Section I - Of Man & Beast & Sugar Cubes
Chapter I - Partners
Conventional training programs teach our horses that they should be ridden -
that they should let us sit on their backs and point them where we want to go.
But they don't teach them how to be ridden - how to carry us in balanced
working gaits, how to half-halt and how to do correct transitions. A horse
that doesn't know how to be ridden doesn't have the skills to succeed, and when
he fails we compound our error by assuming he is 'resistant' or 'evasive' .
Poor basics will always lead to these words - 'resistance' and 'evasion'. They
have so permeated the discussion of riding they are now a culture unto
themselves. They turn our best friends and partners into our adversaries.
They give us permission to blame the horse instead of looking for the flaw in
the method. They allow us to believe we can solve problems with tighter nose
bands, stronger bits or the latest device on the market, instead of forcing us
to think we may not be training correctly. These words are so enticing - so
effortless - they're addictive. They're used a million times a day with no
more thought or reason than the chain smoker uses lighting up another cigarette.
When the words finally fail, as they must, and the frustration turns to anger
and then fear, as it so often does, they are replaced with, "Maybe you need
another horse." The cycle is complete - the relationship is totally destroyed;
your best friend and partner is now a commodity on the market.
It doesn't have to be this way. If you think your horse is resistant and
evasive, he's probably as confused and frustrated as you. He's certainly out of
balance which makes him a little clumsy, stiff and uncomfortable. But, he's
not resistant and he's not evasive. He needs to learn how to be ridden. He
needs you to explain it to him.
Chapter II - Training
First you ask correctly, then you make correct, then you reward. This
sentence describes the exercise reward cycle, the method by which all training
is accomplished.
Chapter III - Learning
The exercise reward cycle describes how we present
information but does not explain how a horse assimilates it.
Practical observation indicates the learning process is more
complex than the teaching process.
Chapter IV - Five Rules
Rule 1- No One Gets Hurt
"No one gets hurt", because there is no
need for anyone to be hurt - ever. Hurt is pain and pain
results in the instinctive behavior we are trying to
avoid. However, we can use the horses manner of play to
get past aggression and appeal to his intellect.
Rule 2 - Reward in Proportion
Reward is the only means by which the
horse's intellect can be appealed to, and the only way
the horse can decipher our intentions in a positive way.
When the horse is rewarded correctly, he begins to rely
on the rider to let him know if he is performing an
exercise correctly. However, for the horse to accept
reward and understand its significance, he must be taught
about it. Reward is not as simple as it seems.
Rule 3 - Every Step Counts
Make every step the horse takes contribute
to his development. When softness and relaxation are the
top priority in training, precision, accuracy, free
forward movement, engagement, cadence and impulsion will
develop on their own.
Rule 4 - Correction, not Punishment
Correction says, "Do This", and
ends in a reward. Punishment says, "Don't Do That!", and
just ends. Correction comes from knowledge not
frustration, is reasonable not emotional and deals with
problems rather than symptoms.
Rule 5 - Take Your Time
A strongly ingrained notion of the
equestrian culture is that corrections must be made
immediately. The theory is that unless the horse is
promptly punished for aberrant behavior, he will learn
that he can, "get away with it", and forever be spoiled
as a mount. Nonsense! Horses do not learn after only
one or two repetitions of any behavior. Many repetitions
followed by positive reinforcement are required.
Otherwise, Grand Prix horses would be made in a week.