Schooling The Young Dressage Horse About Natasha
Photos by David Miller
Natasha Baker is a gifted Para- Dressage rider, who is rapidly becoming an international name to watch out for. Natasha contracted a virus, Transverse Myelitis when she was just 4 months old, which means that she cannot walk unaided and does not have any feeling in her legs, therefore when she is in the saddle, Natasha rides without stirrups as for her to lose her stirrups or get them stuck could cause a nasty accident, so it is safer and easier for her to ride without. Despite her disability, Natasha’s talent has shone
continuously, with the young rider also competing successfully in able-bodied competitions. Natasha is currently on the World Class Programme and has two talented horses, JP who is currently working at Elementary/Medium level and youngster Bam Bam as seen in this feature and her Rio 2016 hopeful!
www.natasha-baker.com
When it comes to producing young horses into future dressage super stars, Para- Dressage rider Natasha Baker knows plenty, having won at international level with her talented dressage horse JP and bringing home three Gold Medals in 2012!
Courtesy of Golly Galoshes, the versatile equine gaiter, we spoke to Natasha to pick up some vital tips, as she talks us through how she produces her lovely youngster Bam Bam in preparation for his future on the world stage.
Regardless of your discipline, when training any young horse, you need to keep a good balance in terms of variety, which is why we incorporate a lot of hacking into Bam Bam’s routine.
Hacking offers a great education in terms of building confidence, introducing them to the sights and sounds of the big wide world and also helping to establish that rider and horse bond which is so important for the future.
When it comes to Bam Bam’s school work, we like to keep sessions short and sweet with lots of reward and stretch breaks, as young horses get tired quickly both physically and mentally and this is when injuries can occur.
As with any youngster, keeping them thinking forward is imperative and with dressage is a key building block to future work, so at the beginning of the session after a good 5 - 10 minute walk, we start to think about trot work.
Bam Bam is working at Novice level and at home, our sessions mostly tend to focus more about forward and softness, than anything more complex. I ride a few transitions from trot to walk, walk to trot then canter to trot and trot to canter and look to push on the canter to help open up Bam Bam’s paces. Bam Bam finds this easy in canter, however with a young horse be careful not to ask too much or push him onto his forehand. Even at this level, you want the horse using his hind leg and showing some impulsion.
If you have good hacking, sometimes young horses find it easier to canter longer in straight lines, as well as encouraging them to think forward, so use this to your advantage.
We incorporate lateral work very early on in a young horse’s schooling, as your horse needs to start learning the aids. Bam Bam has been taught to go off my weight distribution and seat, as I have no feeling in my legs, however as an able bodied rider, you would still need to use your balance and weight distribution, with a stronger leg aid than I can apply!
The Golly Galoshes gaiters that
Bam Bam wears for schooling not only keep his bandages clean and dry and help prevent sand getting underneath, but the reflective strip down the outside also helps draw the eye to the leg, giving a clearer picture of whether Bam Bam is moving straight, if his legs are crossing over equally, as well as helping me keep a good rhythm by checking in the arena mirrors. They also are invaluable for lessons as well for the same reason.
I use shoulder-in down the fence line to help straighten up any crookedness and also to get Bam Bam to soften.
Leg-yield I use to encourage Bam Warm up in walk
Ride plenty of transitions to help engage the hind leg
Putting on our Golly Galoshes - a vital piece of our kit
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www.equestrianlifemagazine.co.uk
Think about straightness and use shoulder-in to help
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