The horse by nature already knows the way he or she is
supposed to move, to keep up with the heard in the wild or in the field, for
his/her survival. Not too long after the foal is born, he/she will get up and
begin to nurse on it’s mother and move around. With in a few hours he can carry
himself and move around as he wishes. In a matter of weeks the foal can run and
play with other youngsters, rearing bucking, running, striking and terrorizing
his mother. If we pay attention, real close attention we can see an approximate
set of skills that the foal will have when he/she is older; at the same time we
can kind of see what kinds of faults the horse will present later in life
during his training. The experienced trainer/rider will be able to determine an
approximated training regime for the horse simply by observing him/her at his
mother’s side and by watching him play in the fields or turnouts. We can see,
depending on the foal’s conformation, disposition and natural movement, in what
areas we will have more difficulties and in which areas we will consider a walk
in the park. Common sense will tell us that depending of the breed of the
horse, we will have an approximate idea of the range of careers that horse will
be suitable for. Like people, not all horses have the same abilities and/or
attributes however, all horses have the same basic movements, and the same basic
reactions, more or less. Keeping this in mind we know what to look when
choosing a horse as a foal for a certain career in the future. Judging the
youngster, by the way he plays in the field, is not always a guarantee that
he/she will be what you expect in the future. Some breeds of horses mature
relatively late as does the Iberian and Lipizzaner breeds and therefore,
sometimes we must wait until the approximate age of three or four to really
determine if their movement, disposition, morphology and over all appearance of
the horse matches what we wish to use for our personal goals and purpose.
Certain breeds of horses, and especially some of the working type of horses are
started under saddle too young and therefore aged prematurely, because of the
strenuous work on their limbs and joints. All sorts of artificial aids and tools
are used to “train” the horse forcing him into desired frames, whether it’s for
dressage, reining, or other sports, over taxing the front limbs, shoulders and
withers by false flexions and wrongful practices. The horse knows how to carry
himself. We do not need to teach the horse collection, because he knows how to
collect himself and show off, such as the stallion when he approaches a mare in
heat or a mare who looses sight of her new foal. The horse by nature knows how
to collect his energy and use it when he needs it. As riders we don’t teach the
horse collection as much as we think we do, instead we shoot to get the horse
collected on command, and we hope to do it correctly in a way that it is useful
for us as riders and comfortable for the horse at the same time. Like
collection, everything else that the horse does by nature we only ask on
command hoping to get it as perfect as can be, and as useful as can be given
the circumstances. Three quality basic gaits are essential for any breed of
horse regardless of the future career of said horse. However, it is absurd in
my opinion to overlook the walk, and canter, and focus in that way only on the
trot of the horse especially when he is very young. Many “professionals” judge a
young horse’s movement based on his/her extension at the trot or lack of it.
Many amateur breeders, and even many seasoned breeders overlook at times the
importance of the walk and canter over the trot, due to the demands of their market.
Sadly enough, many of these said professionals DO NOT understand what they are
looking at when judging a young horse and therefor misjudge the colt or filly's
movement due to lack of understanding and lack of exact knowledge of the aero
dynamics of the horse in movement and the use of the horse’s muscle skeletal
structure in movement. As mentioned, many times the horse will be judged by an
exaggerated front end movement of the front legs at the trot, and even believe
that the hind legs have correct hock action, ignoring the way the hock should
move under the mass of the horse driving the front end forward and not leaving
an exaggerated bend of the hock behind the movement. The trot of the horse can
always be developed and even perfected to an extent over time if worked
correctly. The walk on the other hand is also judged based on the abilities of
some handlers who DO NOT understand once again the exact way to present a horse
in hand and therefor interfere with the natural movement of the horse. Sadly the
canter is hardly ever seen as important even though the young horse tells us at
this natural gait if his hind leg, loin, and back are physically strong or able
enough to carry out this natural gait more comfortable. We know all of the
three basic gaits are important, the walk the trot and the canter, since from
these gaits we will develop any sport or job in the future of the horse. Even
though the trot is the gait in which the young horse will take our breath away
while he trots in the field at play, it can be improved with time and work when
he is older if it is not very good at a young age. The horse will have a good
walk or he will not. But, we must discern when it is and when it is not, and when
we think the young horse does not have a good walk, we should step away and let
him grow for some time before we make a hasty decision. We do not need to be
experts to know when a colt canters correctly or not, when he has natural born
talent or not. Patience is usually key, luck and a gifted eye are also key when
patience is not an option, and a truly trained and gifted eye is the only thing
that can save us time and luck. I wish you all to enjoy your foals this spring
and don’t judge too soon what you see, but be realistic at the same time and
don’t praise what you are not 100% sure of either.
