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This month we celebrate the mystery of the horse in a behaviour few have had the priviledge of seeing until now. A living carousel. Today up and front and center the subject on everyone’s mind are the rights of the press as photos are passed around of one clinician and as eurodressage prepares for court. Sign and share the petition at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ justsayyesto401/ On behalf of all of us at Horses For LIFE may the gift of the horses be with you always.
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Just Say YES! Contest Free subscriptions to anyone of your choice. Send us your inspiration. Pictures, videos, stories and/or quotes of what inspires you with your work with your horses. It is time for us to figure out what we stand for, which is a much more difficult exercise than standing against something. Send your entries to us or goto http://just-say-yes.info and upload your pictures and video on our facebook account. Just Say YES!! Celebrating the Horse. Thank you for joining us in this incredible equestrian journey.
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Just as L’Hotte had to fight for thirty years and attain the rank of General to be able to add the rising trot to the cavalry regulations, Danloux needed twenty years and the rank of a colonel to gain acceptance of the forward jumping seat developed by Caprilli. This certainly explains his famous words: ‘the worship of tradition does not exclude the love of progress.’ Although their respective experiences show that they had to fight even more against conservative sluggishness than against the worship of tradition! In any case, both are among the pioneers of horsemanship to whom we shall be forever indebted. For good measure, one must admit that Danloux’s quote turns out to be perfectly reversible. Since even if ‘the worship of tradition does not exclude the love of progress’, the worship of progress, on the other hand, can exclude the love of tradition. Thus the founding of the Cadre Noir in the nineteenth century, in response to the military necessities of the time and a ‘galloping Anglo-mania’, gave sport riding a salutary and decisive impulse. Wonderful – but at the same time it became popular, under the influence of snobbery and intellectual laziness, to abolish as outdated everything that had gone before. The ‘modernists’, as keen on innovation as they were quick to disparage, consigned the ‘ancients’ to a kind of equestrian Stone Age. As someone noted: ‘No more fathers, only sons!’ This unfortunate breaking of a valuable ‘Ariadne’s thread’ had multiple consequences, some of which can be regarded as symptomatic. By 1970 the French dressage championships were contested without the piaffe or passage. At the beginning of the 1970s the International Eques-
Horses For LIFE
Osteoporotic Coffin Bones
by Dr. Robert M Bowker and Tara Calvert-Jackson
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An unrecognized reason for burying our horses.
Horses For LIFE
Osteoporotic Coffin Bones: An unrecognized reason for needlessly burying our horses??!! by Dr. Robert M Bowker and Tara Calvert-Jackson The demands placed upon the equine foot are greatest during loading of the limb and during certain disease states, such as laminitis, and over the years there has been extensive research effort towards understanding the biology of the foot during these movements and conditions. From “Equine Foot Biology 101,” our general understanding is that the hoof wall is the main support structure of the horse, and also provides protection for the more internal tissues, i.e. the coffin bone and palmar foot. Such a support mechanism occurs via the extensive inner lining of the hoof wall: the vertically-oriented sheets called epidermal laminae [lamina (singular) and laminae (plural) is Latin for “sheets”]. These laminae, consisting of approximately 600 vertical sheets, extend around the wall into the heels and bars along the solar surface and project towards the coffin bone. This anatomical arrangement of the inner hoof wall has long been known from the microscopic examination of the inner hoof wall in the previous, and most likely, even earlier, centuriesy. Such an anatomical arrangement provides a large surface area, seemingly to provide a primary function of support of the horse. This interpretation of the laminar function seems to have merit when the foot is peripherallyloaded, either with a shoe, or when the hoof wall extends a significant distance beyond the sole surface and the horse is standing or moving on a firm surface. Under these conditions, common sense tells us (and from imprints of a standing horse) that much or most all of the horse’s weight must be supported through the hoof wall when it contacts the ground surface (for example, 75-100%). However, in the real world of many pastured domestic and of most feral horses, the hoof wall does not appear to significantly support the weight 12
of the horse, but only a relatively small amount (i.e., 5-15% to 20%) due in part to the dirt plug present under their foot, or to the conformable surface (small rocks, lava rock, etc.) that they may be walking or standing on. Under these conditions, the majority of the weight is distributed over the sole via the earthen plug, with a much smaller percentage (for example, 5-15%) being placed upon the hoof wall. In these two extreme examples, the tissues of the foot will adapt to these loading paradigms, and their responses of each tissue will be different, as certain tissues will adapt and become THE primary support tissues, while other tissues will have a more secondary or perhaps even more tertiary support function.
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“This is a WONDERFUL two-parter! A must-read for every horse person! Thank you, Carlos!!!”
The Tracks We Leave With Carlos Tabernaberri
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hen you first met Spinifex, (Volume 48) we talked about freedom of choice and what it really meant in our work with horses, how it was the foundation on which we must build to establish a lasting relationship. We talked about how, when our horses understand what we are asking, they can freely give the softness and obedience we seek in our relationship with them, because that relationship is based on mutual respect and trust. You never get a second chance to make a first impression
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When you’re starting a horse, the most important part of the relationship building begins with first impressions. When you’re starting a wild horse, because their pure instincts are so precise, it is even more critical that that first impression be a good one.
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But whether the horse is wild or domestic, the lack of a good first impression is most evident when you start to develop a trusting relationship. For those of you who have not yet met Spinifex, the seven-year-old Northern Territory brumby, I was asked to work with Spin over the course of three weeks, one week each in July 2009, October/November 2009 and April 2010 (for a total of less than two weeks of work), to transform her from a traumatised wild brumby, to a horse that would be able to cope as a domesticated horse. I say traumatised, because Spin’s first impression of humans came after she wandered onto a remote Northern Territory station with her small herd. She eventually chose to join a small group of domestic horses that were regularly brought ‘in’ from the vast paddocks and handled. Over the coming months, Spin developed a reputation for chasing camels, dogs, cattle, and other horses, earning herself (in the eyes of some) the label of aggressive and dangerous. Horses For LIFE
REFLECTIONS
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Reflections on the World Equestrian Games By Dressage For The Rest of Us
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had looked forward to the WEG with great hope, enthusiasm and anticipation. And while I found some inspiring things, they were not in the areas that I though perhaps they would be or should be. Part of my brain is surprised by this. Part stunned that the stupid half of my brain still doesn’t get it and holds onto the sliver of hope that one day international will regain its collective honor. I have made a conscious decision to accentuate the positive in this situation. So let the accentuating begin…… I’m trying very hard not to be a Debbie Downer. Inspiring to me was the wonderful saddleless and bridleless demo by Stacy Westfall. Now while riding bareback and even bridleless is no great thing in and of itself, the two simultaneously in such a large, loud, charged venue is something to be quite admired. Quite frankly every rider should be able to do this, or do something close to it. Every rider should be able to at least take their horse into a familiar ring, with the right conditions, and be able to pull off walk, trot, canter without getting killed given adequate exposure, diet, training and trust. The greatest display of the true meaning of dressage I found in a cross country rider named Rebecca Holder riding her grey Horses For LIFE
The Place of Silence
The Place of Silence
Success starts with key, foundational elements, and the place of silence is perhaps the one that is most important. Especially since it applies both when we are working with our horses from the ground or when we ride on their backs. A photographer enters a pasture, the stallion raises his head straight up into the air, he moves quickly, deliberately forward, moving quickly to investigate this new and strange 18
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Subscribe Online http://horsesforlife.com for the rest of the article object entering into the pasture. He stops suddenly. Still a distance away, the photographer waits, not moving, breathing oh so quietly, well aware that this is a crucial moment. Horses For LIFE
Riding By Torchlight By Susannah Cord For Horses For Life
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cannot remember a time when the love of horses did not sing to me its seductive siren song, coursing through my veins like a drug. I do not remember choosing horses, or a moment of realization that I loved them, or my first ride, or the first time I let my hands run over a silken hide. As far back as I can remember, they were always a part of me, of my life, my dreams and my memories. It seems a choice made in the womb or long before, or not a choice at all. It simply is. It is an irredeemable part of me. I cannot remember a time when my eyes did not obsessively seek out the shape of the horse amongst the cows, sheep and goats that passed before my sight on long roadtrips. The appearance of a horse never failed to delight me, no matter how shaggy, how old, how bigheaded or weak it appeared. It was a horse, and it had blessed me with its very existence, however fleeting a moment it was. And I was blessed with a mother who shared in and enabled this passion. I fell in love with every horse I met, and this persistent, recurring infatuation carried me through the ups and downs of the lowly riding 20
school rider who falls in love with every new horse, only to see it lost to lameness or a wealthier child. Further down the road, the same tendency to fall in love regardless of physical merit led to a reputation for handling difficult horses, and bringing out the best in them. And this reputation led me to Torchlight. This time it was more than infatuation – this time, it was love at first sight. It was of no matter that he belonged to someone else, it did not matter he was an offthe-track Thoroughbred recovering from a bowed tendon and tended towards extreme hysterics - something in him spoke to me and it was a powerful, undeniable call. He challenged me on every level as a horsewoman, a trainer, a rider and even as the devoted owner that I became. Torchlight was my trial by fire, and I am still not sure I passed. Torchlight inspired this (relatively) regular column, and our story has been told in past issues of Horses for Life, but even semiretired as he is now, he continues to inspire and demand from me the best of everything I can be. Torchlight taught me that sometimes love alone is not enough, but love informed - now that can move mountains.
I still fall in love with every horse I meet, but now I see more than just a beloved form. Now my eyes seek out and consider conformation, hoof angles, shape of head and set of neck, the line and size of shoulders, hips, hocks and stifles, the proportion and balance of forehand to hind end, the length of back and the size of jowl. My mind considers previous training, handling and injuries, sifting and sorting till I have an overall picture of where this horse has been and where I think he needs to go – and how and why. It is this ‘How and Why’ that has become my guiding light, the question mark at the end of every session. What did we do, and why? And what did it do for the horse?
“I told her pretty is as pretty does.”
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“Does he look proud, joyful to be there?”
Horses For LIFE
riding by torchlight
A trainer said that to me once right after telling me that another trainer, this one an Olympic silver medallist and decade-long member of the German team, had commented to her that I was a very pretty rider. This of course popped the balloon of my pleasure at such a fine compliment before I had even finished inflating it, not to mention hurt and infuriated me – but it has stayed with me over the years and helped me stay the course. This trainer would one day praise me for my inborn feel, for allowing myself to wait and not allowing technique to overpower the horse, and then the next, flay me for relying too much on feel and too little on technique. It was the first time I began to consider what is more important – feel or technique? Combined with her cutting remark, it was a powerful cocktail that still heats my blood. And though at the time it was said with a sarcastic smirk, and stung like a bee just as it was meant to, she inadvertently threw me a bone that I have chewed relentlessly ever since. Is it just pretty or is it also meaningful? Is this ‘pretty’ an empty vessel? Today it has become the main bone of contention in our global dressage community. All these pretty, pretty riders, in their pretty, pretty matching coats and tophats, on their pretty, pretty horses – these self-proclaimed ‘top sporters’ - what are they actually doing?
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Is it just pretty to the eye, but at best, does nothing for the creature submitting itself to the ride, at worst is it the unimaginable, call it ‘pretty abuse’? Or is it empowering, moving and pleasurable, physically and on every other level, for the horse, the rider, the observer? These riders that succeed at the highest levels of competition, are they doing their bit to further not only their mount’s life and wellbeing, but also the many worthwhile causes of horses worldwide, or are they simply bitting the horse to enslave him to their pleasure and gratification, the lining of their pretty shadbelly pockets? Is it all business, promoting this stallion, that mare, their offspring, this sponsor’s product, this rider’s name, or is there still room allowed to consider the horse as an individual, for his own particular and alternative worth, a worth not measured in sperm count and dollar signs? The techniques widely employed today, are they about the horse first and foremost – developing him in a harmonious and mutually beneficial manner – or solely about controlling a pretty product intended to sell other, pretty products?
Horses For LIFE
“Does he bulge in one place and hollow in another, often with a bulge right behind the ears and jowl indicating an erroneous head set, not self carriage?� 26
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riding by torchlight
What does this ‘pretty’ DO for the one part of this equation without which none of this would exist?
The much heralded WEGs are here. I know a few people who are going, and they have been asking me what to look for. It is rare today to see anything to which one can point to and say “There, that is what it should look like.” So instead I give them some general guidelines, rules of thumb. First of all, I ask them to mentally remove the rider from the equation, in other words, imagine the horse moving through the program all on his own. Often a pretty rider masks all the turmoil below him or her. Now ask yourself, would a horse willingly use his body in this manner if all on his own? It is a fair question, considering everything we do in dressage is supposed to be built on a horse’s natural tendencies, a moment of play and proud exhibition in the pasture, for example. We, as riders and trainers are supposed to be asking for and training towards the horse being able to extend these moments almost indefinitely at our request. So – is the horse comfortable, are his muscles soft yet powerfully engaged? Are his eyes soft, his jaw flexible? His tail should be relaxed and rhythmically swinging all the way from the top of the tailbone - in fact an extension of the spine and as such, an indicator of the state of tension or lack thereof in that spine. Does he look proud, joyful to be there?
Next, I ask my friends to look only at the front legs and forehand for a little while. Notice everything, how they draw the leg forward, how they swing the shoulder and articulate the joints. Do they look as if they are swimming across the earth, undulating like a seal in the waves through the neck and shoulders? Or do they look like a puppet on a string, the neck short and restricted, the front legs jerking up and down spasmodically? Look for skinfolds at the base of the neck, a tell tale sign the neck has been retracted. Does the neck look smoothly muscled, one long broad sheet, the arterial groove clearly defined and undercarriage of the neck flaccid and relaxed, or does he bulge in one place and hollow in another, often with a bulge right behind the ears and jowl indicating an erroneous head set, not self carriage?
Now, take time to watch just the hindend. Do the hindlegs consistently stay in front of and go just to, barely beyond, the plumline from tail through hock to ground? Do 30
they reach equally, or does one get left behind, flailing out behind the tail every stride as Totilas has demonstrated in the past. Does the horse’s back right behind the saddle demonstrate a tendency to bow up, flexing and undulating, or does it stay permanently sagged, leaving the rider sitting in a sling, crossways on a hammock, only held back by appearing to run the saddle into the neck of the horse? Is the rider carried in the trough of a wave, or proudly surging along on the crest? Now put the front end and the hind end back together, still leaving the rider out, and see if you still think that front end belongs to that hind end. Or is the only thing holding them together‌.the rider?
Now, let’s get really nitpicky. Is the poll, determined as between and right behind the ears, at the very most a few inches behind the ears, consistently the highest point, and do his ears point up, not tending towards a horizontal flapping? Or does the neck rise to its highest point around the middle of the neck, only to sag like a fishing pole carrying a heavy fish, muscles bulging right behind the ears? You want to feel like he is pushing through Horses For LIFE
“Look at his jowl line. Is there space and a tendency to hollowness in the groove between jowl and neck? Or does it consistently, unrelentingly bulge, a sure sign of a horse in a forced and rigid position, not a horse carrying freely from the base of the neck.� 32
Horses For LIFE
riding by torchlight
his poll and the flat of his forehead, that his neck, although beautifully arched, is as long as it can get, supported fully by a broad base and extending to an elegant narrowing behind the ears, telescoping from base to poll, allowing for space between every vertebra, flexibility of poll and jaw, and space for the parotid gland, bloodflow and breathing. And yes, does his nose tend more ahead or behind the vertical, does the horse demonstrate an open throatlatch or is his head squeezed into his neck, like a turtle peeking out of his shell? Look at his jowl line. Is there space and a tendency to hollowness in the groove between jowl and neck, or does it consistently, unrelentingly bulge, a sure sign of a horse in a forced and rigid position, not a horse carrying freely from base of neck, allowing for rhythmical undulation all the way through the poll, which would push his nose forwards at the walk and canter, and allow the neck to lengthen while remaining poll high in extensions? Are the hollows above his eyes free of fluid or bulging with the pressure of a forced and held in headset? When he bends, does he again bulge in the jawline, or can he reach into the bend all through his spine, including all the way through the poll, again allowing the throatlatch to open and close as his balance and coordination allows? Recently some pictures of Totilas were presented on a website, accompanied by the assertion that today he is the world’s greatest – ‘gaited warmblood’. And indeed the pictures, freeze frames taken from video, support that conclusion. Not only does he exhibit seriously impaired gaits, looking at these pictures I added this list of questions to my previous checklist: Ask yourself - is the horse in an uphill balance, balanced on an engaged pelvis – or just leaning back? Does he lean into turns or stay upright? His withers should be like a shark’s fin in the water, always vertical to the horizontal plane even when turning, or pirouetting. Is he moving into the direction of travel, resting dynamically within
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his center of gravity or leaning back, out of and away from it, simultaneously forced there and saved only by the extreme forward nature of the manner in which he is ridden, continuously one step ahead of disaster?
These freeze frames show us without a doubt that claims of impure gaits winning and excelling in today’s dressage arenas are all too true. Yet these serious faults can be hard to spot amongst the exorbitant and jawdropping performances of today’s incredible equine athletes. Watching for purity of gaits can be tricky – just ask the judges who have been rewarding tremendously questionable gaits in the past few decades, and continue to do so even though technology now highlights these extreme faults. Clearly, it is easier to discern the faults when allowed to watch in slow motion or even still photos, frame by frame. But what is still true and possible to discern by the naked eye, is to see the angle of the forearm match the cannonbone of the opposing hindleg, easily discerned at the walk and trot. The walk should still be four beat, the trot two beat and the canter three beat. IF it’s still to be called dressage, we need to answer the questions mentioned above with certainty – yes, they are poll high, exhibit an open throatlatch, are powerfully flexing through core and their backs and working from their haunches. Yes, the rider rides a surging mountain, not a soggy valley. Yes, they exhibit a true walk, trot and canter. Anything else is simply a caricature. By FEI’s very own standards – it is not dressage. We are told that judges cannot tell a hyperflexed horse from a classically trained horse as they do not watch the warm up. Every single observation that I ask for above separates the hyperflexion trained horse from the classically developed one, even when they are no longer held in a straightjacket. It really is not that hard to tell the difference. In the end, their posture and their gaits tell you the truth.
Horses For LIFE
riding by torchlight
Why does it matter, you may well ask. I could get very technical now. I could address in depth the issue of Diagonal Advanced Placement or DAP, where the hindleg lands before its diagonal foreleg counterpart, and even leaves the ground before the front leg, introducing the ‘ground tension’ talked about by riders today as the horse has to push off ever harder, resulting in a spectacular show trot, not to mention interrupting the natural rhythm and gait of the trot. But most importantly, let me point out that it is telltale of a tight and unnaturally contracted back, a ‘statically arched but no longer swinging back’ as Stephanie Millham calls it in a recent, succinct article on the subject. Furthermore, this unnatural loading of the foreleg places it under enormous stress, leading to injury. Simply put, the horse is uncomfortable and likely to be injured by the exercise. Surely, that is not our aim, no matter how spectacular the results? I could spend a few days on the two-beat canter or the four-beat canter, (not to be confused with the school canter of classical schools), all exhibited by today’s top dressage horses, clearly viewed in the above mentioned freeze frames, in movement perhaps most easily detected in the canter pirouette where the ‘bunnyhop’ – cantering on both hindlegs instead of one – has become prevalent and an easily discernable fault. But let’s just say this : the ‘statically arched back’, preventing the correct movement and transmission of energy through the large back muscles, leaves the horse with an unnaturally still, high back – which can fool the eye, leaving you thinking the horse is working over his back, when in fact he is bracing in his back and core muscles - and a hollow lumbar region, his weight very much on his forehand. When asked to come back up, in lieu of shifting his weight and balance to the now blocked hindend, the horse is left no choice but to continue to lean on his forehand. The back under the saddle and forehand drop as the head and neck come up, the rider settles into his hammock and drives harder and harder to keep the show afloat. The canter loses impulsion, and ultimately, its natural rhythm. Once again, he is at risk of severe discomfort and ultimately, injury. Every point, every observation I have mentioned above are of biomechanical importance. They are not just a philosophical or aesthetic consideration. They are literally at the core of the overall consideration of the welfare of the horse, a consideration we owe him if we are to claim to put his welfare first - as everyone does. Simply put, a consistently low poll, shortened neck and following closed throatlatch lead to lack of lateral flexion, difficulty breathing and swallowing, impeded bloodflow, degeneration of the occipital joint and connective tissue and vertebrae, not to mention blocks important biomechanical functions that allow for the transfer of weight, engagement of core muscles, refinement of balance and lowering of haunches. The 36
braced back impedes the transmission of energy from the hindlegs, the correct, dynamic use of the core and haunches, leading to soft tissue injuries and calcification of the spine, often exhibited by soreness in the sacroiliac and lumbar regions. The impure gaits in turn lead to ever more loss of balance and rhythm, leading to leg injuries, to mention just one possibility. And I won’t even touch on the mental and emotional stress it would place on any being to be asked to perform at extreme levels in such an unnatural manner. I will offer one phrase for your consideration. When you watch a horse, ask yourself could it be he is performing in a state of ‘learned helplessness’? It is no more unbelievable than the abused wife who stays with and even defends her brutal husband, the hostage who comes to the rescue of her kidnapper. Horses are, ultimately, often too kind for their own good. As dressage riders and horselovers, we live in unprecedented times. We have watched as our sport evolved to the point where every rule and guideline is broken, and still it wins. It’s like a swimmer being awarded the gold medal for drowning in the most spectacular manner. These rules and guidelines were not grabbed out of thin air. They have been tested and bent and broken before, over centuries of the human ego searching to reinvent the wheel, faster, bigger, better. All we see today is the wheel reinterpreted yet again, dressed in the emperor’s clothes and exhibited on a different, larger stage, yes, but not reinvented, as much as Horses For LIFE
some would like to think. And reinterpreting a subject does not guarantee the subject will be the better for it, only different from what was before. It’s just more circus under a bigger top. Still, the wheel turns and in the past, horsemen seem to always end up coming back to the horse with renewed humility, recognizing that these natural laws of the equine species, these guidelines of accumulated experience are as sound and in the best interest of the horse and human as they ever were. I am hopeful we are seeing the wheel turn once again, and that soon we will see a return to allowing a horse to be a horse, and while helping him be the best he can be, we no longer accept the outright brutalization of the natural laws that govern him as they should us.
Perhaps we will see a turn of the wheel bringing us closer to the heart of the horse once again with this year’s World Equestrian Games. I had planned to attend the WEGs, and regret to not follow through on those plans, despite my best inten-
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tions and public declarations. Meanwhile, I am happy to know there are people there who will do their bit to support the horses and riders trying to get it right. Who will see beyond the pretty, sparkly bling and look through to the heart of the matter, and recognize when ‘pretty’ is also harmonious, a partnership forged with and between the natural laws and abilities of two sentient beings, willingly, kindly and with respect from both parties? And when it’s not.
People who won’t just say “Oooooh, but it’s so pretty!” but also “What does this pretty DO?” Not for the rider, not for the sponsor. Not for the owner, not for the audience. Not for future generations of super horses and for a sport gone wild.
What does this pretty DO – not TO the horse?
What does this pretty do - for the horse?
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Cavalia
with Christina Turissini
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Arrival in Denver
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A Chance to Stretch
STRETCHING OUT
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Welcome to the Horses For LIFE blog! http://blog.horsesforlife.com
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fter publishing our magazine for years, and creating an incredible repository of information, we came to realize that we had created – a monster! A monster of information, that for our new readers might simply be overwhelming. And in our busy hectic lives of today not everybody has the time to read the magazine from cover to cover. Especially since Horses For LIFE is uniquely, so incredibly content rich. In depth articles, engrossing and revealing interviews and our tendency to just making each issue more content rich than the one before, means that each issue is in essence the same as sitting down and reading an entire book! So for our new readers and for our existing readers we wanted to help out. Hence the Horses For LIFE blog, where we will be sharing tidbits from various articles through the years. Each blog piece short and to the point that hopefully will give you some equestrian tidbit to ponder or to help you with your horse that day, short enough to be helpful even on a busy day. But might also remind you of the article that you just must read. The following are just a few of76 the excerpts available on our new blog!
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NEW!! horses For life blog!
Karen Rohlf
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Excerpt from the Article Karen Rohlf: Not Missing The Forest For The Trees This article comes from our Free Issue Volume 47 “Enough is Enough” for all New Registered Users in our Flip Version Only. Just register for free at Horses For LIFE to get access! • VOLUME 47 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine
Priority Layer 2: Healthy Biomechanics: Biomechanical Freedom and Harmony. Finding the sweet spot for quality of gait through conversations about Relaxation, Energy and Balance.
Our partnership is established, and our foundation, or ‘playing field’, is now large enough that we are able to shift our focus to the priority of biomechanics. Here the goal is to help our horses realize what they can do in their bodies that will enable them to carry us firstly without pain, and secondly so their physical potential is unleashed.
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Karen Rohlf Establishing and refining our ability to communicate with our horses to make adjustments in their Relaxation, Energy and Balance is key. No matter how advanced we get, the adjustments we make when riding are related to these three areas. We either need them to add more or less energy, or to adjust their balance longitudinally or laterally. We also need them to understand the concept of relaxing, especially under pressure. This conversation about relaxation is often overlooked. Relaxation is believed to be something we must wait and hope for, but if you take the time to help a horse understand, you can have a chance to cause it. Every student knows how valuable it is to simply have someone say: “Hey, that was great, it’s enough!” You exhale and release tension. We need to make sure we can do the same for our horses. The clearer our horses are about when they are ‘off duty’, the clearer they will understand when you are asking for something. Power is a combination of
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Energy plus Relaxation, while energy without relaxation is just… tense energy! At this stage, one of the most important lessons from my viewpoint is to use these conversations to show the horse what they can do, and allow them to experience being free, forward and supple on their own. The premise is that balance and freedom should feel good, so if you show the horse some possibilities, and remove blockages in tension, they should seek it. When this is done well, you will see horses moving differently at liberty. You will see them adjust and find a place of ‘let-loose’. This let-loose posture that comes from a horse being energized, relaxed and aligned shows up as a horse who demonstrates some of the most elusive biomechanical qualities: a stretching neck, a supple, moveable back, energized, free-swinging gaits in balanced impulsion. It is relatively easy to shorten a horse, but to collect it and maintain a loose supple back and a telescoping neck requires artful riding and training. I find it very beneficial if the horse is confident to find this freedom within himself early on, with no physical support from the rider. Photo credit: Dana Rasmussen, www.danarasmussen.com From the Article Karen Rohlf: Not Missing The Forest For The Trees http://horsesforlife.com/KarenRohlfMissingtheForestForTheTrees From Volume 47 Volume 47
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• VOLUME 46 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine Canter - The Rider - The First Step Excerpt from the Article Canter – The First Step – the Rider
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Creating feel versus a one-size-fits-all package of pattern work within the canter allows for the variances within horses and levels of balance and variances in the work being done from moment to moment. After all, not all canters are the same. For example, there is a great deal of variance between what the masters referred to as the hunter canter and the school canter. It is for this reason that some masters such as Gueriniere put an emphasis on feel first. Teaching Feel at a Canter
“It is for this reason that I have found it appropriate here to teach a means of feeling the canter in a short while. I have taken it from an old master who was held in high repute with the race horses. “This method is to take a hack horse who has a long and extended walk and to concentrate on feeling the position of the front feet. In order to feel this position, it is necessary, in the beginning, to look at the movement of the shoulder in order to see which foot is on the ground and which is in the air, while counting the movement in the head and saying one, two. For example, when the left front foot is on the ground, one must say to oneself one and when the right front foot is , in its turn, on the ground, one must say two and so on, continuing to count one, two. 82
“It is not very difficult to count by looking at this positioning of the feet. However, the main point is to transfer this feeling into the thighs and inner thighs so that the impression made, for example, by the left foot when it is put on the ground transfers into the left inner thigh, without the rider looking at the movement of the shoulder anymore, and while still counting (as was done while looking at it) one, similarly when the right foot is on the ground, it is necessary, without looking at the movement of the leg, to say two.” Robichon de la Gueriniere He suggests to progress with this from walk, to trot and then finally to canter. From the Article Canter – The First Step – The Rider http://horsesforlife.com/content/view/1475/1345/
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From Volume 46 • VOLUME 21 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine Rider Exercise - Adjustable Reins Excerpt from the Article Rider Exercise – Adjustable Reins
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What is very special about this exercise is that for such a simple exercise it actually addresses multiple issues simultaneously. The first is a common perception, both conscious and subsconcious, of many riders: it is through the reins that the rider consistently and even constantly controls the speed of the horse. Many, many riders hold this belief. An idea that can hinder your riding.
Instead, realize that the reins are infinitely adjustable and no, you don’t need to worry about the horse tanking off, just because you want to adjust your reins. When you watch many riders, you see this tends to be a common scenario. One where you see the rider shorten the reins 84
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in preparation for trot because they don’t think that once they are in trot they will be able to adjust the reins and they want the reins shorter so that even before the horse starts to trot they will have control over the faster gait, and end up with the horse just going faster and faster anyway. Of course the advanced rider knows that you don’t need to shorten your reins before you begin to trot. And that actually doing so can cause all sorts of problems for the horse both now and for his training in the future. The other thing a more experienced rider knows, is that if there is nothing else that you can trust, the one thing you can trust is that if you put a horse into a trot he will stay in a trot. That just because you happen to lengthen or even put down the reins on his neck, does not mean that he will break out into a gallop, just because. Because the gait the horse is in has absolutely nothing to do with your hands. Hands do not tell the horse what gait to take. From the Article Rider Exercise – Adjustable Reins
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http://horsesforlife.com/content/view/792/769/ From Volume 21 Volume 21 What is Different About the Iberian Excerpt from the Article What is Different About the Iberian • VOLUME 12 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine
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In reality, it takes so little to put our horses off balance, especially with the burden of us on their backs. We can be constantly putting them out of balance. Their only defence, like the child about to fall, is to stiffen to find some way to hold themselves up – to brace the back, to brace their front legs and catch the body falling forward, like arms reaching out to the floor to catch ourselves when we fall. This is what putting our horses on the forehand truly means. It means making the horse put out his two front arms, braced to catch the body that is falling down from behind, on top of his front end. Balance of the Iberian Throwing the Iberian on his Front End
The Iberian is born on his hind end. Born balanced. Born for quick stops, quick turns, to outrace the hunter, and to escape the horns of the bull. His balance is found in a delicate interaction of bone and tendons, specific alignment requiring, in reality, little muscle, and thus it becomes so effortless. The same is true with us, where the simple acts of standing and sitting upright become effortless, requiring little thought and, in reality, little muscle activity. 86
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Born on his Hind End It is this ability of our bodies to balance, requiring minute changes in our stabilizing system, that creates our effortless sense of equilibrium. We have minute centers of balance throughout our bodies that allow us to constantly adjust and monitor our stability. The horse is much the same, adjusting from moment to moment. Challenging the Balance These alignments of balance can be easily challenged. It is thus our responsibility as riders and trainers to help and not hinder, and definitely to not impair the balance of our horses. I know many would challenge this, asserting quite correctly that the Iberian can have problems with not having enough stretch through the topline and that, without this stretch, without this long topline, any collection that we have is false, and in fact, the Iberian has his own set of problems with contractions and blocks throughout his body.
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But the why and the how is important. We cannot, at any cost, stretch this horse, thinking it will be good just because it is stretching. Lifting weights is good, too, but to lift any weight without preparation and training can be dangerous. It makes absolutely no sense to go for a stretch that drops a horse who is naturally balanced onto his forehand. There are basically three levels of balance [refer to the Three Levels of Balance]. The Iberian, while needing preparation to reach the third level of collection with a supple and through body, does not need to be dropped into the first level of balance and onto his forehand to get there. We are quite able and actually quite correct to start the Iberian in the second level of balance, allowing the horse to stretch through his topline, with a nice long neck. This is a caution for all those who love the Iberian. To force the Iberian into a frame and/or a balance frequently seen in the competition arena or in your local riding arena and deemed appropriate for another breed is not necessarily what you want for the Iberian. Dropping these horses onto their front end challenges their innate and strong sense of balance and threatens them mentally and physically. You will create stress in your horse and, though unhappy, he may try to comply. He will hold his body tight, hip muscles no longer flexing as the stifle no longer bends, forearms no longer lifted as the neck is dropped. The price is just too high to pay. It is not fair to experiment with training when you do not have the experience to work with this breed. This breed is unique in many ways. Celebrate his uniqueness by trying to make him more of what he is, instead of trying to make him into something he is not. To the beauty of the Iberian. Balance is Beauty Excerpt from the Article What is Different About the Iberian http://horsesforlife.com/WhatIsDifferentAboutTheIberian This is from one of our free articles from Volume 12 “Diagonals� for all Registered Users. From Volume 12 Diagonals
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Volume 12 Decarpentry Lateral Flexion Excerpt from the Article Decarpentry: Two Types of Lateral Flexions of the Poll • VOLUME 3 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine Lateral Flexions of the poll: There are two kinds: Direct Opening Rein Direct Lateral Flexion The direct lateral flexion which bends the poll and the top part of the neck laterally and leaves the base of the latter straight, or with a very slight bend in the same direction. Indirect Rein
Indirect Lateral Flexion
“The indirect lateral flexion which also bends the poll and the top part of the neck to one side, but reacts on the base of the neck by pushing it in the opposite direction.”
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Direct Lateral Flexion - Indirect Lateral Flexion The first loads the inside shoulder, the second loads the outside shoulder. If as instructors we watch the horse and we see that the horse is loading one shoulder or
the other, we can then double check the dynamics and input of the riders upon the reins in relationship to the position of the horse. Is the rider inadvertently placing the horse either with the base of his neck over his inside shoulder or his outside shoulder? As trainers and riders it knowing to watch for the type of lateral flexion the horse is employing becomes invaluable as a diagnostic aid in helping our horses be able to work within the biomechanical dictates of their bodies. One example would be working with a horse that is having difficulties with canter transitions. If the horse is overloading the inside shoulder this will in turn overload the leg that we intend to make the leading leg. This overloading of the inside leg in turn can mean that the horse in response to his current body state finds it difficult to meet our demands. We must always remember that overloading the inside leg frees up the outside front leg and loading the neck over the outside shoulder, frees up the inside leg. From the Article Decarpentry: Two Types of Lateral Flexions of the Poll http://horsesforlife.com/Decarpentry NOVEMBER 2005 • VOLUME 3 • HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine AND MORE Just goto our blog to see it all!!!!! And remember to sign up for our updates just enter in your email address!! Want to share Horses For LIFE with your horse loving friends, send them to our new blog!
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Keeping Up In Facebook
HeartFire
It has only been few months since we have been active on Facebook and the journey has been incredible. What a wonderful opportunity to hear back from so many people - it has proven this past month invaluable in providing us with a place to have a voice in between editions. Without this presence on Facebook, we would be mute, unable to speak out, I now wonder how we ever did without it. But we realize not everyone utilizes Facebook, so we want to use this space to catch eveyone up on some of the posts to date. The following is in order of date posted, not necessarily in date of importance. To see all the posts and comments that were posted, please visit our Facebook Page. We do hope, though, that you utilize our Facebook page to post your stories, pictures and videos to our JUST SAY YES campaign.
Shocking this past month was when Eitan collapse on the first day of the WEG’s. on our Facebook page.
Eitan Beth-Halachmy In Intensive Care . Tuesday, August 3, 2010
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
At a recent clinic Dr. Heuschmann was given a difficult horse. According to Dr. Heuschmann he had problems with the horse taking off on him, it took a few minutes but shortly after he was able to put the horse in much more relaxed frame. At the time there was a professional photographer present and the pictures taken of that moment in time when Dr. Heuschmann was having problems was then offered for sale to several magazines. One of which has decided to put them online, the link is here. Heuschmann These pictures raise many questions. 1. Do we judge someone by all moments they are on a horse. 92
but by the moments that take our breath away.� Author Unknown
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Sign and Share the Petition that asks the FEI: Uphold the Rules! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/justsayyesto401/
We ask that the FEI returns to strictly upholding its Standards, the FEI Rules for Dressage Events, Article 401: Object and Principles of Dressage and Article 419. Article 401 Object and General Principles of Dressage 5.” …the head should remain in a steady position, as a rule slightly in front of the vertical, with a supple poll as the highest point of the neck…” p.11 A supple poll as the highest point of the neck according to the stage of training and the extension or collection of the pace, represents the optimal anatomical, physiological and biomechanical way to develop the dressage horse according to the FEI Rules. Without a supple 94
poll at the highest point, the Object of Dressage to develop a calm, keen, attentive, confident horse that is supple, loose and flexible cannot be met.
Article 419 Object of International Dressage Events “The FEI instituted an International Dressage Event in 1929 in order to preserve the Equestrian Art from the abuses to which it can be exposed and to preserve it in the purity of its principles, so that it could be handed on intact to generations of athletes to come.” p.28 Thus as articulated in Article 419, the paramount duty of FEI Officials is to protect and uphold the existing rules for future generations. It should not be within the moral or ethical jurisdiction of any particular group or at any time to take decisions or pass rules that contradict completely the spirit and letter of the existing Rules and of Article 401 in particular.
Among the Signators to Date Colonel Carde FEI “I” Judge Selected for the Moscow Olympic Games Former National Dressage Coach for France Former Head Rider of the French National School of Riding and of the Cadre Noir in Saumur Claudia Saunders, Publisher and editor in chief, Dressur Studien Laetitia Bataille, Rédacteur en chef, Cheval Savoir Linda Tellington-Jones Creator of the Tellington Method and Tellington TTouch Training, founding member of the California Dressage Society, Worked and cliniced with Dr. Reiner Klimke, Ingrid Klimke, Klaus Balkenhol. Christine Stuckelburger, Kyra Kurkland, Anne-Katrin Linsenhof, Elena Petushkova & Trainers from the Spanish Riding School. Dr. Gerd Heuschmann: veterinarian, bereiter, founding member of Xenophon, author of “Tug of War” and “If Horses Could Speak”
The Fair Play Standard
Dr. Robert Cook
No result can be meaningful or valid if it has not been achieved “on a level playing field.” There is no level playing field when some riders adhere to the letter of the law and others break it. It is unjust for an organization that has strayed from its mission to penalize riders who embrace and abide by the rules as written, and rewards riders who disregard them with no concern for consequences.
Dr. Brie Hamblin Walter Zettl Dominique Barbier Pat Parelli Linda Parelli http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/justsayyesto401/ Horses For LIFE
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The Great European Schools of CLASSICAL DRESSAGE by Alain Laurioux and Guillaume Henry Reprinted with kind permisson from CADMOS http://www.cadmos.co.uk/ and Trafalgar Square http://www.horseandriderbooks.com/ 98
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