| Wouldn't it be so much easier if the horse
could speak and tell us how he'd prefer to be ridden and how we could
improve our riding? But for those of us who have been around horses awhile, we can see how they feel. How many riding schools have you been to where the horses have to be dragged out of their stables, have trotted with glazed eyes to the back of the ride, refused to move when you kicked their ribs hard enough to hear a thump and seemed 'naughty' just when you needed them to behave the most? And for those with your own horse, have you never wondered why horses never move with humans aboard as they do in their fields? Once horses learn to shut down and protect themselves by moving incorrectly and switching off their characters (or becoming nightmare horses) it takes ages to get them to trust and move freely again - but it is possible. So why does the horse become so unhappy being ridden? Yes, it may be because the rider is riding so badly that the horse is uncomfortable but it is mostly because he is being asked to move unnaturally. Having the weight of the rider is hard enough but horses cope happily with that if the rider is in balance. Therefore it is how they are being ridden that is important. And therein lies the problem but also the solution. The horse knows where to put his body parts in the same way you know where to put your body when you sit, stand, run etc. We don't need to tell a child where to put his head when he jumps over a puddle - We shouldn't tell a horse where to put his head when he moves. Sadly riding schools are more and more catering to the competitive side of human nature. Instructors are being trained to teach riders and horses to move "like a dressage horse and rider" - despite the fact that most horses in riding schools are unsupple and their once-a- week clients invariably not super-supple. The other scenario is that the rider feels out of control with the horse rushing away. Either instance results in the instructor calling out the two most commonly heard sentences - "shorten the reins" and "more leg". A horse can feel a fly - so why should a rider be holding the reins with anything more than the weight of the reins and why should you need to use so much leg? Riding instructors are either allowing the rider to "feel safe" by letting them hang on or they are encouraging riders to force the horse into a "shape." Lightness and kindness are the key words when describing New French Classical equitation. Lightness and kindness from the rider in legs, rein aids, demands of the horse - all resulting in the horse responding with enthusiasm and moving lightly in its own natural balance. When the horse becomes supple he will naturally bring his own body into the desired "shape" - but on the lightest of reins and the lightest of aids. |