Continued from page 3

Klaus Balkenhol on Nikolaus, 1996.  Nikolaus is now owned
by Dick and Jane Brown, ridden by Günter Seidel, for the USA.
Klaus in the schooling ring.  Klaus believes that riders should
remember to praise the horse.  "It's very important to keep
the horse interested and willing.  The horse must perform from
joy, not subservience."  Photo by Kyra Beth Houston

Horses Determine The Timing Of The Training

            The trainer who intimately knows each horse should be able to tell at a mere glance whether the horse is having a good day or a bad day.  If the horse is having a bad day, then the cause must be found.  Is the horse ill or does he just need a rest day in the stall or paddock or does he need a work break on the trail?

If a horse suddenly doesn't do a lesson which he already learned, and always did willingly, or suddenly does things that the rider wouldn't expect, then the horse is telling you something has gone wrong.  It's time to go back however many steps are necessary on the training scale to a place where the horse feels comfortable and is willing.  Pushing will either cause physical unsoundness or even worse, mentally ruining the trust the horse has in the rider.  The horse might be able to mechanically do movements, but there will be no relaxation, no beauty.  A tense horse, with tail switching and hollow back will not present the correct picture to the judge in a test.

When Does Rushed Training Show?

            Failure to follow the training scale in each lesson starting with however long is required to get the horse relaxed, shows up at all levels with horses jammed into frames, behind the vertical, tense, and with irregular gaits.  Perhaps rushed training becomes most obvious even to the inexperienced observer when a horse is asked for piaffe and passage.  Imagine carrying a small child on your shoulders.  Then picture yourself jogging carrying the child.  Then picture yourself squatting and dancing as the Russian folk dancers.  Without properly developed leg and back muscles from systematic exercise, you couldn't possibly do even one step of the Russian folk dance nor jog more than a few steps carrying the child. Without properly developed hindquarter and back muscles, a horse cannot properly piaffe. 

When working towards passage, frequent rest breaks are essential.  Ask for a little more collection, then immediately relax and reward the horse with forward.  The rider's contact is through the horse's hind legs, not the reins.  Immediately after each half halt, the rider must release and allow the horse to go forward.

Extension and collection require the same degree of fitness and development in the horse.  It is especially tempting with an athletically talented horse to ask for extension and collection too fast.  

Subscription Orders:
  Call Toll Free:  1-800-554-7470
  Email Orders:  HSHHorse@aol.com
  Credit Card Online:  http://www.hunterandsporthorsemag.com  

Hunter & Sport Horse