THE PROFESSIONALS
By Jessica Gale
HOW OUR HORSES UNDERSTAND
WHAT WE ARE ASKING
W
e spend a lot of the time with our horses, wanting them to do what we want them to do: stand still, go forward, come back, go sideways, jump this fence, go past the scary cows that are clearly breathing fire! But what makes the difference between them doing what we ask or doing the opposite? Once you know how to ride a lot of the things we do are automatic and we do them because ‘it works’ or ‘it’s how I was taught’ or ‘it’s how everyone else does it’. But how do we actually teach our horses; how do we get them to understand what we’re trying to say and how do they know when they’ve done something right or wrong? A big part of this comes down to understanding. In my experience
every time I have come across a horse that hasn’t done what I’ve asked it’s been for one of three reasons: they don’t understand what I’m asking them to do, I’m not asking them correctly or they can’t do it (whether that’s for physical or mental reasons). Our horses learn through a method called pressure-release. A lot of riders (nearly all really) use this method where the pressure is put on; the horse knows he’s got to do something and when he does it, the
pressure comes off. Getting your horse to understand what specifically you want them to do is the hard bit. A lot of things are ingrained in a horse from a young age: leg means go and a pull on the rein means stop are two requests the majority of horses are very comfortable with. But what about if you want to teach your horse a new movement with new aids that they’ve never done before? How do you get them to know that this aid means leg yield or another aid means rein back. The answer – pressure and release plus a lot of patience and repetition added in! So, lets say for a leg yield, you put the pressure on by putting your inside leg behind the girth and you wait. Your horse knows he has to do something but he doesn’t know what so they will try different things and you just have to simply keep asking until you get the response you want – the horse stepping sideways. When you get that response, you release the pressure to say “yes that’s what I wanted”. And then from there you just repeat and, as long as you are consistent with the aids you use and the response you want, your horse should pick it up quite easily. So, the pressure-release method helps us to teach our horse what we want from them and, as long as we are consistent and the horse is physically able to do it, this method wont ever let you down. But a big part that I am yet to mention is about our horses wanting to do what we ask of them. I am of the opinion that if a horse that is happy and healthy,
JESSICA GALE IS A BDCC AND UKCC LEVEL 2 COACH WHO HAS COMPETED UP TO SMALL TOUR. JESS COACHES RIDERS UP TO SMALL TOUR AND RUNS DECOMPLICATING DRESSAGE, A SITE DEDICATED TO ACCESSIBLE DRESSAGE TRAINING AND INFORMATION. THE SITE INCLUDES PODCASTS, TRAINING ARTICLES, VIDEO INSTRUCTION AND CHALLENGES. loves their job and wants to work they are far easier and more enjoyable to train. Its no surprise to me that when someone comes to me and says that their horse doesn’t like dressage, the rider also doesn’t like it either. It has nothing to do with the horse not liking dressage but more that the rider enjoys hacking or jumping more and therefore Continued overleaf...
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