Gent's Bandit      Horse Tales and More Pix    Bandit's & Cowboy's Bloodline

Horse Tales 2

Horse Behavior for the New Owner - How to deal with 1200lb animals
A Bad Spur Day - How I learned (the hard way) to be careful with spurs
Horse Knows Best - How to get your posting right
Bad Horse - Horses can be almost childlike at times
One Rein Stop Saves the Day - It's nice to have an emergency brake
Jingle, Jangle, Jingle (Part II) - Why you should be careful with a new saddle
Rating Horse Clinicians - Comparing Horse Clinicians: Clinton Anderson, Parelli Horsemanship, Chris Cox, Pony Boy (Newly Updated!)
What's Wrong with Dressage? - And you thought it was just boring to watch

Horse Behavior for the New Owner

    Let’s face it…horses can be pretty intimidating.  They have BIG everything…big heads, big legs and big teeth.  If they were carnivores, we wouldn’t have anything to do with them.  AND we’d run for cover whenever they came around.  Most of them outweigh us by at least 800 pounds.  In spite of that, a lot of them seem to be scared of their own shadow and will shy and run from the most seemingly benign objects…often right into us.  I’ve watched people get hurt by their horses, with their horse completely oblivious to the harm they caused.  Horses, in short, can be very dangerous.  

    As a new horse owner, with zero prior experience with them, I was pretty perplexed with their behavior.  They often pushed into me and bumped or shoved me with their nose.  They’d get too close and nearly step on my feet.  My younger horse liked to pin his ears at me or turn his butt to me when I walked into his stall.  If you gave them food from your hand they’d came to expect it and would bite at my clothes…with those aforementioned BIG teeth.  None of the animals I was familiar with in the past prepared me for dealing with Mr. Horse. 

    I finally realized that like any other animal, they aren’t going to change their instinctual behavior.  If I was going to socialize my horses to me, I needed to communicate to them in their language.  I watched some people verbally scold their horses for bad behavior.  That never worked.  The horses ignored the insistent “NO’s” and “BAD HORSE” and kept on doing what they were doing.  

    Watching horses interacting in the paddock together was very enlightening.  If one horse wants another to move first it ASKS (by pinning its ears back and lowering its head), then it INSISTS (by threatening to bite or kick) and if that doesn’t work it actually bites or kicks the other horse.   Of course, it doesn’t often escalate to the kicking and biting part.  Mostly the horses have worked out the herd pecking order and ear pinning and head lowering is all that it takes.  It struck me that horses are visual and not verbal communicators. 

    My horses were treating me as a horse.  Bumping me to see if I’d move.  Testing me to see where I stood in the horse pecking order.  It’s the only way they know how to deal with an individual.  Horses instinctually need to know where they rank, be it leader or follower, with you. 

    So…I resolved to be the leader.  No more hand-fed treats…you can’t bribe a horse in the long run to do what you want.  All their treats from now on go into their feed bucket. 

    I tried real hard, but I couldn’t pin my ears back any more than they already were.   And I sure didn’t want to get into a kicking or biting contest with a horse because I’d surely be the loser.  So I got better tools.  I bought a heavy 14-foot lead rope and a rope halter.  With these tools I made my horses move out of my way.  They stood clear until I permitted them to stand near me.  The more I taught them to get out of my way and respect my space the more they seemed to want to be with me.  They did less ear pinning and gave me more eye contact.  

    Check out horses in the paddock.  The dominant horse that pins and pushes around the other horses is the one that the other horses want to be with.  Less dominant horses tend to be relegated to the other side of the paddock.  The same principle applies to the “human” horse.  If you’re the leader they want to be with you.  If they’re uncertain about your status, they tend to blow you off.  Worse, they can treat you with disrespect and that can (due to their sheer size) be dangerous. 

    So ultimately you, the horse owner, needs to be the herd leader.  The herd can consist of solely you and your horse.  That’s the only way to truly be safe and effective with your equine partner. 

²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²² 

    By far the best horse clinician I’ve come across is Clinton Anderson.  His tape series on ground handling really gave me the confidence to deal effectively with my horses.  His Lungeing for Respect series was where I started and it’s well worth the time to view it.  Check out his web site.  He’s also regularly featured on RFDTV on Channel 9409 on Dish Network or Channel 379 on Direct TV.

   
Desensitizing Bandit to the lead rope

A Bad Spur Day 

    So, I thought that since I chose to ride with cowboy boots that maybe I would switch from English spurs to Western ones.  I got some spiffy looking ones that came with three different sizes of rowels (you know, those little wheels on the end of the spur).   I swapped out the biggest ones for the smallest ones because I figured, “I’m not bull riding.”  When I wore them on my boots they made just the tiniest little, “jingle, jangle, jingle” noise…kind of soothing to me, anyway. 

    I’m not a big spur user.  As long as Mr. Horse responds to a gentle pressure from my leg then we are two happy campers.  But if he ignores the leg (or more properly my calf pressure) then I’ll point my toe of my boot outward and lift my heal and spur into his ribcage to make it more uncomfortable to ignore my leg pressure.  On some rides, spurs are never needed…at other times Mr. Horse’s attention wanders and they need some motivation.  As soon as they respond the spur comes off.  And it’s back to simple gentle leg pressure.  No big deal…so I thought… 

    So I loaded up onto Bandit for a little ride in the indoor arena.  As soon as he took a couple of steps I knew something was up.  His ears came back and his body tensed up.  He started walking faster and his head raised up.  I pulled back on the reins with no result.  Bandit went into a trot and then a canter…obviously very frightened.  Within 15 seconds he was running as fast as he could.  

    I knew it was the spurs, but at first thought I was inadvertently hitting him with the rowels.  I made an extra effort to make sure my legs were off his side.  It didn’t help…Bandit started snorting and kicking out with his rear legs…he was seriously SCARED.  Of course, it was a negative feedback loop…the more he ran the more the spurs made that little “jingle, jangle, jingle” noise and Bandit was doing what prey animals do…he was running as fast as he could to get away...with me on top of him.

    I tried pulling him into a tighter circle to slow him down, but every time I did so he started to get “tippy” and I was afraid he would fall over on yours truly. 

    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a wide-eyed Sue taking cover behind the sawdust pile.  

    So as I turned him again I bailed off.   Someone asked me later if my leg went forward over the saddle or back over the saddle.  Can’t say that I remember.  Landed on my left wrist and right knee, resulting in a nasty sprain and a few bruises.  As soon as I came off, Bandit slowed down to a walk and came over like nothing much had happened.  I got back on him (minus the spurs) and he rode just fine. 

    My guess as to the total time from mounting up to the inglorious bailout: about 45 seconds. 

    Moral to the story – when introducing something new to your horse make sure you can get rid of it pretty darn quick…just in case. 

It was just a little "Jingle, Jangle, Jingle"

Horse Knows Best  

    How do you tell if you’re riding correctly?  Just wait for your horse to tell you. 

    Now, this story isn’t going to make a lot of sense if you don’t know what “posting” is.  When most horses trot it’s a pretty bouncy ride.  If you just try to sit in the saddle at the trot then your back is going to get quite a good pounding (and your horse’s back gets a good whacking also).  Not much fun for either horse or rider.  So to avoid this the rider allows the motion of the horse to push him up off the saddle and briefly suspends his weight with his legs.  This significantly reduces the wear and tear on horse and rider.  It does require actual effort on the part of the rider, so it’s not universally practiced by all horse people.  

    Generally speaking, western style riders avoid the trot completely and therefore avoid the problem.  English style riders can be a pretty hard-core lot and will sit the trot anyway.  They loosen their bodies and try to flop along with the horse.  If you watch closely you can see their heads bob like one of those toys in the back of car windows.  You ain’t gonna catch no cowboy riding like that. 

    So, most people who trot will post.  And to be technically correct you have to post (or come up out of the saddle) on the proper “diagonal.”  In other words, if the horse is going to the left you should rise as the left hind and the right front reach forward, and sit as they hit the ground.  Visa versa for turns to the right.  Think these are just made up rules by the English posting mafia? Read on. 

    So, there I was, on Cowboy, practicing trotting.  After a while, I figured I was getting pretty good at this posting thing.  “This stuff isn’t so hard,” I thought.  My instructor is forever telling me I’m on the wrong diagonal and now I’ve finally got it right.  As I’m happily trotting along, Cowboy lets out a grunt, cocks his eye back towards me and gives me a little lurch to the side.  I look him in the eye and say, “What?” “What’s wrong?”  I look down and think, “Oops, wrong diagonal.”  I sit a count and change to the other diagonal.  Cowboy looks forward again and continues his trot. 

    “Hey, my horse just CRITIQUED my riding!” I thought.  What’s worse is that he was right!  

    Obviously, being on the wrong diagonal is fatiguing to the horse.  So he was just trying to make his job a little easier by trying to get me to ride better.  What a horse!  Pretty good for a 5-year-old.   

Kid learning how to bend

Bad Horse

    Cowboy can be a little cranky at times.  In fact, he used to be a LOT cranky.  He would regularly greet us in his stall by turning his butt to us and pinning his ears.  During bridling he often would go through the motions of trying to nip us.  Over a year of ground work has eliminated 99% of these problems.  Still...sometimes that mischievous child comes to the surface.

    I was holding him on the ground and talking to another person when Cowboy reached down and grabbed my wrist in his mouth.  He didn't bite at all, he just "mouthed" by wrist.  I looked down to see why my arm was in his mouth and them made eye contact with him.  In a flash, he let go of my wrist and quickly snapped his head up as far as it would go against the lead rope.  He had the wide eyed look of a kid that knows he just did a very BAD thing.  The look on his face was, "Oh, I'm going to get it!" 

    I did fulfill his expectations (he got a whack for unacceptable behavior), but I had to laugh at his almost childlike reaction.

Cowboy and Paul

One Rein Stop Saves the Day

    So as things come to pass I end up training a new quarter horse.  This 16 hand 6-year-old is "broke to ride" but actually knows very little.  The cautionary advice I get is that he "can get very fast on the trail."  Little did I know how fast he could actually go. 

    "Kid" is very stiff, tries to walk off when you get on him, doesn't go from leg pressure, only reluctantly stops from bit pressure and tries to push through the bit at the faster gates.  His canter is a mess.  He counter flexes his neck and head to the outside and dumps his shoulder hard to the inside.  I obviously had my work cut out for me.  

    I started out by getting him to flex his head and neck to the halter and lead rope on the ground.  The goal is to have the horse give to pressure and reach around and touch his side with his nose.  When he gives to the pressure from the lead rope then I release the rope as his reward.  His first session was pretty bad.  We must have looked like uncoordinated dance partners.  Around and around we went for what seemed to be 5 minutes.  Him moving his feet and going around in a circle and me hugging his hindquarters and holding the rope waiting for him to get the idea.  Eventually he got the idea.

    From there I taught the same flex under saddle with the bridle, at the standstill.  Once he did that reasonably well at the standstill I moved on to the walk.  Once Kid was walking I reach down and pulled on one rein to flex him.  This is his first one rein stop.  We repeat this over and over again.  Then we repeat the same procedure at the trot.

    After getting his canter reasonably under control in the indoor arena Kid and I go outdoors in a field to practice without walls.  I ask for a trot and Kid gives me the same trot he did indoors.  Time for a short canter.  As soon as I ask for a canter Kid takes one stride and then BOLTS!  I'm thrown back in the saddle and reach for the horn.  WOW!  This horse accelerates quicker than a dragster.  I grab the left rein and do a one rein stop.  I couldn't get enough rein and had to drop the right rein in order to reel in enough left rein to bend his head around. 

    I try his canter again and he bolts again.  Pulling on both reins just results in his head going high and him not slowing down.  Again another one rein stop.   Something tells me he's done this before and has gotten away with it.  I highly suspect he thinks bolting is fun.  He's probably had people pulling on both reins and screaming and yelling for him to slow down.  That's real horse entertainment. 

    The one rein stop saved me from some real ugliness.  If I hadn't taught Kid to flex on the ground and under saddle, and understand a one rein stop while moving then I would probably not have been successful in getting him under control when he bolted. 

    It's only a matter of time before you will have a need for a one rein stop.  Like Clinton Anderson says, the one rein stop is your emergency handbrake.  It's a nice feeling to know you have a way to regain control in an out of control situation. 

    The best way to learn to do a one rein stop is to watch it actually being done.  I learned to do it by watching Clinton Anderson's Riding with Confidence video set.  It's well worth your time and money.

Kid

 
Kid in the round pen

Jingle, Jangle, Jingle (Part II)

Since we want to do a little bit of trail riding we get a western saddle for Bandit.  Bandit isn’t very easy to fit because he’s got a real barrel type back with no withers.  You really feel like you’re sitting on a 55-gallon drum when riding him.  Tucker Saddlery makes a nice wide tree saddle and after sending tracings to them they confirmed that their wide tree should fit him.  

After a little wait the saddle comes in and we take it out to the barn.  The Tucker is spiffy brand new and just a bit stiff.  It’s got several metal rings for attaching saddlebags and whatnot.  When you move the saddle they make a nice little “jingle, jangle, jingle” noise.  Hhmmm…that’s sounds a little familiar, I think. 

I make my best attempt to tighten down the saddle but it’s petty hard to cinch it up tight because it’s new and stiff.  Sue lunges Bandit with the saddle and it’s pretty obvious that those little jingle jangle sounds bother him quite a bit.  He has a perturbed look on his face.  He’s not liking this one iota. 

After a good bit of lunging Bandit seems to calm down.  Sue, however, looks circumspect about getting on her horse.  She says, “Why don’t you ride him?”  Oh, I can think of plenty of reasons not to, but I decide that I can probably ride him through this.  

I cinch up the saddle as much as I can, but it’s still loose.  Using a stepladder I get on him.  The saddle rolls around on his back.  It has that new leather squeak.  Bandit’s ears are semaphoring me his high state of alert.  Off we walk and he does reasonably well.  At the trot though, it’s another story.  Now the jingle jangle is joined by the new leather squeak.  It’s too much for Bandit and he tries to bolt.  I was ready for it and do an immediate one rein stop.  I’m careful to keep my weight centered on his back so I don’t put any weight in the stirrups so the saddle won’t roll.  He comes to a stop.  I flex him the other way and go back into the trot.  Talk about energy.  Bandit’s still scared.  He tries to canter and I one rein stop him again.  We go back into the trot for quite some time. 

After trotting for what seems like 10 minutes (more likely only 5 or so) he suddenly slows down into his normal trot speed.  I can feel him physically relax.  He’s reached that point where the new sounds haven’t killed him and I’m sure he thinks to himself, “Why am I running around like an idiot when I could be going a lot slower?” 

I think to myself, “A couple of months ago I couldn’t have ridden him through that, I would have crashed big time!”  

We took the saddle home and apply several coats of quality leather dressing.  The saddle has since settled in and now fits great.  It still jingles and jangles and Bandit could care less.

Bandit with his Tucker saddle

OK, So Who's the Best Horse Clinician?

        Wondering which clinician is right for you?  Here’s what I’ve experienced with Clinton Anderson, Parelli horsemanship, Chris Cox and Ga Wa Ni Pony Boy.  

Clinton Anderson

        We traveled to the middle of a cornfield in Sterling, Illinois to audit a 5-day clinic.  If you’ve seen Clinton on TV or during an Expo then you probably noticed his intensity and fast pacing.  This carries over to his clinics.  He split the clinic pretty evenly between ground handling and mounted exercises.  At the end of the clinic everyone made a lot of progress and the amount of material covered was extensive.  He’s a taskmaster and you and your horse will be plenty tired at the end of every day.  

        All the 15 riders and horses had obviously spent some time doing Clinton’s version of ground training.  Without a doubt they were the best-prepared group riders of all the clinics we’ve been to. 

        His facilities were excellent with a large indoor arena, outdoor arena and obstacle course.  Note that Clinton is building a new facility near Columbus, Ohio, which will go into operation in 2005.  We’re scheduled to attend a 3-day clinic in the first half of 2005.

Clinic participants in Clinton's obstacle course in Sterling, IL

        UPDATE:  Surviving a 3-day Clinton Anderson Clinic

        Bandit and myself and Kid and my son trekked off to Belle Center, OH to be in the first group to take a clinic at Clinton's new facility in May 2005.  Belle Center, Ohio is a tiny little town with two recognizable motels and about 3 decent restaurants (stay at the Comfort Inn and Suites...it's OK).  Well, we didn't come for the amenities...we came to ride!  And we got exactly that, plenty of riding.  The new facility was still under construction.  The obstacle course was being bulldozed and there were no outdoor arenas yet.  So all the clinic was conducted in the huge indoor arena.  

        There were a total of 18 participants which included one of Clinton's new apprentices working with one of his horses.  It was a mixed group with some people being completely clueless about horse training and Clinton's techniques.  Surprisingly, that didn't slow down Clinton's program one bit as he had three of his apprentices out in the arena helping out with the more difficult horses or the more challenged people.  We averaged over 3 hours of ground work and 4 hours of riding per day.  Needless to say, the pace was fast and furious.  You do need a thick skin and a certain amount of physical fitness to keep up with Clinton...The Drill Instructor.  He has a very good feel for how hard he could drive the horses.  When they were out of air he would give them a break.  If the owners were out of air...too bad.  You need to keep up.  

        Probably the best lesson we learned from Clinton is that in order to achieve what you want with your horse you need a serious work ethic.  His training isn't magic, it's just very effective and follows a proven building block approach that horses (and most people) learn quite easily.   The clinic makes you want to go home and ride three or four times more often.  That's a nice feeling to have.  You really feel like you learned the skills need to work through any horsey problem.

        Clinton doesn't put on a show.  He rides peoples' horses only if there's a real reason to do it (mostly to teach you the next lesson).  Unlike Parelli and his certified instructors, Clinton doesn't seem to think he has anything to prove to the clinic's participants.  Besides Pony Boy, he's the only clinician I have experience with that has never said a derogatory comment about other clinicians.   Clinton is all business and I think that alienated some clinic participants who were looking for a kinder gentler approach.  But having audited a clinic before I knew what to expect.  There were no group hugs and after clinic parties.   If you're looking for hand holding and gentle encouragement Downunder Horsemanship isn't the place to find it.  If you want a serious program that teaches you the skills needed to make you and your horse a better riding team then Downunder Horsemanship is for you.

Clinton on Bandit

        Criticism about the Facilities:  The guest stalls that line one wall of the indoor arena have sand bedding (the same footing as the arena).  They have no mats.  You will need to bring hay bags because I wouldn't want my horses to ingest sand with their hay (sand colic is a concern).  Also, the indoor arena stinks of urine.  Obviously, the sand in the stalls never dries out and the odor comes from these stalls.  They really need mats and proper bedding.  

Parelli Horsemanship 

        I signed up for a two-day Level One clinic in Virginia in April 2004.  A Parelli certified instructor (Carol Coppinger) taught the course and did a riding demonstration with her own horse.  She jumped her horse bridleless and bareback and had him do several tricks.  That's all fine and well but I didn't really come for a show.  I wanted to try to figure out what Parelli Horsemanship was all about.  Pacing was very slow.  The first few hours didn’t even involve your horse.  It consisted of teaching knot tying, stick twirling and having people role play the part of the horse.  The second part of the first day consisted of groundwork with the horses.  The 2^nd day was mostly mounted work using a rope halter with only the lead rope for reins.   

        This was the least prepared group of riders.  At that time, the Parelli system didn't have a collection of videos that you can train with before hand.  I think it was done that way so that his nationwide network of instructors maintain a client base.  Since this clinic, Parelli has released a new video series but most people seem to find it difficult to follow.  Most of the people that showed up had horses with serious issues.  Unfortunately, at the end of the 2-day clinic I doubt any of them really had the skills to go home and work out these problems.   The instructor spent a lot of time with her head buried in her grade sheets and didn't see several opportunities to correct peoples' mistakes. 

        You’re supposed to get a certificate of Level One completion at the end of the 2-days, but guess what?  Four required tasks were not covered by the instructor, so no one got their certificate.  But you could send in a video of yourself completing the tasks and for 40 more dollars you would get your certificate.  Pretty hokey, huh? 

        My advice: Pass Parelli by.   

Cowboy jumping barrels at a Parelli 2-day Clinic

Chris Cox 

        I got the least exposure to Chris Cox since I only audited his 7-day course for the first day.  Even so I was impressed.  This was his Horsemanship 2 course and nearly all the riders were repeats from the last year when they did the first course with him.  Chris is personable and has a good cowboy sense of humor.  His ground training is similar to Clinton Anderson’s.  He did about 2 hours in the indoor arena and then headed to the outdoors to do obstacle training.  I didn’t get a chance to see any mounted work but what I saw in that one day inspired me to sign up for his video monthly service.  

        We got to see Chris at the Harrisburg, PA Horse Expo and his demonstrations were impressive.  He spent an hour with a  horse with a confirmed bucking problem and at the end of the demonstration was doing flying lead changes while riding in a halter and lead rope!

        I'm signed up for a 4-day clinic this spring and will write up a review.   

Update:  A Chris Cox 4-day Clinic

         Cowboy and I went to a 4-day Chris Cox clinic at Red Rock Ranch in Maryland in May 2005.  I was really surprised with the pacing of this Clinic.  It was Slowwwww!  In the first two days we were on our horses for a total of 10 minutes.  Chris generally starts 15 minutes late from the times he sets.  There was lots of talk, with discussions on tack, feed, worming and other equine related information.  One of the reasons there was so little riding was that Chris required that he round pen all (18) horses.  That took over a full day alone.  Even though the clinic requirements stated that your horse needed to be able to walk, trot and canter on a loose rein, some people brought horses that not only couldn't do that, but also had serious issues.  Several had a bucking problem.  That didn't seem to bother Chris.  Actually, he seemed to enjoy demonstrating his stop the bucking technique I had seen before.   

        Actually, after you seen him make the 5th horse buck in the round pen I started wondering how effective this technique was in the long run.  The horses did tire quickly of bucking and then Chris would load the owner on the horse without a halter or bridle and have them ride.   Of course the owners were terrified but none of them got hurt.  I just have to wonder how much of the "Stop the Buck" is really a parlor trick.  Obviously it works then and there, but I wonder how these horses would do once they got home.  Chris was asked this question by the crowd, but he was non-committal in his response.

        The ground work consists of yielding the hind quarters, backing and lungeing for a half circle (he calls "Direct and Drive).  He faults clinicians that do more extensive ground work.  Chris taught no desensitizing techniques as he believes this leads to a unresponsive horse.  I found this a curious concept to say the least. 

        We finally got to actually ride for part of the third day and on an abbreviated session on the fourth day.  He covered one rein stops at all three gates, hip yielding, backing and introducing collection.  Chris had a plane to catch so he ended the fourth day early.

        Overall, I was disappointed that there wasn't more riding.  There just seemed to be too much talk and time spent watching Chris round pen horse after horse.  I left the clinic wishing I had learned more.

Criticism about the Facilities:  Red Rock Ranch's outdoor guest stalls use high tension wire on one side of the stalls.  This is just unsafe and unacceptable.  One horse got a bad foot injury from the wire.  There's no water within 100 yards of the guest stalls.  I wouldn't stay there again as long as that wire remains. 

Ga Wa Ni Pony Boy 

        I took Cowboy to a Horses Teaching People 2 course back in September 2004.  It was a two-day nearly all mounted riding clinic.  Pony is pretty laid back.  If you’re concerned about a clinician being too hard on you or your horse then Pony is for you.  He breaks his clinic up into 3 teams of 6 riders and cycles them through at 20-minute intervals.  That means you get about 40 minutes per hour of time off.  I spent that time loping Cowboy out in the fields of the facility.  

        Several of the riders also had issues with their horses that I doubt they went away with the necessary skills to fix.  Pony’s Horses Teaching People 1 course is a ground work/round-penning clinic and I think if your going to follow Pony’s system you need to take both of the courses.  

        Pony did manage to coax nearly everyone onto their horse bareback (it’s not mandatory).  Can't say I would ride bareback again (Cowboy's backbone is too sharp!) but it was interesting.

        He doesn’t have a system of training videos so most people arrived at the clinic not knowing what to expect.  But he's not that demanding so no one was overwhelmed.

At a Pony Boy Clinic: the first and last picture of Paul riding Cowboy bareback (ouch!)

What's Wrong with Dressage?

            Once upon a time, when I first started learning to ride, I took lessons from my wife’s dressage instructor.  I really just wanted to learn to ride, but the instructor tried to blend dressage techniques in on every maneuver.  Shoulders back.  Eyes straight ahead.  Hold contact with the reins.  Kick with every stride to “encourage impulsion.”  Outside rein to support, inside rein for bend.  Get him “on the bit.”  Don’t talk to your horse…it’s a serious downgrade in competition…and on and on. 

There were lots of rules and both my horse and I hated it.  Now, Cowboy is pretty understanding; the worst he did was flip his head and counter flex a lot.  But I could tell he wasn’t happy. 

I’ve scribed for dressage judges in countless competitions.  Every single thing you do on your horse is graded in excruciating detail.  Dressage, in short, is the method of riding that requires you to micromanage your horse’s every movement.  I got the feeling that what dressage is really about is not trusting your horse to carry himself correctly or think for herself. 

It slowly occurred to me that the other riders’ horses that took dressage lessons from this instructor were not very happy either.  Without fail they were: 

Then one fateful day the instructor said to my wife, “You must ride with gloves or else the reins will cut your hands.” 

That was it for me…anybody that teaches to pull on the reins so hard that they are hurting your hands (and the horse’s mouth) is completely messed up.  No more lessons from a dressage instructor for Cowboy or me.  The previous owner taught him western and I’m not going to mess up his lightness with a heavy-handed approach to riding. 

I resolved to find a better way to ride.  Clinton Anderson released his “Riding With Confidence” video series about this time and I tried my best to absorb it.  My philosophy became, “I’m not using the reins unless absolutely necessary.”  Most of the time they stay hooked over the horn and I use my legs and body to control the horse.  We spent countless hours trotting and cantering on a totally loose rein.  I slowly gave Cowboy more responsibility to think for himself.  Yes, I’m there with the reins when he needs help, but as time went by he needed them less and less.  He also became a much happier horse.  

Are the actions of one dressage instructor a direct reflection of the entire dressage community?  Not necessarily, but I think the basic philosophy of micromanaging a horse's every movement pervades the sport.  

Of course, there’s no single “correct” way to ride.  But I challenge you, be able to ride your horse at a walk, trot and canter on a loose rein and not have him run off or change gaits.  Once you have a horse that can take responsibility for his or her own actions then you can proceed into other riding disciplines.  

Look Ma...no facial appliance

Cowboy going bridleless in the round pen

Back to Part 1        Back to Part 1

Comments

From Brooklyn, NY

By total chance I happened upon your website and it kept me and my partner Consuelo quite entertained for 2 days. We live in Brooklyn, some distance from horses or even a real back yard! One day we'll have a house on some land and hopefully a horse or two, but pouring over your site made me wish we weren't "city slickers" right now! Thanks for a thoughtful, funny and informative website. Best wishes to your family and your fine herd, Oraia.

Wow, you have written what I feared was true but never spoken about it. I have always felt that dressage was the true measure of horsemanship. So my horse and I after a year of Clinton Anderson training and western pleasure began dressage. He now has developed an aversion to taking the bit. I thought
it may have been just a pony thing but deep down I think he was telling me that all this dressage work for the last 3 months is hurting his mouth. 
Thank you for your words. We were doing just fine with loose reins and he was a lot happier. We will go back to western pleasure and reining.  Debbie

Paul Responds:

Hi Debbie,

Since I wrote the Dressage comments, I’ve continued working on lateral and vertical flexion with Cowboy.  He now will collect up and give to the bit with what I call “pinky” pressure; I make sure I only use my little fingers to ask for collection.  And…I don’t ask him for constant collection, maybe just 5% of the time I ride.  The rest of the time he’s on a loose rein. 

Good luck with western pleasure and reining, I think both you and your horse will enjoy it much more than dressage.

Thanks for the comments.  

Paul Responds:

read your page after seeing the link on the horsecity boards.

Just wanted to say I'm sorry you had a bad dressage experience. From your description though, what you experienced was BAD dressage training. All your complaints about dead sided depressed horses, and too tight reins- that is not real dressage, IMO. I just think it's a shame that some bad individual experiences caused you to write off an entire discipline. I could easily say the same of Cutting or Western Pleasure due to some of the training practices I've seen and didn't agree with- but I don't. You know what I mean?

(only 'cause you asked for comment, LOL. btw welcome to HC I look forward to reading more posts from ye!) Kelly

Paul Responds:

Hi Kelly,

Thanks for your input.  My second to last paragraph does say,

"Are the actions of one dressage instructor a direct reflection of the entire dressage community?  Not necessarily, but I think the basic philosophy of micromanaging a horse's every movement pervades the sport."

I do think there are "good" dressage instructors out there, but I feel they are in the minority.  Perhaps it's the martial foundation of the discipline.  After all, many of the dressage maneuvers have their origin in cavalry maneuvers.  And the military's use of horses isn't known for its kindler gentler treatment of equines. 

Anyway, dressage just isn't for me because I just look ridiculous riding in tights,  and those English saddles just aren't made to fit guys, and they won't let me attach my cup holder to my saddle during tests and you can't  hoot and holler for your favorite rider during shows.  Oh, the list goes on and on.