Training Assumptions

Many (most?) instructors, (especially those who do not ride their students’ horses), start their coaching from a flawed basis based on a broad assumption.  They assume a (mature) horse fully comprehends the basic aids. This begins a dangerous cycle- if something goes wrong in a ride, the reason a horse hasn't responded to an aid correctly is that the aid wasn't applied correctly, the rider wasn't positioned correctly and/or was doing something to prevent a correct response, or that old favourite of horse-blamers everywhere, that the horse was just being being stubborn!

A more useful point for coaching to begin is, “Does this horse know how to stop on a light pressure from the reins? Does it know how to go on a light leg pressure? Does it know how to turn on a light rein pressure?” Most horses, even highly trained ones, do not clearly understand or respond to those three light aids. They have had so much done to them, so many conflicting aids of varying strengths applied in different places, with or without release, that they do not know how to consistently stop on a light aid and go on a light aid. They are confused. And when they don't respond the way the rider expects, on that particular day, they are often given a "correction." This undermines their confidence and can lead to conflict behaviours like bucking.

By retraining the correct basic responses until the horse is consistently responding to light aids, the horse and rider can begin to form the harmony required for higher level work.

It's my opinion that adult amateur riders LOVE to blame themselves when things go wrong.  On one hand, this is admirable and we should all be striving to be better riders.  On the other hand, this can lead to riders denying and never addressing the gaps in their horse's training.  It's very, very difficult to sit well and apply correct aids on a poorly-trained horse.  Ideally, the horse and rider improve together and by addressing the training of the horse FIRST rather than fiddling around with position corrections, as the harmony improves and the horse GOES better, the rider will automatically SIT better.