It has been a tense couple of days in Nelipot land. Never good to finish your first operation of the day and then find a few missed calls on your phone, including the yard owner, friend and vet practice office. Poor Cal was very subdued, with his head right down, and didn’t want to move. This is unheard of in the morning when he is usually straining at the stable door, keen to get out and eat grass with his best girl Bonnie!! I knew instinctively from the video they sent me that he had a bellyache.
I am blessed to be at a yard with excellent caretakers. They immediately spotted there was a problem, and called the vet, who promptly stripped off his top, (much to my friend’s delight LOL) and did the necessary examination. He diagnosed an impaction colic.
Apparently impaction colic is the commonest veterinary emergency at this time of year when the weather changes. In humans, this would be called constipation. For the colorectal surgeons who read this, you will be delighted to know Cal got sedated, had a manual evacuation and then had a good litre or two of rehydration via a nasal tube.
Why did this happen? In Cal’s case there are probably a couple of causative factors.
First is his tendency to eat his bed. We are/ were on rape straw pellets that form a lovely absorbent base but these pellets need rehydrating before being laid as a bed. And Cal the Irish eating machine has inconveniently developed a taste for them- rape straw is annoyingly palatable. We caught him eating them in preference to hay and breakfast a couple of months ago and so have started mixing them with expensive shavings and the older bedding to try and make this option less appealing. But his bed was redone a couple of days ago and a couple of evenings ago I found him applying himself to his new bed. The pellets need soaking before they turn into sand- he will sift through the sawdust to find any pellets that are still holding their shape and munch away. Now I’m sure he has been eating bits of his bed for ages so what made the difference this time?
A horse requires 20-40L of water a day for body systems to function correctly. This requirement is the same all year round. But where the horse gets his water from may differ with the seasons.
Fresh grass consists of up to 85% water. Horses grazing for long hours on green pastures may very likely drink less than the 5 – 10 gallons a day from a direct water source. They are meeting their daily water requirements through grass consumption. Conversely, hay should contain less than 15% water. During winter months, when hay becomes the bulk of forage eaten, then direct water intake must increase.
Our stables have automatic water drinkers. Paddy used to hate his and rarely drank from it. All the horses I have kept at this yard prefer the water from the trough in the field and will always have a really good drink by the gate when first turned out. I think this is partly because it is easier to get a really good drink from the trough, and also the water probably tastes better- there is inevitably some organic matter in the bottom lending an earthy tang to the water.
The problem comes in winter when the cold weather comes in- the trough doesn’t have to be frozen over for the water to be too cold to drink easily and quickly. It turns out that many horses don’t like to consume icy or chilled water.
With Paddy we learned this expensive lesson a few years ago and mixed very sloppy winter feeds and put buckets of water in his stable, topped up with a kettle to take the cold edge off.
In summer, on the livery yard we currently call home, the horses are turned out for a longer time and eating fresh green grass which has a high water content. In winter, the horses go from night turnout to shorter daytime turn out and although the winter grass in the middle of the track is longer it is also stalkier and probably has a lower percentage water content.
Cal has always been good at drinking from his water drinker but he does prefer a good glugging from the water trough.
Another factor is that, with the recent incessant rain, I have been rugging him, selfishly, to make the evening brushing easier for me to ride. Maybe he got a bit too hot in his rug and didn’t keep up with his drinking.
Whatever the factors, he certainly didn’t drink enough water on this occasion to keep up with the load of pellets in his gut. Or maybe he did but the pellets that he carefully and diligently sifted out of his bed weren’t quite soaked enough and they swelled up further in his gut.
Either way it was a tense twenty four hours.
The horse who is actually famous for his elephant sized poohs didn’t pass any for a full day. He had some painkillers and was walked as many times as we could manage, and fed regular small doses of slop. Finally, the NEXT morning, some very uncharacteristically small neat Pferde-apfeln type pooh appeared. They were so unlike his usual pooh mountains that I had to check that no other horse had snuck into Cal’s stable!
Once I saw pooh I knew we were out of trouble. The way Cal dived into his bowl of mash soup yesterday morning was also a giveaway. The vet check up confirmed that the impaction had indeed cleared and we could go back to our usual routine. Thank goodness.
Straining at the door to go out with his girl
So what have I learned? Apart from the fact that the established tradition of a vet bill for Christmas didn’t die with the Padster. Thanks as always to Tom Walters Equine Equine for the stellar care they provide.
Stop using rape straw pellet bedding, It is really good product, warm, absorbent, rots down well and is a good all-round and economical option for those lucky people whose horses don’t develop a taste for them. The wood pellets are similar in function and price and I think are probably less appealing to eat.
We all know this one but please feed enough forage to last them most of the night. Cal chose to eat the straw pellets over hay and feed but most horses wouldn’t.
Feed salt in winter as well as summer- the winter reason being to encourage adequate water drinking.
Monitor water intake. Or be aware that a horse’s need for actual drinking water increases in winter and provide accordingly.
Don’t rely on automatic water drinkers- many horse don’t like the refilling noise, or find them annoying because they don’t deliver enough water to drink easily. Most horses find it easier to drink copiously from a lower water source- we tend to mount automatic drinkers in stables at shoulder height to avoid leg injuries.
Consider a means of providing tepid water top encourage fluid intake. A bucket of cold water with a kettle top up might just be very welcome.
Check the field troughs for ice and break when needed. We rarely get ice in Cheshire let alone thick unbreakable ice so we don’t generally need tennis balls or other trough tricks to prevent the water freezing.
Thank you for reading. Do you have any other tips you would like to share? Comment on the post and join the conversation.
Bare Hooves and Open Hearts
Signed paperback copy of the book- price includes standard second class post and packaging UK
And as humans we often have only so much energy. And only so much thought.
Since Rocky went over the rainbow, Cal has become my main horse again. I had forgotten how deep and meaningful that relationship with a single horse can be. We two are back to living the caballero legend, like a knight of old, with a prized and precious horse, taking on the world.
One to one, the relationship can become all consuming and so very rewarding. We know each other’s moods, each other’s bodies, each other’s foibles. I can feel his energy field from across the farm, I can lie in my bed at night and conjure his face, or the feel of riding him, I can rehearse moves in my head and my muscles and bring that muscle rehearsal to the party next time I ride. I can become obsessed with my position, my intention, my dreams for him. It is like having him from new all over again, everything is possible, except that now it is so much better because we have history and form and a relationship.
It is like finding your best friend again after a few years out of touch.
I had forgotten how much I genuinely love my best boy.
The Bedouin slept with their horses in their tents for good reason- for warmth, for security, for the horse’s safety, but how close that relationship must have been. A horse that loves you will go into battle for you.
And horses are indeed capable of love. Any person who spends a significant amount of time with horses will have no doubt in their mind that this is true. Horses recognise you in the morning, gain comfort from their regular handlers in hospital situations, will look to their human for reassurance in scary situations. If you are that human whom the horse trusted, this is the greatest privilege of all.
Cal has literally blossomed again in the role of main horse. He has always been quite self-contained, quite aloof and self-sufficient. He is food orientated but has never been much of a one for cuddles. He is now looking trim and fit, as well as alert, keen and interested in life. The little bit of extra spice has made him much more fun to ride; he feels like a willing partner in adventure rather than an acquiescent worker. We have been going out loads, for lessons, for weekend clinics, for competitions. He has taken it all in his stride, happy to please, be it baby piaffe steps or a show jumping course.
He had very little of my psychological energy in recent years where Rocky was working, or mostly rehabbing. It has been a joy to remember how much I love riding the gorgeous grey, how he can be a horse for all seasons, a war horse as well as a happy traveller.
A tricky horse, a rehab horse, can become all consuming, a psychological drain that leads you to question every ability, every choice, every moral question, including whether it is even ethical to ride, or to seek the riding relationship. Cal has in his time been all of those things; a rehab, a psychological and a financial drain. He broke his carpal bone aged 6, had 8 weeks in a splint, 12 weeks box rest, then 3 months walking in hand. Because of the fracture, I knew I would never shoe him but he has been the most difficult horse to keep healthy let alone barefoot, due to inflammatory and metabolic issues. He has had ulcers, recurrent abscesses, respiratory disease, seasonal head-shaking. He has been a horse that needed dressage to keep him rideable and usable, a body that needed advanced education to become strong. He has been the horse of hundreds of incremental improvements, in husbandry, in diet, in hoof-care, in correct work.
I am now reaping the rewards. He is fit and healthy and stronger than ever, in his prime at 18. I am so much more accomplished as a rider and trainer than I would ever have believed possible in the years when I was whizzing around the world on polo ponies as a teenager. I used to think shoulder in was a distant pinnacle to aspire to and dreamed only of galloping and jumping cross country. Who knew that the horse I originally bought as a low level eventing doer-upper would become the classical dressage professor and that his lesson for me would be that horses need all the work before they can get strong enough to canter and jump in a way that is healthy rather than damaging to their bodies.
Energy follows thought. And Cal has had masses of both. And I am so very grateful that he has welcomed the me back into the centre of his life and that we now can continue the journey.
What do I dream of for him now? The glorious feeling of charging around a cross country course, of exploring the country, and exploring the possibilities.
Where would I like to finish up? With piaffe, solid changes, levade.
But most of all I hope for many more years of simply loving the moment, of the joy of feeling his back lift me up, the minutiae of obsessing about the weight across his shoulders or the magnificent feeling as he sits up and back and takes on the world, a dragon slayer. Cloud Warrior was the name I chose for him and that dream has come true.
Love isn’t always enough. But with knowledge and education and a bit of obsession it can be. Energy follows thought. And as Einstein said, energy is everything.
Horses have been domesticated by humans for thousands of years, and over time, we have come to understand a great deal about their needs and behaviors. One of the most significant discoveries in recent times has been the importance of barefoot horses.
Barefoot horses are those that do not wear shoes or other protective coverings on their hooves. Instead, they rely on the natural strength and flexibility of their hooves to support them during activity.
The idea of barefoot horses is not new, and wild horses have been living without shoes for millions of years. However, the practice of shoeing horses has become standard in many equestrian circles, with owners believing it to be essential for the horse’s protection and performance.
But recent research has shown that keeping horses barefoot is not only safe but also beneficial for their health and well-being. Here are a few reasons why:
Improved Hoof Health
Hoof health is crucial for a horse’s well-being, and going barefoot can help improve it. Without shoes, a horse’s hooves are allowed to expand and contract naturally, improving blood flow and increasing shock absorption. This can help reduce the risk of injuries and diseases such as laminitis and navicular syndrome.
Better Movement
Horses’ hooves are designed to work in harmony with their body, allowing them to move smoothly and comfortably. Shoes can interfere with this natural movement, leading to discomfort and even pain for the horse. Without shoes, a horse can move more freely, improving their overall performance and reducing the risk of injury.
Cost-Effective
Shoeing a horse can be expensive, and the cost can quickly add up over time. In contrast, keeping a horse barefoot can be much more cost-effective. Although some barefoot horses may need regular hoof trims, the cost is often much less than shoeing.
Eco-Friendly
Shoeing horses requires the use of materials such as metal, rubber, and adhesives, which can have a negative impact on the environment. Keeping horses barefoot reduces the need for these materials, making it a more eco-friendly option.
In conclusion, keeping horses barefoot is a safe, cost-effective, and eco-friendly option that can improve their overall health and well-being. While some horses may still require shoes for medical reasons, the benefits of going barefoot are worth considering for most horses. If you’re interested in transitioning your horse to a barefoot lifestyle, be sure to consult with a knowledgeable equine veterinarian or farrier who can help guide you through the process.
Pretty impressive eh? A couple of mistakes or misconceptions- such as barefoot being cheaper but overall the AI app provided more accurate info than Horse and Hound often does!
Cover image courtesy of Sarah Linton. Painted Horse by Debranne Pattillo of Equinology and Equi-Ink Publications.
There has been a lot of chat this past year about imposter syndrome. It has now become completely acceptable and even laudable for leaders in their field to express their inner voices of doubt and lack of self-worth. It has become acceptable for experts to admit that they too feel unworthy and under confident in their powers and that we humans may not put ourselves out there and may not shine at our brightest as a result. Every successful public persona seems to have this missionary zeal to tell us that they too suffered from crippling fear and self-doubt at some stage in their journey. While this is a perennial problem that I am sure all reasonable, non-psychotic humans grapple with, in my experience, much more day to day damage is done by those with non imposter aka expert syndrome.
Expert syndrome
is a funny beast. It has become much more prevalent in modern times with the internet. The boon of instant communication and a non-discriminatory search engine enables us to type in a question relating to any problem and we will find all sorts of self-proclaimed experts offering the quick fix solution. In the world of horses, this magic bullet will solve everything. The expert has discovered the ultimate secret, packaged it up neatly into bite sized chunks and is now selling it in affordable, pocket seized online courses that will change both yours and your horse’s life for the better. And do you know what?
Life would be awesome if there was a magic bullet,
or a quick fix solution that could transform the troubled and complex beings that are our difficult and quirky horses into dreamboat equine dance partners.
With Rocky, (aka Royal Magic I kid you not) I spent years searching for the alchemical elixir. Ulcer treatment, hind gut biome rebalancing, regular massage, chiropractic treatment, rehabilitative groundwork, 3 fresh starts under saddle interspersed by 2 rounds of treatment for kissing spines. I went through a few different saddlers and brands of saddle, I checked his foot balance with x rays, as well as his back. I did everything that I and my very experienced team of supporters knew how and none of it was enough. In the end, for whatever reason, that horse would not let me tune in to his body or psyche to help him fix the problem that occasionally made him a dangerous, unpredictable riding horse. And I am just about OK with that. I think Rocky’s lesson for me was that you can accumulate all the knowledge in the world and do your absolute best to address all the issues but there are some horses for whom you are too late or simply not good enough.
I don’t claim to be an expert...
I also don’t believe that there is ever one root cause and one answer. In fact, the more I learn about horses, the more layers of the onion I seem to unpeel. Horse are the most masterful of compensators. They will hide one problem, until the hiding itself leads to another pattern of pathology, then a third. Some horses are incredibly stoic and tolerant, others will not put up with a single moment of discomfort. And most thankfully fall somewhere in between. Hope for the horse that will tell you ‘No’ clearly in a way that doesn’t risk your life.
And there are equestrian magicians out there.
Don’t get me wrong- there are some awesome practitioners who do absolutely improve the life of the horses they come across. Some are hoof trimmers, some are saddlers, some are physios. Life always gets a little bit better when you come across one of these people. They are all experts in their field, they are all keen to share their knowledge, they are keen to find out what you as the owner know and have put in place already and who else you work with.
So, how do we tell the difference between expertise and ‘experts”?
Who decides whether the self-proclaimed saviour of all things equine should be awarded the title of expert? In my view only one opinion counts here, and that is the horse.
How do we know if the horse is happy?
That can be such a simple question but for some reason we make it very tricky.
First we should all learn to trust our eyes. We can all see simple things, because seeing is believing and our eyes do not lie to us. The trouble starts when our brains try to fit what we believe or what we have been taught around the thing that our eyes are actually seeing.
This is why so many horsey folk believe that the poll lies about 6 inches behind the ears, rather than its correct anatomical location under the bridle head piece. We all know that the dressage rules state that the poll should be the highest point and we have seen so many top riders consistently win medals on horses where C2/C3 is actually the highest point, that we fallible humans convince ourselves that the poll must actually sit at the junction of C2/C3. Because that is the only way the winning makes sense within the rules that we have had drummed into us since we started to ride. When we actually get around to looking the facts up in an anatomy textbook, it is easy to see we have been mistaken for all these years.
But then why do those riders win medals if they are doing it wrong?
That is why horse-naive people can see the cruelty and artificiality of Rollkur and the stiff spider leg movement much more clearly than the dressage afficianadoes. Their novice brains have not been scrambled playing mental twister trying to equate the images they see of the winning riders with the words we read in books and hear from our trainers.
Words that bear little resemblance to the reality of the pictures.
Turn the sound down when you are watching the videos- the music is carefully chosen to be emotive. If the trainer is talking in a masterclass, mute them for the first watch. Let your eyes see the truth of the picture initially without prejudice- does the horse look calm and relaxed or tense and fearful? Does he move freely, smoothly, effortlessly? Is your eye drawn to the horse, filled by the horse, is the rider rendered invisible or are your eyes distracted by the rider doing weird stuff on top?
Don’t listen to the trainer’s spiel until you have decided if you like the way the horse is going and whether you would like your horse to go like that.
Would you want your horse to look like that?
Who did they train with? Are they good trainers or merely gifted riders? Can they explain to the rider how to change the horse for the better? How many horses have they trained from scratch? Do they have a history, a provenance, an education, a foundation of knowledge?
How do they interact with their horses? Do the horses seem to like them? Do the horses stand calmly next to the human looking goofy and relaxed? Do they stand quietly to be mounted? Do they show resistance or tension at the halt? How long have the horses lasted in their career, have they stayed sound? Do their horses look like happy athletes? Would you let them ride your horse? Would you sell them your horse?
Would your horse let them ride him?
If you truly allow yourself to feel the truth of those questions, more of us would be impervious to the influence of self-proclaimed experts and would be able to make better choices for our horses. Many people can talk in soundbites and sound plausible or sensible and offer us hope. Many of the experts might have something valuable to offer, but the only individual that will tell you the truth of that in the long run is the horse.
If we had more confidence in our own eyes and our own instincts, we would not suffer from imposter syndrome either. And I believe that more of us could have happy, sound, long lived riding and competition horses. We would be empowered to use our eyes, our observation, our personal knowledge and our love of our horses to make better choices for them.
Fifty kilometres a day on horseback sounds feasible, doesn’t it? Fifty kilometres s day on horse back sounds achievable, simple, steady. Fifty kilometres a day on horseback is the perfect way to traverse a whole country, especially one of the world’s largest countries. When a distance seems improbable, impossible even, we just break it down, one leg at a time, one day at a time. The same way we climb a mountain, one step at a time, or eat an elephant, one bite at a time. And so, we crossed Mongolia, covering 3,600km, on horseback, one fifty-kilometre day at a time.
It is to date the biggest ‘thing’ I have done, the longest continuous journey, the most unlikely ambition although not the silliest stunt. I have travelled around, back-packed, worked, toured, visited, climbed, but to traverse an entire country on the back of a horse shows a level of commitment and consistency that my other adventures have lacked.
Fifty kilometres a day, every day, on horses that stayed with us for ten to fourteen days at a time, meant little opportunity for fun or frolics. The horses had to be nursed to last the distance, with no prospect of return or retreat, crossing difficult terrain, often with limited forage and access to water.
I had dreamed of three months’ exhilaration, cantering gleefully across the steppes of Mongolia. However the ground was mostly terrible. I had not imagined a land literally riddled with rodent burrows and holes. In the worst areas, as we were moving along, one of the horses was losing their footing every few minutes. At the beginning of the journey, most of the riders in the group fell off when their horses stumbled. By the end of the trip the horses were stumbling just as frequently but we riders had learned to sit up and sit back and were mostly staying on through the snow plough moments. The blunt reality is that we walked and trotted most of the vast distance while the rodents mocked at our hubris.
We got into a rhythm, a routine. Ride, eat, sleep, repeat. The typical day was split into four riding legs, punctuated by snack breaks or meals. Camp was moved every night, mostly set up for us by the ground crew; we riders grabbed our expedition boxes, made our beds, ate dinner, drank wine or vodka and slept (and snored) like the just.
If you want to lose yourself, in order to find yourself all over again, then doing a crazy trip in the company of perfect strangers is a great place to start. The wonderful thing about spending time with strangers is that they have no idea who you really are. And the interesting thing about tests of mental endurance is that, in the end, there is no way of hiding who you really are.
When we humans first meet as strangers there is often a lot of talk. The canny listen, while the brash talk. It takes a huge amount of self-confidence to set out on a big trip quietly, simply letting your being do the talking. None of the chat matters of course, it is your daily doing that will be remembered in the end. Did you step up every day, did you smile, did you laugh, did you help people, did you build them up, or did you pull them down?
It was a funny challenge, the Blue Wolf Totem. For me it wasn’t such a big deal physically. Riding a horse for six hours a day isn’t that physically hard, especially when you have ridden a lot of horses in your life. I was worried about boredom, about hating the horses, about feeling like a prisoner on a cruise ship, trapped with a load of people I would be unable to leave. I knew we would all have a love of horses in common but I was worried that there might not be much else. I was worried about being in forced company, a part of a social experiment that moved along every day, having to make small talk, not getting past tittle tattle, with stress magnifying potential teacup fights over politics and beliefs. I need not have worried; nearly every person there had already undergone part of their personal transformation to even step aboard the aeroplane. It takes a special sort of person to find the courage and wherewithal to step off the treadmill of their normal life for three months.
The hardest part of the trip for me was the lack of adventure. There was no danger, no uncertainty. The trip had been long planned, the logistics were immaculate, the organisation perpetually going on like erratic clockwork in the background. We riders were not privy to that side of the expedition. The trip was fully vehicle supported, with the doctor travelling in a four-wheel drive, not on horseback, so that apart from on a few special sections of the trip, we were rarely far from the main roads. The next hardest part was surrendering control. We didn’t know the route, the likely sights of the day, the distance to be covered, the location of the next camp. Compared to my previous adventures, this was a new and helpless feeling. My navigation isn’t the best, but I like to know exactly where I am, especially when I am on the verge of being lost and when it all makes sense again. I also like to find corners of the planet where very few other people have been.
The endless skies were ever changing and fascinating, the ferocious electrical storms were cleansing and the expanses of steppe were mind-opening.
I wanted to ride fabulous horses. It took me a long few weeks to accept that this was not going to be one of those trips. The horses were cool and self-sufficient and fine, but I have been fortunate and ridden many fabulous horses in my life and these were not they. These were jobbing Mongolian travelling horses. Nothing less but nothing more mystical than that. Only a couple of them will live on in my memory as individuals, joining the legends such as Aleta the ex-racer, Hota the ginger polo pony, or Cince the Criollo.
The challenges of the trip were small and mostly petty rather than the adrenaline pumping adventures I have had when climbing and diving. The expedition food wasn’t nutritious enough for a physical challenge and we all lost weight and condition. Three months away from home, from friends, family and animals, was sometimes difficult on the boring days. The group dynamic was occasionally stultifying.
A group of twenty is the perfect size, not small enough to act as a pressure cooker, not large enough to be un-manageable. One could have open hearted and deep conversations, or just regress to general chit chat. One could also ride in isolation on the fringes, silent and meditative. Relentless toxic positivity can be wearing but it can’t be fought with negativity, and the sad reality is that in a closed group situation, the truth cannot always be spoken safely.
A few new and precious friends will be part of my heart forever, the others are valued comrades in adventure. We did all have horses in common, but we also shared other fascinations. A love of travel, an enquiring mind, a touch of the renegade. Not many people can comfortably step out of their lives for three months to pursue a seemingly selfish adventure. It’s not about logistics, or stages of life, it is about a state of mind. One mother left behind her small child, I had left a cohort of pretty complex surgical patients. One accountant resigned a corporate post to come away, another professor was made to choose redundancy or renounce the trip. So many of my own consultant colleagues have said to me “I wish I could do something like that”.
If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride…but my answer is that wishes can be horses, if you choose them to be.
All of us who have had the (mis) fortune to deal with a tricky horse would give our eye teeth for there to be just one thing that solves the problem and makes both of our lives easier. If I could just find the one thing that will flick the switch and change the situation. Maybe if I could just get the diet right, he wouldn’t be so reactive? Maybe this new calmer will finally be the magic pill that makes life tolerable? Maybe I should check the saddle fit, again. Maybe this pad will make him more comfortable under saddle. Obviously the first thing is to rule out physical problems. Is it his back, his ulcers, his teeth? Because horses can’t speak, and they show pain in a thousand different ways. But here too lies a problem. 80% of racehorses in training and 60% of leisure horses show ulcers on endoscopy. However, 80% of racehorses and 60% of leisure horses are not threatened with the knacker’s yard daily for dangerous behaviour. There are numerous studies showing very little correlation between severity of x-ray changes and behavioural changes in horses with kissing spines. I am not advocating ignoring the physical issues in the sensitive horse- they absolutely need addressing- but beware. Solving the physical issues may not solve the behaviour, it may just rule out that physical issue as the cause of the behaviour. Then we go looking for trainers. How nice would it be, especially as the middle aged and rapidly ageing amateur, to abrogate our responsibility, to literally hand over the reins and get given back a suitable horse. And then ride our dream horse off into the sunset and live happily ever after.
But this horse isn’t easy for a reason. If we could have the dream that easily with this horse, I promise you, we would already have managed it. Horses want to co-operate. Horses are first sentient. The underlying issue is trust, confidence, self-regulation, not training.
We need to look at training. What are we seeking? Are you seeking compliance with your commands, no matter what? In which case, employ the trainer who uses flooding and coercion, however light and kind, to get results. Make sure you watch the trainer in action. If the trainer won’t allow you to come watch them at work, then why on earth would you trust them with your horse? You wouldn’t send your dog away to a kennels you hadn’t checked out. Or let your child to stay with a stranger. Most of us have a level of applied force that we won’t tolerate, and that may differ between individuals. Firm, non-negotiable coercion can appear very kind, but it is still coercion. You will get back a trained horse who has learned that his opinion is if no value and that he has no choice in life other than to do what the human wants. Which is fine if you intend to keep that vibe going; it works, plenty of people do it and they have happy equestrian careers based on that premise. Where it doesn’t work is if that shutdown horse comes home and you offer them a voice again; then the compliance construct will come tumbling down and the undesirable opinions will surface. And then you can either accept or reject those opinions. Most reject them; it’s often difficult having a non-compliant horse. You then need to send the horse back to the trainer or learn how to be the coercive trainer yourself. Most of us would say that we seek cooperation with our horses, a partnership based on trust and mutual understanding. That is easy with a low energy horse, or a naturally happy phlegmatic horse. It is not so easy with a high energy horse, anxious that the world is out to get them. They are the horses we call sensitive or tricky. I believe that all horses are sensitive, but there are the horses who wear their nerves on the outside and are difficult and dangerous to handle in high stress situations as a result. They are the individuals who default to flight or fight, not the cohort who freeze.
How do we train these tricky horses? Trainers can still flood them. Some horses will come to grief fighting of fleeing their way out of an overwhelming situation. If they can be kept physically safe until they reach a state of learned helplessness, they might become useable riding horses. Or they might be designated a professional’s ride, never completely reliable but talented enough to make the undesirable behaviour acceptable within the paradigm of their existence. What if that horse happens to belong to the ageing amateur with limited funds? You can sell the horse, free yourself from the burden, devolve the responsibility, not care where they go, because they are no longer your problem. There is no shame in that decision, many people before you have chosen this solution. Horses are expensive, they can be dangerous, and they are meant to be fun, our leisure activity, our joy and our release. What happens if the ageing amateur is too stubborn to give up? Some get hurt, then sell the horse anyway. Or euthanise him, to keep the horse and other dreamers safe in the long run. But is there another way? To answer that question, we first must ask ourselves what is it that we seek from our horses? And be very honest about the answer. I want to ride my horse. I don’t care what level, competitive, non-competitive, hacking, or eventing, but for me to have a full relationship with a horse, I like to ride them. I have a retired horse I no longer ride but there is a decade of ridden history that forms the undercurrent of the relationship between us. That is my choice, my paradigm, my construct. Other people keep horses they have never ridden, that cannot be ridden. I am not sure I could. Especially if the non-ridden horse were to be an athletic 16.3 warmblood that does aerobatics for fun. I like a bit of compliance. It makes life easy. I have a saintly Irish sport horse. He is easy to take anywhere, do anything, to simply enjoy life with. Does he enjoy his life? I do hope so. I do my best to make sure my horses have the best horse life I can offer them within our logistical limitations. Apparently, the half draught did miss me when I was away in Mongolia. He looked for me bless him. And audibly breathed out a long sigh of relief when I got back.
What I really seek in my relationship with my horses is joyful cooperation. That’s every pony girl’s dream, right, a melding of souls and spirit. I don’t want simple compliance, especially if the compliance has been trained with coercion. I want a partnership with my horses. I want them to have a say in our relationship. However the fundamental principle of offering our horses a voice is that we must listen to all the answers, not just the answers we like. We must validate the no as well as the yes, or the voice and the yes will have no value. When we hear and validate the no, does that have to be the end of the conversation? I believe not. It might be, if we are splatted on the floor! Can we moderate the situation? Can we lower the demand, metal or physical, to get nearer threshold? If we are working at a level near threshold, then the horse might be able to calm himself enough to stay below threshold and investigate, employing curiosity for learning. Can we explain? Using aids and signals we have in place already to help the horse to achieve a new task.
Can we compromise our training principles for a day because we need to get something done that has long term benefits? The compromising for a need of the day nearly always backfires, in my experience. That lesson will still need learning. So only compromise for emergencies. Or if you like doing the work over and over again (rueful grin here- don’t be like me). The flip side of joyful cooperation is that we must accept there will be days of no joy, and moments of non- cooperation. And we as owners and trainers must find a construct that allows that to be true. We had an in joke when I was on the panel designing the course Excellence In Surgical Supervision; “it is all about the relationship”.
There is never just one thing, no magic bullet, no simple solution. Just trust, in love, in ourselves, in sound basics, in the truth offered by the horse.
I have taken the liberty of copying this article verbatim- because I believe that it should be available to be read by all.
Copyright: Erik F Herbermann, 2003
This article presents a general guideline of concepts and observations aimed at exploring the diverse aspects involved in charting our equestrian ideals, the guideposts by which we can navigate towards higher standards of excellence in practice. The following points are presented to bring structure and tone to this objective.
Why are ideals important?
What constitutes excellence in horsemanship?
How can we attain higher quality horsemanship?
Is true horsemanship restricted to any one form of riding?
Is there an unprejudiced authority by which riding can be judged?
How can we assess the correctness of our own work?
Is there a place where true horsemanship is practiced?
In the spirit of cooperation.
A personal quest.
Let’s proceed without further ado.
Why are ideals important?
Contrary to what one might think, ideals are not some form of wishful thinking, nor are they even remotely impractical. Rather, they are essential beacons which help us to keep our activities on a valid course, and to draw our desires ever upward – extending our efforts beyond that which we might ordinarily do. Short term ideals are those by which we test ourselves on a daily basis. Long-term ideals could well serve us for many years, if not a life time.
Interestingly, the establishing of ideals always remains a uniquely personal matter, being wholly dependent on our individual outlook and level of awareness at any given stage of our unfolding. It is therefore important to reset them every now and then as new horizons of insight develop through the knowledge and experience we gain over time. In this way, through our ideals we have the ongoing opportunity to define and express our ever-evolving vision of the excellence we hope to manifest in our riding and in our lives.
What constitutes excellence in horsemanship?
Just as the ageless Pyramids of Egypt have been laid down on a footing of gigantic monolithic blocks, so excellence in horsemanship rests on a foundation of enduring love and respect for the horse, and reverence for the life which it represents. These bulwarks of riding originate not from the intellect but, as with genuine friendship, they are an outpouring of the human heart. It is this which fosters in us a deep sense of moral obligation for the horse’s well being, and spurs us on in search for an ever deeper understanding, and wholehearted effort to find living harmony with it.
Indeed, harmony is an indispensable element of the Classical ideal. It is a symptom of ‘resolved truth’, exemplified by spiritual, mental and physical unity, by which excellence in horsemanship can always be confidently measured. Harmony is built especially on a foundation of loyalty and trust, and secondarily on the development of physical dexterity and suitable technicalities.
Excellence is further embodied in the benign cultivation of horses’ raw, undisciplined energies through which they grow in beauty and nobility; qualities which are only revealed when we in no way diminish their nature. The better the riding, the more fully present horses are with all of their natural faculties, talents and unique personality wholly in tact. This state is brought about not only through careful gymnastic work, but notably through our ability to encourage horses to contribute to the performance with their own talents and innate enthusiasm. This, in turn, produces a work which is not only practical in its application but because of its benevolence nurtures the horses’ good health and calm disposition, resulting in their prolonged, useful life under saddle.
If we were to view these concepts from a broader perspective, through the eye of our intuitive understanding of the interdependence of all life, we could see how our ability to produce ‘excellence in horsemanship’ is truly a living expression of hope for us – being a tangible embodiment of our capacity to generate harmonious beauty here on Earth . . . that is, if we truly want that. If we were sufficiently inspired to use the momentum of such a realization, and carry its vibrant good will into every aspect of our lives, the combined creative potential would have the power to transform the face of the Earth ever more towards its original harmonious, balanced state once again. I believe that the outcome of such matters is far more in our own hands than is commonly thought.
How can we attain to higher quality horsemanship?
The pathway to the ‘Equestrian Rome’ is indeed a deeply personal one. In fact, before we can influence the horse positively, not only must we get our bodies and the aiding technicalities under control, but we need to set about cultivating the more noble characteristics of our inner being. The importance of this aspect cannot be over stated, because especially horsemanship can be so readily impoverished by the corrosive effects of our unruly egos, lack of control over our emotions, and the weaknesses in our character and personality.
Inextricably entwined within the above points, not to be overlooked, is motive. What is the true reason for doing what we do? Are we truly developing our work on substantial intentions: those which aspire to have high quality, nature-harmonious riding manifest through us, based on nurturing the horse’s willing participation, and tireless watchfulness against any repression of his spirit? The horse unfailingly, almost magically discerns the true heart – our actual intent.
Is true horsemanship restricted to any one form of riding?
The question could be answered either ‘yes’ or ‘no’. But because the issue is quite complex, it is important that we take a moment to consider carefully the various factors involved. Clearly, so much depends on an individual’s capacities: whether the rider possesses truly exceptional natural talent – has a highly intuitive ‘feel’, respect, and love for the horse; or whether a thorough study of horsemanship has been undertaken with an accomplished teacher. But almost more important than these, is whether the person is of inherently mature and honourable character, exemplified in virtuous purpose which is carried out in right action. Under such circumstances, good horsemanship can potentially flourish at any time and in any equestrian discipline wherever such noble interaction with the horse occurs.
In the very same breath, unworthy riding can also show its face virtually anywhere and at any time – sometimes for just a few brief seconds, comprised of small, inadvertent lapses that may occur to anyone, even those with fine intentions. At other times, however, considerable equestrian privation may appear when humanity’s less noble characteristics are allowed to gain the ascendency. Merely studying with an accomplished horseman, or at a famous school, does not automatically ensure that the pupil will be an excellent rider who will ultimately develop into a true horseman. Irrespective of the good quality of the teaching, when a rider’s equestrian desires are not discretely tempered by those finer personal qualities mentioned earlier, the good philosophy expounded by the teacher may never actually take root in the individual’s heart. Consequently, once that person is no longer under the thumb of the master, the perfectly sound teachings may end up being misapplied, or even used as weapons against the horse.
Sometimes the obvious needs to be stated – good riding is good riding, and poor riding is poor riding, irrespective of the equestrian discipline.
Since excellence in horsemanship has to do with the quality of our interaction with the horse, and dedication to serving the creature’s welfare above any personal ambitions, surely we need to remain uncompromising about the following points: – any approach to riding or training which, a) deliberately alters the natural sequence of the footfall of the three gaits; and/or b) routinely lames horses; and/or c) causes the creatures mental distress and psychological warping – must be regarded as a grave transgression against the spirit of true horsemanship.
Of course, there are certain some forms of temporary lameness that may occur with any horse, even those that are worked carefully. But the direct interconnection between chronic hock lameness, for example, and forced dressage training is irrefutable; much like navicular disease can often be traced to excessive jumping. In both cases, horses thus afflicted are usually physically (if not mentally) wrecked by the time they reach their early to mid teens. Whereas horses that are thoughtfully worked – in harmony with their nature – may generally enjoy healthy, useful lives well into their mid to late twenties. Correct dressage riding, by its very definition and mandate, so well delineated in any worthwhile literature on the subject, should be the most loyal custodian of well being for the horse – a bastion for its care, protection, and enhancement – but sadly, because of unknowingness, it so often is not.
As a matter of general observation, I believe it is surely important for us to acknowledge that just as there are good people and not-so-good ones in every nation, race, religion, and profession, and good and not-so-good riders in every equestrian discipline, so too there are some good and some unwanted traits in any one of us. With this is mind, it is therefore also likely helpful to avoid falling into the trap of self-righteousness, thinking we are better than others or immune to making errors. Though our heart may be in the right place, which is a very good start, we nevertheless all have feet of clay, and without extreme care, any one of us may find cracks beginning to show in our plaster.
Is true horsemanship restricted to any one form of riding? I believe the answer is no. Though some equestrian disciplines, by virtue of their inherent, wholesome, ‘nature-oriented’ objectives, (true, correct classical riding, for example) are definitely more conducive to harmony with the horse than some others, good work is, nevertheless, not limited to any one field of equestrian endeavour. It is clearly up to each one of us, individually, to assume the responsibility for generating good quality work to the best of our ability in our own chosen riding discipline, which ever that might be.
Is there an unprejudiced authority by which riding can be judged?
Just as aeronautical engineers need to work within the laws of fluid dynamics in order to design aircraft that fly safely, it is incumbent on us horsemen to study and adhere to the laws of the horse’s nature if we are earnest about creating a truly viable form of riding. This matter is beyond opinion. To produce excellence we need to respect unequivocally the horse’s nature as the sole authority by which we appraise our work in the saddle.
It is important to appreciate that the horse’s nature is just as clear, structured, and constant as the laws and forces which govern physics and chemistry, though this fact may at times be difficult to apprehend, veiled as it is under layers of ancillary elements such as temperament, athletic ability, conformation, and the degree of sensitivity. It is certainly not the intention here to be dismissive about those very real factors, but the experienced rider knows that underneath those interesting variables all horses are indeed the same. This holds true regardless of the breed. The importance of taking variables into account does, of course, become useful as a guide to help determine for which kind of work a particular horse might be best suited. Though a Clydesdale, for example, certainly can piaffe, its talents are likely better used in front of a plough; and though an Andalusian could pull a plough (a little one), it likely makes a better dancer.
The greater the variety of horses we have the privilege of working, the more solidly the oneness of their underlying, common nature becomes evident, and the better we become at unlocking their amazing athleticism under saddle through intelligent implementation of gymnastic work without in any way violating nature.
How can we best assess the correctness of our own work?
If we take the time and care to listen to the horse, we will be able to see how our work is constantly being either ratified or denounced, as reflected by the creature’s mental and physical demeanor as well as in the quality of the gaits. For example: if a horse’s front legs show ‘goose stepping’ during trot extensions, it is a sign that the horse is likely tense, or broken apart. At times such a horse will show a dropped back, and a neck which has gotten too short relative to the size of the stride, whereby the front legs extend straight and stiffly well beyond a line drawn down the horse’s face to the ground. Further, horses’ assessment of the work could also be read by the frightened, wild, or angry look, or the lifeless, resigned or dead expression in their eyes; or by the pinned ears, pursed nostrils, snarling lips, or grinding of teeth – these are often also associated by unquietness of the tail. Such signs show up rarely when horses are conscientiously ridden.
To elaborate on the final point mentioned earlier, much of the time-honoured literature warns of the importance of maintaining purity of the gaits: walk four-beat, trot two-beat, and canter three-beat. Yet all manner of study is afoot which is trying to fit four-beat trots into the realm of acceptance. Indeed, horses may well show a four-beat trot and even a pacing walk or stiff-backed ‘deer-like’ canters while out in pasture, but we recognize that it is then usually a manifestation of tension. One might therefore deduce that since displays of such things are ‘natural’, that therefore tense, broken gaits under saddle should also be considered acceptable. But, should be our view, haven’t we then forgotten what the prime purpose of dressage, and more specifically, classical riding is? Isn’t it meant to help direct horses’ raw energies in a more thoughtful, disciplined way, whereby the creatures are enabled to demonstrate the elastic beauty of pure, balanced gaits while carrying the rider – and that our work accordingly takes on the deeper characteristics of a truly ennobled art form? Isn’t it the constant aim of ballet dancers to be free of tension, so that their performance takes on those coveted light and airy, gravity-defying qualities? Do we as riders also not recognize that tension anywhere in our own bodies is one of the foremost adversaries we need to overcome?
Truly, we need to consider this point seriously: just because we ourselves may not be able to bring horses to such genuine elastic suppleness under saddle – which would enable them to demonstrate pure gaits – should we therefore seek to degrade the time-honoured standards to fit our ineptitude, instead of striving to improving ourselves and our training approach?
Though, without a single doubt, the surest path to developing exquisite horsemanship lies in listening to the horse, a good human teacher is also initially indispensable to making reasonable progress. Through the teacher’s guidance, and riding well trained horses, we become better able to understand what the horse is trying to tell us, and to find ways of approach which the creature can understand and accept, whereby the commonly-known exercises are able to produce the useful gymnastic effects they are meant to have. On the other hand, dictatorial forms of riding use those same exercises as avenues to strip the horse of what is seen as ‘willful resistance’, but, actually, the latter is most often merely a sign of the horse revolting against what it senses as violations of its nature. The horse is seldom wrong.
An old maxim states, “Every journey begins with the first step”. Indeed, it is never too late to take that all-important first step in the right direction. If we aim our ideals towards harmonizing with natural principles, we will already be on the right path. Then, over the years, we can work joyfully toward perfecting our skills and drawing closer to our goal of finding ever deeper levels of compatibility with the horse.
Is there a place in the world where true horsemanship is practiced?
Needless to say, neither bricks and mortar nor location, in and of themselves, determine the presence or absence of horsemanship. Any place can be a good place, and any place can be an equestrian desert – and this can change to a greater or lesser degree at any time, either way. Only in that place, where and when an individual with the right heart towards the matter practices truth, by striving earnestly to interact kindly and lawfully with the horse – there horsemanship lives. Whether this is in a palatial riding hall, or somewhere in a field out in the middle of nowhere, or whether at a rudimentary or advanced level, is patently immaterial.
A well-based assessment of a school’s ‘direction’ needs to be made over a period of years … even decades. The soundness of the philosophical base; the steadfastness of the leadership; the quality of the individuals attendant over such extended periods, together with the inevitable ups and downs in their lives; and the tenacity with which the equestrian ideals were sought and brought into living manifestation in daily practice, all need to be taken into account.
The larger picture of a school’s viability operates on the same principle as on the individual level: an occasional bit of good riding does not a good school make, nor should a bit of poor riding or some unusual incident elicit wholesale condemnation. It is the over-all ‘flavour’ and consistency that needs to be measured if a significant evaluation is to be made. It is that single-minded desire toward ‘nature-oriented’ work that needs to be carved out with unflagging effort, day-in day-out, over extended periods that ultimately makes the good horseman. It is this which similarly gives a worthwhile direction, that certain ‘stamp’, to a good school.
The most distinguished schools in which the spirit of classical horsemanship has been fostered over extended periods, and whose influences have reached even to our present day, are at Saumur, France; Reitinstitut von Neindorff, Germany; The Spanish Riding School, Austria; and not to be over looked, was the fine spirit of horsemanship demonstrated by the late Nuno Oliveira of Portugal. Further, there is likely a small sprinkling of horsemen and women, here and there, who in their own private facilities attempt to propagate honourable horsemanship in the classical tradition. But in riding, as in any field, the truly great – those who are Masters, in the truest sense of the word – are extremely rare. To quote Waldimar Seunig, in his book Horsemanship, “If we’re lucky there may be just one or two in any given century”.
In the spirit of cooperation.
There is an old German saying, “We all cook with water”. Indeed, regardless of our country of origin, in which equestrian discipline, or with which teacher we work, we must all come to grips with the fact that our ‘water’ is the horse. Metaphorically speaking, it freezes at 0ºC, and it boils at 100ºC…and we all need to come to grips with the laws under which that ‘water’ has its existence.
Each of the major traditional riding methods, inevitably ‘flavoured’ by the mentality and culture from which it originates, has some useful contribution to make to the over-all portrait of horsemanship, and we can mutually benefit from certain aspects of each others’ spices and cooking methods if we care to remain open. There may be some dishes we prefer, and others we aren’t so fond of, that doesn’t matter. As long as we always keep the horse’s archetypal nature as our guide – embracing all that is truly horse-friendly, and horse-harmonious in what ever equestrian discipline we may be partaking – we will not stray too far off course, while yet expanding our perspective and capacities, and hopefully end up making viable contributions to the world of horsemanship.
An essential part to success, however, is that we take the reins of responsibility into our own hands, each one of us, individually, and not rely on any external influence as a constant source of motivation, nor especially to keep us ‘in line’. Clearly, if we only set about improving ourselves when some external authority has to cajole or threaten us, I’m sure the reader would agree, we have some considerable way to go in our state of development. On the other hand, what an unspeakably wonderful world it would be if we each were to strive to master ourselves, willingly taking on individual responsibility for all of our thoughts, words, and actions – each carrying our own ‘column of air’, our own portion of the sky above our heads, so to speak – doing our part as well as we possibly can so that our world may be healed and become an ever more joyful and beautiful place to live.
A personal quest.
Since horsemanship is a tangible representation of our physical deftness and spiritual qualities, we could see the challenges of our daily riding, as our own personal Olympics, which gives us the opportunity to be ‘in the medals’ each day again through striving for self-improvement, and by choosing wisely and well as we make the numberless small decisions towards finding ever greater harmony with the horses, our fellow man, and our environment.
We who love the horse are indeed fortunate, since riding is a most delightful avenue through which we can hone ourselves towards that end – in fact, seen in that light, horsemanship itself becomes a living pledge towards that ideal.
In 1966 Robert F. Kennedy delivered a speech that included the words
There is a Chinese curse which says “May you live in interesting times.” Like it or not, we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also the most creative of any time in the history of mankind.
We are certainly living in interesting times.
2020 was the year that tested us all, and exposed the gaping rents of inequality in the fabric of our society. But it has also been a year of great good, of uplifting stories, of ordinary people stepping up and doing extraordinary things.
For me it was a year of transition, of endings, a shedding of old burdens. As the last stage of the divorce process, I sold my field, the Nelipot dream, the organic enriched paddock paradise track system.
I now have no significant assets, but most importantly no debts, and no ties. Having no assets is a freaky feeling, especially in the UK where we are so obsessed with property ownership as a measure of social standing.
2020 was meant to be Rocky’s year. Well it has certainly turned out to be his year, in that almost my entire focus has been on Rocky and his health. He was scoped for ulcers in March, brought slowly back into work over lockdown, and then had his back x-rayed in September. This led to his spinal desmotomy surgery, and 9 weeks of rehabilitation from the ground, before we could even contemplate getting back on.
I love hacking my horses in hand. Cal and I did loads of brisk walking around the lanes when he broke his carpal bone as a youngster. A handy tip for those of you who have never been on the rehab rollercoaster: when a vet says 10 minutes of controlled walking in hand, do it on the lanes. For some reason, 10minutes of walking a fresh horse in an arena always leads to acrobatics, if not aerobatics.
Take them out on the lanes, give them a destination and a sense of purpose and interesting stuff to look at, and they find their forwards much more easily and throw in a lot less upwards. A pocket full of treats and a village full of obsessive gardening locked down retirees will lead to a friendly curious and bomb proof horse. Rocky the Labra-dude and I have conquered lawn mowers and jet washers and leaf blowers, as well as the usual dogs and bin trucks, on our in hand walking adventures.
The field sale, my mishap and Rocky’s surgery all seemed to happen at the same time. There was obviously something malicious swirling around in the energetic universe. I thought I had a sore calf, until I twigged during a leg massage that it was actually hurt more like a blood clot in my leg. I had been treating it with ultrasound, and the Arc equine, as well as stretches and ibuprofen, The pain in my calf kept getting better for a few days then coming back again. And by the time I noticed something was wrong, it had led to clots on my lungs as well.
I’m fine. I twigged in time. But the first couple of weeks on blood thinners were no fun.
Equinox is a time of transition, from summer to autumn, from spring to summer, from long days to dark nights, and vice versa. I live in the Northern Hemisphere so for me today it is the autumn Equinox , when we experience a tangible change in the balance of the hours of light which govern our seasons, and our animals adapt, by changing their coats, or preparing their lairs for winter. However, the day of the equinox itself is a day of equipoise, when day and night are equal, when light and dark are balanced, when summer and autumn co-exist.
Magic exists in the moment of change. Why is this? I believe it is because in the moment of change we exist in a suspended state between two realities. We are glimmering between two possibilities, flickering from one to the other, vibrating on a continuum where either outcome is possible. To exist in two places at once, that is true magic. Poised on a knife edge, where a short hop or a skip can transport us to a whole new world.
The beauty of transitional states is in the omnipotence of equilibrium, anything is possible, and in fact when two states co-exist simultaneously, everything is possible. The magic is in the balance of two equally potential futures, oscillating around a point of equipoise.
When training horses, we often hear the platitude that the magic is in the transition. We need to ride lots of transitions and our horses will improve. But why is this? And how do we ensure that we are riding helpful transitions? What even is a helpful transition? How do you know your horse is getting better? What do you mean by better?
Do you start to see now why dressage (with a small d which is just the same as training in my book) is such an addictive and maddening way to learn how to be with horses? Question everything- but remember the horse always has the casting vote.
The magic of schooling transitions occurs precisely because of that metaphysical and physical balance. To execute a transition, the body must exist in two states at once; let us use the walk state and the trot state as an example.
The first aid is always the rider’s mind. There is no doubt in my head that horses are first sentient and that they hear our thoughts first. Some horses are quicker than others to comply; depending on their balance and the degree of physical availability they bring to the moment, but they hear / feel our thoughts. So, we must be truly clear in our mentation. I don’t want a faster walk; I want a clear change to trot. From 4 beats to 2, from the 4 beats of walk (LH< LF< RH<RF) to the 2 beats of trot (LH RF< RH LF). The horse will always answer the thought promptly.
The quality of the response however will vary. And the outcome of that response, for us outcome focused humans, will directly reflect our horse’s state of readiness. For the horse to respond with the desired outcome, his mind must be receptive, his brain must be calm, his body must feel balanced, and he must be able to access his body, then he will answer the thought promptly and “correctly.”
N.B. I assume here that all horses love to please and do their best to please, when not hampered by pain or anxiety. If you don’t share that assumption there are other useful blog posts you might care to read first…
If the horse is tense, rushing, anxious, falling forwards, or slow, tentative, wobbling, in pain, then there will still be a clear response to your thought request, it just will not be the clean easy transition you were hoping for! It might be a toss of the head, or a brace of the forehand, or a jumble of legs, to get from one gait to the next. The qualities of a “good” transition are when the change in gait (or bend) goes through with no resistance, no brace, no loss of balance, no increase in speed or energy, simply an offered change in the organisation of the horse’s body in response to a suggestion by the rider.
In biomechanical terms, the possibility of the transition exists because there is a point in the phases of walk where there is a diagonal pair of legs on the ground, and at this point the horse can switch effortlessly to alternating diagonal pairs and choose trot.
Do we have to know exactly when this phase of stride occurs to aid a great transition? I don’t believe we do, but we do have to understand that this overlapping phase exists and ask for the transition and then allow the horse to work it out for himself. If we then continue to ask and allow and feel, our timing will get better, and we will automatically know how long we need to allow between asking for the change and for the transition to occur in the horse’s body.
We riders all feel timings differently, some might feel the hind foot landing, another might feel the swing of the rib cage more loudly, another the tiny brace on the bit before executing the request. Until we have eliminated all resistances in both our bodies, there will always be a preferred tell, and a delay. The trick is in learning our own feel.
And the philosophy of our training will dictate how close we get to magic. What do you want from your horse? Do you seek obedience, compliance or co-operation? Are you willing to hear the NO to allow the YES to be even sweeter and more precious? Are you hoping to have your horse say YES PLEASE when you invite them to dance with you?
Think of Sliding Doors, or a Wrinkle in Time, or even the Matrix, constructs where two universes co-exist simultaneously, and the choice of future rests within a millisecond of vibrational possibility, a confused moment, a closed door, a missed turning, a misheard word.
Perhaps the key to all magic is merely to create the possibility of a new path, to open the door, to crack the horizon. To pause the clock so that we can step into a new stream of consciousness that has just opened. Maybe we just need to ask the question- what degree of horse/ human telepathy is possible?
Do you remember reading Ursula le Guin, that all magic started with knowing a creature’s true name? And Ged studied the old texts and tamed the mighty dragon because he used history to guess who the dragon was. And the dragon was bound to do his will because Ged spoke his true name. It’s a start for sure. But if you want to dance with that creature rather than just bind them to your bidding, then you need to create a space to indulge their wishes. And the bigger the dragon, the bigger the space! So you do need to know their name, and their history, and their mechanics, but you also need to know how to invite them to dance. Understanding the details of the two possibilities is like reading the weather, the magic is in how you ride the wind.
When two states co-exist in a wrinkle in time, there remains only choice. Do I stay the same or do I cross the void and move onto the next vibration? Do I jump from one atom to the next? Do I step through the door? Do I allow myself to be danced off into the distance?
My answer has always been yes but…
I step off but stay in control. I ask and listen but then evaluate and judge. I am awkward, and shy, clumsy. I bring my old reservations to my new reality. Am I good enough, skilled enough, have I read enough, studied enough? I have stepped through with my old construct rather than acquiring a new avatar. I have not given myself entirely to the new moment.
True magic requires us to let go, to flow, to breath, to dance and to simply be. True magic requires us to trust and to believe. Rocky’s real name is Royal Magic. And I am finally beginning to understand his lesson for me….
Do you remember the furore about Mark Todd and the raised branch? I am not going to get into the nitty gritty of my opinions of the rights or wrongs of his action but we should remember the issues at stake. We are approaching Paris Olympics and the organisers have announced that this time there will be no test event- to save costs. Equestrian competition in the Olympics is expensive, as well as effective in excluding many countries from hosting or participating.
The Olympics are a huge public showcase for equestrian sports. Humans have always been fascinated by horses, by their beauty and grace and power. But in an industrialised, mechanised and now digitised world, how many people nowadays have never seen a horse in real life, let alone sat on one?
Because it isn’t my experience, or yours, that matters to the future of horse sports.
What we equestrians must remember is that horse sport, and thus to some extent, leisure horse riding, owes its continuing existence to a social contract.
The social license for horse sports presumes that the owner and the rider love the horse, that the humans ensure the best possible care for the animal, and that they provide the animal with the best possible life in return for the honour of using that animal for sport, for the gratification and glory of the human.
“Addressing the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) General Assembly, Roly Owers of the World Horse Welfare recommends that the equestrian community be cognizant of how the public views the use of horses in equestrian sport. Owers recommended that equestrian sport pursue a social license, which is an unwritten, non-binding contract that means society gives horse sport the right to operate.
Owers said that this would build societal trust that horse sport can operate in a transparent and ethical manner.
Owers points out that there is a small contingent of animal rights groups that believes that using the horse for any profit or entertainment is unacceptable. Animal rights groups are transposing animal welfare issues with animal rights issues; animal welfare is about improving the treatment of animals, not banning their interactions with humans.”
The key phrase here is
how the public views the use of horses in equestrian sport
Those who are uneducated (or un-indoctrinated) to the so called subtlety of equestrian sports seem to see abuse and mistreatment of horses much more clearly than the so-called experts and fans.
Here are a couple of examplar articles from international news sources, not equestrian press.
So this week, what the casual observer scrolling through Tik Tok saw was a bastion of the equestrian sport community, a knighted Olympian no less, chasing after a scared horse with a stick raised above shoulder height and striking that horse 10 times.
This incident made headlines in the UK national press- “Eventing great Sir Mark Todd APOLOGISES after video showed him whipping horse ‘TEN times with a branch’ to force it through water obstacle – as British Equestrian condemns video.”
Sir Mark Todd absolutely understands the importance of the social contract.
He trains racehorses now, and the British Horse-racing Authority are super hot on the importance of the social contract. They have to deal with the League Against Cruel Sports on a regular basis. The annual deaths at the Grand National as well as other depressingly common incidents at less high profile tracks are only offset by the fairy tale stories of the luxury lives the racehorses lead, treated like kings, pampered like royalty, their every need and want met by an army of staff deployed simply to keep them in tip top condition for racing. The race-going and race viewing public are generally not horse experts. They just like racing and betting. It’s a bit of fun on a weekend afternoon. The general public don’t want to see horses suffer or die.
And now, as well as TV, we have all these other social media platforms where the casual viewing public can access a few moments of entertainment. Anyone who has a phone can take a picture or shoot a quick video and share it worldwide. And every person with a phone now has an entertainment player in their pocket, or actually in their hand most of the time.
Most of the people who clicked through to play that video will have no idea who Mark Todd is, his pedigree in eventing or what he was trying to achieve in that moment. They just saw some bloke repeatedly hitting a horse with a branch.
And the public were quite rightly outraged at this image.
As riders and owners, supposedly horse lovers and participants in horse sports, we must understand that outrage!
And we should not normalise or explain away that behaviour.
Because to normalise or explain away that image suggests that beating horses in training is acceptable and commonplace. And the sentimental, animal loving public who like cute, funny animal videos quite rightly expect the Olympic champions who ride horses for sport to treat them like kings. This public will not like that idea of cruelty based training being common place and they will harden in their outrage against all horse sports.
“I don’t like the Grand National- horses die” or
“I don’t like eventing- I hate seeing the horses fall at those enormous obstacles”
or now “I don’t like watching cross country- those horses only jump those crazy jumps out of fear because they are trained by being whipped over them”
It is about public perception.
If the general public perceives that animals in sport suffer for human pleasure, the social contract is broken. And then PETA and LACS and the rest of the animal rights activists get their day in the news and before we know it will become illegal to ride horses, or race them, or jump them. I’m not sharing any links to PETA here- I won’t give them the airtime, but if you love to ride horses you should be aware of their viewpoint on riding full stop. It does us all good to question our beliefs and actions, or at least to see them through another lens.
Mark Todd has apologised.
And we must all apologise with him, for his error of judgement and the fact that he resorted to the use of force. And we should own our collective shame, and acknowledge that we all have all done things at some point in our journey which we would not like to have on film doing the rounds of Tik Tok. And the correct response to this incident is not to ban all cameras, as the FEI have done in the warm up rings at dressage competitions, but to make sure that we all, as individuals, educate ourselves, skill up and control ourselves, so that we never have that momentary lapse that could go viral.
We should all apologise and do better, every minute, every day, for the sake of our horses, for the good of our own souls and for the future of our sport.
Thank you for reading.
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