The Art of Natural Dressage

My friend at the stable that I train with all the time works with a little pinto mare named Lacy. Lacy is a very opinionated little lady, and she often looked very cranky (and acted cranky). She would try and bite my friend when she put a saddle on. After making sure that she had a new saddle that fitted well, a good, high quality pad that absorbs shock, and several massages later, we knew for sure that the saddle no longer hurt her. But her surliness continued.

Until I introduced the clicker to my friend. Training with a positive method (with no punishment) has changed everything for this little mare. Her bad mood is gone, she is more relaxed, her face is friendly and she offers some of the most amazing behaviors out of the blue!

Her latest offering is a few strides of a true high school canter in hand. It came about because she was being asked to go into a canter, and she instead offered a bit of a rear - but at the same time as she took a canter stride forward - then another , and then another! Three in a row! You should have heard me yell with delight at my friend, "TELL HER GOOD! GIVE HER A COOKIE! GIVE HER ALL THE COOKIES!!!!", and I then explained to her what her horse had just done!

This is the same little mare that offered a spanish walk, again, out of the blue, when her owner touched a whip lightly to her rump. She touched the right side, and up went the right front leg. She touched the left rump, and up went the left leg.

My friend still uses more pressure and at times a little punishment, where I won't, but she's on a good road and getting softer and more mindful of her little mare's well being all the time. What is really, really nice to see, is that she now hugs her mare's head, and her mare likes it. This didn't happen a few months ago. And she no longer sees "attitude" as disobedience, but as her horse talking to her...and she's listening!

Wow! I love stories like that!

I had rather the same with Jamie some time ago in my lesson with David. Jamie jumped in canter so forceful and collected that he came up in front. It felt... I can't find a word to describe it... Heavenly!

Ralph made a picture at that precise moment, thank god.

And the people said, as well as about the live action as about the picture; you should not let him do that!

There was a man in my shop some time ago, he rides with a bit, but nevertheless, he told me this;
He was riding his Pureblood Spanish stallion who started to piaffe.
And other man with a warmblood gelding said;
'you should punish your horse for that, you did not ask him that!'

My customer said to him; 'my stallion gives me one of the most wonderful gifts in the world, and you tell me I should punish him?'

I loved the story, it is so true!

Warm regards,

Josepha

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www.equusuniversalis.com

Oh this is indeed a very nice story!!! Great to read that the horses feelings changed to much!

I asked Evita to trot one day and she did a few steps wich looked like the passage I was soo happy and exited I could cry!
After this she tried it all the time but couldn't do it again. I didn't ask but she wanted to much to make me happy again. She got very frustrated and angry (you could see her count "... 1,2,3 .. front back ..uhm.. left right.. ohno 1,2,..") she couldn't do it anymore. I did not even ask for a trot the weeks after because I was sad she became so frustrated, only to please me.
Some time ago I came into the paddock and she ran to me anding with a few steps of passage!!! She did it!!! I still don't ask he for it but when she does it I'm very very happy and so is she!!!

Evita does everything to make me happy, when riding this resulted in the greatest movements ... it was very hard to make her understand just walking around getting used to weight on her back was fine to begin with.

These are all just wonderful stories, especially the one of the Pinto mare. That horse is just the best teacher you can get!

Blacky is also trying for passage without me asking it. He's not much of a trotter (long, slow and a bit dull with some stumbling in it) and loves to canter, so when he started to mix the pesade and canter into a really high collected canter I was over the moon. He started with one step, now (after two months ) he can do four and it's just wonderful to see him get so high and mighty - and he seems to like that feeling too, as since we've started with the collected canter, Blacky is more and more discontent with the trot he is doing usually. He shifts his headset all the time, tries to speed up or down and sometimes give a little more upwards spring to it - that's when I click and reward. He has to discover this himself, but it's really wonderful to see him to actually want to collect!