horse should go forward confidently onto the contact in response to the rider's driving aids. Flexing the horse's head to the right or the left should require no greater movement than if you were holding a tiny "Dinky toy" wheel by the withers and the 50:50 should not be lost in the bend. If you take a little more on one rein the other rein must ease slightly. Too much emphasis on keeping the outside rein will restrict the outside shoulder but most trainers emphasise the outside rein simply to prevent riders pulling on the inside rein!

From an Alexander point of view the head always leads so if the horse is denied this his movement will suffer.

Somewhere in here should be the German word durchlassigkeit. It is a term used to describe how the aids of the rider go through the horse. The better the level of durchlassigkeit the more instant the response of the horse to riders aids. Other words used are "permeable", "through" and it gives the rider the sense of their rein aids going through the horse and effecting the hind quarters and the leg aids going through the horse to the hand. Unfortunately this can be forced (unlike "losgelassenheit" which must be given by the horse). Those who pull the horse's heads from side to side or tweak the reins to "get the head down" can achieve "durchlassigkeit" and it will look almost the same as one that is achieved through the willing participation of the horse. In fact most people are easily fooled and some even talk of only "through the neck" as they see that as the main point of "durchlassigkeit". Undoubtedly it makes the horse more pliable and easier to ride and many riders are just thrilled to have the extra control that it brings. Many show jumpers have excellent "throughness" and impulsion but are still croup high or crooked or unable to collect in the true sense.

Straightness and Impulsion

I always have a problem putting impulsion ahead of straightness as adding energy to a crooked horse will simply have the energy misdirected. I assume that the horse is already "forward" (see pre-requisites) but the argument for putting impulsion before straightness is that you must have forward energy to achieve straightness. What about walk where there is almost no energy I ask? The BHS put the two together and CB put a great emphasis on forward at the start of every ride. He was also very strict about school figures and accuracy. His words were "Be on line, in line" and again, the Hartpury riders were struggling with accurate small circles. He had a very good exercise using a box made out of 4 poles and I will definitely be copying this.

Straightness is more than just going from A to B in a straight line, although that is a good start. It is also about being evenly bent on circles and turns and the hind legs stepping evenly towards the forelegs. It is necessary in order for the weight to be evenly distributed over the two halves of the body and is developed through systematically training and suppling both sides of the body equally. Most horses are born slightly crooked (left handed and right handed). They usually have a preferred hind leg which is happy to push and carry weight and a less preferred leg which likes to avoid the extra work. Training should address this phenomenon so that the horse becomes dynamically straight and the energy passes equally from both hind legs evenly to the bridle. When you have achieved this the impulsion has a clear pathway through the horses body and the horse feels completely even under the seat bones and in the hand.

Impulsion (schwung in German) is the energetic push from the hindlegs that causes the horse to be expressive in its movement. A horse that can't lengthen does not have impulsion. A horse can be said to be working with impulsion when it works with energy, lift, expression and it swings it's feet well forward under the body. Impulsion is created by training although an excited horse may fool the judges into thinking they are seeing impulsion. True impulsion should not look forced or tense or hard. Think of the horse performing on the road - if you shudder at the thought of what may be happening to his joints, the horse is not showing true impulsion although the fault probably lies back in the lack of "relaxation". (Those of you who came to Devon and watched Lucinda and her horse performing flying changes and medium trot down the road will have a good idea of "good" impulsion and relaxation.)

Finally collection - the highest form of riding

It is impossible to obtain collection without a very solid base of rhythm, relaxation, contact, straightness and impulsion although there are many imitations. Collection requires the horse to be supple in the hind quarters - hip, stifle and hock - and able to bend his hind leg and place it nearer to the centre of gravity. The "airs above the ground" are the result of collection as the horse almost squats down before using the power of the hind quarters to leap into the air or to balance in a levade. These advanced exercises require balance and strength as well as suppleness. To attempt these movements on a stiff, tense horse which wasn?t going forward to the contact would harm the horse and be dangerous for the rider. Crookedness and lack of impulsion would also be a serious problem. These movements are usually developed through the piaffe and yet when one sees a competition piaffe it is often no more than a rhythmic shuffle, hardly the highest form of collection that it is meant to be and certainly not likely to produce airs above the ground.

I was interested to watch the recent National Dressage championships and note the fashion for "passage-like" collected trots and asked CB his opinion. Apparently I touched a nerve because he grinned and said "Don?t get me started on that one!" Apparently there is much discussion on this point at the top level and many trainers are very concerned about the lack of true collection in the Grand Prix tests and do not agree with the trend towards this "false collection". According to CB "they" (whoever they are) have taken out all the movements that require collection, or as CB put it, all the movements that they can?t do. For example the 6 metre volte has disappeared and when he asked the Hartpury rider on a very impressive "passagey" horse to execute a small circle from the shoulder in, it was very obvious that the horse was unable to do this. CB said that any advanced horse should be collected enough to be able to perform this simple exercise.

Erik Herbermann clinic

Erik's next clinics will be from March 14 - 19th and August 26th - 31st. The deposit is £60 pp and lessons are 85 euros each (510 euros for the course).

These clinics are always an inspiration for me. Words cannot fully describe what happens but I will report some of the key points.

1. Never fear to make mistakes.
2. Ask as much as necessary; quit as soon as you can.
3. Refresh the balance and energy frequently; the horse has no reason to do it on his own.
4. The outside rein is not the aid that controls the outside shoulder from escaping, its both reins say halt!
5. Keep yourself on the ball and the horse will also be there.
6. You don't have to "keep his head down". If you do the right thing, his head will always be just right. (CB used almost exactly the same words)
7. Ride for what is under the seat; not for what is in the hand.
8. You may notice when things are not great but don't tell the horse that you notice. Its like a nosebleed; just deal with it and move on!
9. Keep weeding the garden (for position corrections)
10. They are called "aids", not "make'em do its", not "get them to do its" but "help them to do its"
11. An indicator light does not turn the car; looking in will not turn the horse.
12. The outside leg and seat (pillar) help to channel the energy in the right direction but don't actually turn the horse.
13. Elbow, hand, horse's mouth, the forearm truly part of the rein. If the hand bores down it acts like a martingale.
14. Look straight between the horses ears, even in lateral work.
15. It doesn't take power; it takes finesse. Picking up the right tool for the job.
16. Be pleased and grateful for the little things that work.
17. If you don't get this right (insert your own particular "this") you will stay at the same level of frustration.
18. Cradle the horse between our drive and receive.
19. A low poll is more serious than a horse that is up against the hand.
20. If you can't get something directly or the horse doesn't quite accept the request, go indirectly. It is like the bridge is closed at Pembridge so go via Marston instead.

Serenity Feeling Participation Harmony

To Bend or Not to Bend , that is the question.

This theme seems to have cropped up quite often lately. First, when I went to see Tim Stockdale, then with Erik, then Bettina Drummond and then it has cropped up again in lessons. Generally, you need to keep the neck straight - calm forward and straight are the key words for any horse. It is perfectly correct to ask your horse to "look in" and adjust his neck (with the reins) so that he does not look out but it is absolutely wrong to have the horse bend from the base of the neck and fall out through the shoulders which generally indicates too much bend in the neck. If a horse is "difficult to control" a bit more bend helps as long as it is deliberate and temporary. Likewise, if a horse has problems stepping through its back, sometimes some small circles or a bit of leg yield with a bit more bend will help him. However true gymnastic bending comes from the hindquarters which is something else entirely. Asking actively with the rein when the horse is against that rein is mostly pretty futile - measure your wrist, then measure your horse's neck - No contest! In fact the problem is not so much the heavy rein but rather the lighter empty rein and if you can encourage the horse to reach into the empty rein, especially when it is on the inside, the horse will automatically become softer on the heavier/stiffer rein. Of course, it goes without saying that the cause of this uneven feel in the rein is in the hindquarters so ultimately, that is where the correction should lie. The rein which feels stiff/hard/unyielding corresponds to the horse's stronger, or as Erik prefers to call it, "preferred" hind leg. The soft side where the rein feels light, soft, empty, loose corresponds with the horse's weaker, (less preferred) hind leg. Therefore, one needs to encourage the horse to use that leg a bit more. When he does, both reins will start to feel more even. If your right hand is your the preferred hand, you would probably be quite clumsy and somewhat reluctant to use the other "less preferred" left hand. It would be useless to keep saying "Don't use your right hand" unless you were also encouraged to practice with your left hand. Thus with the horse - by giving him nothing to argue with on the "preferred" side and driving actively on the "less preferred" side while riding calmly, forward and straight on simple school figures, he will automatically start using both hind legs evenly. This may not happen instantly but if the rider is consistent, it will happen quicker than you might imagine.

Bending either way then becomes easy and you can start with the real gymnastics of encouraging the horse to bend in his hindquarters - the hip, stifle and hock.

So, how do I bend the horse?

I love asking this question as most riders start talking about the leg because they don?t want to pull the inside rein. Very noble if slightly misguided. You may, should, must use the reins to initiate a bend. You could have a fantastic inside leg but if the horse is gawking to the outside, it will be virtually useless, so first ask your horse to look to the inside. Do this by having both reins; hold the inside while slightly giving on the outside until the horse turns his head then, both reins even again, neutralise. By easing the outside rein forward the horse will give up/lengthen the outside of his body whereas actively pulling on the inside rein will result in him shortening the inside of his body - not very useful. (You can do this with your own head and neck. Starting from a straight head position, first draw one ear down to your shoulder and feel the effect. Then, after straightening again, try lengthening the opposite ear up to the sky and feel the difference) Then the position of the rider's seat and legs will confirm the bend. If you can't do this in halt without the horse moving it's whole body you are going to have a hard time doing it in the other gaits and you will find that the horse falls in or out depending on where his head is. This is where a little leg yield comes in handy so that the horse not only softens to the inside rein but also softens to the inside leg. I often find that riders seem to be struggling with the bend but in fact they are pulling on the outside rein to try to steer the horse into the corners thus making the horse look out and fall in more. The remedy is "bend in, squash out". As you become more adept with aligning your horse and influencing him through the seat and legs, the hand becomes a minor player in bending and the horse's neck becomes relatively straight as he becomes more able to bend in his ribs and hind quarters.

So when should I bend the horse and when should I keep him straight?

Difficult question! First, if your horse is looking to the outside, (and you are not deliberately counter bending him) you should ask him to look in and this is a rudimentary form of bending. If this results in him falling out through his outside shoulder, (circles and turns tend to drift outwards), you are probably bending his neck too much and he is probably bending from the withers rather than in the middle of his neck. In this case, you should straighten the neck, bend in the opposite direction until he becomes straight and his shoulders become steerable - this may feel like you are actively counter bending him. If he starts to fall in and make his turns and circles smaller than you had planned, then you need to bend a little more to the inside, "bend in, squash out" feeling. The same applies if he is straight but you feel like he is motor-biking around the corners and leaning in - bend him a little more and move him off the inside leg. This is why leg yielding is an essential exercise for both horse and rider. The horse has very little bend but moves away from the inside leg and guiding/steering becomes a little less hit or miss. If he is neither falling in or out and he is reaching evenly into both reins you can bend him as much as you like or as much as you are able to without losing control (steering) of the shoulders and the hindquarters. If smaller circles and more bend results in the horse's quarters or shoulders deviating from the circle line, you have asked more than the horse is capable of at that time. Make the exercise a little easier until he is more supple - 10m rather than 6m circles, shoulder fore rather than shoulder in.

Will bending get his head down?

Well yes, it will which is why so many people use the reins actively to "get the horse on the bit". Any manipulation with the head and neck is usually at the expense of another part of his anatomy (see Helen Davies report). A pleasing head carriage is only a very small piece of the jigsaw so having the head down, even if the reins feel light and soft and it looks quite pretty, is useless if you haven't got the whole horse. It is like putting new wall paper on a wall that has a huge crack in it. Erik is the only trainer I know that refuses to allow the riders to fiddle, wiggle, pull, milk, take and give, tweak, massage, call it what you will, to get the horse's head down. Every other trainer I have been to or seen will insist that the horse is "on the bit" irrespective of what the rest of the horse is doing and taking no account of the skill or lack of it, of the rider.

Having your horse in a "round outline" is the aim of all serious riders but having the head down is no guarantee that you have achieved this. A round horse that is truly on the bit always feels great to sit on whereas a horse that has had his head fiddled, wiggled, pulled, milked, tweaked, massaged into submission doesn't, but they can look very similar. When I first trained in Austria with John Lassetter on his beautiful Lippizanners I questioned why his pupils rode them in draw reins. His answer was that it would take far too long to teach the riders to ride the horse correctly on the bit so it was better for the horse?s backs if they were ridden in draw reins which prevented them from coming above the bit. He is right, it takes a long time to learn how to ride a horse correctly on the bit and it is impossible if the rider has not yet established a correct position! If you can't fulfil this basic requirement of a correct posture, you will be relying on your horse?s good nature to go well in spite of you rather than because of you.

(Watching Sally Tottle teach Alexander Technique many years ago convinced me that there is more to sitting correctly than just looking pretty. The horses, as if by magic, all started to carry themselves and go in a round outline without the riders even picking up the reins.)

Clinic Report - Bettina Drummond

For those of you who don't know (and I didn't?) Bettina Drummond was taken to Nuno Oliveira when she was 7 years old and her mother said "teach her to ride"! She trained with Nuno for 17 years and became the youngest student to earn the title "teacher". While most of us were galloping around on ponies, she was executing airs above the ground on highly trained stallions. She now lives and works in America so it was with great interest that I went to Devon to see her teach and work the horses in hand - her speciality.

It is always easy to sit in the gallery and criticise but I have to say that I was extremely glad that I wasn't in her shoes as she had such a wide range of abilities and horses - from "happy hacker" to a completely messed up "high school" stallion! She gave every one of them her total attention and time, more than that, she gave every ounce of energy where I would have gone for a tea break and said "Let me know when you decide to start riding your horse". I?m not sure if she had experienced "Natural Horsemanship" previously but she must have learnt a thing or two while she was there...?!

Joking apart, when she was in familiar territory her expertise was tangible. The messed up stallion was seriously challenging and his lessons were "right on the edge". Fortunately his rider was extremely experienced and it made for some exciting moments. Some other exciting moments were provided when she rather foolishly told a rider not to bother with Alexander Technique as it made you sit like a ballerina with a hollow back. I took great pleasure in repeating this comment to the 4 Alexander Teachers who had been watching and sat back and watched the fireworks! Sally Tottle, Philippa Morrell and I challenged her directly and it was clear that a) she knew very little about the technique and b) she was not going to change her mind, (unless we could show her a Grand Prix rider who used the technique and as she had absolutely slated Anky van Grunsen this seemed like no win situation for AT.) Sally told her about her work with the Irish Young Rider Event Team but this was dismissed as completely different and not real riding. Her main argument seemed to hinge on the use of the back and seat and she felt that Alexander Technique puts you in the "wrong" position to do this effectively. About 20 years ago, I would have agreed with her. ?It is all very well to sit there looking elegant but that?s not "real riding"! I had no idea how to influence the horse without using a great deal of power and so did not recognise any other sort of riding, (unless of course it was the Spanish Riding School but that was something completely different and unattainable...!). It is easy to admire the flash and exciting, the horses that look as if they are barely under control, the riders that have you on the edge of your seat, and not so easy to see the much greater skill that appears effortless. Each to their own...

However, she had some lovely expressions and here are some of them:

Training the horse:

1. Half pass - (the horse's) legs cascading over each other
2. Canter depart like you are setting him up for a big upright fence, not like you are going at a water jump.
3. In order to bend well the horse has to be in front of the leg.
4. Position his nose in line with his inside shoulder (for bend), not beyond it
5. The horse either is or isn?t connected. There is no more or less
6. Brake! (half halt)
7. Horse must be one piece before you do higher level stuff
8. Steering and brakes are not optional extras in cars. Neither are they with horses!

Rider responsibilities

1. By neglecting the gaits and the transitions, you cause your own problems
2. You guys may have all the time in the world but I am on an agenda - the clock is ticking!
3. You doubt your riding to the point when you don?t ride well
4. You are a good listener but you also need to be a leader
5. It is useless to ask the horse anything until the rider has the hands, seat and legs in position. These are basic skills.
6. All that Classical theory and horse whispering stuff is no good if you can?t sit in walk, trot and canter.
7. Join up the dots
8. Get in the front seat
9. Good catch! (when someone caught and corrected a crookedness at the right moment)
10. Have your hands like you are holding 2 lit candles
11. Think of your hands creating 2 funnels and send the horse through them.
12. Lift your hips and back into your hands

Horse and rider "know how"

1. The horse evades and says "she'll never notice so what the hell" Make (the horse) take you seriously.
2. You created a monster - you sort it out. (talking about a horse with no discipline)
3. (This horse) has the eye of a chess master not a tiddly winks player!
4. Who cares about doing it properly when (the horse) is being improper - get in there!
5. It is suicidal to ride horses without training them to the leg.
6. You are afraid of wrecking it but you will wreck it anyway (if you don't do something)
7. Don't sit like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

More Clinic Reports - Patrick Print FBHS

One snowy cold day last autumn I went to another BHS Refresher Day with an interesting theme - "Riders position and influence on the horse" - just my cup of tea! Patrick Print lead the day and as usual I have listed all of the key points of interest below. I am sorry to say that I left at lunch time...

"Give Your Horse a Break - Lose Weight and Feel Great"

This is the message from Viv Ray who is promoting sensible weight loss programmes. (Contact her on 01981 580 577 for more information). Many of you will have read the heated debate in the Horse and Hound with riding school proprietors putting weight limits on their horses thus “denying” riding opportunities to large would-be riders. The argument from the heavyweights is that riding schools and colleges should provide bigger horses. The argument from riding schools is that

• A riding is a sport and you need to have a certain level of fitness,
• B overweight riders fall more heavily and are more likely to injure themselves,
• C horses should not be open to abuse so weight limits must be imposed.

While it is easy for a mere midget like me to keep under 10 stone, I have recently encountered a number of enthusiastic, well meaning, desperate-to-improve riders who would find their task a great deal easier if they lost a stone or two (or three or four in some cases!). Of course, some people carry their weight much better than others and if you ride well or practice Alexander Technique or Pilates you can often get away with it. Also, lets not forget the other end of the scale where a person is underweight and has not the physical strength to ride correctly. An underweight rider is less of a problem to the horse but surviving on a lettuce leaf and several glasses of water is just as debilitating as pigging out every day. Either way, you need to have a certain level of fitness to ride well and you can’t be fit and fat.

Source: US Diet Guidelines

The UK guidelines would put you in the “overweight” category if you were close to the upper limit of these weights. .If over 35 years old you can add approx 10lbs to the acceptable weight range If your weight is 13 stone, (182lbs) you need to be at least 6ft to be in the “acceptable” range but you would have to be 6ft 4ins and male to make this an ideal weight. (UK guidelines). If your girth (I won’t call it a waist) is more than 35ins (for a female) you are overweight, (37ins for a man) Every time an overweight rider gives my horse back ache I have to get a chiropractor in and/or give the horse a lay off for a few days/weeks. Your lesson fee does not cover these hidden costs. (Maybe I should charge per pound weight rather than per hour!)

Arrow Horses and Weight Limits

I am now imposing weight limits on all my horses - Pooh is the only horse allowed to carry more than 12 stone (plus riding kit). Icaro, Cantinero and Crisp (who has had a back problem recently) - 10 stone (plus kit) These limits can be increased if the rider is (in my opinion) sufficiently experienced and/or “body aware” .. (ie, do more Alexander work!)

Viv Ray - Craniosacral therapist (and “weight loss consultant”)

As stated above Viv is helping several people (including herself!) lose weight AND have plenty of energy. You can read more at www.joyfulhealth.co.uk or call her at home on 01981 580 577. Many of you will already have experienced Viv’s unique hands on Craniosacral treatment and recently she has been applying this to horses with great success. She has been treating Cantinero and Pooh with great results and she is planning to hold regular clinics here at Weston. If you are interested in this therapy, either for yourself or your horse, please get in touch with either me or Viv.

Observations Skills Evening Workshops I-IV

This series of workshops proved to be so popular that it was standing room only! Nickatie set the ball rolling with an excellent talk on basic anatomy with reference to a selection of diagrams and then some practical observations using a selection of horses. She gave a very telling demonstration of what happens if the horse is blocked at some point through its spine. With all of us in a line pretending to be vertebrae, a section would either slow down or speed up with disastrous results. An overactive back end and a restricted front end always ended up with a break on the line, (back problems?) Viv and Sue A focussed on how we interact with horses and how we observe. Viv’s practical work was very revealing as we tried to communicate with some very obstinate 2-legged horse! Sue gave us some very tricky exercises to test our skills and challenged us to improve on the BD description of a “happy athlete”. We then looked at a number of pictures with a much more informed eye. The next session looked at a video made by Sue NP. The advantage of this was to be able to slow it down and freeze frame the action. It included basic walk, trot and canter plus counter canter, changes and lateral work showing good and bad and what to look for. The video ended with some interesting examples of basic paces gone wrong. What was most interesting was that a single frame often gave a very false picture of the whole. Sometimes a horse that moved really badly looked quite good and another horse moving quite well looked awful if frozen at an unfamiliar moment. The final session took place in the school with 5 very different horses who conveniently showed a whole range of good and not so good moments.

The "Big Debate" - Classical versus Competition and "rollkur"

The Horse and Hound and British Dressage magazines have recently opened a can of worms asking well known riders and trainers to define what is “ classical” and how is it different from any other form of dressage. My own view is that we should accept that just as gymnastics are similar but completely different from classical ballet , competition dressage and classical riding should be appreciated for what they are and not compared one against the other. Both require high levels of skill and dedication but as soon as you start giving points and making rules by which you judge one person/horse against another the whole game changes. Critics may comment and even argue about the merits of one dancer or ballet production against another but I don’ t think anyone would want them to compete against each other to prove who was the best. If you want to dance and win medals, you go a different route and so with riding: if you want to win prizes, you need to go a different route. And if you want to go to extremes , (to the top), where your strength and suppleness is judged on how many turns and twists you can do within a highly complicated and intricate pattern you choose gymnastics and Olympic dressage. And if you are really good it can also look quite artistic but it will not have any of the artistry associated with ballet or the Classical schools of riding. Likewise, a Classical performance may be less “exciting” or less demanding with fewer intricate twists and turns but any ordinary member of the public will appreciate its harmony and beauty.

And then there is the question of how to achieve these high levels of performance expected at the Olympics? Well, if you want to win medals, whether it is in gymnastics or dressage, you must emulate the current trends and fashions and if this includes somewhat questionable training methods used by the current champions all the better. You must also accept that only the best survive and early burn out is inevitable. If the current champion uses “ rollkur” (working the horses in extreme flexion so that their chin touches their chests or there heads are between their knees), then of course every aspiring Olympic hopeful will want to do the same to achieve the same results. Inevitably, a lot of horses will be made totally miserable, many will break down in some way, mentally, physically or emotionally , and some will object strongly and end up on the scrap heap - “ not the right attitude for dressage“ .

To quote Erik, “ It’ s like taking a razor blade to a Rembrant”

But it is not always sweetness and light in the classical world. Wasn’ t it Margot Fonteyn who said that after every performance, her shoes were filled with blood? Likewise, there are many dubious schools of so called “ Classical Dressage” which would not bear close scrutiny. And lets face it we can all produce many examples of our own bad riding on almost any given day and we are all trying to do the best we can, whether it is in a competition or just riding at home. Then there is the question of excellence, striving for better and better achievements and pushing the envelope, - surely this is a good thing ? We all admired the incredible skill of the fantastic Russian and Chinese gymnasts but do we know what was the human cost of those achievements and was it worth it? What about all the ones that didn’ t make the grade? Was it right for the USA gymnast to make the final medal winning vault knowing that her knee would not survive the landing and that she would probably suffer long term damage for the rest of her life? Would she have thanked the judges if they had stopped her and denied her the chance of lifetime to win at the Olympics? So many questions and no easy answers.

However, what we should remember is that the horse has none of our ambitions and does not chose to dedicate his life to winning medals “ at any cost” . Neither does he have a “ voice” as such unless we speak for him. Horses are generally so compliant that they will appear quite content even with very harsh handling as long as it is consistent and predictable. They very quickly learn to keep their “ heads down” in both senses and as long as there is no blood, everyone says it is OK. They even appear quite content . They perform all the movements with their ears forward and their head down and yet either they appear as startled rabbits caught in the headlights and are literally sh_tting themselves with nervous tension or they have the look of someone who has simply become resigned to doing funny stuff in a small rectangle. British Dressage has tried to define “ the happy athlete” and yes, most people will recognise if a horse is nervous and tense but not everyone recognises the difference between the willing cooperation of a calm and confident horse and the calm submission of a horse that has become brain-dead through subjugation. Horses are admired for their “ trainability” which can equate with almost a complete lack of “ horse character” . This look is obvious when it is seen on a horse that is also emaciated or covered in sores but it is none the less tragic when one sees it in a horse that is in peak condition and enjoys all the luxuries that his owner can afford.

Having immersed myself in the work of Erik Herbermann for many years, I find many aspects of modern riding and training quite depressing. Although judges, trainers and riders all pay lip service to the FEI guidelines of how a horse should perform, everyone knows that if you want to win, you absolutely must “ get its head down” at all costs. If you allow your horse to “voice” its opinion (ie put its head up, hollow or resist when the rider is less than perfect), everyone will see that things are not so good, whereas not many people can see when things are not so good if the rider manages to “keep the head down” Dressage is becoming more and more like showing where all the judges say that horses should be fit not fat and yet everyone knows that a fit-not-fat horse would be way down the line with the comment - “ Needs a bit more condition” . There have been a number of excellent articles by many learned experts explaining how a horse should move and carry itself with the poll the highest point and the nose on or in front of the vertical but the magazines are filled with many examples of horses winning at every level and showing all the signs of incorrect work. Even young horses are depicted over bent/behind the vertical/short necks, going in two halves/the front and back disconnected, hind legs out behind, diagonal pairs not matching etc… etc…. Let me repeat myself, everyone, including me can show many examples of bad work at any time but these pictures are supposed to be showing good work, our best horses and riders.

And then one has to say something about the riding. When I was growing up in Pony Club, the most enviable quality in a rider was “ quietness” .

“ She has lovely quiet hands” , “ He is a lovely quiet rider” , “ She has such a quiet seat”

Fiddling with the reins or hands that “ worked backwards” was the worst possible crime and instant failure at Pony Club C test let alone at a higher level. Sadly this is no longer the case and it seems that every rider who ever enters a dressage test or “ Cradle Stakes” class has been drilled into having expert efficiency in the complicated science of twiddling, pulling, sawing, tweaking, massaging, or whatever you want to call it. When the horse has been “ trained” to keep its head “ just there” (wherever just there is - between its legs for the warm-up and “ up” for the test), the rider fixes their hands in a similar “ just there” way and believes that they have achieved self carriage and lightness in the hand. It’ s as daft as saying that it is hot and sunny just because we have fiddled with the needle of a barometer.

I feel more and more like a “ Grumpy Old Woman” !

Ultimately it is up to ones own conscience as to what is acceptable and what is not. A smart smack with the whip can be entirely appropriate or entirely inappropriate depending on the circumstances and it is impossible to define rules on the subject. All I ask is you open your eyes to see and do your best to work towards your ideal and listen to your horse‘s opinion - it is far more important than mine or anyone else‘s!

Erik Herbermann - Dressage Clinic at Weston

Once again, Erik focussed on details which make the difference between good and not so good work. Here are just a few points he made during his brief stay.

1. Zero Position is the perfect position without actually asking anything of the horse. It should not be tense although if you are not used to it it may feel uncomfortable until it becomes second nature.
2. Aiding begins with the passive positive seat attitudes
   • Broaden front line
   • “ Tip the chair”
   • Ride horse and hips through elbows
   • Chest through shoulders
   • “ Kneel”

Then if necessary use legs.

3. After each and every aid, give the hand.
4. The seat always rests
5. We do not want obedience; we want understanding and willling co-operation
6. Ask many little questions of your horse and expect answers
7. To straighten your horse use diagonal aids; the leg on the side of the evading croup and the rein on the side of the evading shoulder.
8. Only ever bend (to the inside) once the horse has softened to the (inside) rein.
9. Good technicalities and good attitudes guarantee good results. To chase after good “ feels” almost always ends in disappointment. (This does not mean that we should ride without feel)
10. Accurate riding of school figures is critical to success because it represents your purpose.

If you haven’t already bought Erik’s latest book, “A Horseman’s Notebook”, do it now! It is brilliant.

Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais and Riding

Philippa Morrell (Alexander Technique) and Joy Morris (Feldenkrais) have joined forces with me to run courses focussing on various aspects of riding. The first two focussed on “Shoulders, arms and hands” and “Hips and Pelvis” and were a huge success. Feedback forms included comments such as:

• “No back pain - brilliant!”
• “When is the next course?” ,
• “The combination of exercises worked really well”.

It was amazing to see such huge changes in such a short time. By the afternoon when everyone had benefited from both group and individual sessions they were so much more aware and, more to the point, much more able to make the changes that had been so difficult to make during previous ridden work. The rein connection had a totally different quality by the end of the first course and of course the horses all went “on the aids” without any apparent effort. The work on the pelvis enabled riders to organise their bodies in such a way that they were able to change bend and/or direction with ease and without any active rein aids.

More courses are planned and Joy and Philippa will be teaching at Arrow Week.

Thoughts on Training

An interesting session during a Herbermann clinic dealt with handling horses from the ground . Erik helped me with a particularly difficult (previously “mucked up“) horse and 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!

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.

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!

Finally, an update of the "Driving Seat"

You may remember a piece I did about practising riding while you are driving a car. Since our FL&AT courses on Spirals and Diagonals, I have been playing with some new ideas.

First, consider 3 variables, turn your body right or left or straight, take your weight/energy right or left or centre, emphasise your right or your left seat bone or have both even and you can mix these in any combination. The difference between weight as in body bulk, (which sometimes makes more sense as energy) and your weight as in pressure on a seat bone is very important and often confused. For example, go into a shoulder in left you would be slightly turned to the left, you would emphasise your left seat bone, but you would send your energy(weight) to the right, down the track. To convert this to a circle to the left, you would send your energy to the left and even up the seat bones. No one watching would actually see any change in your body or your position but you and your horse would know the difference. Try turning your shoulders to the right and then to the left and notice which way your weight wants to fall. Does the same, (eg the right) seat bone, (or leg if you are standing) get loaded no matter which way you turn? Or does it change as you change your shoulders? Does the weight fall in the same direction as the turn of your shoulders or does it go in the opposite direction?

Secondly, can you connect your diagonals evenly - right seat bone to left hand and left seat bone to right hand? Try pushing the seat bone forward towards the opposite shoulder/hand. Is one easier than the other? Does your seat bone lift up or push down? Does your spine stay vertical? What happens to your knees and feet?

All these combinations can be practised standing in a queue in Morrisons, sitting at your desk pretending to work, or stuck in a traffic jam. Highly recommended to alleviate the symptoms of road rage. I found that I was very good at emphasising my accelerator leg and the opposite shoulder but not so good the other way! Let me know how your experiments work.