78 February 2, 2012
Training
What’s ‘Western dressage’ all about? H
by ray ariss /horsetrader columnist
EY RAY: I’ve read articles and seen shows on Western Dressage. I’m not sure what to make of it. My wife has
a dressage horse, and I have a western trail horse—to me, they are on opposite ends of the spectrum.
—Allen Hollis, Rancho Cucamonga HEY ALLEN: T e disciplines of English/
Dressage and Western have been on opposite sides of each other for years—not just on how they do things, but how they feel about each other. One thing we should never lose sight of regardless of the discipline or breed is that a horse is a horse, is a horse. Dressage is the oldest of disciplines that has
been appreciated and admired by many eques- trians, but not necessarily accepted or applied into their own discipline because they saw it as too diff erent or diffi cult. What is valuable about dressage is that it has an extensive, well thought-out system that is based on a series of exercises and tests meant to challenge, teach and evolve any horse. Like with any exercise, learning how to do the exercise correctly is only part of it. T e real value comes from the benefi t of doing the exercise over time. Dressage teaches us that. When done cor- rectly, you eventually recognize the purpose of all these fancy movements is to improve and strengthen the body, challenge the mind, and enhance the natural gaits of the horse. It’s the diff erence between walking, and
walking like a runway model, or dancing, and dancing like a ballet dancer. In other words, an upper-level dressage horse must simply be able to walk, trot, and canter better than horses without this training. T eir gait should exhibit greater grace, quality and ease in everything they do, more than a horse that has not mastered and practiced the more advanced movements. T is is HUGE! It’s no diff erent
than a person taking advantage of the benefi ts that come from learning how to use all of the equipment at a gym and working out consis- tently. A knowledgeable athlete who is in better
physical condition and moves with grace and precision will perform better in any sport or discipline. For this reason alone, dressage should be a part of every horse’s training program. Recognizing that there are exercises that can build, stretch, coordinate, shape and strengthen the body of a horse is reason enough to accept and adopt this discipline. Combine this with the training that goes into the mind of a Western horse that is capable of running at high speeds, stopping and turning with the slightest of ease and willing to focus with the distractions of cattle, ropes and fi re- arms could only produce a valuable partner. Where we need to be careful is when we
assume we know what the other discipline is all about. Most of these disciplines have evolved into being very specialized. When we underestimate or minimize what we think these disciplines are all about, we will fail to take advantage of what they have to off er in order to meet our own goals. We not only have to appreciate and inform ourselves about each other’s disciplines, we have to develop relationships with these people that are free of fears, insecurities and secrets in order to make this work. I strongly feel that if we are ruthlessly honest about where our discipline is lacking and are capable of recognizing which disciplines can help us strengthen those weak links, in the end everybody wins, especially the horse. Dressage and western are more than just a diff erent saddle and some showy move- ments. T ey are as much a science as they are an art. And as such, we should try to become open-minded students in order to learn all that we can to help evolve our horse at what- ever game we play. T e word dressage simply
Hey Ray! Trainer Ray Ariss shares insight into our “horse-human” relationships
One thing we should never lose sight of—regardless of the discipline or breed— is that a horse is a horse, is a horse.
means “to teach.” Sometimes we teach the horse, but we always learn from him because the horse—especially the challenging ones— teach us the most. So, we could say that every discipline practices their own kind of dres- sage, but from a diff erent perspective. What the traditional discipline of dressage brings to the table is 2000 years of history, knowledge and experience. Over the years though, dres- sage, gradually moved away from the practical every day use of the horse for battle to more of a refi ned, civilized and artistic application. What used to be exercises for war have turned into precise “art-like” movements of ballet. T e state of mind of most dressage horses has changed from that of their warhorse ancestors because competition moved into a safe, quiet, controlled environment. On the other hand, the Western horse has only been around for about 200 years. T at’s only 1/10 of the histo- ry and experience of a dressage horse. But the Western horse has kept in touch with his abil- Please see HEY RAY, page 80
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