Classical Training resources - Books and DVDs
Sunday, 17 August 2014
Demystifying Classical Training - Chapter 6 EXTRACT of: The Main Beam – the Horse’s Back
Demystifying Classical Training - Chapter
6
EXTRACT of: The
Main Beam – the Horse’s Back
The back is
the bridge between the front and rear of the horse. It is the area between the
croup and the withers. Much of this area is hidden by the saddle. When the
rider understands the importance of the horse using his back she will then
appreciate the relevance of all the training. Learning to recognize when the
horse is, or is not, using his back is a huge step forward for many
riders. Working on the rider’s position
is often needed so that the horse can
use his back. The long term soundness and health of the horse are particularly
dependent on the correct use of his back.
The aim of progressive training is
that the horse will happily use his back to the best of his ability all the
time he is worked.
When you ride some horses it feels
as if there is a front end and a back end with no connection in the middle.
This is extreme, but many horses have some lack of connection, including some
very strong-looking horses. Avant Garde (Spanish), the horse who gave me my
first and greatest lessons about horses and their backs, was a case in point.
He was a lovely, big, willing horse. The
fact that he did not use his back at all in the beginning was not obvious to me
in my ignorance. I did recognize that he
had problems but I didn’t understand why he had them. I saw that he had an overdeveloped under neck
muscle and his natural canter had poor rhythm. It was a huge lesson for me in
humility, patience and technique to identify that he was not using his back and
then learn how to activate it and make it strong. He was a great character which
certainly helped in our early days together.
Chapter 6 –
photo 1
Most horse performance problems arise
because the horse is not using his back.
The horse needs to lift his back and
‘give’ through the rib cage in response to the rider’s leg/spur (not just bend the
neck in response to the rider’s rein). This action ‘unlocks’ his back.
There is also a distinct related
effect that follows when the horse starts to use his back. He carries the rider
more easily and softly which, in turn, allows the rider to ride better – which
in turn allows the horse to use his body more efficiently. This becomes evident for most riders once the
horse softens in the lateral work.
How
to Identify Whether the Horse is Using his Back
Negative Signs
First, the
negatives, which show that he is not using his back.
Check his muscular development when viewed without a saddle. Does your horse:
v
Have
developed muscle under his neck?
v
Have
a ewe neck?
v
Have
a hollow back?
v
Have
poor muscle definition in the loin area?
v
Look
a tad pregnant (grass belly)?
v
Have
a wide lower belly when viewed from the front?
v
Have
a dip in the neck immediately in front of the withers?
Some of the above can be associated with the horse’s natural
conformation. This will mean a bit more work on your part than working with a
horse who doesn’t have these challenges in his build. Likewise a young horse or green horse. If you
have been training your horse for any length of time and he still displays
these characteristics, then you will know that he is not using his back. True ’ewe neck’ and other skeletal issues are
challenges, but correct work develops posture and movement in any horse, makes
them beautiful and increases their likelihood of long term soundness.
When he is moving, does
he:
v
Rein-back
reluctantly, crookedly and/or with his head up?
v
Try
to stop to pass manure?
v
Open
his mouth while working?
v
Put
his tongue out to the side?
v
Put
his tongue over the bit?
v
Give
poor transitions?
v
Feel
heavy in the hand?
v
Have
trouble engaging the hindquarters (a very
overworked statement but if it is your feeling then use it in your
self-assessment)?
v
Fall
in on the circle?
v
Walk
hurriedly?
v
Hollow
immediately when you move forward in a transition?
v
Walk
in a rhythm that is not a true four-beat?
v
Trot
in a hollow fashion that is hard to sit?
v
Show
no medium or extended trot?
v
Rush
in canter?
v
Move
in a four-beat canter?
v
Have
difficulty with pirouettes?
v
Have
difficulty with turns on forehand?
v
Have
difficulty with other lateral work?
v
Have
trouble with square halts?
Move wide behind (particularly in trot)?
Demystifying Classical Training - Chapter 1 The Classical Horsemastership Philosophy
Demystifying Classical Training - Chapter 1
The Classical Horsemastership
Philosophy
Piaffe, passage and flying changes are
EASY! It is the preparation needed to get to the point of asking for them that
is the difficult bit. This book has been written to help YOU get there!
chapter 1 -photo
(1) chapter 1 -photo (2)
Horse people the
world over have different reasons for participating in equestrian endeavours.
Some ride for the sheer pleasure of being out of doors on horseback. Others devote themselves to achieving
technical perfection for competition success. Still others are interested in
the creativity of the artistic side of dancing with their horse. These extremes
and the myriad of in-betweens are all equally valid. What matters is that you enjoy
your horse to the maximum and, in turn, you do him no harm while he serves your
needs. You hope that he also benefits from and takes pleasure in the journey
you have embarked upon. For that to happen, common sense dictates that he must
be educated and gymnastically developed.
My intention in
becoming a trainer of classical dressage was to share my love of the art with
people who are committed to improving their horses, whatever their purpose.
Some students come to my clinics as keen dressage enthusiasts, desperately
seeking to perfect a particular advanced movement. Others arrive for the first time worried that
they or their horses don’t know enough ‘dressage’ to justify being there at
all. As far as I’m concerned, everyone qualifies. The
French word ‘dressage’ simply means ‘training’, so anyone who is taking the
time and trouble to educate and improve her horse is a welcome student, even if
all she wants is a safe weekend hack. In my opinion, those who are forward-thinking
enough to recognize the link between a safe weekend hack and dressage are
generally well on the way to being top students!
Chapter 1 – photo 3
Chapter 1 – photo 4
I don’t claim to
have original thought on the training of horses; my main influences are the people
and methods of training who are mentioned in the introduction. I believe that
we owe it to our horses to make them the best they can be, physically and
mentally, in order to carry out what we require of them in comfort and safety.
It is with this in mind that I have developed the ‘user friendly’ training
system which I use in all my clinics around the world. The system is based on classical
principles – that is to say, using my interpretation of the original methods of
the old masters as they were taught to me.
It also draws on the common sense and survival skills I learned working
with livestock on a day-to-day basis in the bush, and the experiences shared
with my students over the years.
My desire to perpetuate these methods has nothing to
do with wanting to be part of a privileged school of thought. Years of trial, error, experience and
soul-searching have shown me that these principles work, time and time again.
They work with a huge variety of horses and riders with a multitude of
different strengths and weaknesses. Whether one believes that competition dressage
and classical equitation are antithetical or not, the bases of the training are
universally effective – and thus classical.
For me, classical
riding is beyond doubt an attitude, along with a particular set of technical
skills. It is particularly that change in
attitude that I love to see developing in my students. My wish is not merely to give riding
lessons, but to train my students to become thinking, empathetic and effective
horse people. To do this I need to share with them a foundation of knowledge
they can draw on to solve their own problems and engineer their own progress.
Given that every famous writer started by learning the alphabet, and at the
basis of every complex mathematical mind is an ability to count to ten, I
consider the classical principles outlined in this book to be the rider’s ABC. I am using the best of what I have discovered
that works, and is not contrary to nature. I remain interested in discussion
and new ideas, but so far these principles are the best I have seen.
Of course, many
roads lead to Rome .
I will not deny that there are many different ways of training horses, some of
which achieve a high degree of success.
Chapter 1 photo 5
However, I see quite a number of riders around the world (even those
competing at the advanced levels) who are confused or demoralized by their lack
of progress. I see many horses who lack correct muscular development and are
dispirited. Horses never lie. Something in their training must be
contradictory or incomplete.
It is also important to recognize
how much luck has been a part of many ‘training programmes.’ How many people
have had one good horse with enough natural ability and understanding to be successful?
Yet when those same people get another horse and have a completely different
situation on their hands, they can never figure out why they can’t train him! Chapter 1 – photo 6
& Chapter 1 – photo 7
The more I see
and teach, the more convinced I am that the needs of the majority of riders and
their horses could be met more quickly, with less stress and a greater sense of
accomplishment, by changing their attitude and using classical techniques and
principles. This book aims to provide logical, practical exercises and
theories, which are effective for every horse and rider, no matter what their
talent, ability or experience. Chapter 1 – photo
8
There is a
recent fashion for alternative therapies and ‘psychic powers’ which horse
owners in the search of ‘the answer’ employ. I understand how this can occur if
it is driven by repeated disillusionment and the need to find a ‘better way.’ I
am certainly against closing the mind to any possibility or new technique if it
can genuinely help. On a daily basis, I see how the mind and spirit influence the results my students
get from their horses as much as what they are doing with their bodies. Indeed
what they do with their bodies is often limited (or not) by their minds.
However, while
some of these therapies and techniques have value, they have also paved the way
for charlatans, and in my view they miss the essential point. It doesn’t matter what
breed, age, shape or size the horse is, how bad his previous Chapter 1 –
photo 9 training, or under what star he was
born. Every horse becomes more assured and secure in his behaviour, both ridden
and on the ground, if he is trained according to logical, progressive
principles which encourage him to be respectful of his human partner and light
to the hand and leg from the beginning.
To do this he must carry himself and use his body correctly.
One part of the Ruthless Rules is
Be Effective – if what you’re doing isn’t working, try something different. This
sounds obvious, but how many times have you seen people try, try and try again,
and then try harder, using the same tools, with no appreciable results? You
need to have a box full of tools if you are going to fix all the puzzles that
your horses offer you.
Since you are investing your time in
reading this book, I’m assuming that you like the idea of becoming a good horse
trainer and rider who can tackle a variety of problems with confidence. You want to educate and equip yourself with
the necessary tools to achieve this. That is what my clinics aim to do. This
book aims to do it too, without jargon, and in steps that readers can follow and
thus acquire more tools on their own. My purpose is to build up my students’
toolboxes of skills and resources so they can expect success in a variety of
situations with the minimum of stress for them and their horses. Chapter 1 – photo 10
This
is a book – not a clinic where we can see and speak with each other. However, you
know your own horse, and you will simply have to be observant to see whether
what you are doing is effective or not. If you really ‘look at your horse,’
your eye for what is correct will improve. Of course, training on your own is
challenging – novices struggle with knowing what is a ‘Fair Ask.’ However, the
best bet is to get going: no one else is going to do it for you. You must
exercise your own judgment about what is ‘appropriate’ and when, and learn to
trust yourself when you feel intuitively that something is correct or
incorrect. It may help both your
resolution and your focus if you bear in mind one of Nuno Oliveira’s wise
sayings: ‘You are judged
by your horse and not by the gallery.’
Cartoon –`You are judged by your horse and not by the gallery'
It’s
okay to make some mistakes. Try to acknowledge and learn from them. If you adhere to the principles and processes
in these pages, you will improve your horse. (That is not to say that you
should close your mind to anything you hear from other sources, but take care
that you don’t become confused by trying to incorporate every idea you hear.)
While I hope that the tools you
learn in this book will increase your effectiveness, you will only know if you
have achieved a breakthrough with your tools if you knew what you were striving
for in the first place – an obvious but often neglected part of progressive
training. You have to establish a game plan: where are you now, where do you
want to be and how are you going to get there in a logical and progressive
manner.
To get to a good game plan, ‘no
limits’ is the rule. When we sit down and discuss what
students hope to get out of the clinic, or what they dream of achieving with
their horses, I insist that they don’t restrict themselves by thinking that
they or their horse ‘can’t’ do something. Says who? My philosophy is to aim for
the stars. You may not get all the way
there, but you’ll certainly be a lot higher up than if you focus down into a
trench.
It is
better to aim for the stars and hit the clouds, than to aim for the lamp-post
and shoot your foot.
Author
unknown (one of my favourite sayings)
While
remembering that ‘perfect practice makes perfect,’ it is also important to recognize that perfect piaffe starts with one imperfect
step, which can be built on. Chapter 1 – photo 11 & Chapter 1 – photo 12
With
this philosophy you may still never achieve perfection, but you will be much
further towards your goal than if you never set foot on the path. Flying
changes, piaffe, passage – it’s all there, even in the tiniest and most
uneducated foal as he skips around the paddock.
In training horses, it is important
to remember that actual riding is just one tool. I’ve found that the best place
to start teaching the kind of obedience, comprehension and gymnastic
development which builds firm foundations is to work the horse from the ground.
Such work has developed into an art form practised by establishments such as
the Spanish Riding School
in Vienna , The
Andalusian School of Equestrian Art in Jerez ,
Luis Valenca in Portugal
and other classical trainers. I must also acknowledge
the passion and dedication to this art of my students around the world. All the
ground work can also be used to keep a horse fit. This makes it a very
attractive prospect for the average owner struggling to fit in work, family,
social and horse commitments with weather and limited resources.
Using the in-hand ‘tool’ sometimes requires
strict self-discipline on your part. For example, the best way to resolve a
particular issue while riding might be to take what appears to be a step back
and work through it on the ground first. So the short-term pleasure of riding your
horse is sacrificed in the name of long-term gain (and anyway, is it a
‘pleasure’ to ride a horse with problems?).
It always amuses me that many
students initially believe that In-hand work is the ‘poor relation’ to actually
riding, and they look at me with some scepticism as they bring their horse to
their first classes in a plain cavesson and no saddle. I await the revelation: inevitably
the horse’s ridden problems will surface In-hand, usually within minutes. Then
they can be recognized and dealt with effectively, regardless of the student’s
riding ability. Very soon students see and feel the benefits. They realize that
to make progress, ten minutes In-hand is often worth an hour under saddle.
Chapter 1 – photo 13
& Chapter 1 – photo 14
In
a Classical Horsemastership International (CHI) clinic – an organization I
founded in 1996 – students concentrate extensively on their own horses,
tackling particular issues and individual problems. They are also expected to support and watch
each other. Students have much to learn from this experience. Egos,
preconceptions and competitive streaks must be abandoned at the arena entrance,
and preferably well before that.
Cartoon – 'Leave your emotions at the door'
Their effect of blinding and
deafening the student to other possibilities is not compatible with the
whole-hearted embrace of learning which is the ethos of the CHI clinics.
It’s often a mentally exhausting
five days, but also exhilarating to watch students make the breakthroughs they
have strived for, to the delight of the rest of the group who have been
watching their progress (often for many years in the case of my ‘regulars’) and
willing them to succeed every step of the way.
My preferred way of teaching takes
the format of an intensive five-day training clinic once every six months. The
six-monthly intervals have proved to be an
extremely effective time gap, giving students the opportunity to develop and
master their skills so that they are ready for the next step. A group of approximately twelve riders, with
their horses, get together for the whole five days and commit to improving
themselves as horsemasters. There are short, frequent sessions throughout the
day that combine dismounted discussions, work from the ground (i.e. In-hand,
distance education, lungeing and therapeutic exercises for the horse such as
stretching), and tuition under saddle both in a group and as individuals, plus
quadrille work to music.
Chapter 1 – photo 15
In order to treat thoroughly those
elements that I think are the most important and relevant to this book, I have
had to leave out other elements, I have tried to provide reasons why I consider
the elements included to be so crucial and also to give step-by-step guidance
to show you how to start and develop the various exercises for each.
The precise content of a CHI clinic
varies according to the needs of individual students and their horses. Consider
this as you work through the exercises described in the following pages. I base my teaching around a
number of Ruthless Rules of Reality
and Golden Guidelines. They help my students stick to the straight and narrow when
working on their own. They form a basic framework of principles to which everyone
can refer when any training issue becomes clouded, confused or open to debate.
The whole
process of training a horse to a higher level does not have to be mysterious. Each
part can be broken down into manageable sections with achievable goals. Students
can make progress on their own if they have a clear idea of what steps they
need to take.
When many people
see the power, elevation, and expression in slow motion embodied by piaffe,
they never consider that it is within their reach. Why not?
Chapter 1 – photo 16
Perhaps you
think that such things are beyond you, or you may not think that you ‘need’ a
horse who can piaffe. You’d be wrong on both counts. Above all, piaffe is a
gymnastic exercise which strengthens the horse physically and tests his control
and obedience. It also tests the
trainer’s dexterity and communication skills. Whatever your aims, surely you’d
like a horse who is strong, sound and obedient.
Regardless of
breed or ability, horses can be trained to carry out such exercises on command.
They have to learn how to use their bodies correctly regardless of conformation. Even the natural athlete will be limited if
he is not working correctly. In fact he has a great need for correct training
because of the forces he can create on his body. Spectacular but incorrect movement may be
hard on him. Although conformation may
aid the lesson, it is horses’ intelligence and willingness that will be the
biggest factors in his learning. It is
true that once the natural athlete has learned the lesson, it may be easier for
him to make progress and in the end produce more expressive movement, but all
horses can respond. Unless the horse is in pain, how far you get is largely dependent
on how much time and effort you put in. I
have had elderly riding school hirelings in my clinics who were transformed
into the classiest creatures when they lifted
their backs, used their bodies correctly and expressed themselves with pride
during moments of pure harmony.
Chapter 1 – photo 17
& Chapter 1 – photo 18
Taking the training to the highest level you can is not just for
those interested in competition or commercial success. It’s the greatest tool
for relationship-building there is. Training sessions are both the school and
the playground where you socialize with your horse, teach him to respect your
authority and give him a physical and mental workout.
Chapter 1 – photo
19 (get photo gill ward piaffe in hand)
Once you’ve
learned how your horse’s body works and what you need to do with yours in order
to set him up for success, moments of pure harmony are not rare or even that
difficult to achieve – training a horse to produce them instantly
and maintain them for long periods is the hard
bit. Horses are expensive because somebody has taken the time to
train them, and you can start adding to your horse’s value right now by doing
just that.
The arena is our
schoolroom, gymnasium and artist’s studio.
Cartoon – school
room, gymnasium, artist's studio'
Dressage is training and training is the journey, not just a destination.
Schooling is not about the rider ‘telling’ the horse what to do or ‘making’ him
do it, but about horse and rider learning to dance together as partners in
fluid, harmonious movements of mutual co-operation and understanding. This book
is for everyone who wants to dance with their horse, showing harmony, softness,
strength, obedience and lightness without abandonment.
So it is that
certain students eager to put the finishing touches on their piaffe may be
disappointed to find that their problems are caused by lack of firm
foundations. On the other hand, others
seeking a single balanced canter transition may end up with flying changes,
because their foundations are so well established. By opening yourself to every
possibility and allowing the horse to show what is appropriate at each stage,
it becomes a journey of learning, the pace of which is always dictated by the
horse.
My aim is not to
create competitive dressage riders. It is simply to guide your first steps on
the endless journey from mediocrity to perfection, to offer reassurance that
you have what it takes to attempt such a journey and to give you the tools
which will make it a more comfortable ride.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)