“If we compare the amount of power needed to ride each
horse, they are different. But instead of comparing amount of power, we need to ask ourselves is the horse regular and rhythmic? Is he reaching for the contact? Is the horse coming through the neck to the bit and accepting contact? Is the horse straight? Is there impulsion? The questions are the same for every horse,” Andre continues. “In training we deal with the weak parts and the strong
parts,” he continues. “Sometimes a Warmblood has better rhythm than a Lusitano with whom we have to develop the diagonals of the trot. A Warmblood might resist against the bit while a Lusitano may be suppler and produce a softer contact than that produced by a heavier Warmblood. Both need to be straight, though sometimes with Lusitanos we have to be more careful. And then with the impulsion, the Lusitano may have a more naturally forward desire than the old-fashioned Warmblood. Then we could get collec- tion easier with the Iberian horse, though not necessarily better.” Andre warns against the temptation to focus on the
collected movements of piaffe and passage, which may come easily for the Iberian even without strong basics. “With the Iberian horses, we have to develop every step or the move- ments will not be good. We have to fulfill the requirements at the weakest points. Our horses will only be as good as the training of them.” As a national dressage, halter and working equitation
judge, he has observed the growth of working equitation beyond its Iberian following. “It’s a new way to have fun with a horse, but it can be dangerous. To really succeed, you need a horse working at least Fourth Level, and even better Prix St. Georges. You need canter half pirouettes, half passes and flying changes. It is very challenging. You need good commu- nication and a strong base in dressage. I see many horses that aren’t ready. It concerns me because it puts horses in situations they are not ready to face.”
Non-Traditional Thinking Andre is not easily taken in by fads or the demands of tradi- tion if he doesn’t see their current value. At his 120-acre breeding farm, for example, he will not shave the horses’ tails as is traditional with Lusitanos. “We have flies,” he says simply. “Why would we do that?” Also, whips are not used in his training. “I have a deal
with my employees: no whips and don’t try weird things. If you have a problem, call me. I’ll help solve the problem.” He laughs that because of this edict, he ends up training only the difficult horses. The whip is to him both a symbol and a reality. “We some-
times are so deep in the system that we forget the origins. The whip means slavery. If beating a horse is necessary, I have to find something else to do.”
Love of Breding Andre recalls the start of the farm. “Since I was little, I said I would like to be a rider. When my father gave me a slum dog
26 September/October 2015
“I have a deal with my employees: no whips and don’t try weird things. If you have a problem, call me.”
Andre Ganc schooling a Lusitano in half-pass.
horse, my uncle bought the farm to put the horse on, and that was the beginning.” Today he is in partnership with his uncle, Dr. Arnaldo
J. Ganc, a digestion specialist, who owns the land. Andre manages the farm and the breeding. “My uncle is my best friend. He made my dream possible. But he sabotages me,” Andre jokes. “I told the vets I didn’t want to breed this one mare. A few months later, I see that the mare looks pregnant. The vet confesses. My uncle had told the vet to cover the mare. It has happened four times. These kinds of things are a secret pleasure of my uncle’s so that you know he is the big boss.” “We breed for rideability as the most important charac- teristic,” he says. “The horses are often black, and we strive for
Courtesy Andre Ganc
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