Hi,
In the last email, we talked about how to get into the faster gaits. There are lots of fun ways to do that. Try out what works for you.
When you are able to get trot and canter reliably from the ground, you can transfer to riding through the cue transfer procedures that I introduced in this email series.
You can use a transfer from the ground person to the rider or establish a cue on the ground that you can take with you to the saddle.
Here is Malou, now guided by the rider alone, exploring her balance in a trot.
At this stage, you want to stay on big lines, e.g. on the track, across the diagonal and big circles. And obviously we don’t try to make the horse “round”. She needs her neck to balance.
Carmen Heritier, Malou’s owner, rode her during one of her visits and this is what she said about the experience (listen to the entire conversation in the Equiosity podcast episode 303).
“I felt completely at ease. I was in tune with her, very comfortable and she didn’t feel hesitant in any way. She knew what to do. It was really nice.”
By the end of Malou’s stay with us, she was standing calmly for mounting and dismounting, responded to the rider’s cues for walk, halt and trot on big lines.
She was ready to return home.
Malou loaded beautifully, on the first try, and travelled across the Alps to her new home.
Carmen gave Malou all the time she needed time to settle into the new environment and guided her with skill and compassion.
At this point, I want to express my gratitude to Carmen for entrusting her precious young horse to us. Carmen has done a wonderful job with Malou and continues to do so.
It was a wonderful experience to do this training together with Giulia and Carmen. We understood each other well because Carmen is, first of all, a really nice person and she is also a skilled clicker trainer. Her focus is on dogs but her appreciation of balance and sound movement for the benefit of the animal, goes hand-in-hand with what we do. She has developed detailed training plans that develop better balance and movement in dogs. If you are interested to find out more about Carmen’s work follow her Facebook or Instagram account. She has published several books and other material on this topic.
I don’t want to miss out recommending Giulia’s extraordinary Buch (in Italian) as well, which they were exchanging 😊
At the new home, Carmen initially focussed on making the transition to the new environment as smooth as possible but she didn’t forget about riding.
Here she is on Malou AND introducing a second rider.
Did you notice how well balanced Malou stands next to the mounting block? Especially on the right image. Wow! 🤩
Giulia and I are thrilled about this progress and look forward to hearing more out their continuous successes.
Summing up
This whole series is meant to provide you with an idea about how such a progression can look like without implying that this was the only way to start a young horse under saddle or re-introducing ridden work to a horse that had bad experiences. There are many ways to approach it and you need to find the one that best fits your situation.
Riding a horse is an amazing experience and it can be fun for both, rider and horse. Don’t give up on your dream because you have seen bad riding or because you doubt your own skills.
Riding has the potential to offer enriching experiences to your horse and she can benefit physically if you put enough focus on balance and sound movement.
Understanding the benefits of healthy movements and recognising them when they happen, can seem impossible at first. You may not yet see the importance of shoulder balance or the hindquarters stepping under to carry more weight. That’s understandable because equestrian books are typically not very good at explaining these concepts. And there are very few riders who can actually show the work.
This is the reason why I am so passionate about sharing Anja Beran’s work. I knew I wanted to learn from Anja, when I attended her first international workshop in 2011. She presented a number of horses that, based on veterinary prognosis, had no riding in their future. A life as a pasture buddy was the best predicted outcome. Yet, Anja presented these horses under saddle in advanced movements such as piaffe, passage, flying changes and pirouettes in lightness and harmony. Just magical. Anja’s riding is therapeutic and I wanted to learn why.
If you are also curious about why Anja’s training is so beneficial for so many horses, you should definitely attend her annual dressage workshop. During this week, she presents her training progression and shows the horses she currently has in training. She generously answers all your questions around horses and training. It is a unique opportunity that you shouldn’t miss.
I would also like to invite you to share your feedback on this series. I’d love to hear what you liked, which aspects were missing or which topics you would want me to develop further. Just reply to this email or, if you prefer, you can book a web call to chat.
It’s been a great pleasure to write these emails and I am honoured that you took the time to read them. They are yours to keep in case you want to read them a second time 😉.
It would also make me happy, if you would share them with friends. They can subscribe hier.
Thank you Carmen and Giulia, thank you all. I hope to see you at Anja Beran’s next workshop. (Send me an email if have further questions)
Bye,
Michaela
P.S.: The series comes to a natural closing with this email. However, I will continue to send out emails to this list at irregular intervals. If you liked the content, then don’t do anything (don’t unsubscribe) in oder to get them.