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By Mary Rose, FBHS © 2011 It is important not to


plan your schooling session Training without force Part 1 of 2


school your horse in the arena every day but to vary his work, sometimes riding out on the trail, sometimes working over cavaletti and small jumps, pref- erably outside, but on the days that you do work in the arena an effective plan is important. Let’s assume that you


are mainly concerned with the improvement of your horse’s starts at the canter and with the simple change of lead. But no matter what stage your horse has reached the principles to apply remain the same. First, lead your horse


into the arena and make him stand quietly, without being held, while you inspect saddle and bridle, check that the girth is not pinching his skin. Lower the stirrups and mount quietly - preferably from a mounting


a brave horse is a safer horse The Brave Horse


By Anne Van Dyke © 2011 You are enjoying your


quiet trail ride; your mind wan- ders; you feel the cool breeze and listen to the sounds around you as nature begins to settle in for the night. You catch a glimpse of movement out of the corner of your eye. The next thing you know you’re grabbing air; then you hit the ground with a thud. What happened? What went wrong?


instinctive “react and flee NOW!” response. Stopping to assess a danger before reacting to that danger meant certain death. It is important to realize that for the horse, the things he perceives as a danger can be as real to him as our sense of danger when we are standing on the edge of a high cliff.


has just spooked and jumped out from under you. From his perspective, nothing went wrong. He was simply reacting as nature intended him to. The horse is a prey ani-


mal. And that, by nature, makes him a fear/flight animal; it’s all about survival. Not in today’s environment so much; but in the wild for thousands of years his survival depended on that quick,


Most likely your horse


also born with a thinking side of their brain. A horse that is picking his way through a complicated trail obstacle is using the think- ing side of his brain. Though initially the horse relies more on the reactive side of his brain, we can change this by teaching him to use the thinking side. The more he uses the thinking side of the brain, the bigger that area will become and the more he will rely on thinking through new situ- ations instead of reacting. The more the horse thinks through the things he encounters, the braver and less reactive he will become. Thus you have a safer horse. Though our domestic


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never learn to think or com- municate like a human, it is our responsibility to learn to think like a horse. We can use that knowledge to begin to communi- cate with our horse. As we help to strengthen the thinking side of his brain, he will rely less on the


horse does not need this flight reaction to survive, it is still a part of his DNA and it always will be. The reaction of flight cannot be bred or trained out of the horse. But the horse can be trained and conditioned to rely more on the thinking side of his brain. And it is up to us to teach and encourage the horse to do so. Since the horse will


using the reactive side of his brain. A bag blows in front of him and he spins away in reaction to a perceived danger. This is an instinctive response that takes no thought process for the horse. Fortunately, horses are


We’ve all seen a horse


reactive side and more on the thinking side, therefore becom- ing a braver, safer companion. To encourage him to


think, we must put the horse into


to him in his language. The type of body language we use depends on the movement we want. The amount of energy we use depends on the resistance of the horse.


minutes you are simply warm- ing up his joints and muscles. Ask nothing in particular but just exercise him. For the first five minutes walk on an entirely loose rein, then five minutes at trot on an easy rein and then five min- utes at a quiet canter. Between each exercise reward your horse with a pat, a word, and, most importantly, by allowing him to walk for a minute or two on an entirely loose rein. Before each exercise, collect your horse and ride at medium walk for ten or twenty meters so he will be atten- tive and will not get the habit of setting off the moment the reins


block to save his back. Make sure that your horse stands motionless for at least half a minute, until you are ready to move off. Do not allow him to move off because you have picked up the reins. For the first fifteen


I halt my horse and make him stand still for half a minute or so. Then I walk around the arena a couple of times, first on a loose rein then in medium walk. The next ten minutes I spend repeat- ing all previous work at a walk or from a halt. I rein back once or twice, make a few turns on the forehand and the haunches, walk a few small circles and figures of eight, and walk squares. I alternate collected and extended walk and correct small mistakes in carriage and ensure that the horse goes absolutely straight. I finish with some shoulder-in, half passes and full passes both from right to left and left to right. In between I may walk the horse over a pole on the ground a few times, encouraging him to stretch.


training


are shortened. After the warm-up


horse five minutes rest either walking on a loose rein or I may dismount and practice immobil- ity or standing unattended or mounting and dismounting. I have now spent forty minutes and have reached the middle of my session. Next month the lesson continues. You can contact Mary


at www.MaryRoseDressage.com or call 512-589-3796.


minutes I work at the trot. I start by trotting collectedly round the arena for a couple of minutes alternately lengthening and shortening the stride. Then I ride all the various school figures at a collected trot, repeating any figure that causes difficulty. I work shoulder-in and half pass to each direction and may finish with half pass across the arena. After this I give the


During the next ten


situations where he has to find an answer or a solution to “his” problem. He must think through and find the answer himself. We do so by using the language the horse understands and uses every day of his life in the herd dynam- ics; body language, movement, and leadership. Leadership is estab-


leader is the one who ultimately stands his ground and makes the other horses move. We must communicate


with our horse the same way. You must be the leader. Move the horse by applying body language and pressure to speak


lished by movement; the domi- nant horse in the herd causes others to move out of his way. Movement is determined by body language and energy; the dominant horse in the herd pins its ears, bares its teeth or kicks to make it clear to the other horses that he is the boss. The more resistance he meets in this communication, the more energy he must create to get his point across.


In a show down, the


begin this process is in a round pen or other small enclosure. Develop exercises with your horse and practice on the ground first to develop a good foundation of ground work. If you cannot control your horse on the ground, you have a false sense of control when you are riding. Never be embarrassed


to get off your horse if you feel unsafe. Your horse does not “win” by you dismounting as long as you move his feet right away. Make him move those feet by practicing the groundwork exercises that you have taught him during your ground work sessions.


into more details on leadership. You can contact Anne


at 210-912-7048, e-mail: yrcc@ earthlink.net or visit brave- horsetx.com.


Next month we will go


The more responsive the horse, the less pressure you need to use; the lazier and less responsive horse will need greater pressure to get your point across. The safest way to


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