Horseman's Arts » Dressage

Frank Grelo: Bit by Bit, Lateral Movements In-Hand…

sharon — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:14:40 +0000

… & Leg Yielding Under Saddle.

This DVD features Riding Master Frank Grelo. I would have provided a link to a website but evidently he doesn’t have one.

The long title pretty well sums up the content which is aimed at providing an introductory look at learning and developing beginning lateral steps. Mr. Grelo demonstrates a basic turn on the forehand in-hand and then shows how he develops that into a “leg yield” in-hand toward a wall. He also shows leg yield in-hand in “head to the wall” position, along a wall. This is followed by demonstrating the same under saddle.

What struck me as unique about this program was the fact that some of the demonstrations are done by a variety of skill levels and abilities in both horses and riders. So, viewers don’t always see just a finished product where it appears the rider is doing nothing and the horse dances along under mind control. It is helpful to see how some horses will not find the work easy to begin with and how the presentation may need to be adjusted for each horse. The film also shows riders, on the ground and under saddle, making those little mistakes that get made by novices and how they can be corrected. So, lots of “regular” horses and riders are in the video. It seems like the participants are probably some of his own students at his training facility.

Mr. Grelo points out that riding a “simple” straight line is actually the result of numerous fine control adjustments and doesn’t happen by magic. Throughout the program he makes an effort to map the beginning work to those fine controls that come later. I enjoyed watching this DVD and I think it could be helpful for folks who are just learning these skills

Horses for Life–Free Issue

sharon — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:32:57 +0000

Anybody remember the old Dressage & CT magazine? It’s been defunct for years–a fact that is very unfortunate. It was a magazine that marched to its own drummer and included articles about such controversial topics as French lightness and how to train the Spanish Walk. I miss that magazine, I learned so much from it.

Making a good effort to fill the gap in support of classical dressage is an online magazine called “Horses for Life”. The recent Blue Tongue controversy gave the magazine a platform to show their stuff. They launched a campaign to support Dr. Gerd Heuschmann by giving him a petition signed by 41,000 people to take to the special meeting with the FEI to discuss Rollkur.

In light of the rollkur controversy the publisher of Horses for Life has made their special “Enough is Enough” edition free. If you have any interest in subscribing to the magazine this is a great way to get a feel for it.

Motivation of Dressage Horses: Richard Hinrichs

sharon — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:10:07 +0000

I just watched this DVD. I really enjoyed it! I didn’t learn anything earth-shatteringly new because I’m already on the positive-reinforcement-works bandwagon. However, it was a delight and inspiration to see and hear of someone who trains horses to an advanced level insist that gentle positive methods are best. So, on that alone I can recommend it.

The video isn’t really a how-to program. Instead, a variety of topics on how to inspire horses in the most effective manner are discussed and illustrated with him as well as his pupils working a wide variety of horses in hand and under saddle. The video consists of the following sections:

Motivating Factors for the Horse
Working with Novices
Work in Hand
Work with an Advanced Horse
Praise
Variety in the Daily Routine

I’m not going to try to describe every section. I’ll just share some of the points I jotted down. I’ll start with his final point of the video, that the film should be used to inspire creative thinking. I like that! He says this as a Friesian stallion is ridden bridleless on screen. He is a decidedly open minded man which I so appreciate.

One thing that is evident throughout is that he’s not opposed to hand-feeding treats including from the saddle. Although the specific option of using food as a reward is only mentioned once, he quite obviously uses food as a reward. He also uses ‘brav’ or ‘good’ as a verbal marker.

He states that a trusting relationship begins in the stall. I noticed that he entered the stall quietly and waited for the horse to acknowledge him and says hello with a treat (and some scritches) when the horse comes over. And so it begins.

He mentions frequently the importance of a “positive working atmosphere” for both horses and riders. Keeping it achievable and calm is crucial for learning.

“Prompt praise escalates the learning process.”

Having a plan is crucial. “A clear mental picture is particularly important when things get difficult. The trainer must not lose sight of the mental picture which is the exact image of what he wants to obtain and is more important than riding technique.”

He believes that clear instruction, kindness, and consistency on the part of the trainer will deliver the highest level of cooperation. This point is made as an Arab mare is worked at liberty in the piaffe and Spanish walk. He then goes on to show a variety of animals doing their own versions of Spanish walk including dogs, goats, and cats. It’s a hoot. I love this guy’s humor. I found myself really wishing I could meet him.

Relaxation is a crucial element to success. He advocates training the horse to lower his head and stretch forward out and down. He prefer this over just riding the horse till he is tired for multiple reasons. But he believes by training the horse to seek that relaxed position he not only develops more relaxation but the rider can then use the trained response as a means to calming the horse when needed. He likes to put the ‘head down’ behavior on the cue of a touch to the wither area which is a natural place to put the hands anyway. He also will teach the horse a verbal cue as well, such as “nose down”. [I like to use the verbal cue of "relax".]

He talks about being in a good mood a lot. He says, “Anyone in a good mood and creative can transfer this good humor to their horse.”

He is clearly not a breed or saddle elitist. The horses shown in the video represent a variety of breeds. In the Praise section he highlights a rider on a smaller pony type breed with the horse wearing what looks to be an Australian Stock saddle. The horse is shown learning tempi changes and the rider after a successful attempt the rider rewards with a verbal marker and the horse stops and wickers as he waits for the treat he knows is coming. Later the horse is shown in piaffe while the announcer says, “Anyone mocking this successful communication between rider and horse as ‘poodle’ dressage might well ask themselves if they too could work in such a low wear and tear fashion and present a horse which truly positively reflects its rider.”

When working with the advanced horse, meaning a trained horse, the motivational emphasis is on ensuring that the horse trusts that the work will not be over taxing so he uses stretching and breaks frequently, he also uses transitions to capture the horse’s attention and bending to help maintain calm and develop collection.

Regarding the work with the advanced horse he says, “Anyone failing to convey clear instruction [to the horse] and constantly criticizes it and penalizes it should not be surprised if the very shortest of time the horse gains the upper hand forcing the rider into a reactive situation.” Another good reason to keep work sessions short and emphasizing positive reinforcement to ensure that the horse wants to respond to the lightest of aids.

I would love to have a link here to my Amazon store to buy this DVD. Unfortunately Amazon apparently doesn’t carry it. I rented it from Giddyupflix. However you come by it, I would call it worthwhile.

Here is a video clip from YouTube which does not come close to doing the whole thing justice. Plus it is in German. The video I watched is overdubbed in English.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeKME38B0v0

Does your horse have the right to say No?

sharon — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:06:45 +0000

Much of my appreciation for classical dressage training comes from my lessons with Karl Mikolka. One of the (many) things I remember him saying (probably while my horse was having a fit) was, “the horse is allowed to say NO!” I’m not saying that fits are desirable! Of course, what we’d prefer is a resounding YES. But if you want to be more than ‘just’ a rider you need to be willing to listen to the horse and if he says No then you need to accept responsibility for that feedback. Then you need to ask yourself, What’s it gonna take to get a Yes?

What got me thinking about this topic today was reading Mary Hunter’s blog post about her encounter with Steve Martin (the bird trainer!) at the 2010 Art and Science of Animal Training Conference. I love hearing about how people are successfully using positive reinforcement with all manner of species. Especially species that can just fly away so you’d better be right on the money with your training philosophy. It is a real inspiration to learn that good training practices are Universal.

So it wasn’t much of a surprise (more of a validation) to read that Steve had made the very same point as Karl did:

“A good trainer is able to give the animal power over their environment. This builds confidence and trust. We can do this by taking responsibility for what the animal does and giving the animal the right to say no. When things go wrong, it can be really, really easy to blame it on the animal. The animal is being stubborn, hard-headed, a jerk, pushing your buttons, messing with your mind, trying to annoy you, the list of labels goes on and on.”

It is up to US to take ownership of the situation, to make the right things easy and obvious and convince the horse that he can say — even better wants to say — Yes.

Why do No’s happen? Even if we’re trying hard not to, we’ll sometimes frustrate or block the horse in some way to cause the horse to put up that red flag. But, as Steve points out these little failings don’t need to be a deal breaker if you have built up sufficient reinforcement history. He calls it the Trust Account. Each time the horse needs to say No you are withdrawing from that Trust Account. Hopefully, your training strategy is based on keeping a very large cushion of trust so that those occasions don’t break the bank, as it were.

Check out Mary’s blog where she also has several write-ups from her experiences at both the 2009 and 2010 Art and Science of Animal Training Conferences. All worthwhile reading.

Then ask yourself, what is my horse saying about your training relationship?

If I Knew What I Wanted

sharon — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:19:02 +0000

Those who have hung around me for some time will know that I’m very fond of saying, “If the horse knew what I wanted and believed he was able to do it, he’d BE doing it.” I used to say “…and was able to do it…” but people would just say that they knew a horse who knew very well thank you very much what they wanted and simply didn’t WANT to comply. So, I adjusted the phrase to include the word “believe” because it is my opinion that those horses who “don’t want to” usually have something else on their mind, something that is preventing them from going along with our ideas. In that state of distraction they really don’t believe that they are able to do …whatever.

The truth is, it doesn’t really matter how we word it, if we approach each horse assuming “they would if they could” (rather than looking for ways to make excuses) well, things have a way of working out for the better.

Recently, on the Classical Dressage group on Yahoo, someone posted this quote by Colonel Carde–Ecuyer en Chef (Chief Rider), National Equitation School, Saumur, France: “If I knew where I wanted to go,and was clear and precise in my requests, with my aids, that I would achieve everything I wanted.”

This, to me, is basically the same sentiment as mine only expressed from the rider’s point of view. It is our clear and precise requests that convinces the horse to believe he can do what we ask.

Transformations

sharon — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:09:56 +0000

A few weeks ago I wrote about a mare I’ve been working with. I’d only had a handful of sessions with her at that time. We’ve since had a few more sessions together. Each time the mare has improved dramatically. I just love seeing these kinds of transformations. When we first started the mare, Cheyenne, was very distant. Mentally, her thoughts were so back with her buddies. As you may recall, the first time with her in the round pen was spent mainly with her wanting to hang out in one part of the pen closest to where she might be able to see her friends. The entire focus of that visit was about convincing her that looking at me might actually work out pretty good for her.

Since that day, things have steadily improved each visit. By improved, I mean instead of her resisting looking at me and telling me in no uncertain terms that really she had no use for me, she has become soft and attentive. During the last visit I was able to even ask her for a little bit of trot on the line. In the past, she would be rushing, crooked and always looking to the outside of the circle. Not so, today! She kept an ear on me and when I asked her to pick up a bit of speed to go to trot it was nice and soft and with me. It is easy to see how gymnastically valuable a circle can be when the horse is choosing to relax into the circle work

Her owner could not be more pleased. She has said that in the past, she would have to spend 45 minutes at trot to get her to walk the way she starting out now. This is so huge and it is news that warms my heart, for sure. The key has been keeping the focus on relaxed attention and making those objectives the easy and obvious choices. The best part is we have only just begun. This will only continue to get better.

The Right Way

sharon — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:54:07 +0000

On the DressageDisgrace.com site there is a discussion about some videos which have been posted as representatives of the ‘right way’ to do dressage. The idea is to identify riders who are not using rollkur as a regular part of their training program and support them. Interestingly, one of the videos posted was of a rider who has taken a stand against rollkur. YET, the horse still showed signs of the same disconnection seen in the rollkured horses. What gives?

This is my theory. What really is the difference between “deep and round” and “hyperflexion”? Where is that line that makes one OK and the other not? Just blue tongues? I guess. But really the only difference is degree because as the second video demonstrates (or demonstrated since it has since been removed by the user) the result is the same–disconnected toe flinging trots and no real collection.

So, we need to see riders who really follow the actual facts of classical training. I submit Cathy Morelli as one person who is competing very successfully and who does not just talk the talk, but walks the walk. If you head over the the DressageDisgrace.com site you’ll see that I posted a link to a video of Cathy on her horse BeSe. What’s interesting is that (unlike the rollkur crowd) she warms up her horse the way she rides the test–up, open and showing that collecting actually involves bending the hind legs. If you can’t wait to see the video just check it out right here…

Cathy also has a great DVD where she explains her system for training, titled “The System: Understanding the Neck”. You can buy it on her site as well as see a preview there. It is also available for rent on Giddyupflix.com. Worth every penny!

Gerd Heuschmann Clinic Review

sharon — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:00:09 +0000

Gerd Heuschmann is a German veterinarian who is also a dressage rider. After years of seeing the damage inflicted on horses as a result if incorrect riding he began to change his own riding methods and starting ‘treating’ horses by first asking owners to change the way they ride. He does clinics around the world now helping people to help horses become more supple and move more freely.

A member of the Ultimate Dressage forum posted her notes from a recent symposium. Let me just say that I agree 100% with everything he says.

Check out the full report here.

Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling Interview

sharon — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:58:25 +0000

No, it isn’t going away and that is a good thing. On Sunday, the folks at DressageDisgrace.com hosted a teleseminar with Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling to talk about the history of rollkur and how it has lead to the death of the spirit of the horse. This was a live event but it was recorded so if you want to listen just go to the DressageDisgrace.com site.

While there you can sign up to get updates on what is happening with regard to the rollkur issue. Speaking of what is happening, the FEI recently made a Statement on horse welfare. Read it here. Quite frankly it seems to say a lot of nothing. Where is the meat??

Classical Schooling with Kalman de Jurenak

sharon — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:16:00 +0000

Right now, I don’t know if I’m inspired or just plain envious. Lovely horses, ridden beautifully. This was an interesting video because it begins with a rider on a 3 year old horse who had just been ridden a few times. The horse is calm and relaxed and quite frankly looking “like a million bucks”. Clearly not the average 3 year old! So that is the envy part.

Part of me questioned asking ’so much’ of such a youngster. Was the neck too shortened? But the proof is in the pudding. The video continues showing the same horse a couple months later, looking quite steady and improved. Other horses are featured as well, each a little older and further along in their development–all the way to beginning piaffe/passage and one-tempis. Each ridden according to the same principles. The concerns I had about the neck being short just didn’t pan out. Every horse even the most advanced horses were able to and were asked to stretch forward out and down. No curling, no rollkur/hyperflexion–ever. All the horses show correct muscle development, so in the end I had to let myself enjoy it all.

One particularly interesting segment showed a very talented and nicely trained 5 year old. First ridden by the trainer, and then the trainer’s student. The student rider was built to ride (tall and leggy) but had only been riding one year. The transformation in the horse was remarkable. In the matter of a few minutes the horse began to look quite ‘average’ because he was no longer properly engaged, he was rushing and out of balance. At one moment the horse got a little upset and took off on the rider for few strides. It was very easy to see how poor riding can ruin a horse’s gaits and attitude. The horse (and I ) breathed a sigh of relief when the trainer got back in the saddle!

Another thing which was refreshing was that ‘baubles’ were left in. So, we get to see the 3 year old’s little spook and what happens when the older horse working on canter pirouettes struggles with the pirouette to the right. We could whine about these little mistakes hardly being worthy of mention since so many are dealing with much worse than that! But, the truth is, when the riding is so clear and supportive of the horse from start to finish it should not really be such a surprise that these things happen infrequently. Anyway, it was still good to see that even these fabulous horses are still horses with their own mind and opinions.

This video demonstrates that a classical progression delivers outstanding results every time. Here’s hoping we all have a chance to work with such amazing horses and more importantly are Up to the Challenge should that chance arrive. Keep riding!