What is it to be a real horseman? Can you be a horseman even if you’ve never before been involved with horses? Can you be involved with horses every day and still fail to be a horseman?

That is a question that came up with a recent posting to an email group, Classical Dressage, that I am a member of which was also accompanied with the link to a great video of a number of people working to help with a large number of starved horses in bringing them back to life.

What has touched me so much in this video, outside of the immense amount of dedication on everyone’s part, is that many of them showed up to help who have had no previous experience with horses.

Then on the other side of the coin there are those who have caused this great amount of suffering to the horses involved, which I would suspect have many years of experience with horses. I see it other places as well, being so involved that we become blind and end up causing more harm than good. You can go to any show and see that multiple times over of riders hurting their horses for the sake of a $10 ribbon. The price of the prize may vary, but the symptoms still remain the same.

• Cleve Well, a prominent AQHA trainer and clinician, has been accused of abuse on several occasions.
• WalkingHorseChat.com posts videos of ‘Freak of the Week’ gaited horses in action.
• A blog devoted to exposing the abuses behind showing and competition, Shame In The Showring, gives you an inside look.

As much as we continue to expose the abuses that are going on to horses in every sport, discipline and level of involvement (from day one beginners to the creme de la creme of horse ‘celebrity’), little is being prevented.

It is my opinion that without increasing overall education (not just in the horse industry but on the whole) we are only kicking dirt on the forest fire. There has to be more. Our culture has moved towards zero responsibility, we have morphed into a corporate mindset on the personal level. No one is taking responsibility to earn an education about horses before riding or owning one… or rather instead of nobody, very few.

Those who are highly educated that I encounter who are looking to learn to ride horses – do so with the same adept skill in which they undertake other areas they have no education in. They ask questions. How many experienced riders do we know that still ask questions? Less and less. Then there are others who I encounter who feel they know all the answers (even if those answers aren’t enough to enable them to do all that they want, which is exactly why they are contacting me), and because of that there isn’t a question in the world they would like to ask.

Do you still ask questions? I do, every day. Every second it seems when I’m working with my horse. Not necessarily questions about what I’m doing, but often now it is why I am doing it. How it is going to impact my horse, what the motivations are, etc. I don’t, however, ask myself questions about how much money I can make with my horse, or if I place in a certain class it will increase my perceived value and skill by my peers. Admittedly there was a time when I asked questions like how I could turn my hobby into something that profited me (and I did so with breeding horses for a time).

Now, however, I do offer services that bring money.. but they aren’t the source of my survival and I’ve given up on achieving ‘fortune’ through my horses. It takes me to a place in my mind, to think about using my horses in such a way, that seems akin to prostituting them out. As it stands right now they help me teach people and in that I am always grateful for all that they give and settles in my heart much better than the thought of them as being ‘money makers’. That is probably much of why I gave up competition, too much in it for the money and accolades to let me sleep sound at night.

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.

I’ve posted quite a bit on the whole Rollkur issue… this post will not delve into it in just the same way, nor is it focused solely on the Rollkur / hyperflexion problem. To be entirely honest, Rollkur / hyperflexion isn’t even *the* issue, rather we’ve again missed the whole problem that is being superficially represented by Rollkur and those who are being allowed to utilize it in order to gain success.

I want to address Rollkur from two perspectives…

1. Being a symptom of a larger problem
2. It is one more ‘quick fix’ method just like many others that are “acceptable”

I got started thinking about this topic yesterday, while lunging one of my ‘young’ horses. He is a coming 5 year old who has had very little in the way of formal training. A bit of leading training when he was a weanling, he does a decent job in the cross-ties while still learning the art of giving space on the right side, picks up his feet and what have you. He isn’t shy about being touched all over, but yesterday was only his second time being lunged, ever. The last time was a year ago for a lunging demonstration that I video-taped. I have not be in any great rush to get him started under saddle.

I was contemplating the path that is taken by many when starting horses under saddle. I was envisioning many of the round-penning techniques that I have not only witnessed, but at some point in my horse experience have practiced myself. I remember being amazed at how quickly someone could start a horse under saddle with little or no dangerous reaction from the horse. The thought quickly crossed my mind, reminding me of a gadget I had seen not long ago – The Barnes Trainer – which guarantees to take the buck out of any horse young or old.

As all of these thoughts were crossing my mind, my young guy decided that the distractions I was taking part in mentally were warrant enough to bring my attention back to him. He opted to get my attention by getting more and more nervous about the arena, the scary wind blowing things around outside, and now whinnying to the other horses…

Certainly he could have continued to escalate – something all too common – to a place of throwing a temper tantrum, spooking repeatedly, continuing to become more and more distracted and distraught, perhaps showing signs of being herd-bound, rearing, bucking, kicking, striking, trying to rub himself all over me, running through my attempts to stop him, etc. He does, afterall, have the perfect excuse of having very little handling, right?

Instead I took my focus back to the one thing which can be reliably concentrated on – his feet. It is something that takes the mind back to doing, rather than reacting. Soon he is down to a level calm, he’s sighing and letting out little sneezy snorts, head is lowering, his tail is swinging and he is perfect tune to my every whim.

I never take these things for granted, that is the ad caveat I want to leave. Sometimes when I read my posts I can’t help but think, “my gosh, I sound like someone who has ridden for only a few weeks and is excited because she was able to pick up her horse’s feet!” But the truth is that I am constantly excited! I have been working with horses for 14+ years, day in and day out. I can’t help but think that if I’m not excited about it like a little kid, then there is no point in doing it anymore. I can just as easily have problems which are incurable by the best of trainers as I could have no problems with my horses, and my excitement isn’t so much at the lack of problems as it is about the level of communication and the depth of my relationship with my horses, something which I hope brings back some inspiration to everyone who reads my blog or listens to my radio show, read my book, works with me, etc…

How does this whole mess relate to Rollkur / hyperflexion? Just as easily as I was able to bring myself back to focusing on something I could initiate rather than reacting to my own horse’s actions (thereby exasperating them..), I could have decided to cover up what he was telling me with some sort of gadget. Rollkur advocates create rollkur on the lunge even… ! I could shut down what O Man (yes, that is his nickname ) was trying to tell me – that he was nervous, that I wasn’t paying attention to him, that he needed someone to guide him because he isn’t mature enough to lead the way or go on autopilot, that he isn’t sure what it is that I want, that the big bad wind is scary, so on and so forth. Whatever the exactness of his words were, I listened instead of putting duct tape over his mouth.

Rollkur is that duct tape, but it isn’t the only method we use to shut the horse’s communication down with us. How many ride with tie-downs to hide a horse who tosses it’s head because of a rider’s poor hands, rough bit, insecurity in the saddle, or lack of forward movement? How many ride with martingales, use spurs, are constantly batting with their whip or the length of their reins, resort to harsher bits to get the job done, tie their horse’s mouth shut with crank cavesons and flash nosebands?

It isn’t even because we know that is what we are doing. There might initially be some gut feeling of ickiness about the whole concept of these gadgets or methods, but eventually we dull our gut feelings out with the reassurances of other riders, trainers, people we look up to or are seeking approval from. Whatever the reason, eventually we dull ourselves out as much as we are attempting to dull our horse out. And it works, until it doesn’t. It will work on lots of horses, until one of them protests so much as to hurt someone or themselves. But… we still write it off as being a personal problem with that individual horse.

Rollkur is simply a method which disgusts us more than other gadgets – there are even people outside of those winning gold medals and trophies, who support Rollkur! How is it any different from the soring of Tennessee Walking Horses? It isn’t, both are used in a way to win some recognition at the expense of the horse. Rollkur is a double blind though, because it is also used as a method to control the horse, to keep the horse from bolting across the arena rather than halting at x ‘and salute’.

What all of these gadgets and gimmicks (including Rollkur) have in common is the fact that they are band-aids for a bigger wound. It is similar to our healthcare system even – we simply medicate, medicate, medicate… and ignore what is going on underneath. Why? Usually because it is less frightening to simply dull out, shut down, hide and ignore than it is to face, confront, chase after, discover the truths hiding underneath. But, that is our perception, and the mind does not equal reality.

Rollkur is really a sign of the times. We medicate and bandage as a society on the whole. The issues facing us with our horse is only a mirror of what is facing us in other aspects of our life.

It think I’ve managed to cover both positions that I was aiming for. This morning in my mailbox I got an email with another rollkur based video in it on youtube. In it’s description area, there was mention of the study I posted about earlier, in which the horses choose either rollkur position or a natural neck position based on which direction they choose in a maze. I can’t help but wonder why it is, that we know this to be wrong, even the FEI has declared it a form of abuse… and still we continue trying to prove it is wrong through other means. Why is it not enough that the horse’s mental faculties – not to mention his now perverted sense of relationship with humans – is being abused in order to say enough is enough? Is it a greater sign of how much we are willing to let ourselves be abused while making excuses or searching for a good enough sign of proof that we are being abused before putting an end to it?

I can’t help but link our relationship building with the horse to our relationship building with other people. We are perfectly happy letting a boyfriend/girlfriend treat us like dirt, and still wonder why our horse is walking all over us? Or vice versa and cannot understand why our horse has no confidence? Everything is connected, no matter how we might like to say that our arm is not connected to our leg, it is via the center of our body. It is all an intrisically connected network.

If you are unaware of what is termed “Rollkur” or hyperflexion of the neck, it is time you knew what has been plaguing much of Dressage and has been the subject of controversy since its inception.

Horse Talk.co.nz published a new story which talks about a new study that was performed showing that horses not only choose normal poll flexion when given a choice while maneuvering, their physiological reaction to stressful stimulation is comparatively lower when compared to their reaction while in hyperflexion.

Link : Rollkur : Researchers Explore Neck Hyperflection in Horses

I propose that no horseman is perfect. Rather, the whole idea of exemplifying one individual over another is rather preposterous. Instead, are we at risk, with such a statement, of confusing a horseman’s skill at riding with his personality and social popularity?

Popular horsemen have existed throughout the ages while still openly abusing their horses. And, despite the conceived notion of their superior riding skills in spite of the abuses, they make the same fatal mistakes of average riders – suffering from falls and other injuries at the mercy of the horses they so “expertly” ride and abuse…

Francois de la Gueriniere wrote about horsemen in his time who placed their own ego above the welfare of the horse, pretending to have skills that they were devoid of, as well as criticizing outlets of schooling the horse which were supported by other horsemen. How much has changed since his time?

Horsemanship is much like an art, with a brave exception. Art is not normally at risk of being abused by the artist – at least not in the literal sense. Horsemanship is at its very core, the art of building a relationship between two creatures wholly opposite in nature, tendencies, habits, reactions, actions, motivations, languages, thought processes, and social heirarchy. While many art forms, martial arts for example, are best mastered by mastering oneself, still many do not require this component to be successful. Horsemanship relies upon the equestrians’ ability to know themselves, and therefore come to know the horse.

This may sound contradictory given the opposite nature of the equestrian to the horse, but quite to the contrary. To know one extreme well enough, you begin to understand the opposite extreme as well. That is how we come closest to understanding the mind of the horse. When we intentionally work towards knowing an extreme foreign to ourselves we tend to move closer to knowing only ourselves and mistaking it for who and what the horse is. Our perception becomes filled with assumptions, ego, and false confidences. The horse loses the ability to be seen for who he is because it is as though we are looking at a mirror with the outline of a horse painted on, thinking the horse outline is really the horse, when truly we are seeing only our own pros, cons, habits, actions, fears, beliefs, etc.