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his first session. The first day, Dr. Heuschmann worked with him for about 15 minutes under saddle. He was able to loosen his back almost immediately, and the horse be- gan to relax. The owner was then able to mount and she had a beautiful ride. Dr. Heuschmann instructed the own- er to let go of the horse, send him forward and allow him to relax. Another clinic participant was a trainer riding a


12-year-old Hanoverian who was explosive and some- times untrustworthy. “Gerd had me gather the reins so there is some contact, and we did a forward canter with my hands on the neck,” this participant recounted, “so I could follow the head nod. I cantered for only about six to seven minutes in this exercise, and afterwards there was a huge change. He was listening to my seat, he was no lon- ger running off. Before this I felt I could not trust him. Af- ter this exercise, I felt I could totally trust him! For the first time ever, I felt the horse lift his back and be soft, and he no longer felt intimidating. In every lesson, not just mine, Dr. Heuschmann would see something, give the rider an


exercise or a solution, and there would be almost an im- mediate change in the horse and rider.” “I have never seen any clinician fix a horse so fast and


so simply,” another clinic participant said. “I have been working with Gerd for about four years now and he has improved my horses, my riding, my client’s horses and my ability to teach.” In another lesson, we watched Dr. Heuschmann take the horse in hand (while the rider was mounted) and show the horse, and the rider, how to release the tension in the horse’s poll and neck. This horse was often behind the bit, in an attempt to evade it. After Dr. Heuschmann worked with this horse, he began to seek out the bit in- stead of hiding from it.


MORE VALUABLE INSIGHTS “My ideas are to bring back the classical approach to training,” Dr. Heuschmann explains. “This is built on the horse’s nature [instincts], not human interference. We have the training scale, we still discuss suppleness, but in


Each horse is naturally better going in one direction or the other, similar to humans being either right or left-handed.


In the chapter about straightness, Dr. Heuschmann ex-


plores the causes and remedies for natural crookedness. Each horse is naturally better going in one direction or the other, similar to humans being either right or left-handed. In the illustrations below, the horse that is hollow, to the right, has musculature that is less elastic on the hollow side. These hollow horses tend to fall over the outside shoulder and resist or avoid bringing the inside hind leg underneath their torso, over their center of gravity. Dr. Heuschmann also describes horizontal and vertical


balance. Without the first, the second is not possible. In horizontal balance, the horse moves rhythmically,


swinging (i.e. with suppleness) and with consistent con- tact with the rider’s reins. Then the horse develops vertical symmetry: he lets himself be straightened, and flexes and bends equally in both directions. He accepts diagonal aids. The horse loses resistance (stiffness) in the trunk, poll, and haunches. He increasingly stays attuned to the rider’s supple seat aids and the quality of his balance steadily improves.


IF HORSES COULD SPEAK The provocative and ground-breaking DVD If Horses Could Speak more closely examines the horse’s “riding experience” and demonstrates just how specific kinds of movement and posture impact the horse’s skeleton and musculature. Through the magic of amazing 3D animation—as never-


before-seen in an equestrian video of this kind—viewers are shown how the horse’s limbs, muscles and ligaments inter- act at various gaits. In addition, live-action examples of rid- ing, both good and bad, demonstrate the effect human be- ings have on their equine partners. If Horses Could Speak includes interviews with profession-


al riders, veterinarians and academics who specialize in the study of the horse’s anatomy and how riders can best work with it, rather than against it. v


Illustrations above by Susan Harris from Balancing Act courtesy of Trafalgar Square Books Warmbloods Today 49


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