My Horse Training


At first I want to say: There is not the one and only way of riding. There are only the different horses and many possible ways to make every one as sound, proud and beautiful as it can be.

 

"It is up to the thinking rider to regulate his lessons and way of riding according to the nature of the horse he is training. One cannot give hard rules for that." (Dupaty de Clam, 1777)

 

I think that above all it was Nuno Oliveira, the outstanding riding master of the 20th century, who managed to perfect this manner of  not-schematize.

 

"Training a horse is above all feeling and trying and according to what you feel, to help the horse and not to force him." (Nuno Oliveira, 1986)

 

For me that means that olny the horse decides how it should be educated, depending on its body composition, character and temperament. For example: If I can help the horse better from the ground, I first do work in hand, can the horse not balance himself in the canter, I first work only in walk and trot to improve his balance. Has the horse a long and weak back, I would start working on the piaffe for strengthening him before I start to ride, but has the horse a good physical build and is strong, one can put that back.

Some horses like to play, are temperamental and love the liberty work or circus tricks, then again others are quiet, concentrated ´artists´ who like to shine in airs of the high school.

 

But whatever we like to do with our horse: whether it is high school, ground work or trail rides. I think that as soon as we give a task to our horse, it is our duty to put the horse in such a physical shape that it is able to fulfill the task without being harmed by it.

That means: Constant, calm gmnastic exercises to straighten the horse, to put it in balance and lighten the forehand. 

For this purpose we have a wealth of techniques, like bendings, side passes, halts, transitions, also piaffe and spanish walk belong here. If one preserves and improves in doing so the relaxation, lightness, collection and the forward, one soon gets the beautiful experience of sitting, without using any force, on a contently collaborating horse, which makes itself short and round and is able to carry us in a healty way.

When we have this harmony, this togetherness and love, then riding becomes art.

 

"Riding is the search for truth, straightforwardness and beauty." (Nuno Oliveira)

Young Horses

I start to ride a young horse with 3 years, better 4 years.

First, I make ground work, e.g. with the halter and long rope, to explain the handling with human beings to the horse. That contains leading, tieing, longing, moving the fore - and hindquarters, also s

desensitization. Then I start the work in hand (go off, hold, backwards, side passes) to make the aids of the hands and legs as clear as possible before I get on the horse. 

The most important thing about working with young horses is for me, a lot of patience, time and kindness to build a secure base, trust and to never overstrain the horses body or mind. 

 

Basis Training

After the (young) horse learned to keep its balance under the rider in all directions, got to know the aids of rein, leg and weight and moves freely in all 3 paces, one can pass from the ´Remontenreiterei´ to the ´Campagneschule´.

Now I start the gymnastic exercises, pay more attention to the stelling and bending, the immediate forward, develop all side passes and use them adapted to the natural asymmetry of the horses body in a way that it gets straighter over time.

The main aim is to spread the weight of horse and rider equally on all four legs, to make the horse supple and obedient on the aids and by that to create a reliable, sound partner. 

Depending on duration and frequency of the training, I would go on trailrides, integrate little jumps or develop the ground work, to offer the horse some variety.

High School

The term ´high school´ may sound a bit highbrow, but what it means is that the horse is now shaped in a way that it is ready to start the artificial movemants. To that belong piaffe, passage, school canter, terre à terre/mezair, spanish walk and so on. 

Mostly I start these exercises earlier in the training of the horse, because all of them have a gymnastic use and are not tricks that are drilled and presented to look pretty.

E.g. every horse profites from learning the piaffe, as it strengthens the back and the hindquarters and teaches the horse to bend the joints of his hind legs and carry his chest and forehand 

Of course not every horse gets such an impressive piaffe as a warmblood or a lusitano - but within the limits of his possibilities, this exercise does good for every horse.