The Harmonious Horse & Rider

05/06/2024

🙌

"The principal reason for teaching the horse to be light to the aids is to create the healthy flow of energy through the horse's body. This is achieved through relaxation. In teaching relaxation to the horse, the trainer, in effect, offers the horse an understanding of how to let go and release tension.

The horse's thought process is as important as the teacher's; in fact, the more the trainer recognizes the necessity for the horse to understand, the better a teacher she will become."

- Mark Russell, Lessons in Lightness

📸 Erin Gilmore // Erin Gilmore Photography

05/06/2024

Yes this! And yes to keep it going, so much to learn, our journey towards understanding never ends

Circa 2022, but relevant as we question how to reconcile the wisdom of classical training with some of the its abuses, horses and people…

STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF FLAWED GIANTS

In our attempts to evolve forward in our horsemanship, I think it’s important to neither idolize nor demonize those who’ve come before us.

Martin Luther King, Jr. told us that ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,’ and the same is true for the universal truths in horsemanship.

We may get bogged down temporarily in refusing to acknowledge science, or holding onto pseudoscience, or refusing to acknowledge the truth in tradition, or holding onto traditions which no longer serve us, but overall, we are moving forward.

One thing that can give me a bit of whiplash having a diverse community on social media, is the differing perspectives on horsemanship systems such as Clinton Anderson, Parelli, etc.

Perspectives range from them being ‘sissified horsemanship,’ to them being downright ‘abusive.’

Parelli was a big foundation influence on me in my younger years, as was Clinton Anderson, to a smaller extent.
John Lyons and Monty Roberts, too.

Nowadays, it’s common for these to be considered abusive in more ‘enlightened’ or ‘woke’ horsemanship circles.

But when I was growing up, in rural Nebraska, they were looked down on for the opposite reasons…
Because they were for ‘sissies.’

Because they were for ‘middle-aged women who don’t know how to ride.’ Their words, not mine. A lot of ageism and sexism there.

But if it wasn’t for stumbling onto them when I was in my teens, all I would have had to learn from were people using running W’s, twitches, hobbles, etc.

Parelli gave me an incredible foundation of being open to horse psychology, whether it ended up being pseudoscience in the end or not, being able to ride in a halter instead of going to a bigger bit when I had problems, and just basic safety like cinching in three stages, getting my horse mentally right before I got on, etc.

There’s a lot to unpack here; it’s not as simple as the label of ‘abuse,’ as much as I disagree with some of the tenants in these systems and evolved away from them.

At the end of the day, they were stepping stones for a lot of people to get away from truly abusive methods, and the history of horsemanship will show that they were part of the evolution forward.
We don’t have to agree with them, but we can’t pretend they weren’t part of the bigger picture.

Same thing with Monty Roberts.
I don’t do join-up in that style anymore, but when I was a kid, it was a big deal, and it was a lot kinder than what the cowboys around me were doing.

There’s no getting around that we’re standing on the shoulders of giants, flawed or not.

Some of us remember what it was like before, and it gives us a little broader perspective and appreciation.

Best not to lose impulsion in our evolution, here.

As with riding, the answer is, keep it moving forward…

04/20/2024

Yes!

🙌🏼

03/24/2024

Yes!

"Dressage is the art of teaching the horse to carry you. Riding is the art of learning to be a good load to carry."

03/14/2024

Good article

WHAT IS FORWARDNESS?

Regulating a horse’s speed seems to be one of the most common issues that come up regularly at clinics. Either people are lost on how to get their horse to move with more energy or how to move with less energy. It appears that putting the forward in a horse or taking it out is a perpetual mystery to many people.

I want to make it clear from the beginning that in my opinion, forwardness/impulsion is a state of mind. It has little to do with how fast or slow a horse is moving. A horse could cover the ground so slowly that it is overtaken by the shadow of a tree and still be forward. Alternatively, it could be moving so fast that it breaks the sound barrier and yet still not be forward.

For the sake of this essay, I define forwardness as the ability to move freely without feeling hindered by a desire to hold back or a necessity to flee.

For a horse to be forward it has to feel comfortable inside. Emotional comfort is a pre-requisite for a horse to be forward, as it is for most things to be of quality. If it is comfortable a horses thoughts are available to be directed by the rider.

When a horse is forward it not only focuses on the rider, but it yields to the rider idea to think forward. This can only happen when a horse has soft thoughts about following the feel that a rider presents. If the thoughts are hard and troublesome, there is a worry about being forward that can either lead to resistance to moving the feet or a desire to take flight. Either way, hard thoughts lead to a separation of a horse’s feet from its thoughts.

When a horse is reluctant to move forward with freedom, then the solution is to direct the horse’s thought to be in front. Sticky feet are the result of a horse’s thoughts not being forward. Nothing will improve until there is a change of thought.

However, don’t confuse dullness to a rider’s leg with a lack of forward. They are not the same thing. Dullness is the result of a horse tuning out (insensitive) to the feel of a rider asking a horse to move. Conversely, a lack of forward comes from a horse’s worry or confusion about the feel of a rider’s leg pressure. More often than not, this worry comes from anxiety or confusion caused by the way a rider uses pressure, rather than an actual fear to move.

With a dull horse, you might have to use varying amounts of pressure to create a new, more sensitive meaning to the feel to go forward. On the other hand, when the lack of forward stems from worry about the pressure, it is wise to keep the pressure small, but persistent - and reward well for each small try.

When asking a horse to move results in a flight response, it is mostly associated with fear. Horses that mentally separate from the rider and are hard to slow up, don’t know how to yield to the pressure of being asked to go forward without evoking an adrenaline response. Too many riders try to slow the feet without calming the mind. When a rider applies the reins to give them braking power to slow a horse down, more often than not they build more anxiety into a horse. A horse that feels the need to leave will only be made to feel worse when told by a rider that it can’t leave. That’s why so many horses jog (or worse) when heading home on a trail ride.

The best approach for a horse whose mind is way ahead of its feet is to bring the feet and the mind back to the same place, where the rider is. There are various approaches to doing this, but one of the easiest and less risky ideas that work for many horses is to direct the horse’s mind to a different place than where it is going. Rather than tell a horse to stop going so fast, try using the reins to tell it to go someplace else like to the left or the right or to circle. It needs to be a small enough turn or circle in order to get a horse to want to slow its feet. When the feet slow, leave the horse alone to speed up again if it wants, then turn or circle again before it leaves in a hard way. Try to be ahead of the thought to leave. The better the timing the quicker the change will come about.

The change of direction encourages the horse’s mind to keep focus on the rider. At first, it may take a lot of work and seem like there is no progress. But in small increments, the horse’s thoughts will focus on the rider more strongly and stay for longer. Eventually, a horse will not feel the need to leave and its forward will be soft and free. But it takes practice and consistency.

Like most things relating to having a horse go well, forward is all about a horse’s soft focus (as opposed to hard focus), which is determined by its emotions. Once again, emotions drive behaviour. Is there a behaviour where they don’t?

Photo: Both Anna Bonnage and Belle have the same thoughts regarding forwardness and are working as one. Nice job Anna.

01/31/2024

This!

Ableism vs The Inner Citadel

"When setting out on your journey, do not seek advice from those who never left home" - Rumi

The inner citadel is the place we retreat to in our head, the safe space where we sit in our biases, away from unwanted opinions.

It's the place that shelters us from the storm but coincidentally it's also the place that stops us from further development.

If we abscond into the place in or head when someone challenges our modus operandi, we are not going to grow;

But equally when we have a strong moral compass and we are exposed to people that do not, the inner citadel preserves our morals whilst the storm passes over.

We then have ableism in the context that unless someone is capable of doing a specific task, they cannot pass judgement on other people doing said task because the able people are superior in some way, shape or form.

And what we see in the horse world now is the clash between ableism and the inner citadel -

You do not need to be able to ride a horse to be able to determine that the horse is having a tough time emotionally or physically.

You can cite all the sources on determining pain/conflict behaviours/in appropriate head and neck positions/lameness etc. You quite simply cannot argue a counter point. We have enough evidence.

From an ableistic point of view, if exposing a horse to the level of stress that many horses exhibit at elite competition is the requirement to get 'to the top', I don't want it. I am not prepared to do that to an animal and I am not prepared to learn to do it.

Maybe this is my inner citadel which saves me from the discomfort of trying and failing?

But paradoxically, maybe it's my inner citadel that also sees other people riding their horses in horrible ways that saves me from joining that camp of horsemanship?

And then when we rummage a bit deeper, maybe the people that are out there competing, whilst their horses are hyperflexed and showing overt pain and conflict indicators hide in their inner citadels - this is all they have known, and this is safe, so they can keep doing what they're doing and continue to confirm their own biases.

And maybe I'm being ableistic because I know how to create relaxation and I can see when the relaxation stops... and I do something about it to get the relaxation back.

So when I see someone not training their horse through that lens, I kind of don't care for their opinion.

And if the argument is that to compete a horse at a high level, they will be stressed because of the emotional strain and the physical demands of the competition... and that the horses are ridden in tight reins because competing is stressful... are we not just saying that we suck at training horses?

Because if the horses were *that* well trained and the riders *that* good at training then what we would actually see are relaxed, happy horses, moving in good posture.

But maybe I'm missing the point?

Maybe it's my inner citadel ❤️

01/26/2024

This is very well done

09/29/2023

So true!

The trail riders conundrum.

I love riding out, but having prepared horses for the life of a trail horse, I have a deep respect for what it takes to have a horse trail safe.
The "I just want to trail ride, so I don't have to do all that fancy stuff" is pretty jarring to me.
When people hit challenges with a horse and ask for my help, I usually recommend going back to a closed arena to work on relaxation and generalize light, responsive cues.
The disappointment on people's face is obvious. I get it. Riding out is exciting. Seeing new things with our horses, feeling like we're going somewhere and not having to think about every step.
People say the words I used to say: "Arena work is so boring" or sometimes the horse is blamed with "my horse hates the arena work".
I have two replies to this.
Firstly, the arena should be the most intimate time of connection with your horse. When we are focused on how they feel in each moment, and how light we can be to get a response, there is literally nothing else in the world in those moments. In the dwell times we give between tasks, we do what horses do the most with their herd mates: nothing. It is the most sacred of spaces between the noise of outside influence.
The second response to this is that even if we can't reframe our opinion on the arena, or our horses projection of our distaste for the arena, we need to build our horses confidence and understanding in a space without new and exciting distractions around every corner.
A horse in a heightened state may be in optimal learning condition, but if you haven't yet developed co-regulation the horse will be tipping over threshold, where no learning occurs.
I see so many perpetual green horses from this. People think age magically builds confidence in a horse, but I see horses in their 20's that are in an anxious state every time they are on an outride because no one ever thought to prepare them for their lives. This isn't a horse that "thinks it's still a 4 year old". It's a 20 year old with the same level of education as a 4 year old.
Happy, relaxed and safe outrides are a goal to work towards, just like jumping a 1.3m course, or competing at Elementary Dressage.

09/12/2023

I see folks try and push through these moments, here is a good explanation as to why not to

08/20/2023

Unfortunately so very true..

I love the word incisive. in·ci·sive - adjective, intelligently analytical and clear-thinking I don't use it often but yesterday Claire Barker made this incisive comment, "I see a lot of "PhD" level horses with elementary school riders, and they are SOOOO shut down." regarding riders not working to achieve unity with their horse. There were also several comments about how sad it is that so many riders never feel that feeling of unity.

Claire's comment on how riders who sit in the saddle with no sense of unity is indeed sad, but the "shut down" part about the horses is even more heartbreaking. It got me thinking again about how money undermines horsemanship and how dangerous that is becoming. Riders are dying and being injured because they have the money to buy a PhD horse and they haven't learned the skills that keep a horse like that awake and agile. They have the money for the best instruction but very often a wealthy person's idea of "the best" means comfort, status or the ability to win without the fundamental skills.

The other side of that coin is that riding instructors need to make living and wealthy students are often not into "no pain, no gain". It is difficult to teach a rider who is entitled by their wealth and sees a trainer as a service vendor. No pain, no gain becomes "here's a big check, I expect gain". I have been there and because I need to live with myself more than make a living (I live very cheaply) I refused to teach students who refused to take the time to do the things that make a rider secure and safe on a horse, which is probably why I learned to live cheaply.

It's simple, a dumbed PhD down horse that starts to phone in their performance is dangerous. A PhD horse, forced into dullness by elementary school riding, gives up on unity and accepts aloneness. Sitting on a horse as if you are a passenger on a bus, makes your horse into a bus, and because your horse has become a bus that has no driver, only has a passenger, it is safe to assume a crash will come. No one seems to be telling the wealthy students that this is the truth of it. Thank you Claire for your incisive comment. It caused me to see the problem more clearly.

Scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock... and money kills truth.

08/12/2023

Yes, and yes and YES!

Sadly both Dr Reiner Klimke and Susan Hayes Woods are no longer with us, but this edited interview from 1995 is a pignant reminder that modern dressage started to go wrong over 20 years ago...

SUSAN’S INTERVIEW WITH DR. REINER KLIMKE AT THE AACHEN CHIO JULY 1995

Susan: I was watching you as you schooled Biotop in the indoor arena this morning, and it was wonderful. I noticed you were working him in a fat snaffle, and I wondered if you could talk about the importance of working in the snaffle for upper level horses.

Klimke: I ride at home only once a week on the double bridle.

Susan: Do you mean for most of your Grand Prix horses, or for this one especially?

Klimke: All. I want to have them very light in my hand. It is easier when they are really “through”, and they take the bit and take your hands. Then they are not afraid to come out to the double bridle.

Susan: Biotop seems to be very “out” to the bridle–there is not a lot of overflexing.

Klimke: And when he goes in extensions, the neck and frame extend too. And yet there are horses who make their extensions with overflexed necks and they score just as well…

Susan: Can you explain that?

Klimke: Well, when I tell you this, I don’t want to sound jealous, but I live for classical riding. Classical riding means that the horse must go: that is, the energy must come through and the horse reaches forward. But the judges don’t always mark accordingly. I don’t mind; I know what is right. I have been in this sport for nearly 40 years.

Susan: I also saw today that you were doing a lot of work on the basic paces, and simple transitions.

Klimke: Yes. The horse must go forward and he must be happy. If the horse is happy and he trusts you, then you can teach him. If you punish him, that is wrong.

Susan: They never forget. Is there any place for punishment in riding?

Klimke: I hate to punish a horse. It must not be. It can happen to anybody. Sometimes you lose your patience, you try to make the horse a slave. But it is not right. Sometimes you see riders blowing up, even here, with top riders. I say to myself, “Poor horse, I wouldn’t like to be in your stable.”

Susan: Why does it happen? A lot of these riders will teach and talk about riding classically, and mean to do it, but then it is different here. Is it the pressure?

Klimke: I think everybody wants to win. Perhaps they think if they make a horse tired it will be submissive. Sometimes it may work, but if you really look you can see what is wrong. Some judges don’t have a really good eye, and they judge by punishing mistakes, like too many or too few strides in a pirouette, for example.

Susan: Too much counting and not enough…

Klimke: Yes. The principle is: how is the walk, how is the trot, how is the canter, how is the acceptance of the bridle, how does the back work–all of these things. And in addition, the figures. But they deduct too much if a figure is not 100% okay. You see? If you make a pirouette and the horse really uses his hindquarters, and maybe the pirouette is a little big, you should not be given a 5.

Susan: That’s a little extreme.

Klimke: Yes. It can be at least a 6, can also be a 7, when the horse really canters classically. Even if the circle was too large, remember that you must deduct from 10. The judge must be able to see the main achievement of a horse and rider, in a movement.

Susan: This brings up another question, and that is–there are some amazing equine athletes here, and some of them get a lot of points because of that. Where are the places in the Grand Prix test where the talent can’t cover up the problems with the training?

Klimke: I look only at the way that the horse moves, in all three gaits. He must come from behind, with a swinging back. The head and neck must seek the bit. I hate it if the horse comes behind the vertical and stays there. When the horse is really “through”, you must be able to open and close the frame, and keep him reaching into the bit. And right now, in the judging, in my opinion, this doesn’t count for enough. But sooner or later, good riding will be rewarded. You must not lose your patience, you see. And don’t give up.

https://woodsdressage.com/ for the full interview and about Susan Hayes Woods

Concordia Equestrians.
Register as a Friend or Professional and help us make the world a better place to be a horse www.concordiaequestrians.org

06/23/2023

💓

1. Don't annoy the horse
2. Ride the horse you are on and not the one you think you are on
3. When something does not work... Stop doing it
4. With a horse, like in dating... Consent is required
5. If the horse does not want to be with you, there is a reason
6. The more you know, the gentler you are
7. Horses do not wear wrist watches and as a result, they always have time
8. Intelligent action always brings intelligent reactions. If not, it's you and not the horse
9. It is not the bit which is the problem... It is the hand operating it
10. Don't annoy the horse

(author unknown)

06/21/2023

ISO a few more students for my Riding in Partnership program.
Would you like to improve? Come to understand?
1) Your relationship on the ground with your horse
2) How your body language/energy is affecting your horse
3)The subtle clues your horse is giving you that you may be missing
4) Correct bio-mechanics for your horse to move in a healthy happy posture
5) Correct bio-mechanics for you to aid your horse without interference
6) How to develop your horse from the bottom up
utilizing the dressage Training Scale

It doesn't matter what discipline you ride but what does matter is your willingness to be open minded, curious, and have a deep love for your horse.

05/03/2023

It can't be trained out; only worsened without treatment.

01/18/2023

Yes, yes and more yes!!

A week ago today I swung my saddle onto the back of a five-year-old quarter horse under the watchful eye of Tom Curtin.

The horse took a few concerned steps as my stirrup swung over his back. I looked up to see Tom’s grin under the brim of his hat and he said,

“You were thinking about saddling that horse, weren’t you?
You need to think about that horse while you saddle him.“

Last week I spent the week with Tom and his wife, Trina. I noticed a reoccurring lesson throughout the week.

The everyday activities I have done my whole life with horses took on a new meaning. “You were thinking about brushing that c**t, you need to think about that c**t while you brush him.” And, “you were thinking about bridling that mare, you need to think about that mare while you bridle her.”

Tom said, “No matter what you do, never forget that horse”.

So there I was, playing cowboy for a week, learning about c**t starting, riding young horses, checking cattle, but deep inside it all, learning how to be with a horse in a very intentional way.

It’s a sort of contract, you see. You’re not demanding that your horse give you their attention without an even exchange. Asking a horse to bring their attention to me now feels more like saying, “Remember I’m right here, thinking about you… In exchange can you think about me?”

The gift of Tom’s c**ts was that they already knew the feeling of being kept in mind, and they were good at telling me when I’d lost track of them. The calm that came over these horses when I thought of them as I went about my daily routines was just wonderful.

All it took was being mindful of their existence and attentive to their needs. We typically have some sort of goal with our horses that can provide a wonderful sense of purpose, but the goal is meaningless if we lose track of our partner in the process.

I hope in reading this you can be as inspired as I am. When you go out this week and do whatever you do with your horses, whether it be jumping fences, working cows, dancing in a dressage arena, chasing hounds, etc, see if you can go about your business with purpose, but never forget your horse.

~ Justin

📸 Erin Gilmore // Erin Gilmore Photography

12/27/2022

YES!

A teacher dedicated to the student hopes and prays that student outgrows them.

A teachers job is to lead the student to themselves- to bring them confidence through experience, to provide information and to get them to connect dots on their own. A teachers job is not to create dependence on the teacher, but to create independence - to blossom the student into who they truly are, even and especially if the students confidence takes them beyond the teachers ability or onto new paths.

Photo by Melinda Yelvington

12/20/2022

Yes! So true!

When you understand the principles of good movement, everything becomes much simpler. There isn’t really any miracle or magic to it- it’s just the application of sound principles done well repeatedly.

That’s my favorite part about it: it’s simple enough for just about everybody to accomplish! The bigger road block is not whether you’re talented enough or not, but whether you can stick it out when it grates against your current habits that need to be changed, or your views that may not be accurate.

So if you can commit to good habits and being aware of them daily, you can make huge changes in your horses movement.

12/10/2022

When you are presenting something new or somewhat scary to a horse it’s important to embody an energetic example of what you desire in your horse. This is especially important when a horse is worried because they will be seeking a place of calmness in their environment. I often find people getting small and energetically retracting when uncertainty comes up. If a horse has a worried thought, don’t leave them in it but show them an example of a new way to feel and allow the time for them to receive it!

11/24/2022

Important!

I've shared this before, and I'll continue to share it periodically. Look particularly at the dark blue, purple and light peach areas. Horses bodies did not evolve to withstand a lifetime of carrying a human's weight on their backs, nor to have us exert pressure on their lower jaws, tongues, TMJ joints and polls.

I rode horses for much of my life. Not just because I enjoyed riding, but because I was led to believe riding wasn't detrimental to horses. In fact, I was led to believe riding could actually be GOOD for horses when done "correctly". As if habitually using another's body for our own purposes can ever be the "correct" thing to do...

I no longer buy into these lies, nor will I perpetuate them for others.

I also don't judge those who ride. We've all been conditioned by the same system. I only hope that if you do ride, you also care enough to acknowledge that riding impacts the horse, and that you seek to understand all the ways this is true.

11/08/2022