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With the heat we have been having this summer, I have been working a lot in walk so that the horse and rider don’t become over heated. I know that may riders feel that walk is not a beneficial pace and quickly move on to trot and canter work, so here is a plan you can use and adapt for a walk training session.
Begin with some circles on each rein.
This will start a warm-up and give you time to focus on how your horse feels today.
The size of the circle will depend on your horse’s level of training, novice horses need to be ridden on larger circles to help the maintain their balance, more advanced horse can be ridden on smaller circles.
As you ride the circle, focus on the quality of your horse’s balance, the release of their body around your inside leg, the connection in your outside rein and the softness on the inside rein.
Then begin some lateral work.
Ride movements that are within your horse’s current training level, novice horses may be yielding, advanced horses can do shoulder-in, travers, renvers or half pass.
Focus on the quality of each step in the movement. Check that your horse remains balanced and light, in a level of self-carriage according to the training level.
Add in some rein back steps.
Again, if you horse is working at a novice level, only ask a couple of steps, more advanced horses can do more steps.
Check that each step is made slowly, and that your horse moves straight. If the haunches swing the off the line, very gently pulse your hands in the same direction (haunches move left, move both your hands to the left) to nudge their shoulders back in front of the haunches, even if it takes them off the original line. If you try to put the haunches back behind the shoulders, they will become disengaged.
The make some transitions between lateral movements.
Shoulder-in to travers, half pass to renvers etc.
For novice horses you can yielding on and off the track, with 2 or 3 steps to the inside, then straight, change the bend and 2 make or 3 steps back to the track.
The ride down the centre line checking the quality of your straightness.
Add in a halt and rein back transition.
Rider shoulder in on the centre line or a yield off the centre line, stopping the yield at the ¾ line.
Ridden in a balanced quality walk, a programme like this will exercise your horse without over exerting them.
© Diane Followell - Training Riders, Transforming Horses
Begin with some circles on each rein.
This will start a warm-up and give you time to focus on how your horse feels today.
The size of the circle will depend on your horse’s level of training, novice horses need to be ridden on larger circles to help the maintain their balance, more advanced horse can be ridden on smaller circles.
As you ride the circle, focus on the quality of your horse’s balance, the release of their body around your inside leg, the connection in your outside rein and the softness on the inside rein.
Then begin some lateral work.
Ride movements that are within your horse’s current training level, novice horses may be yielding, advanced horses can do shoulder-in, travers, renvers or half pass.
Focus on the quality of each step in the movement. Check that your horse remains balanced and light, in a level of self-carriage according to the training level.
Add in some rein back steps.
Again, if you horse is working at a novice level, only ask a couple of steps, more advanced horses can do more steps.
Check that each step is made slowly, and that your horse moves straight. If the haunches swing the off the line, very gently pulse your hands in the same direction (haunches move left, move both your hands to the left) to nudge their shoulders back in front of the haunches, even if it takes them off the original line. If you try to put the haunches back behind the shoulders, they will become disengaged.
The make some transitions between lateral movements.
Shoulder-in to travers, half pass to renvers etc.
For novice horses you can yielding on and off the track, with 2 or 3 steps to the inside, then straight, change the bend and 2 make or 3 steps back to the track.
The ride down the centre line checking the quality of your straightness.
Add in a halt and rein back transition.
Rider shoulder in on the centre line or a yield off the centre line, stopping the yield at the ¾ line.
Ridden in a balanced quality walk, a programme like this will exercise your horse without over exerting them.
© Diane Followell - Training Riders, Transforming Horses
- Published on
Yielding is a very useful exercise when done well. It is the first stage in creating sideways steps with a horse and a precursor to riding shoulder-in. Although this is a simple exercise, it is not easy to ride and can create more problems than it solves when ridden poorly.
In a correct yield, the horse moves laterally from your inside leg, with a soft ribcage whilst maintaining his balance by crossing his inside legs over his outside legs.
One of the main problems with this exercise is that many horses push their weight to their outside shoulder. This can be caused by the rider sitting behind the movement, leaning away from the direction of travel, by the rider pulling the inside rein or by the horse being unbalanced.
A basic yield begins on a straight line on the inner track. The horse should have a soft rib cage around the riders inside leg. The horse then moves on a diagonal from line towards the track, moving both forehand and haunches at the same rate, ideally crossing the inside foreleg over the outside foreleg and the inside hind crossing the outside hind.
Keep your hips and shoulder facing forward and move your waist slightly towards your elbow in the direction you want to go, keeping your seat balanced.
Within the exercise, your inside leg has several functions; it creates softness in the rib cage of the horse, maintains impulsion if required and directs the quarters to step sideways.
Stepping sideways needs a touch with the inside leg to create the sidestep. The outside leg releases to allow the horse to step over and then gathers the outside of the horse. All aids are given only as necessary. If the horse is performing the movement in balance, sit quietly and don’t disrupt them.
Throughout the exercise the horse should remain in balance, stepping across as a whole horse, not dropping into his outside shoulder.
If you feel your horse move weight into their shoulder, ride out of the movement by lightly closing you outside rein towards their neck (not pulling backwards) and touching lightly with you outside leg. Check that your position remains balanced and straight.
© Diane Followell - Training Riders, Transforming Horses
In a correct yield, the horse moves laterally from your inside leg, with a soft ribcage whilst maintaining his balance by crossing his inside legs over his outside legs.
One of the main problems with this exercise is that many horses push their weight to their outside shoulder. This can be caused by the rider sitting behind the movement, leaning away from the direction of travel, by the rider pulling the inside rein or by the horse being unbalanced.
A basic yield begins on a straight line on the inner track. The horse should have a soft rib cage around the riders inside leg. The horse then moves on a diagonal from line towards the track, moving both forehand and haunches at the same rate, ideally crossing the inside foreleg over the outside foreleg and the inside hind crossing the outside hind.
Keep your hips and shoulder facing forward and move your waist slightly towards your elbow in the direction you want to go, keeping your seat balanced.
Within the exercise, your inside leg has several functions; it creates softness in the rib cage of the horse, maintains impulsion if required and directs the quarters to step sideways.
Stepping sideways needs a touch with the inside leg to create the sidestep. The outside leg releases to allow the horse to step over and then gathers the outside of the horse. All aids are given only as necessary. If the horse is performing the movement in balance, sit quietly and don’t disrupt them.
Throughout the exercise the horse should remain in balance, stepping across as a whole horse, not dropping into his outside shoulder.
If you feel your horse move weight into their shoulder, ride out of the movement by lightly closing you outside rein towards their neck (not pulling backwards) and touching lightly with you outside leg. Check that your position remains balanced and straight.
© Diane Followell - Training Riders, Transforming Horses
- Published on
,Circles and turns should be easy, we ride them all the time, but they are among the most difficult movements to produce consistently well. Often only part of the circle creates a balanced horse before the movement deteriorates and the horse loses balance. Riding a corner well creates a balanced horse on the straight side of the school, not riding the corner means that your horse is unbalanced on the next side making following movements more difficult.
When the horse loses their balance, they place weight into their shoulder usually more to one side than the other. This can take the rider off balance as well. Equally, if the rider loses their balance, it has a negative impact on the horse. The more that the rider is able to maintain a stable position, the easier it is for the horse to retain their balance.
Riding circles and corners are the same, you just have fewer steps around the corner. One of the most common issues with riding these movements, is that riders try to turn the horse with the reins, forgetting the impact that their position has on the horse. Moving a horse through a corner or around a circle is done by influencing the horse’s posture through your own position.
Slightly advance your outside shoulder to align with your horse’s shoulders. Allow your hands to follow the rotation of your shoulders. Your hips need to be in line with your horse’s hips, seat balanced, weight even across both seat bones. You may need to bring your inside seat bone and hip slightly forward to maintain the alignment of your hips with your horse’s hips.
In this position, your weight will be correctly balanced, and your outside rein will come lightly against your horse’s neck. Your inside rein will move away from your horse’s neck. As your horse finds his balance, you will feel him offer a connection into your outside rein which is perfectly positioned to accept the contact offered. Your inside rein should remain soft, if you pull this rein backwards, you will block your horse’s inside hind leg from coming through and he will be unable to maintain his balance. Avoid purposely putting your weight into one or other stirrup as this will make you unbalanced in relation to your horse. If your body is correctly aligned with your horse, your weight will be in the right place.
When you want to ride out of the circle or turn, all you need to do it sit straight. Avoid trying to straighten your horse as this often results in the rider unbalancing the horse and putting weight back to their shoulder.
Practicing very correct circles and corners consistently will greatly improve your horse’s strength and suppleness, they will start to engage their inside hind leg and this develops better straightness.
In the photos below, the first shows an unbalanced horse and the second shows a balanced horse.
© Diane Followell - Training Riders, Transforming Horses
When the horse loses their balance, they place weight into their shoulder usually more to one side than the other. This can take the rider off balance as well. Equally, if the rider loses their balance, it has a negative impact on the horse. The more that the rider is able to maintain a stable position, the easier it is for the horse to retain their balance.
Riding circles and corners are the same, you just have fewer steps around the corner. One of the most common issues with riding these movements, is that riders try to turn the horse with the reins, forgetting the impact that their position has on the horse. Moving a horse through a corner or around a circle is done by influencing the horse’s posture through your own position.
Slightly advance your outside shoulder to align with your horse’s shoulders. Allow your hands to follow the rotation of your shoulders. Your hips need to be in line with your horse’s hips, seat balanced, weight even across both seat bones. You may need to bring your inside seat bone and hip slightly forward to maintain the alignment of your hips with your horse’s hips.
In this position, your weight will be correctly balanced, and your outside rein will come lightly against your horse’s neck. Your inside rein will move away from your horse’s neck. As your horse finds his balance, you will feel him offer a connection into your outside rein which is perfectly positioned to accept the contact offered. Your inside rein should remain soft, if you pull this rein backwards, you will block your horse’s inside hind leg from coming through and he will be unable to maintain his balance. Avoid purposely putting your weight into one or other stirrup as this will make you unbalanced in relation to your horse. If your body is correctly aligned with your horse, your weight will be in the right place.
When you want to ride out of the circle or turn, all you need to do it sit straight. Avoid trying to straighten your horse as this often results in the rider unbalancing the horse and putting weight back to their shoulder.
Practicing very correct circles and corners consistently will greatly improve your horse’s strength and suppleness, they will start to engage their inside hind leg and this develops better straightness.
In the photos below, the first shows an unbalanced horse and the second shows a balanced horse.
© Diane Followell - Training Riders, Transforming Horses
- Published on
For the final blog of this year, I’m taking a look at the much neglected pace of walk. The example I am using is from the Gothenberg World Cup, from February this year. The full video can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIB0VkqL8iA. The horse I am looking at is Florine ridden by Bianca Nowag-Aulenbrock and the section starts at 2 hours, 42 minutes and 25 seconds.
Correctly ridden, walk is an excellent pace for teaching movement and developing flexibility and strength. The walk shown in this test demonstrates some of the many problems I see with walks ridden by many riders both in competition and training.
The horse in this video shows a very common issue with the type of walk riders are expecting from their horses today. They rider has a very firm hold on the reins, and is leaning back in the saddle in a very blocked and braced position. Consequently, the horse is bracing its neck, hollow backed and disengaged in its haunches and the weight is placed into the forehand. This restricts in the horse’s shoulder movement and blocks the hind legs action, making the stride drop short.
The pictures below clearly show how blocked the horse is and you can see the rider's position moves further behind the vertical throughout the sequence, increasing the blocking of the horse's movement.
© Diane Followell - Training Riders, Transforming Horses
Correctly ridden, walk is an excellent pace for teaching movement and developing flexibility and strength. The walk shown in this test demonstrates some of the many problems I see with walks ridden by many riders both in competition and training.
The horse in this video shows a very common issue with the type of walk riders are expecting from their horses today. They rider has a very firm hold on the reins, and is leaning back in the saddle in a very blocked and braced position. Consequently, the horse is bracing its neck, hollow backed and disengaged in its haunches and the weight is placed into the forehand. This restricts in the horse’s shoulder movement and blocks the hind legs action, making the stride drop short.
The pictures below clearly show how blocked the horse is and you can see the rider's position moves further behind the vertical throughout the sequence, increasing the blocking of the horse's movement.
© Diane Followell - Training Riders, Transforming Horses
- Published on
In previous months, I have reviewed some of the problems that can happen with the individual movements of piaffe (click here to read A View of Piaffe) and passage (click here to read A View of Passage), and this month I am looking at the transition between these two movements. This is a very advanced transition requiring great strength and balance from the horse and it must be ridden very tactfully. The pictures are from a YouTube video “Charlotte Fry and Everdale Dance their Way to Victory” in the FEI Dressage World Cup Mechelen in 2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfTZu1Vo77g. The passage begins at 0.49 seconds.
The FEI Rules list some of the faults that can occur with this particular movement, indicating how complex the transition is, the importance of the preceding passage or piaffe.
PASSAGE-PIAFFE-PASSAGE TRANSITIONS:
Problem: - severe resistance, disobedience throughout
- both transitions into and out of piaffe fail 1, 2 or 3 (depending on severity)
- lack of obedience, e.g. one transition fails
- very irregular steps, breaking into canter or walk in 1 trans
- very undefined, too long (over distance of ~ 5+ metres)
- very crooked
Additional Considerations: Watch the passage-piaffe-passage transitions in connection with piaffe or passage:
• Generally speaking, one must see the passage - piaffe - passage transitions in connection with piaffe and passage: A badly sitting piaffe cannot suddenly lead to a highly collected, good transition. Therefore, as a rule, the mark for transition should not be significantly higher than the mark for piaffe and passage. Exception: The Horse shows after a correct passage a piaffe, which starts well, is then broken by a resistance and at the end is shown again in rhythm. In this case, the mark for the transition can be significantly higher than the mark for the piaffe.
• If a piaffe is moving too much forwards or not showing enough steps, the transition is not clearly defined and cannot be more than max. one (1) point higher than the piaffe.
• Imprecise riding can lead to multiple deductions of points: e.g. a piaffe is clearly not shown at the marker prescribed (-> deduction of points), the transition is also not where it belongs (-> deduction) and the subsequent passage is clearly too short (-> deduction).
• If the Horse loses the last passage on the centre line, the mark for the halt has also to be affected as there is no transition passage – halt….
The passage shown here has no suspension. The horse is blocked through the backward pressure from the rider’s hands, compressing the horse’s neck. This disengages the horse’s haunches resulting in limited flexion of the hind leg joints. This causes the horse to bounce up and down, rather than have suspension in the trot steps, and there is a loss of the trot diagonal with the right hind leg reaching the ground before the left fore. (Picture 0.55)
The FEI Rules list some of the faults that can occur with this particular movement, indicating how complex the transition is, the importance of the preceding passage or piaffe.
PASSAGE-PIAFFE-PASSAGE TRANSITIONS:
Problem: - severe resistance, disobedience throughout
- both transitions into and out of piaffe fail 1, 2 or 3 (depending on severity)
- lack of obedience, e.g. one transition fails
- very irregular steps, breaking into canter or walk in 1 trans
- very undefined, too long (over distance of ~ 5+ metres)
- very crooked
Additional Considerations: Watch the passage-piaffe-passage transitions in connection with piaffe or passage:
• Generally speaking, one must see the passage - piaffe - passage transitions in connection with piaffe and passage: A badly sitting piaffe cannot suddenly lead to a highly collected, good transition. Therefore, as a rule, the mark for transition should not be significantly higher than the mark for piaffe and passage. Exception: The Horse shows after a correct passage a piaffe, which starts well, is then broken by a resistance and at the end is shown again in rhythm. In this case, the mark for the transition can be significantly higher than the mark for the piaffe.
• If a piaffe is moving too much forwards or not showing enough steps, the transition is not clearly defined and cannot be more than max. one (1) point higher than the piaffe.
• Imprecise riding can lead to multiple deductions of points: e.g. a piaffe is clearly not shown at the marker prescribed (-> deduction of points), the transition is also not where it belongs (-> deduction) and the subsequent passage is clearly too short (-> deduction).
• If the Horse loses the last passage on the centre line, the mark for the halt has also to be affected as there is no transition passage – halt….
The passage shown here has no suspension. The horse is blocked through the backward pressure from the rider’s hands, compressing the horse’s neck. This disengages the horse’s haunches resulting in limited flexion of the hind leg joints. This causes the horse to bounce up and down, rather than have suspension in the trot steps, and there is a loss of the trot diagonal with the right hind leg reaching the ground before the left fore. (Picture 0.55)
The only way the rider can now make the transition to piaffe is to increase the pressure on the reins by pulling back, further compressing the horse’s forehand and blocking the horse from bringing its haunches under. Because the horse is unable to engage his haunches correctly to piaffe, he starts to start to swing them from side to side. (1 minute 3 seconds) See super imposed pictures 1.03
The piaffe is on the forehand with no flexing of the hindleg joints. The left hindleg is stepping out to the side and there is a breakdown of the diagonals (picture 1.07)
The following passage steps are compromised, and the horse is swinging its haunches from side to side with both hind feet crossing under its body rather than travelling straight (pictures 1:14 A and 1:16).
Approaching the turn, the rider takes a further backwards movement with right rein. This means that the horse weights its inside shoulder and foreleg, leaning into the turn and swings its haunches out with its inside hind foot crossing towards its outside hind. (Picture 1:21)
© Diane Followell - Training Riders, Transforming Horses
- Published on
Recently, the FEI have announced that they have completed an extensive review of Cesar Parra’s training methods covering many years. The tribunal evaluated large amounts of evidence showing Parra abusing numerous horses across countless training sessions. Parra has received a fine, a 15-year ban from FEI and national competitions, and is prohibited from training other FEI riders and horses for the duration of the ban. However, this does not stop Parra from continuing to own and train horses.
This rider has been at top level dressage since the mid 1990’s, including competing at the Athens Olympic games. Which raises a very important question.
Why have judges continually promoted this rider by awarding him high marks?
There is individual variation in how each trainer choses to progress the horse and rider. The movements used are the same, but the way that they are ridden, when and how they are used, and which gadgets are employed vary greatly.
A similarity between dressage and art can be made here. A group of artists can all paint the same thing at the same time. They will all apply paint to a canvas and at the end there will be a picture of what they saw. But each picture is different based on the artists interpretation of the view and how they have used the tools available to them.
The way in which a horse has been trained can be clearly seen in the way that the horse performs each movement. In the way that an art expert can look at a painting and see the techniques the painter used, dressage judges should have the knowledge and experience to see the type of training, based on how each movement is performed.
However, they still award high marks for poorly executed movements, champion horses moving with hollow backs and braced necks, and ignore signs of pain and distress that the horse shows.
For the world of dressage to survive, the judging needs to change radically and rapidly. Horses are not machines; movements vary depending on the horse’s conformation and its natural abilities. It is the trainer’s responsibility to recognise this and adapt the training to best suit the horse. It is the judge’s responsibility to recognise where training has been incorrectly used for the horse they are seeing, and mark this appropriately.
Please see previous blogs -
charlotte-dujardin-returns-to-competition.html and
another-olympic-rider-abuses-a-horse5440859.html
Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell
This rider has been at top level dressage since the mid 1990’s, including competing at the Athens Olympic games. Which raises a very important question.
Why have judges continually promoted this rider by awarding him high marks?
There is individual variation in how each trainer choses to progress the horse and rider. The movements used are the same, but the way that they are ridden, when and how they are used, and which gadgets are employed vary greatly.
A similarity between dressage and art can be made here. A group of artists can all paint the same thing at the same time. They will all apply paint to a canvas and at the end there will be a picture of what they saw. But each picture is different based on the artists interpretation of the view and how they have used the tools available to them.
The way in which a horse has been trained can be clearly seen in the way that the horse performs each movement. In the way that an art expert can look at a painting and see the techniques the painter used, dressage judges should have the knowledge and experience to see the type of training, based on how each movement is performed.
However, they still award high marks for poorly executed movements, champion horses moving with hollow backs and braced necks, and ignore signs of pain and distress that the horse shows.
For the world of dressage to survive, the judging needs to change radically and rapidly. Horses are not machines; movements vary depending on the horse’s conformation and its natural abilities. It is the trainer’s responsibility to recognise this and adapt the training to best suit the horse. It is the judge’s responsibility to recognise where training has been incorrectly used for the horse they are seeing, and mark this appropriately.
Please see previous blogs -
charlotte-dujardin-returns-to-competition.html and
another-olympic-rider-abuses-a-horse5440859.html
Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell
- Published on
Last week Charlotte Dujardin returned to competing after finishing her 1-year ban for abusing a horse that she was training. But what does her situation say about competitive dressage?
Dujardin’s is not an isolated case. Carina Cassøe Kruth was dropped from the Paris Olympic squad for whipping her horse in a training session with Andreas Helgstrand. Helgstrand himself had a 15-month ban for horse abuse and is now back on the Danish team. The list goes on.
The FEI are responsible for maintaining the correct standards of the sport and preventing horses from suffering physical or mental harm, yet the only riders or trainers who receive any kind of punishment are those who hit the headlines and receive public condemnation. Bans and fines are implemented, but once the ban is over, the rider starts competing again and everything continues as before.
In response to public concern, the Danish Equestrian Federation are bringing in new rules to ban double bridles below level 4 (advanced medium). They will seek to have this rule implemented globally. This misses the main problem, what is being trained and how it is being judged.
If the judges cannot see when a horse is moving incorrectly, riders and coaches will continue to train badly executed movements. Some years ago, I watched lessons given by a well-known senior judge where teeth grinding, tail swishing and a horse kicking up at the rider’s legs were dismissed as normal.
Listening to the commentary from the Olympic games last year, this blindness to the state of riding at the highest level persists. Lavish praise was given for uneven piaffes, hollow rein back steps, extended trot without lengthened strides etc. This riding has now become so normalised, that many aspiring riders are oblivious to the damage that this is doing to horses.
Dujardin’s experience will not prevent the abuse. Dressage riders will simply stop people from recording training sessions so that they don’t get caught out.
Dressage judges, and those who sit on the committees that govern the sport at national and international level. have a duty to fully understand correct movements and training of dressage horses. Until they have the courage to admit to the huge problems that they have allowed to be perpetuated in competitive dressage, nothing will change.
These blogs may also be pf interest to you -
is-modern-dressage-classical.html
statement-on-the-situation-regarding-charlotte-dujardin.html
Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell
Dujardin’s is not an isolated case. Carina Cassøe Kruth was dropped from the Paris Olympic squad for whipping her horse in a training session with Andreas Helgstrand. Helgstrand himself had a 15-month ban for horse abuse and is now back on the Danish team. The list goes on.
The FEI are responsible for maintaining the correct standards of the sport and preventing horses from suffering physical or mental harm, yet the only riders or trainers who receive any kind of punishment are those who hit the headlines and receive public condemnation. Bans and fines are implemented, but once the ban is over, the rider starts competing again and everything continues as before.
In response to public concern, the Danish Equestrian Federation are bringing in new rules to ban double bridles below level 4 (advanced medium). They will seek to have this rule implemented globally. This misses the main problem, what is being trained and how it is being judged.
If the judges cannot see when a horse is moving incorrectly, riders and coaches will continue to train badly executed movements. Some years ago, I watched lessons given by a well-known senior judge where teeth grinding, tail swishing and a horse kicking up at the rider’s legs were dismissed as normal.
Listening to the commentary from the Olympic games last year, this blindness to the state of riding at the highest level persists. Lavish praise was given for uneven piaffes, hollow rein back steps, extended trot without lengthened strides etc. This riding has now become so normalised, that many aspiring riders are oblivious to the damage that this is doing to horses.
Dujardin’s experience will not prevent the abuse. Dressage riders will simply stop people from recording training sessions so that they don’t get caught out.
Dressage judges, and those who sit on the committees that govern the sport at national and international level. have a duty to fully understand correct movements and training of dressage horses. Until they have the courage to admit to the huge problems that they have allowed to be perpetuated in competitive dressage, nothing will change.
These blogs may also be pf interest to you -
is-modern-dressage-classical.html
statement-on-the-situation-regarding-charlotte-dujardin.html
Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell
- Published on
Yet another video emerges of an Olympic dressage rider beating a horse (Nico) into submission. (The BBC article can be read here https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/articles/c991zle4r0loAustralia Ryan Heath ).
Nico had been sent to Australian Ryan Heath as unrideable. With a history of being a difficult horse, things had culminated in an accident resulting in his rider being hospitalised. Heath's solution was to whip Nico repeatedly, claiming to have acted in the best interest of the horse, that this was the only solution, and his method has made Nico rideable again.
These actions are inexcusable. There is absolutely no reason for beating a horse. Many riders and trainers believe that the horse should do exactly as they demand. Any behaviours that deviate from this are seen as the horse being difficult or wilful. This view is far from the truth. Unrideable and difficult horses are created by riders and trainers who lack the skills and knowledge needed to train horses correctly.
In my equestrian life I have met many horses labelled difficult. Taking time to find out about the horse invariably reveals an earlier training issue that was resolved by force. When this continues through the training, the horse becomes more difficult and the solutions more brutal until you arrive in the situation that Nico found himself in.
Correct training does not create problem horses and transforms those that have been made difficult to ride. With methods that do not need horses to be forced or beaten into submission, they become calm and a pleasure to ride, horses who look forward to coming into the school and to working with the rider. Surely this is what we all aspire to achieve with our horses?
I sincerely hope that the riders and trainers who abuse their horses will continue to be called out and that the ruling bodies will finally take responsible action to prevent this abuse from continuing.
For some of my thoughs on why horses may refuse to perform a movement see my previous blog - No is a Perfectly Acceptable Answer
© Diane Followell
© Training Riders, Transforming Horses
Nico had been sent to Australian Ryan Heath as unrideable. With a history of being a difficult horse, things had culminated in an accident resulting in his rider being hospitalised. Heath's solution was to whip Nico repeatedly, claiming to have acted in the best interest of the horse, that this was the only solution, and his method has made Nico rideable again.
These actions are inexcusable. There is absolutely no reason for beating a horse. Many riders and trainers believe that the horse should do exactly as they demand. Any behaviours that deviate from this are seen as the horse being difficult or wilful. This view is far from the truth. Unrideable and difficult horses are created by riders and trainers who lack the skills and knowledge needed to train horses correctly.
In my equestrian life I have met many horses labelled difficult. Taking time to find out about the horse invariably reveals an earlier training issue that was resolved by force. When this continues through the training, the horse becomes more difficult and the solutions more brutal until you arrive in the situation that Nico found himself in.
Correct training does not create problem horses and transforms those that have been made difficult to ride. With methods that do not need horses to be forced or beaten into submission, they become calm and a pleasure to ride, horses who look forward to coming into the school and to working with the rider. Surely this is what we all aspire to achieve with our horses?
I sincerely hope that the riders and trainers who abuse their horses will continue to be called out and that the ruling bodies will finally take responsible action to prevent this abuse from continuing.
For some of my thoughs on why horses may refuse to perform a movement see my previous blog - No is a Perfectly Acceptable Answer
© Diane Followell
© Training Riders, Transforming Horses
Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell
© Diane Followell
- Published on
Over my years (OK, decades) of riding and teaching dressage, I have often seen riders and trainers demanding absolute obedience from their horses. If the horse does not give an immediate response to an aid, they are instantly reprimanded, particularly if they performed the exercise before with no problems. There is an idea in dressage that the rider is always right, and the horse must do exactly as the rider demands the instant it is requested.
Counter to many views, I believe that the horse always gives us the right answer, and if the answer is no we have asked the wrong question. This gives me an insight into how the horse is feeling, and why they may have refused the aid.
Did the horse understand the aid?
Was the aid exactly the same as the previous one?
Was the horse in the best position to respond?
Did the rider block the horse?
Had the preparatory work been done correctly?
Was the horse expecting the aid or was he surprised by it?
Each aid and movement in training is a small part that builds on the previous work and is a stepping stone to the next level. If a horse refuses an aid, we must look at the reason behind it and not assume that we are right and they are wrong.
Counter to many views, I believe that the horse always gives us the right answer, and if the answer is no we have asked the wrong question. This gives me an insight into how the horse is feeling, and why they may have refused the aid.
Did the horse understand the aid?
Was the aid exactly the same as the previous one?
Was the horse in the best position to respond?
Did the rider block the horse?
Had the preparatory work been done correctly?
Was the horse expecting the aid or was he surprised by it?
Each aid and movement in training is a small part that builds on the previous work and is a stepping stone to the next level. If a horse refuses an aid, we must look at the reason behind it and not assume that we are right and they are wrong.
Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell
© Diane Followell
- Published on
This year has been quite tumultuous and I though it would be good to have a light hearted blog this Christmas. The following is a horse’s Christmas song to its rider, sing to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas, as loudly and as out of tune as you wish!
On the first day of Christmas my rider gave to me
a much loosened off curb chain
2 soft reins and
3 canter beats
4 beats in walk
5 tasty treats
6 winter rugs
7 softer neck joints
8 daily hugs
9 turnout friends
10 seconds thinking
11 spooky places
12 hours turnout
Wishing you all a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
On the first day of Christmas my rider gave to me
a much loosened off curb chain
2 soft reins and
3 canter beats
4 beats in walk
5 tasty treats
6 winter rugs
7 softer neck joints
8 daily hugs
9 turnout friends
10 seconds thinking
11 spooky places
12 hours turnout
Wishing you all a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
