DRESSAGE TRAINING USING BEND

Today I’d like to share some video of my horse Liesl. She’s now seven years old and as I detailed in prior posts, it has not been easy with her.

About a year ago, after I learned of Clinton Anderson, and studied his techniques, I realized I was trying to make her change to fit my method. I was thinking in a very narrow way. She wasn’t responding to me in a positive way, so there must be something wrong with HER. In fact, there was something wrong with ME.

I needed to change my approach. To do that I needed to understand why she acted the way she did. Now of course I can’t really know the operation of her mind, but I tried to break it down into smaller pieces and not assign emotions to her actions.

The techniques I learned really helped me unlock her potential. Whenever something isn’t working, I don’t try to force it. I take a step back and think about why she might be acting the way she is. What can I do to convince her that it’s easier to do what I want?

One of the techniques Clinton uses to supple his horses is bending left and right, both on the ground and under saddle. The key is to bend the horse, then hold the pressure until the horse releases. It’s not just sawing the neck back and forth.

When I first tried it with my horses, I couldn’t believe how stiff they were. Neither one of them could bend more than slight sideways. It took weeks of daily practice until they could easily swing their necks from side to side on the ground.

When I started it under saddle at a standstill, the immediate reaction was again stiffness. I couldn’t get much bend. The video is taken after a few weeks of practice.  Liesl actually tries to beat me to each side, I’m barely touching the reins and she offers the bend.  The video also shows the desensitizing to the stick and string.

When they are moving it’s harder to feel the give but I would describe it as almost like a hollowing, rubber band feel in their neck and body, and they lighten in the mouth. This horse was so stiff every time I asked for the bend in either trot or canter she would revert back to her most common resistance, which was stopping.

At that point I had to ask consider the possibilities – was it impossible for her, or was it too difficult and she wouldn’t try? Since she can’t talk, I assumed that yes it was difficult, but that I should still ask, and accept less. After a little trial and error, I found the place where she can try and feel successful.

The longer video shows this work in the canter, and I’m incorporating the half-pass. She’s still very stiff, so I don’t ask for perfection, but I do want extra bend in the sideways to help supple her.

She’s also just starting her flying changes. They are still awkward but I’m not too concerned if she changes before I ask, or if she changes a little bit late. I’m just trying to give her the idea.

I’m finding that this bending concept really helps me to understand why things go wrong, how to deal with it, and also to be accepting of less as long as they try. It makes for a pleasant ride every day.

I work on my own and make many mistakes. I’ve learned not to be afraid of the mistakes. Horses are very forgiving, and I’ve been able to undo more of my training errors than I believed possible.

I’m so glad I found this technique and didn’t give up on this horse. And I never thought I’d say that I enjoy riding her. What an amazing transformation. It never would have happened if I was too stubborn to admit I was wrong, and change.

Video links are below:

http://youtu.be/Gfi5zUlBH4c
http://youtu.be/835MPOUW9xo

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