On Riding

To ride a horse skillfully is to educate him.
A rider is only as good as he communicates.
A method is no better than the person who is advocating it.

A heavy handed rider, regardless of his knowledge or method cannot make a horse that is agreeable to ride.
Taut reins fetter the horse’s movement, especially in the head and neck, and hurt his mouth ; the horse learns to pull, not in resistance but in an attempt to escape pain and regain freedom of movement.

Most problems initiate from the Rider, who more often than not has not learned enough about the horse and its needs, does not know how to “speak” the language of the aids correctly, has failed to make himself understood – or has even expressed the exact opposite of what he wished to “say”.

A rider should observe his horse at liberty, reflect, and strive to perfect himself, rather than blame the horse for any unwillingness or imperfection – for in all probability, the horse has responded to the aids actually applied, and not to the aids that we think we have applied.

A creature of flight, the horse is extremely aware of what goes on around him ; he reacts to every movement the rider makes, however slight or involuntary – either with an unexpected defense - or the precise execution of a movement that the rider has been attempting to obtain without result.

Rather too often, horses tend to be over-ridden, with much more strength than necessary being used when applying the aids. The rider must reduce his actions to the very minimum required to produce a given result, and leave the horse the greatest possible freedom in his.

To achieve this principle implies that the thinking rider will first take the time to make an in depth study of his partner, the horse - not only the physiological aspects in the application of the aids, but more specifically the horse’s psychological make-up.

Without first recognition, then understanding of the psyche of the horse in general, and of each individual specifically, it is impossible for a rider to truly educate his horse to be reliable and pleasurable to ride - wherever, whenever and however the rider wishes.

It is the rider’s duty to find a way to learn more about the actual nature of horses – for if he can reach his horse’s understanding through a language that the horse comprehends, everything will become easier – the rider’s proof of having successfully found the “right track” !

“The horse is like your mirror, which never flatters you.
He reflects your temperament as well as your uncertainties.
Do not become angry with your horse, for by so doing, you are effectively deceiving yourself about your own reflected image”
(Translated from the German : Rudolph Binding)