Softens of the Mouth

You often hear riders, trainers, and horse owners talking about the softens in the mouth of a horse, and how important it is to have a soft mouth in a riding horse. I however tell you this:

It is more important for the rider, or trainer to have soft hands than it is for the horse to have a soft mouth. Because, if the horse is soft but the rider has a heavy or strong hand, the horse will also become hard mouthed eventually and learn to lean on the bit or get behind it. A rider that is used to riding with heavy or strong aids, will get on a horse trained by a master and spoil years of training in a matter of minutes if not careful. Softness comes over time, but only if the rider/trainer has and understands lightness to a perfection. Then and only then will the softens of the mouth and of all the aids of the horse be important. Impulsion is also important and it goes hand in hand with the soft hands of the rider. If the legs of the rider are used in excess, or the spur is used in an incorrect manner, the rider runs the risk of 1. Asking for more impulsion than he/she can receive thru his/her hands and 2. Teaching the horse to become dull, or even dead to the leg, especially in naturally lazy horses. In contrast, if the rider’s hands are too strong, the rider runs the risk of 1. Over bending the horse, making him go behind the bit or above it. 2. The rider kills the impulsion because, his legs are not strong enough to send enough impulsion to the strong hands. The use of artificial aids are good for temporary use, but once the horse gets the basic idea of what we want we should dispose of these artificial aids and use our mental powers to teach and train the horse through proper technique and patience. Anyone can put a horse in draw reins and force him to lower his head and produce this way a so called soft horse. But it takes true skill, dedication and patience to learn be able to truly collect a horse thru the natural aids and mental abilities of the thinking rider. To become a Centaur one must learn to think of the horse and act accordingly, the training will then be molded to each individual horse just as an elementary teacher focuses on each child’s learning abilities and disabilities. The soft mouth comes in different ways but it is of no importance if the person who rides the horse does not have light hands. Light hands can correct a light mouth, because they are part of the thinking rider, and the Centaur’s ability to teach and correct through the proper aids. When I hear someone talk about how flexible a horse is in the neck and how extremely soft it is on the bit, I cannot help but wonder if this is true softness or if this so called soft horse has been trained with incorrect methods and is always on the forehand as we see so often with competition dressage and reining horses. Protect the mouth of your horse, learn to be soft with the hands, a task more easy said than done and don’t let anyone ride the horse you are training unless it is under your diligent instruction, so you protect your four legged pupil. This is sometimes hard to do I know but believe me, even an Olympic rider can set you back many months in your training with your horse, I tell you this from personal experience. The softness of the mouth of the horse is only as important as the softness of the hands of the rider.

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Softens of the Mouth You often hear riders, trainers, and horse owners talking about the softens in the mouth of a horse, and how important it is to have a soft mouth in a riding horse. I however tell you this:

It is more important for the rider, or trainer to have soft hands than it is for the horse to have a soft mouth. Because, if the horse is soft but the rider has a heavy or strong hand, the horse will also become hard mouthed eventually and learn to lean on the bit or get behind it. A rider that is used to riding with heavy or strong aids, will get on a horse trained by a master and spoil years of training in a matter of minutes if not careful. Softness comes over time, but only if the rider/trainer has and understands lightness to a perfection. Then and only then will the softens of the mouth and of all the aids of the horse be important. Impulsion is also important and it goes hand in hand with the soft hands of the rider. If the legs of the rider are used in excess, or the spur is used in an incorrect manner, the rider runs the risk of 1. Asking for more impulsion than he/she can receive thru his/her hands and 2. Teaching the horse to become dull, or even dead to the leg, especially in naturally lazy horses. In contrast, if the rider’s hands are too strong, the rider runs the risk of 1. Over bending the horse, making him go behind the bit or above it. 2. The rider kills the impulsion because, his legs are not strong enough to send enough impulsion to the strong hands. The use of artificial aids are good for temporary use, but once the horse gets the basic idea of what we want we should dispose of these artificial aids and use our mental powers to teach and train the horse through proper technique and patience. Anyone can put a horse in draw reins and force him to lower his head and produce this way a so called soft horse. But it takes true skill, dedication and patience to learn be able to truly collect a horse thru the natural aids and mental abilities of the thinking rider. To become a Centaur one must learn to think of the horse and act accordingly, the training will then be molded to each individual horse just as an elementary teacher focuses on each child’s learning abilities and disabilities. The soft mouth comes in different ways but it is of no importance if the person who rides the horse does not have light hands. Light hands can correct a light mouth, because they are part of the thinking rider, and the Centaur’s ability to teach and correct through the proper aids. When I hear someone talk about how flexible a horse is in the neck and how extremely soft it is on the bit, I cannot help but wonder if this is true softness or if this so called soft horse has been trained with incorrect methods and is always on the forehand as we see so often with competition dressage and reining horses. Protect the mouth of your horse, learn to be soft with the hands, a task more easy said than done and don’t let anyone ride the horse you are training unless it is under your diligent instruction, so you protect your four legged pupil. This is sometimes hard to do I know but believe me, even an Olympic rider can set you back many months in your training with your horse, I tell you this from personal experience. The softness of the mouth of the horse is only as important as the softness of the hands of the rider.

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 make sure you check out my other articles if you like this one. Thank you for visiting and stay tuned for more.

Hi everyone its been some time I know, I am sorry. I've been very busy. So today I would like to just briefly talk about flexions. Have you ever been to a training facility and observed the trainer tie the horse's head to the side of the saddle? Or maybe they just bring the head of the horse around to the knee, if mounted, to its ribs if not. People who don't know better call these tasks flexions. Those who know even less are faithful believers that these "Flexions" will collect the horse. What do you think? What do I think? Well, I have in some cases used lateral flexions to ge the horse to understand what it means to feel the bit, but not to the point where the horse bends his neck all the way around in an unnatural manner. Once the horse understands I use the flexions in motion and then work on real lateral flexions, like shoulder-in, renver, full traver, half pass etc. Do I ever bend a horse's neck far to one side or the other? Short answer is yes occasionally if the horse attempts to rear, buck, shy, or play up when I am mounted. But not standing still but by making the horse displace his hind quarters to one side or the other until I get his attention again. Some riders will take this aid and mis interpret it's use, the go round and round in circles, harming the horse's joints at times. Other times they practice these flexions tight flexing of the neck, to "Supple" the horse. This kind of practice is WRONG! It does not matter if you are a world champion what ever, or a gold medal what ever, or a judge in what ever. If you practice these flexions, in this way you could be harming your horse, and the only good it will do is that the horse will get a very flexible neck and then he will be able to avoid your half halts, and get behind the bit to make work easier for himself. The only correct flexions are those describe by Fillis which belong to the classical principals now, and the flexions of course as practiced at the Spanish riding school and other such institutes, trough school figures and correct bending of the poll not the neck, with the required amount of flexion from the hind leg. Heavy bits and long shanks will give an artificial outline as do draw reins and other artificial aids. The pulling ot the head far to one side makes the horse's neck like a noodle, and not like a spring, thus limiting the level of training that the horse can reach in his life time. This is what I think anyway about Flexions, you may or may not disagree in any case I base these thoughts from those of my teacher who was a great rider up to his death at the age of 88, and who passed on quite a bit of wisdom to me and my fellow students, from the spanish riding school, from Spain, and from the french schools. Wisdom that no one seems to care much about these days, but that I dare to call mine, at least to an extent.

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Steffen Peters Ride

The Airs Above the Ground

It has been thought and even affirmed in documentaries for many centuries, that the airs above the ground were movements developed for the combat purposes. It has bee said time and again that the capriole is a movement developed and performed in battle when a cavalry officer was surrounded by enemy troops, to kick out in combat and kill soldiers in this way. It has also been said in such documentaries similar stories and tall tales of the other school jumps.

For those of us who have trained horses to do airs above the ground know and understand that such movements are for exhibition. In battle a horse had to be light, supple, responsive, quick, submissive, and with great stamina. However, a school jump requires great talents that most horses DO NOT poses. Besides the latter requirements, horses trained to do airs above the ground must poses incredible talent, bravery, strength, and the right disposition. Any horse can be trained to rear as a form of tricks; few actually perform a correct Levade or Pesade. Horses can also be taught to leap in the air through forceful jerking in the mouth and unnecessary spurring, again as a form of tricks, or as a defense on the part of the horse because of the unnecessary punishment, but few can actually do a correct courvette, croupade, balloted or capriole.

Not only does the horse need to have such qualities, but also the rider/trainer himself must posses the ability and knowledge to train the horse, correctly and patiently to avoid all risks of ruining him. The rider must also have a clear understanding of his horse, and his horse’s abilities, mental and physical as well as the right time to commence the movements. In the past as in today’s time, there were only a hand full of riders that had such gifts, and abilities. Even today, not all riders at the Spanish Riding School and other such institutions develop the feel, ability or talent to ever train a horse to do airs above the ground.

Horses that have been trained in caprioles will not always kick out but will perform a balloted instead from time to time. A school jump, such as a levade and even more a capriole or courvette, is extremely tiring for the horse. A horse that had been in battle for hours moving about with extreme quickness would have been too tired to perform caprioles or levades etc. To perform a levade under saddle a rider must sit motionless to not disturb the horse’s natural balance, in battle this would have been impossible to do if there are soldiers attacking from all angles.

Finally, only certain horses of commanders, and officers were trained to high school level, and mostly those of royalty. Proof can be found in ancient paintings of ancient masters who were mostly commanding officers or royalty. The military horse was trained to be efficient in battle and usually nothing more, ending it’s training around what is known to many as third level dressage. Few horses were ever taken to the level of grand prix and even fewer beyond that to the airs above the ground, due to so many horses being sacrificed in battle, and for those horses that did survive and make it to high school would without doubt been very valuable just like today and would not likely been sent to the front lines. So, it is logic to think that such high school movements could not have been really used in the battlefield.

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Equine Breeding For Beginners by: Ron Petracek

You've got it! That beautiful stallion or mare that is the perfect example of everything a horse of its breed should be. It's got great conformation, a perfect temperament, and has performed well in its chosen discipline. You know this horse could benefit its breed by passing on its progeny.

You've made the decision to breed your horse.

So, now what? Do you follow the old adage and "breed the best to the best and hope for the best?"

Well, while that advice is actually tried-and-true, and certainly not the worst advice in the world, you are going to have to take a few extra steps to make sure the resulting foal is everything you hope it will be. Because the foal will be a blend of both the sire's and the dam's genetics, there are a few things to consider when choosing a good mate for your horse.

* Consider the goal of breeding your horse. In other words, what kind of horse are you breeding for? Do you want to produce a horse for dressage, hunting, cutting, reining, endurance, driving, or one of the other many disciplines? Knowing what kind of horse you want to produce will help you narrow the field as you consider mates for your horse.

* Look at your horse's conformation. No horse is perfect! Take a good look at your horse, and make notes about his good points, as well as what needs improving. Now do the same to the mates you are considering. Eliminate any horse who have weak points in common with your horse, and lean toward those who correct your horse where he is weak.

* Consider the temperament of potential mates. A horse who is easy to work with is just as valuable as a horse with perfect conformation. Because disposition may be genetic, be sure to evaluate the mate's personality. What kind of temperament are you looking for in the foal? Is the mate nervous or confident? Timid or bold? Calm or jumpy?

* Look at prior progeny. If the mate has other offspring, take a good look at them. Did the mate pass along its good traits to its progeny? Did any congenital defects crop up? You can investigate ancestry even further by contacting breeders with the same line. Did the dam, sire, and siblings of the mate you are considering produce successful individuals?

* Investigate the health of the mate. Is the mare or stallion in good health? Look for the normal things, like bright eyes, a shiny coat, and an alert expression. If the animal is under or overweight consider carefully, especially if it is a mare. Mares who are not in good body weight can sometimes have difficulty getting in foal. Make sure the horse is sound and moves correctly. Be wary of horses with injuries, as certain weaknesses can be passed to offspring. You should also make sure the horse has received good veterinary care, including regular deworming and current vaccinations.

* Do a breeding exam. A mare should always undergo a breeding exam before you commit. Maiden mares will need rectal and vaginal exams, while proven mares may need more extensive examinations.

* When you think you've decided, think again! That's right. Before you sign any papers or contracts, make sure you know what breeding entails, including the costs involved. And always, always make sure you have a valid reason for breeding your horse. It is not something to be done lightly! In the end, if you've determined that your horse can contribute the betterment of the breed, you well understand what financial and health risks you'll be up against, and you've found a good mate, go for it!

Spanish Riding School Part 2/2

Spanish Riding School Part 1/ Enjoy and Share

The term "Natural Horsemanship" has become so popular in recent years. Especially amongst horse lovers. But is this form of riding and training horses truly an new found system? Truly it is not. Natural horsemanship has really been around for many years. The Native Indians used the sensible and loving way of natural body language to communicate with their horses. The Arabian, Bedouins also used this natural horsemanship for centuries before we first heard of it nation wide, thanks to Mr. Pat Parelli.


As a matter of fact Parelli himself quotes the oldest horse book in existence today, that of Xenophon 430-400B.C. Parelli admits that Natural Horsemanship is a very old form of training and riding horses.

As we know, throughout humanity there are, and always have been individuals who are born with the gift of being able to naturally and harmoniously communicate with horses in a gentle and subtle way. Some of these gifted individuals often referred to as horse whispers and other times referred to as centaurs. In recent years with technology and the media, many horse whisperer have emerged to claim they have invented something or that they have perfected something in horse training.

Others, claim to take a horse and transform it in a matter of minutes. But, is this even possible? Sure, there have been cases when a horse who was excessively nervous, was calmed down and transformed in his way of going or acting in a matter of thirty minutes to an hour. Is this typical? NO.

Dennis Magner was know to take dangerous horses, and turn them into very docile mounts in a short time. The controversial Fracois Baucher too, would train horses to high school in a matter of only a few months. Other masters have been know to quickly transform a horse in a matter of a short time. However, the horses had to continue in training for a long time, to ensure that they understood the new behaviour.

So what is really natural horsemanship? The easiest way to describe it is:
The ability to train a horse, naturally, without force, without excessive punishment, and with a correct understanding of the physical and mental abilities of every horse. The ability to train the horse in a natural way, so that the horse is not forced into something which he is or has not yet been prepared for.

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It is a fact that Spanish Doma Vaquera is an outstanding form of riding. To some riders it is an incomplete riding style because it lacks the development and perfection of the trot. To others it is an art form that has survived the test of time since it's primitive years as the form of riding used by mercenaries in battle. Even though some do consider Doma Vaquera as an incomplete form of riding, these same critics cannot ignore that Doma Vaquera set the foundation for the Mexican Charro, the California Vaquero and the Argentinian Gaucho, just to mention a few. Also the form of Doma Vaquera is still used in the ranges of the Iberian peninsula to work brave bulls and even in the bull rings despite the controversy that this may bring. There was a time when there two forms of riding, "a la brida" (on the bridle) the military form of riding and "a la jineta" as we said before, the mercenary riding style.

I rode one of my training horses today, and we worked on some of the advanced training of Doma Vaquera. Sliding stops which can also be found in Reining, and Canter Pirouettes, which can be found in Grand Prix Dressage.

Now some of the differences between Doma Vaquera and Reining is as follows:

Reining- Sliding Stops, the horse will drag his hind quarters and basically continue to run on it's forelegs while it slides. A beautiful movement executed correctly.

Doma Vaquera-Sliding Stops, are done more up hill, the horse will slide but come to a dead stop much sooner.

Reining-Roll Back, the horses will sit on its inside hind leg and turn almost in a half spin type manner.

Doma Vaquera-Roll Back, the horse will also sit on its inside hind leg, but also on its outside hind leg to make the roll back practically doing a levade in motion.

Reining- Flying change of leg, the horse usually is made to change leads on a very large circle or on a straight line.

Doma Vaquera-Flying change, the horse is made to change on the circle after a change of direction, in the circumference of the circle, or on a straight line. Advanced horses will also perform flying changes at every one or two strides (tempi changes), and some will do flying changes to go from a pirouette left to a pirouette right almost instantly.

Reining-Spins, the horse is started from the stand still and is made to pivot on its hind quarters at a very high speed.

Doma Vaquera-Spins, the horse does a canter pirouette on four to six strides per spin and can immediately got out of the pirouette into a canter in any direction.

Some of the differences between Dressage and Doma Vaquera are as follows:

Dressage- The horse is trained in a snaffle up until about a third or fourth level when he is put in a double bridle.

Doma Vaquera-The horse is trained in a serrata, and then i a double bridle with serrata and curb bit during its first stages of training.

Dressage-The horses performs with a  double bridle in the Grand Prix

Doma Vaquera-The horse performs in a curb bit only at the Grand Prix Doma Vaquera and the rider is allowed to use only one hand.

Dressage-Tempi changes are demanded in Grand Prix

Doma Vaquera-Tempi changes are demeaned only to the two tempis, and one tempis are optional

Dressage- Piaffe, Passage, Pirouettes, Zigzag Half Pass, and Tempis are the peak of training

Doma Vaquera-a perfect collected walk, Pirouettes, Tempis,Half Pass, Parada a raya (sliding stops) and Medias Vueltas (Roll Backs) are the peak of training.

Dressage-Elegance and perfection of the paces are demanded.

Doma Vaquera-Elegance and effectiveness are demanded.

Dressage-Developed for military purposes and exhibitions in the royal courts

Doma Vaquera-Developed for military purposes and survival

These are just some points to look at, to see the differences in the styles of riding of today. Doma Vaqurea no doubt is one of the oldest forms of riding, used by some of Hernan Cortes' men in battle and dating back to El Cid Campeador and Babieca. One of the preferred styles of riding in the Iberian Peninsula today, and one of the forms of riding of the Classical Spanish Equitation styles. Doma Vaquera can also be seen in the more recently founded Working Equitation competitions world wide.

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Take a look at this picture.. What do you see? This is the tongue of a horse. A horse being put through torture. This horse was put to work with a "Professional Horse Trainer" and in a moment of rage, the poor animal was tied down, obviously by the bit, and beaten down continuously. I normally don't like to say bad things about people or their systems of training horses, but this has really caught my attention. When I first saw this picture, I was not sure what I was looking at. I thought at first that I was looking at one of those pig bodies that are used in the popular T.V. Show  Deadliest Warrior, after being hacked by some kind of ancient weapon. But then I took a second look. I thought to my self, W...T...F...!!!  This poor horse has not only been put through a great deal of pain, but he has now suffered a great psychological trauma for life, with what happened. I wan to a quote a great master of the past, Steinbrech, by saying, "these idiots not being able to make a living in any other way, try their luck with horses."  What is this world coming to? The classical art of riding declines more and more every day with the deaths of the real riding masters, and this kind of crap is seen more and more. In my book, El Caballo de Baile, I stress the fact that if a horse owner is going to pay someone to beat the life out of the horse, then he/she should save that money and ruin the horse him/her self. Not that anyone should ruin a horse, I was being sarcastic of course. The problem is that most people don't understand the first thing about training a horse. Looking good in the saddle does not make anyone qualified to train a horse. Plus, when we don't thoroughly understand what every movement is for and how it is taught, then we are apt to try other methods, and be abusive. We are all human and we all make mistakes, but something tells me that the person who did this to this horse, has done it many times before. The sad part is that, people continue to give horses to this, so called trainer. One of the best advice I have ever heard was, "If you cannot control your temper, you will never be able to control your horse" and "only when you can control yourself, will you be able to control your horse" also, "if you get angry I will kick you off the horse, and tell you to learn to control your temper, then I will teach you how to train your horse". I have heard these quotes from different masters, Arthur Kottas, Walter Sceturgnighsak, Walter Zettl, Michael Scott, and others, I am not sure who originally said these words, but I often use these words my self as if they were my own. Sadly not all of us have the privilege to learn and be disciplined by a true master, and so we regrettably see things like this happen more often than they should. As I said, I normally don't like to say bad things or comment bad things about people, but this is not OK. This is clearly the result of a person not qualified to train a horse or to be around them all together, the truth is that this person needs desperately to see a shrink to help her with her issues, and I hope that the next time anyone decides to take a horse in training things like this don't happen. We have to look out for the horse, they are of service to us because they want to please us, but we have to learn to ask properly, or take them to some one who knows how to ask properly. My most sincere condolences to the owners of this poor horse whose spirit has been shattered and killed at least to a certain degree. To the idiot who did this, well, it is not my place to judge, but please get help. Learn more about horses, learn more about training, and if not, please find a different type of work to do because you clearly do not have what it takes for this kind of work.

Dressage Tack by: Sonia Dixon

Your Horse's Comfort and Yours Is Paramount

Everyone should start with the basic tack and clothes, making sure that they fit comfortably. Obviously a horse that is going to be ridden needs a bridle, with a suitable bit and saddle. They must be well made, fit correctly, and in very good repair. An indication of this is that they are made of good quality leather, carefully maintained by cleaning with saddle soap. Do not be tempted to use an item of tack just because other people are using it; you should only use what your horse really needs.

There are many different kinds of saddles, but for comfort, fitting and lasting capabilities, choose the highest quality workmanship and materials. The Western saddle is sturdy and down-to-earth solid, with stronger and thicker leather than its English counterpart. Like the saddle, the bridle should be made from strong, flexible leather with rigid stitching that is even and firm, with quality stainless steel buckles rather than plated metal. The bridle and bit will allow you to control your horse's head. It should be properly adjusted, so that the horse is not uncomfortable. Your horse should have his own saddle and bridle, adjusted to fit, and kept in good condition.

It is surprising how little the basics have changed over the centuries. Bits have become less harsh, and saddles are now made with sprung trees and softer padding. However, the tack used in this century is based on a simple, effective and centuries-old design that works as well now as ever before.

Protecting Your Horse

There are special items of tack that can help protect the horse from discomfort and injury. Saddle pad, boots, and bandages all have their specific uses, but do not use them to compensate for poorly fitted tack or careless riding. Items that have a purpose for comfort and safety are important. Fashion accessories are secondary. Each has a purpose but both can cause or mask damage if used incorrectly, so please do not use them just because other people do. It is right to put protective boots on the horse for show jumping and cross-country, where he is likely to knock his legs, and the boots give protection against blows. Under the saddle most riders use cotton or wool saddlecloths to keep sweat and dirt off the saddle. Saddle pads at the back give extra shock absorption under the whole saddle, while wither pads are used at the front only. Also useful if the horse's weight fluctuates and affects the fit of the saddle. Placing the saddle cloth slightly too far forward, over thewithers, smoothes the horse's hair when you slide the saddle back.

Dealing With Tack Trouble

No-one likes to think about the problems that could occur while out riding. A stirrup leather could break but you should not worry; you may be able to ride home gently and quietly without it. However, if there are breakages in any other areas of the tack, this is more of a problem. For example, a broken girth strap would mean you would have to lead the horse home, holding the saddle on the horse's back. You should in this instance, run up the stirrups and secure the firth, in order that it does not flap.

You can deal with broken reins by knotting it if the break is near the buckle; this gives you the opportunity of holding both reins. However, if the break falls in any other place, you will have to dismount your horse and then lead him. A more serious break in any part of the bridle, other than the noseband breaks, you will then lose control of your horse. If you have in your possession a piece of baler twine, that would be handy to provide a superficial mend to get you home with the horse. Warning - do not under any circumstances try to ride if your bridle is broken. Do try and ask for help by 'phone if you are too far away or near a busy road that you have to negotiate.

After your horse ride or leading your horse home do not remove your horse's saddle immediately when he is sweaty; you want to avoid your horse getting sores on his back. Your horse's back circulation is important - it may have slowed down after riding him. A few minutes is all your horse should need to come back to normal.

Whoa Camel!

Many riders strongly believe, and with reason, that the horse must be ridden forward. As a matter of fact, this is often times the main focus in their training regime. Yes, the horse must be ridden forward and yes he must have the desire to move off the leg. After all there can never be collection without power, because collection is the accumulative increase of power under control.

A lot of riders however, are paying so much attention on the development of the power, of the engine, that they forget or neglect all together to make sure that engine can also be stopped when required. For what good is a sports car, that is beautiful, powerful, and with great handling around curved roads, if there are no brakes? From the very beginning, the horse learns that he is being over powered, not by physical force but by mental games that the rider plays on him. That is why it is so important that the thinking rider be aware of the tools he has at his disposition, and that he knows how and at what moment those tools are to be used. We always hear riders speak of the half-halts. But, what are these half-halts? Nothing really, just what the name implies, a halt, or halting the horse half way. The half halt is done to prepare the horse for a change of rhythm, change of gait, change of stride, etc. In short the half-halt is done for the preparation of the horse, so that he knows what is coming next, to be better prepared. And where does these half-halts come from? You guessed it, from the whoa itself.

I believe that all horses, must learn to whoa solidly and calmly before they learn anything else. As a matter of fact, I always teach my horses to stand still and quiet, and to stop on command before I ever get on them for the first time. It is not un common to hear me say “Whoa Camel” often when I am working with horses at the farm. Yes, “whoa camel” I always say all horses are camels until they prove otherwise. I say this in a joking way, but with reason. Since all horses loose their natural balance from the moment we tack them up and teach them to move on command in different directions, and especially when they are not yet accustomed to the weight of the rider, horses tend to be for the most part heavy and clumsy, much like a camel appears to be.

On the other hand, I also see many times, and especially in America, the many riders that focus so much in the stopping force, that they neglect the carrying power of the hind quarters. An evil, equally as bad or maybe even worst, than not having brakes on the sports car. For what good is a great sports car, with good brakes if there is no engine, or if the transmission is busted?

We must find a common ground when teaching the whoa. And the way we do this, is keeping in mind that the horse will not understand over night. We must take baby steps from the very beginning, to ensure that each step forward is a step on solid ground.

The whoa takes very little effort, but only if the rider or trainer takes his time to do right. And to do it right we must know, how and at what moment we must begin teaching the whoa, also we must know what a good whoa is. Many think that a good whoa is obvious, and it is, since the horse will stop on command. Are there any technical things to look at though? That is the question we must ask ourselves. For a back yard rider, or for someone who does not care about being technically correct, but only wants to ride on the trails, this is also important since the horse will be more enjoyable the better trained he is. For the professional rider and trainer it is even more important.

Now, for the horse to be technically correct when he halts, must come to a complete stop with collection and square. With collection and square because, only in this way we can ask him from a halt to rein back, canter, trot, walk, side pass etc. We collect thru the half-halts and we stop the horse by the use of our seat and legs, asking for more impulsion and keeping a steady hand without pulling on the reins. In other words we prepare the horse, we ask for more impulsion forward, and we close the door so he can no longer get away, and the only thing for the horse to do is to stop, collected and square on all four legs.

Since I mentioned earlier that the half-halt comes from the complete halt, or from teaching the horse to whoa, you are probably thinking that I am contradicting my self. It’s like saying or asking, what came first? The chicken or the egg? Yes and no. To do a technically correct full halt, collected and square is to actually do an advanced movement. The horse when he does this, he is not putting his nose on the ground and sliding for a long time. A practice and common fault we often see in western reining. I say this because, if the horse throws his hind legs too far forward, past his center of gravity, he will have no other option but to put his weight on the forehand, and yes it looks very spectacular but is technically incorrect in classical terms. When a horse comes to a complete halt from a fast run, there will be some sliding, but it must be more of a skid than a slide. Because we want the horse to move off as soon as possible from the halt if we need him to, in the other case the horse must regain his balance before he moves off.

Now, the square halt comes from the half-halts which come from the whoa. The whoa is one thing, and the full halt is a completely different thing. From the same family but different. The whoa is done, to teach the horse to stand still, to be patient, to ignore his surroundings and focus on his trainer. The whoa is done to teach and train the horse, and for the purpose of teaching the invisible aids that will come later, with the half-halt. The whoa is given with voice command when needed, and is used as a temporary tool, that will later on be dispensed with. The full halt, is the test of the rider’s ability, to use the aids correctly and to test his timing. The full halt is an advanced movement that tests the horse’s mental well being and abilities to follow the riders most slight indications of seat and legs. The halt in this way is when the horse has understood, that he is a horse, not a camel, and “whoa camel” is no longer needed or desired. When the horse reaches this point, he no longer spooks at anything even if you literally shoot a cannon off his back. The horse is trained to a high degree. And it all starts with the basics. It all starts with “WHOA CAMEL.”

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Horse Feeding - Cool Fuel For Calm Energy -by: Stance Global

When it comes to feeding horses, most owners are reasonably confident that what they are feeding their horse is right. After all, it’s physically obvious if your feeding program is correct or not. Not feeding to provide enough energy for your horse will result in weight loss. This will be accompanied by poor hoof and coat condition and you may find your horse is dull and lethargic.

On the other hand, a horse diet that includes “hot” feeds such as oats, barley and corn can result in “heated” and “fizzy” behavior which can be detrimental to your horse’s temperament. Another real issue when feeding grains such as these is that obesity is a risk factor which can lead to equine diabetes, as well as other metabolic disorders like colic, laminitis and tying up.

Horses Need Energy Throughout The Day

So, having a horse “under-done” or “over- fed” can be detrimental to its health and affect its temperament. What can you feed your horse without risking its health or changing its temperament?

CoolStance Copra = Shiny Coat, Strong Hooves + Cool Fuel Energy

CoolStance Copra is a low NSC horse feed. Put simply, NSC is the equivalent to a low GI diet for humans. Non Structured Carbohydrates are important in a horses diet. A feed with a high NSC count will result in the horse’s metabolism being overwhelmed with insulin/energy and will cause adverse effects in trying to digest this large amount of energy.

A diet with a low NSC count is as beneficial to horses as a low GI diet is beneficial to humans. This type of feed will deliver even energy/insulin to the horse over an extended period of time. This means there are no rapid energy/insulin spikes and alternatively there are no major energy/insulin slumps either.

High NSC (High GI) Feeds Increase the Risk of Laminitis, Tying Up, Colic As Well As Equine Diabetes

Unwanted behavior is often a by-product of many energy and weight gaining high NSC horse feeds. CoolStance Copra is a “cool fuel” feeding option that provides a low NSC (low GI) alternative to your horse. Unlike other high NSC (high GI) feeds such as grains, CoolStance Copra will not affect your horse’s temperament. CoolStance Copra can be fed with medium quality hay to achieve optimum condition as well as provide energy without risk of behavioural problems often resulting from high grain feeding for the same results.

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To Clip or Not to Clip your Horse -by Ron Petracek

There's a chill in the air and winter is imminent. And just like peanut butter goes with jelly, winter goes hand-in-hand with the age-old question: should I clip my horse, or blanket him?

This is a tough questions, and there is no hard-and-fast rule. The right answer to the question is very individual.

So let's start with the easiest population first. If you are planning on laying your horse off during the winter—in other words, if winter spells vacation and the most arduous thing your horse does during the winter is eat and sleep and maybe walk a few steps from here to there—the answer is simple. Let your horse's coat grow. Without interference, the thick, heavy coat most horses grow naturally should keep him nice and warm during the winter months, providing he is just spending time in the barn and pasture.

If you choose to let your horse's coat grow, whether or not he requires extra blankets will depend upon your horse. Heartier, warm-blooded breeds like the Morgan might only need blanketing in the most inclement of weather, while cold-blooded, thin-skinned breeds like the Thoroughbred will almost certainly need extra blankets.

Now, if your horse works during the winter, you'll have to think more carefully about whether you clip him or blanket him. Why? Well, no matter how cold the weather the horse's thick winter coat will cause him to sweat during work. What is the result? A wet coat. Think about yourself for a second, and how you feel after a few hours of arduous play in the snow. You come inside all sweaty and wet, right? And doesn't it feel great to take all those wet clothes off? Well, the horse has no such option. He's stuck with his coat! And a horse who stands around in a wet coat is risking illness.

So what to do? If your horse is working during the winter months, it is smart to clip him. But, you say, there are so many clips! Which one to choose? Well, that depends upon how much your horse sweats and the amount of work he's been given. A good way to go is to start with the most basic clip and go from there.

To simplify, the five clips, in order from most basic to most complicated, are: the pony clip, the trace clip, the blanket clip, the hunter clip, and the full clip.

In the pony clip hair is removed from the neck and chest, the areas that the horse sweats the most. In the trace clip, hair is removed from the underside of the neck and stomach. A "high" trace clip goes well up the horse's flanks, while a "low" trace clip ends lower on the horse's flanks. A blanket clip removes all the hair on the neck and flanks, but leaves a blanket-shaped area over the back and hindquarters. The legs remained unclipped as well. A hunter clip, usually reserved for horses in hard training, leaves hair only on the legs and saddle area. The most extreme clip, most often seen on show horses, is the full clip. This clip removes all hair from the horse's body.

If you choose to clip your horse, you will have to blanket your horse to make up for the loss of winter coat. But there are so many blankets on the market today. Which one is right for your horse? Easy! Any blanket that keeps your horse warm and dry, actually stays on, and isn't routinely shredded is the right blanket for your horse. Finding the right blanket is often done by trial and error; talk to others about what has worked on similar horses in similar climates, and go from there.

Stay warm!

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Mutual Trust

Round and round and round. How many of us have witnessed this? I know I have. It has been my observation that many trainers and riders take their horses out of the stall, and lunge for forty five minutes, "to take the edge off" they say. Yes many times we have horses that are a little bit more high strung than others, and at times, especially when we are first starting out a young or green horse we must take the edge off. Sure, safety IS first. But what about the seasoned horse that has been in training for three years? Why put the poor horse through the boring routine of going round and round? Shouldn't this horse be really good by now? It happens more often than one might think. With this I do not mean just in Western Horse Barns, I see it too in Dressage Barns, and other disciplines.

The question is simple: Why?

The answer is more simple, lack of trust. Like I said before with the young horse and with the green horse, or with the horse coming out of retirement or injury we might have to lunge or ride in large circles to warm him up. But, as time goes by, we should strive to give the horse more trust so that he can trust us as well.

It is my personal opinion and many horse professionals might disagree, but it is my opinion that every good horse should learn all good basics, and trust regardless of what his future career will be. By this, I mean

hat the horse likes and enjoys his work and does not object to the slightest change in scenario, or training pattern.

The Patterns... many professionals train their horses to be robots. They do not truly train the horse, but rather teaches him to perform a certain pattern for many months and then when the horse is taken out of his comfort zone, he performs badly or unsatisfactory. Why? There is no trust. No mutual trust. With this I don't say a horse should never act up, well they shouldn't, but once in a while they do. And that is O.K. because they are horses. Horses by the way are like small children, when you least expect it the do or say something (children, horses don't talk, not always) that embarrasses you or puts you in a difficult situation. Maybe the horse a some time or another acts up and puts you in a bad spot. Horses have bad days too, just like people. If we think we have the best horse in the world, we must always keep up his training to make sure he continues to be the horse in the world. If our best horse in the world turns bad one day, lets work with him to turn good again.

We give trust to our horses by the treatment we give them. Bringing the spur, and/or the whip to him in a necessary time is not cruelty, given that it IS done with care and love. The horse learns what discipline is, and why he is being disciplined. We teach the horse trust by saying with our seat and legs, "we need to go forward" the horse says, "no thank you by holding back" we apply the necessary aids, with the necessary amount of pressure and the horse complies. When this happens, the horse learns that even at times when he is scared, he can trust that you will not take him to a dangerous area.

If on the other hand we allow the horse to go anywhere he wants, when he wants, we teach him that we do not have enough authority over him as a herd leader and therefore teach him he cannot fully trust him. This is not kindness. This is not mutual understanding. Sure at times we must step back let things go, but there is always a time and place for the latter two.

We ride for joy, for therapy, for hobby, for money, for fun, etc. The horse knows that he is to perform a job, and knows that it's job is to do what we ask. You see? ASK.

We must not say MUST, we should never say you must do this horse. Because if we do, we find ourselves more frustrated, and in the end the horse WILL win. We must teach the horse to trust us, so that no matter what we ask, the horse will say, "Sure."

Because, how many of us have children or parents, or siblings, or friends that ask us to do a task we don't want to do? But we do it anyway. Because we love, trust and respect them. Am I right? Yes I am. So our horses should be happy performing their work. Doing boring patterns, over and over every day is not a fun way to work, neither is going round and round and round. How would you like to do the same boring thing every single day, for months or even years? Even if you do that already, or if you like that kind of life, does not mean the horse likes it too.

You might say, "yeah, I warm my horse up under saddle in the rising trot for a half hour" and to this I would also say that it is over kill. The horse in this case WILL with time get so sour of working so much that, again, he will become a robot. The horse will loose trust in his rider if this is continually done.

Mutual trust, will come with time. We must trust the horse first though. We cannot expect the horse to trust us at all, if we ourselves do not learn to trust the horse first.

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General Albert Dicarpentry

A Master rider of the Cadre Noir at Saumur France, born in Lambres, France in 1878 General Albert Dicarpentry is a riding figure worth studying. A pupil of the teachings of Baucher, D'Aure, L'Hotte and Fillis.

From 1933 until 1939 Decarpentry, served as a Dressage Judge in Europe and later in 1947 as President of the FEI. But these privileges might not have been possible were it not for his fourteen years as riding master at the Cadre Noir in Saumur France. An honest and honorable man, Decarpentry would speak the truth about riding, and especially when it came down to himself and that of his pupils (As can be noticed in his writings). 


Although Decarpentry was held in great esteem as a rider he had no desire to compete as such. A clear scholar of the art of riding General Decarpentry, compared styles of riding from the French Calvary School to thoso of other Rinding Schools in Europe, such as the Spanish Riding School and made comparisons as well to the classical teachings of the masters of the past to the teachings in current years (1940's).

General Albert Decarpentry died in Paris in 1956 immortalizing his name to competition Dressage riders and pure Classicist of riding art, through his teachings and writtings.



Information taken from notes at Centaur Institue of Classical Equine Studies, dictated by
 Master Michael Scott 1935-2010

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This is why the horse makes a mistake...

In many situations, when the horse commits an error or makes a mistake, we tend to find a cause or a blame of some sort. We need to think that horses like people some times have a good day and some other times they have bad days. We as riders need to look for signs that the horses give us, so that we can be able to tell when the bad days are. If and when the horse has a bad day, we add something to make the situation worse, we can not and should not blame the horse for what he did wrong.

Let's see, the horse only makes a mistake when we ourselves make a mistake in our judgement or when we become absorbed in our work and tend to want to be over confident. This is something no honest rider can afford, for overconfidence is a big enemy of true progress. Plus, when we add personal ego to over confidence the results can be detrimental and even harmful, for ourselves and for our horses in one way or another.

The horse is asked to do certain movements under the rider, that at some times he has not been properly trained for, and therefore is not capable of efficiently performing in a consistent matter. The rider should not blame the horse if the horse acts up but rather think. What caused the horse to misbehave or to commit an error on this occasion? If we cannot honestly answer ourselves then we will  not be fair in blaming the horse.

The only reason the horse makes a mistake is because we as riders made a mistake first, because the horse is always ready to listen and obey, if, we ask correctly, in the right moment, with the right aids, and assuming the horse is physically and mentally mature for what we ask. If any of the latter are not present when we ask the horse to do a certain task, then we run the risk of having the horse misbehave, making a mistake or ignoring our aids all together.

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Sh.. Happens.

You are having a nice, enjoyable, trail ride with your horse. It is the same trail that you have been riding for many months, maybe weeks, maybe years, the same horse, the same saddle, the same everything. It's a cold, foggy morning, and you decide to take a ride before work. You got up early this morning, earlier than usual, because you wanted to make it a habit of riding everyday and realized that the only way to do this was to get up and ride every morning before work.

Half way down the trail, same trail as always your horse spooks and shies away in complete fear, discomfort, and shock. It catches you completely off guard, and as the horse is moving away from under you faster than the speed of sound, one of your stirrup leathers snaps.. You struggle to stay in the saddle and you're even able to hold yourself up for a split second, but it is all worthless. The strength of the horse and his sudden movement combined with the stirrup leather snapping and the speed in which it all happened you fall to the ground. Actually you fall, in the cold mud on the ground. Your back, head,arms, legs and almost your full body is covered in mud.

The horse no being sure himself what just happened, just stands there laughing in his mid because you fell so easy. You get up suddenly, you're very pissed off at the horse for doing this. Now, the horse notices that you are covered in something that he does not know what it is. He thinks it's you and sniffs at you for a second, but when you throw your hands up in the air and down by your sides, the horse freaks out thinking, "Holy Sh.. that's what was moving out in the bushes, and now it ate my master, and now it's out to get me." That's what the horse thinks. So he, the horse, runs home as fast as he can to find shelter and comfort. You chase after him stupidly thinking that by chasing you'll be able to catch up and ride home so you can shower, and make it to work on time. It does not happen. So you end up walking home.

When you get home the horse is minding his own business, just eating his hay. He has already forgotten about you, it has been several hours after all since you got dumped in the cold wet mud. You shower and go to work, you are three hours late. You explain to your boss what happened, but your boss does not care, you had an important meeting and you were there late, very late.

Now you are furious, you lost your job, and it wasn't even your fault.

You blame it on the stupid horse. When you get home and explain the situation to your spouse, he/she tells you that Sh.. happens. And he/she is right. Unforeseen events happen to all of us, and we cannot blame our horses for a bad day. The horse heard something or smelled something, that he was unfamiliar with, and when that something got closer, he spooked. We spook too when something or someone pops up out of no where and scares us.

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Trailer loading

Why is trailer loading such an issue? Many people are in such a hurry to get their horses under saddle and winning at shows that they forget to take the necessary time, first to allow horses to be horses, and second to train them correctly.

Letting horses be horses is a whole conversation in it self. And we are here to talk about trailer loading today.

Now.

Why do most handlers, trainers and owners wait for an emergency to train their horses to load? When the horse needs to get to the vet, or the farrier, or out of the barn for any reason, is no time to give a loading lesson.

Worst Yet!!!

The horse gets forced into the trailer with multiple people beating him on the ass with a whip or butt rope, and even literally carrying him and shoving him into the trailer. Sure at times we must use the whip or a rope, to discipline and/or encourage the horse to go forward but if at any point the horse pulls back and throws himself over, it is not his fault but the fault of the rider, handlers, or trainers.

The horse if possible should learn to load with it's mother, or when halter broke. Some times, we must load a horse that has never loaded before and these cases, we are all prone to make mistakes and let our frustration and emotions get in the way of loading the horse with patience. In terms of working with horses, nothing can be rushed. We must give the horse what ever amount of time he needs to feel safe and comfortable enough to load.

The horse by nature is scared, and cluster phobic, when we take the whip to his hind end with great force, the situation gets worse. Now, not only is the horse afraid of the small enclosure that we ask him to get into, but also, he will associate the trailer with the punishment. So, we just made it worse, until forced, not trained the horse is cornered into getting into the trailer where he is finally left alone. Is this training? NO.

Now, there are times when using the whip is necessary but if and when this time comes we must be diligent enough to use it in a way that the horse understands why it is being used. If we do not have the ability to know when is and when it is not the right time or the right reason to use the whip, then we must not proceed, but stop instead and seek the help of some one else with perhaps more experience, better judgement and more self control and patience to help. A word of caution however is that just because a person has more years amongst horses than we do, does not mean they have better experience, knowledge, judgment, or skills.

If we teach our young horses when they are at their mother's side to load into the trailer, and we constantly load them in and out after they are weaned, there will be little or no trouble loading later in the horses adulthood. In the case when the horse did not have the privilege of learning to load as a youngster for any reason, or in the case of one who forgot all about loading for any reason, we must proceed in the easiest way we can.

 One of these being to place the horse in a round pen or something similar with the trailer backed into the doors of the pen, the trailer doors opened and the feed and water of the horse being placed by the opening of the trailer and moving further inside as the days and even weeks go by. The day will come when the horse will be indifferent about going in and out of the trailer. And so we can begin practising loading and unloading and taking the horse for short trips even if it is just around the property. Time consuming yes but worth the effort.

Another easy way to do things when a round pen or corral is not available, or we have a less suitable situation, is to teach the horse to move forward with a cluck of the tongue and/or  lite tap with the lead rope or hand on the barrel or belly. Most horses learn to load in a matter of days with this method and an assistant is not necessary.

I do not like to use the famous war bridles, or the famous "be nice halters" which are nothing more than a modified war bridle, because it stresses the horse unnecessarily, and if we are going to use something like that instead of a halter it may as well be serrata, cavesson, or even a hackamore.

Time is key, just like anything else. If we wait for the training of trailer loading, until the day we have to, things may get real ugly and we may end up using very bad judgement. At Watchman Farms, we train our P.R.E. babies to load at their mothers side, and we do many trips with them together, so when the time comes for them to do it alone, it never comes a a surprise.

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The extended trot is often times misunderstood. More and more frequently, we see riders striving for an exaggerated elevation of the front legs on the breeding and riding of the modern Dressage horse. Lets not forget however that the extended trot is not to be measured by the elevation of the front limbs alone, but by the length of the whole stride in itself. When the horse performs an extended trot the hoof of the front leg should land where the nose of the horse is pointing, and the elevation of the front hoof should somewhat be in coordination with the elevation of the diagonal hind leg. If the horse's strides are not level, the horse will be forced to drag the hind leg, forcing him in this way to push the mass of the body and not carry it like he should. Another fault often being ignored is the degree in which the horse is being forced into a frame, instead of letting him out, so that he can use his head and neck to balance himself better. The neck should not be made shorter, through forceful use of the reins but rather the horse should be allowed to stretch a little more forward and down, so that he feels comfortable at the lengthening strides. The moment of suspension should be longer, not quicker. This means that the horse will take longer steps and naturally will have to take a longer time to land after the moment of suspension. If the horse takes quicker steps, not only will it be more uncomfortable for the rider to sit the trot, it will also be for the horse. That is why we must give the horse time to understand what it is needed. We should collect the energy and then let the power out, let the power explode into the extended trot. A task much easier said than done. We must ask for the engagement of the hind leg through our seat and legs, checking through gentle half-halts, and then letting the horse out. Transitions from one gait to another, and within each gait will be of much help to develop this movement. Asking for extensions at random moments will also be beneficial, especially asking out of the shoulder-in and renver.

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