Update 01.21.2010 — I was written requesting one of the images I displayed below be removed from being displayed on my blog, and have replaced it with a ‘censored’ image in it’s place. The link will direct you to the page where the photo I linked to can be viewed. Please note that I do not represent images to be mine which are not and try to give credit where I can and link direct to the image’s source. I am also not making money off any images displayed. Cheers!

In looking around, there seems a great wealth of images and video, articles and books, media and marketing; all of which demonstrating the use of the horse for human gain and purposes. The focus, the mindset, the intent is control and consumption of the horse – we ride, we travel, we tour, we compete, we battle, we seek to impress.

Why not work towards something more… meaningful?

It is true we have a long history with the horse as a means for travel, labor and the everyday functioning of our society. The horse is how conquistadors came to roam the America’s when first landing. They enabled Gengis Khan to overtake Mongolia and much of Asia. Horses carried Attila the Hun.

The horse has stood as a symbol for our country through the Mustang, as herds are being depleted once again by the government in order to benefit ranchers and other commercial interests. The mustang was made a symbol of a favored car by many. The horse is used as a draw for crowds to buy a ticket to rodeos, international competitions, Arabian Knights style shows across the country, and even circuses. Miniature horses are now lending their talents to help guide the blind in place of dogs even.

And in all of this, the horse is still used for our purposes and all too often with disregard to him as a creature of equal standing to humans. If images could give a summary of the esteem and regard we hold our horses in as a society I could nearly walk away now for fear that there is little hope. At times it would seem that the images assume the onlooker to miss the fear, anxiety, distress and melancholy in the horse’s eyes.

That is not all there is in horsemanship however, and I am happy that this is not the whole picture.

I was privy to participate in a great healing ceremony this week, taking part of many Native American traditions. During which I was reminded of the art of honoring and thanking. Today I feel more connected to everything, the earth, the people in my life – both close and new. Even the plants and particularly the animals. Maybe today is a good time to look towards our horses and say thank you, and give them honor for all that they give us in return.

I hate the references to “training” a horse. I know it is such an innocent statement, but often what is unsaid is more loud than what is said and I think the same comes true in regards to training a horse.

When I think of training anything, to me it means that there was something lacking in whatever you are training to begin with. They don’t know how to do something, and so you train them how. But a horse already knows how to be a horse and there is little we ask of him that he doesn’t already know how to do.

What about looking at changing the reference of “train” to “assist”? Something as simple as that gives a whole different energy to the thought of working with the horse. “I’m going out to train my horse.” vs. “I’m going out to help assist my horse.” Which of the two gives a partnership quality to horsemanship?

I have wondered at times, mind you it was quietly and to myself, how someone can train their horse to do something that they themselves are incapable of. And riders do it all the time. We expect our horse to physically perform strenuous activities, while we are not willing to cut back the carbs and spend some extra time at the gym. Not to exclude anyone, many who are physically fit are all the less compassionate to their animal and are more demanding because they abuse their own body.

There are extremes in both directions is what I’m getting at with the above – those who do nothing and expect the world, and those who do too much and whose expectations are so great they break their horse.

When we work with the horse, there are three hurdles we must tackle in order to achieve anything.

1. TRUST – without this everything else is a compromise, and trust can only be developed over time and through experiences together.
2. COMMUNICATION - you have to have a language with the horse so that the two of you understand one another, this also involves conversing rather than dictating.
3. PHYSICAL FITNESS - in order to perform a physical activity the horse has to have the strength required to do so without risking injury or losing his balance, without strength the horse will have to give you evasions to perform as close to what you are asking without actually doing it properly.

Most equestrians understand the first two, but I am always amazed about the third – and not so amazed after I give it a second. Given the state of gross misinformation and lack of education about exercising there really is no wonder that the same confusion occurs in the physical conditioning of the horse as well.

Off the top of my head I can think of a few that are common misconceptions just from talking with many of my massage clients -

• Myth : To be a body builder means you have reached the peak of physical strength.
• Myth : No pain, no gain.
• Myth : When building muscle you have to push past pain in order to get to the next level.
• Myth : You should workout every day.
• Fact : Body builders are on one physical extreme and are actually “muscle bound”. They rank on the top of the list for ruined joints, constant muscle pain and even physical weakness. It is common to see body builders crashing at competitions because of the habits they keep in order to maintain their muscle definition and low body fat.
• Fact : Pain is an indicator that things are not functioning properly. It is like the warning light on your car’s dashboard and helps prevent a great deal of injury if attended to as soon as it shows up.
  
• Fact : Pushing past pain when attempting to build muscle is usually a sign that you are tearing muscle fibers along the way – which will result in scarring in the muscle and in the future will inhibit your maximum strength potential and flexibility.
• Fact : Working out every day can keep your body from being able to recover and rebuild the cells necessary to increase muscle mass and strength. This in turn increases your opportunity for injury.

On the other extreme, pulling your horse out from the cold and putting him to hard work is a bit like taking grandpa from the wheelchair and entering him in a marathon. If he doesn’t die of a heart attack there will certainly be damage to other systems that may not be obvious right then and there.That’s a warning to you “weekend warriors”!

I don’t take my horses out and train them, or even ride them. I take them out and help them with a routine that is customized every day and changes based on how they are doing that day. It is designed to strengthen them physically so that when I communicate my wishes that they perform a certain movement they are ready and willing because the power is there to do it.

And as a completely unrelated aside, I was delighted this morning when feeding to see my sweet gelding, Jobi, performing a canter pirouette departing into terrè terrè, cantering behind one of the shelters and coming out on the otherside to leap into a capriole, land and backup a few steps to finish in a levade. Later I saw him doing canter half-passes in avoidance of another horse. Oh how I love to see nature at work!

There are times when I get caught up in routine, in habit, in responding to situations without even being aware of conscious of my own actions or feelings. And what does that bring about in my horse? Nothing but tension and poor communication, even distrust if you will.

On the other hand, when I am in a position of self-awareness, responding to things as they come at me with my mind open and ready to in a logical manner I can elicit from my horse greater trust, relaxation and communication.

I always think that horses are a great link to bringing us humans back to our roots, to ground us in a way that was once natural but in the modern world seems a million miles away at times. They kill the outside distractions for us if we let them, shut out frivolous concerns and even shun the idea of time.

We get the opportunity to enjoy being in the moment if we are present enough to realize it and take hold of it, but often we get caught up in thoughts that do not help us in the here and now but pull us into superficial goals and actions. We fight and fuss over the horse, struggle with the basics and yearn for the complex achievements.

Copyright © Noelle LaBelle

I was thinking about this sort of thing all of yesterday and much of today. I was working with Scout yesterday and he came out with a lot of nervous energy under saddle, a bit of an oddity although there has often been a low-level of nervous energy running through him over the long term. Something which I am still playing with ideas to sort through. We’ve made vast improvements but it is still there showing its face from time to time. Today he was much better from the start but began to work into more nervousness as we proceeded. I went back to an idea I’ve been playing with that seemed to make the most difference a few months ago before I took a bit of a hiatus with him (lots of traveling going on!).

So, around and around we wandered in the arena. Just using one rein, taking the slack out and asking for bend in one direction, allowing my hand to be stable and quietly simple. I spent a lot of my own consciousness observing if I was breathing, what the speed of my own actions were, if my seat was blocking, following or driving (behind, present, or ahead of his movement), etc. The slightest admission of Scout towards what I was hoping to encourage him into – which was relaxing into an honest bend in the direction we were traveling – and a release of the rein would commence. He began calming almost immediately. I could feel it the loudest in the change of his walk gait. His tension was creating a block in the stride of his hind legs – causing a gait that was slightly irregular, but also jarred my own seat into a movement that had more up and down with a rough transition on each step (almost felt as if he was holding his breath in his hindquarters if that makes sense). This changed to a glide in the walk, my own seat felt no rough movements but simply melted into silk as each footfall of his hind legs gracefully carried his weight.

Copyright © Lissy

In the reins there was no irregular contact. When I touched the rein I was working on he stopped bracing or attempting to bend in the opposite direction before conceding, but rather softly followed into a graceful bend with such lightness that there was never a hard connection on the rein. Like soft butter. Like air. And into a half halt that required only a lift of my own chest and drop of my pelvis to bring him to a square and balanced stop.

I believe relaxation has to be one of the first priorities in training horses. Without it everything becomes compromised and more difficult. It is the elephant in the arena. I spent 10 minutes yesterday just massaging Jobi’s mouth. Today I spent 2 minutes while grooming him massaging his mouth and then periodically during in-hand and lunging work. And it shows in his responses when I work with him. When he is tense he braces his neck and leans on reins, tucks his head behind the vertical, tosses his head, sucks back and hesitates. When he is relaxed he responds quickly and gracefully, he has no head issues, contact is light and beautiful, he is forward and accurate. Work becomes a dance – a graceful one rather than a step on my toes dysfunctional.

Copyright © Suzanne

In looking back at some of the biggest problems I’ve ever encountered with horses I’ve trained or retrained, it comes down to their level of relaxation. Relaxed horses are easy. Relaxed horses are not lazy horses either… nervous horses are the ones presenting challenges. And the learning curve when you are nervous (whether you are a horse or person) is much bigger than when you are relaxed.

“Lovely Magical Pony” Copyright © TheKirby

As a once-upon-a-time-ago student of Competitive Dressage, this term is very familiar. As a student of Classical Dressage this term is foreign. But why? Do you know what “on the bit” means? Can you put it into words? What does being “on the bit” do for you and your horse? What does it lead to?

Don’t have an answer to these questions? You aren’t alone. The term “on the bit” doesn’t have an origin in the long-time history of Dressage, but according to Bettina Drummond it is an orphan that is only causing chaos, confusion and much of the demise of Dressage.

I found this great article at Eclectic Horseman written by Dr. Max Gahwyler and Bettina Drummond which talks about the origins of “on the bit” :

There is no other statement used so often in Dressage riding as the horse should accept the bit, be on the bit, etc. And very often when you go to clinics or shows, it’s the predominant preoccupation of riders, trainers and, unfortunately, often also the judges. It is the foundation of Dressage riding in our country, and this should be just the reason why we should step back and have an unbiased look at what it does to Dressage riding (and why so many of our horses and riders get stuck or break down in the 1st or 2nd Level.)
So our next step is to go back to the countries where our present day Dressage originated 500 years ago, such as Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Sweden, and scrutinize the literature in the original language and meaning, and not in the English translations, which are all very recent. Even the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) and later the American Horse Show Association (AHSA) Dressage Rulebook were only put into English in the 1920s. But, no matter how hard you look, even going back to the 15th and 16th century, you do not find any expression equivalent to “On the Bit.”
This expression, if you like it or not, fixes the attention of riders, trainers and judges on the head carriage and frame in front as the symbol and hallmark and primary objective of Dressage and training. Instead, the frame in front should express the engagement and throughness from behind and the rider in harmony with the horse on the aids; the frame in front should not be the result of hanging on the reins. It is well expressed in the German Federation statement that the horse seeks the contact and the rider provides it, not the other way around, since pulling the horse into a vertical head position has nothing to do with collection. On the contrary, it prevents engagement and develops nothing but an insensitive, unresponsive horse on the forehand and does not allow for an expressive movement in self-carriage.

The concept of collection and elevation in front. The lines behind the horse show the progressive flexion and engaging of the hindquarters. Wilhelm Museler from Reit Lehre 1928.

That brings up the subject of maintaining a sensitive and soft mouth, which goes back to the school of Naples. It was then clearly realized that in training a young horse, harsh rein action would occur, either inflicted by the rider, or the self-defense of a young horse, and the sensitivity of the bars would be progressively damaged. Let’s face it, a piece of steel in the mouth that is pulled on unilaterally or on both sides with the connection of the snaffle joint pushing against the palette is no treat. Also for about 6,000 years all snaffle bits had cheek pieces, so when using one rein, the cheekpiece of the other side prevented the bit from slipping through the mouth and pushed the head in the desired direction. More recently invented loose ring snaffles are not a step in the right direction.
So when you read the book of Johan Batista Galiberti, written in 1610 and translated into German in 1660, Galiberti, a pupil of Grisone and Piniatelli, recommends the training of the horses first in a caveson or hackamore until the basics are established and only then progressively introducing a bit. In addition, the reins to the bit are held in the left hand, which is always softer, and never used. Training continues with the caveson in the right hand until the horse is made light and in self-carriage. At this time, the caveson is progressively dropped and the connection established through the reins to the bit. But since the bit was never used for the training, the sensitivity and lightness was maintained and the principle of the Descente de Main evolved as used in the Ecole de Versailles and later became beautifully described by Robichon de la Guérinière and DuPaty de Clam.
Interestingly, a few years ago, the riding manuals of 1720 of the Royal Spanish Riding School, which were believed lost, were rediscovered in Vienna. And here again, the training of the young Lippizzaners was done in a caveson without a bit, which was only introduced after they had reached a secure level of training.
The remainder of this concept can still be seen in some lunging cavesons from Europe, having in addition an adjustable snaffle bit. These cavesons were common 50 years ago in Europe, but were never available in the United States where the concept of preserving a sensitive mouth was never a primary objective of Dressage training. However, in a young horse trained like this neither the lunge line or initially the side-reins were attached to the bit, so the introduction of the steel bit was a process of slow, gradual acceptance without any pressure. Later in the training, long side reins were attached to the snaffle, but never the lunge line, which only pulls the bit up or out of the mouth. Doing this is an abuse of the horse and only done by uneducated and insensitive horsemen.

Very few people have ever made or experienced a horse with a truly sensitive mouth, as neither trainers nor riders are concerned with this, as it is not part of the present culture of “On the Bit” in the U.S. In addition, the early introduction of the double bridle, not to speak about draw reins and other devices we see so often, is the hallmark of incompetence as well described by Udo Burger.
So how did the English term “On the Bit” appear in our terminology? To the best of my knowledge, it started with the creation of the FEI, which took place in 1921, initiated by General DeCarpentry with the assistance of Dr. Rau and the German General Halsing Bersett.
General DeCarpentry wrote the FEI rules and definitions in French as we see them today in the FEI rulebook using the sophisticated French Dressage vocabulary with its infinite nuances and meanings. But nowhere do we find any expression even remotely resembling our notation of “On the Bit.” which would translate in French as “Sur le Mors,” an expression which simply does not exist.
The Germans never translated the French FEI text, understanding most French and having an eloquent and well-established equestrian vocabulary of their own as demonstrated in their rule book and the publication of Basic Principles of Riding and Advanced Techniques of Riding by the German Equestrian Federation. Nowhere do we find anything in the original German version close to our statement of “On the Bit,” which is only occasionally used in the English translation for lack of any other expression. So why does this definition of “On the Bit” come up in the English FEI version which became today’s AHSA Dressage Rules and definitions in the official rule book?
Since there was hardly any Dressage in the early 1900s in England or in the United States, nor any English books on Dressage or magazines, there were simply no real equivalent terms for the statements of DeCarpentry, not to speak of reflecting the nuances of meaning of the French Dressage terms. I do not know who translated in the 1920s to ‘30s the French FEI text into English. It is eminently clear that the translator had a fairly good grasp of French but not of the French equestrian terminology, and the term “On the Bit” was created without really understanding what was meant in French or how this newly created definition would affect riding in English-speaking countries.
Lacking any other source of information, this FEI text was taken over by the AHSA and is still the official version which we see today in our rulebook, including the statement “On the Bit” without any futher explanation. Also, our AHSA rules reflect primarily FEI requirements, movements and gaits with no really meaningful statement from Training Level to 4th Level. Even recently introduced new movements such as chewing the reins out of the hands are neither referred to nor defined after they were put into our tests six years ago.

Just to show you a quick example of the first few pages of the AHSA rulebook and how this can lead to complete misinterpretation of the original French text of DeCarpentry, article 401-3 states “The horse gives the impression to execute of his own accord what is required of him, etc.” But in article 401-6, it states “In all his work, even at the halt, the horse must be on the bit”-which obviously includes training levels and introductory levels, since there is no distinction made. This in no way represents the finesse of the French Dans la Main (“on the aids”). But in article 403-3, it states that at the walk the horse should not be asked to walk on the bit, and in article 403-4.2, it states that at the medium walk the horse must be on the bit. This makes absolutely no sense, and if you want, you can go through the entire rulebook as far as riding is concerned and find contradictory statements like this one after the other.
If in our English translation we would say in article 401-6 that the horse in all its work even at the halt remains obediently under the influence of the rider’s aids, this would be closer to the true French meaning and removes the fixation to the hands, the bit and the front of the horse, and leads to a more integrated approach of all aids applicable to this movement.
Using this expression “On the Aids,” we could approach the variability of the French terminology with expressions like “teaching the young horse the progressive acceptance of the aids” up to the FEI levels where it should be on the aids. This includes lightness and self-carriage: not pulled into an artificial frame in front, the emphasis placed on the seat, position, weight, harmony between horse and rider and correct timing and coordination of all the aids. An artificial frame in front does not allow for expressive movement in self-carriage.
But to replace the expression “On the Bit” and banish it forever to oblivion is really no problem, since over the past 50 years we have established a vocabulary of Dressage in America. Terms such as “Acceptance of the Aids,” “On the Aids,” “Throughness,” “Connection,” “Lightness,” “Self-Carriage,” “Swinging Back,” “Relaxation,” “Balance,” and “Engagement,” just to name a few, would much better demonstrate what we really mean and which are really the objectives of Dressage.

Then we achieve what the FEI and DeCarpentry said originally; namely, that the horse gives the impression of doing on his own what is required of him, and not pulled together behind the vertical and consistently on the forehand and never truly through. Unfortunately, we see this all the time from Training Level up to a lot of poor piaffes, passages, piourettes and awful transitions.
Allowing the horse to seek the aids as the older Germans said, or the coordinated aids, aids coming through the back, non-interfering aids, weight aids, seat aids, supporting aids, leg aids, etc. with the horse determining the contact would probably better represent what we really should aim for in Dressage.
Also, what further seems to justify to pull together the front of the horse, and often behind the vertical and call it Dressage, are photos shown in European and in American Dressage magazines of winning teams with an incorrect, pulled together, short frame in front. Even though we always speak of Classical Dressage, nobody seems to go back to the original drawings and photos of the past. Interestingly enough, this concept of having a horse in front of you and with a head carriage more in front of the vertical the more it is collected is clearly depicted in the pictures of Müseler, (see diagram on facing page), which were adopted as correct by the FEI as long as Niggli was its chief but have pretty much fallen by the wayside as of now.
On the one hand magazines print the statements of Harry Boldt, Klaus Balkenhol, Christine Stuckelberger, Cindy Sydor, etc, condemning pulling the horse together in front and then publish dozens of pictures showing exactly the opposite, with horses pulled behind the vertical winning competitions. Take a look in one of the many Dressage publications available in the U.S. and judge for yourself. A clear policy and message to the Dressage community could not hurt.

In a more recent example in an article with Christine Stuckelberger said, “Today you see the horses pulled together. This is a mistake. A judge should penalize a horse that is tense and always goes behind the vertical.”
Harry Bolt said, “Regarding horses’ necks, I think judges should be more careful that horses’ noses are in front of the vertical.”
Snydor echoes the comments of many colleagues in adding that an overemphasis on the front end of the horse is another threat posed by poorly trained and performed exhibition work. “If it’s too much about the head, neck and front legs, it’s bad,” she says. “It may be more spectacular to the uninitiated, but there is already too much emphasis on the front end in regular dressage. We don’t need to be promoting that emphasis any further.”
Another reason the scores are so high today is because of the gaits our top horses show, not because of the quality of the execution of the difficult dressage movements. Just look at the horses’ mediocre piaffes, passages, flying changes and transitions, etc., we see in all the shows. But the German warmblood has a habit of going forward no matter what kind of head position the rider puts him in, even though this does not represent correct training and pulls him on the forehand.

In conclusion, since we now have a terminology in the United States correctly expressing the objectives of Dressage, maybe the time has come to upgrade our definition and rulebook statements and get rid of terms that not only make no sense but also are detrimental to the future of our sport.
It would be a nice beginning of the new century.

Read Original Article on Eclectic Horseman »

As a Massage Therapist and NeuroMuscular Therapist, the alignment and focus on the horse’s pelvis makes much more sense to me than focusing in the position of the head and neck, although the two do influence one another and are inter-dependent. The state of modern horsemanship is short-sighted, looking only at what is in front of us when riding, than looking at what is underneath us. But, as a bodyworker, I am also reminded frequently that this is not common knowledge and unfortunately is not widely known among the public – yet.

I love the visual in the second image shown above, which illustrates the relationship of the horse’s pelvis to his balance point and center of gravity, as well as how it affects the horse’s neck posture. In humans there is a similar correlation. If our pelvis is rotated one direction or the other our neck vertebrae will likewise have more or less curvature.

I don’t know about you, but when I read things like the above article it gets my blood moving and makes me want to become fluent in french, german and portuguese just so I can pore over the classic literature…

Live close to Berlin, Wisconsin? Want to improve your horses health and performance while improving yours as well? Join me at Edgewater Farms on October 10 to treat and pamper your equine partner and yourself through private sessions with 6 Clinicians, among them :

• Massage Therapist
• John Lyons’ Certified Trainer
• Saddle Fitter
• Nutritionalist
• Equine Dentist
• Yoga Instructor

A full day of activities is broken up with a freshly made nutritional lunch, as well as a professional photo op with your horse! This is a unique opportunity as you will have the opportunity to work with several professionals in one location and at a great price…

I will be there offering education and hands-on work in Massage Therapy. While I will be working specifically on the horses brought in, tips and tricks for dealing with rider issues relating to bodywork will also be discussed to improve balance, coordination and reduce pain and injury!

There are limited spots available so be sure to call Jackie or Carissa early!

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• Edgewater Farms Website
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Have A Good Question?

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I want you to ask me a question… but not just any question. Only the BEST QUESTION asked that is appropriate to what I am hoping to demonstrate will do (and win the prize!). So, to adequately prepare you to submit a potentially win-worthy question, here are some guidelines :

• The question should provide as many details as possible.
• The topic of your question should revolve around the horse (as opposed to your riding ability/balance/position).
• The question should highlight a problem you are having (like “my horse refuses to change leads”), rather than how to accomplish a goal (like “how do I teach my horse to change leads”).

Prize Package :

• FREE Autographed Copy of my book, “Centered Self, Centered Horse : A Simple Guide to Horsemanship“!
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It never ceases to amaze me what our horses will allow us to do, but then when I step back and consider what we as people are willing to put up with in regards to one another I am less surprised. And still, do I always appreciate how much my horses are willing to do for me – simply because I ask?

From my perception, it seems that the general view is if ‘it’ (whatever that may be) can be accomplished, then it is good. I can’t agree with this. Admittedly there are many things I ask my horses to do that probably seem crazy to them, but the point is that I *ask* – how many are not so much asked as *made* to perform in a certain way? No matter the driving force behind it, however, I see this trait show up in our treatment of animals in general. How many cats are forced to endure our attention while they display obvious annoyance, anger, fear? All the while we offer a dismissive excuse towards our actions, rather than taking ownership of the fact that we have stopped listening altogether in what should be a conversation, have chosen to be selfish and attend only to our own desires and create a monologue-led-dictatorship.

Balloon Horses Credit : Andrea Galvani

I laughed when I found these pictures, for several reasons. The first was because of their stark, lonely, enigmatic quality. That they are perfectly balanced – a black horse, a white horse, each opposing the other – and effortlessly maintaining the quality of ‘baloon animal.’

We use our horses for all sorts of displays and strokes to our ego – it is an essential component in the horse industry. Franchising the horse, the exploitive qualities of an animal that we are so naturally drawn to. They make us laugh, they make us cry, and even land us on our butt from time to time.

Horses have changed drastically and not at all in a very short period of time. They have always been exploited, but for different purposes. We used to use them to aid in the toil and trouble of farming and travel. They fought wars with us and helped us to explore new continents and meet new people.

Today, however, the brunt of horsemanship is surrounding entertainment purposes. We race our horses to win money and have a day at the track. We show and compete horses – again for money, but also to prop up businesses, prove that ours is better than theirs, that we are a better rider/trainer/competitor than everyone else, to prove that we know more than someone else.

I remember distinctly the thoughts that crossed my mind when I first saw pictures of a lion and tiger riding a horse in one of China’s zoos. There was no shock or surprise, perhaps some curiosity about how they went about it, but to me I see nothing different (other than cultural conditioning) from a lion riding a horse and man. We are both predatory creatures – equally as deadly in the horse’s mind, and if people can tame horses why would there be any reason a lion couldn’t also become a ‘normal’ companion for the horse as well? Maybe the outrage over the lion and tiger images is because the zoo is using it to entertain people, to draw a crowd, to make money. But we do the same thing every day when we use our horses for marketing purposes. I even do it myself, knowingly and frequently with much discontent…

Do the two horses above look terribly different in attitute from one another? We cannot see the sorrel horse’s ears, but their posture is similar, tails both trailing behind them. The first horse gets the unfortunate challenge of trotting on cement and bearing a brunt much greater in weight than the second horse. Maybe he just prefers to be ridden by the tiger, where he appears nearly relaxed, and no worse (probably even better I would say) than the emotional rollercoasters I see at most horse shows.

This post was inspired in lieu of the new blog layout and the addition of some causes I support which are linked at the bottom of every post. I was browsing through the Horse Conscious website again when I was making a button for the site and began thinking about many of the teachers promoted through them. Of the work done by Alexander Nevzorov and what I have heard and discussed with some of his followers. Of my own observations and experiences. Of all the times I’ve unwittingly and unconsciously used my horses for my own gain (whether it was monetary or egoic, or both), and in particular all the times I’ve heard clinicians and trainers say one thing, do another and then say something to confirm that they weren’t in fact doing what they were doing. But, mostly, because no matter what it turns to shades of grey in the end – some exploit the horse more than others but no matter the amount the action still exists.

And for that, the horse is still there willing to perform (albeit often ridiculous, dangerous or pointless acts) for us. Maybe that is why we are so drawn to the horse, because no matter how many mistakes we make, how much we hurt him or exploit him, trade bits and pieces of his being for our own gain, or interact selfishly – they always act in a way that seems like unconditional love. They might put up a fight in the interim, but when we open our eyes and change the horse is right there by our side ready.

The masters of Classical Dressage are few and numerous, depending on who you talk with and their take on a master of horsemanship. But there is little denying that the majority of Dressage enthusiasts will claim their stake to one, François de la Gueriniere, as being the foundation of all they practice. Whether I make that claim or no, which I do not, matters little… but there is always something to be learned from every horseman, good or bad, including the great de la Gueriniere.

I’ve just recently discovered that Google Book Search has scanned in a very rare translation of Ecole de Cavalerie, made by the late Captain William Frazer, which also includes notes from the Earl of Pembroke.

Link :Ecole de Cavalerie : A Treatise Upon Horsemanship

I haven’t had the chance to read through it myself just yet, but have been told it may be wise to print yourself a copy so you can rearrange a few pages that are not in order. If this is so and anyone wants to make the rest of us privy to which pages are out of order, please feel free to leave a comment! Enjoy!