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October 2002 |
On the cover:
Ray Gay Quixote
1994 AQHA Stallion
(Oakie Paul Quixote x Vermajo King
by Gay Bar King)
Standing at:
Loma Vista Farm
15217 East Rio Verde Drive
Scottsdale, AZ 85262
(480) 471-3499 or (480) 502-8368
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Table Of
Contents
From the
Publisher
by David Lewiecki........
6
The Burros of Oatman
by Sophia Sarember.... 7
Classical Horse: Solitary
Practice - Training Yourself
by Ginger Gaffney...... 8
Horse and Rider: The Natural
Aids - How to Ask for the WHOA
Part Two
by Christina Fleming... 10
Just My Opinion
by John “Flint” Martin... 11
The Art of Dressage: Getting
Started in Dressage Part Two
by Dianne Fay............ 12
Focus on Mules
by Sophia Sarember... 13
Should You Try Driving? Part One
by Maureen T. Hamlton... 14
Horse Sense: Lessons That Last
A Lifetime
by Judie Framan... 20
A Horse, Of Course
by Don Blazer... 22
Equine Management: Strategies
for Surviving Drought
by Maureen T. Hamilton... 32
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From
the Publisher
by David Lewiecki
Welcome Arizona
Beginning this month we will be distributing the Horse Trader in New Mexico, Colorado, West Texas and Arizona. There are now over 800 retail locations that carry the magazine so we should not be difficult to find. If there is a location where we should be and are not, please let me know and we will make sure they receive some. And we should be on the stands everywhere by the 20th of every month.
Calendar of Events
This is a FREE service we provide for shows, rodeos, clinics, etc. that happen anywhere in our distribution area. We only ask that you send information via fax (505-286-5382) or email
(dlewiecki@aol.com), or mail to the address on page 5. If we
receive your information by the 25th of any month, it will be in the issue that comes out on the 20th of the following month. With an estimated readership of 50,000, we can really help spread the word about your event. We also offer reduced rates on display
Advertising Rates for clubs and associations so please call me (David) at 505-286-3711 to get rates and information.
Not Just An Ad Book
We are well aware that there are other equestrian publications in the areas we cover. However, our full color format and first rate editorial content make the Horse Trader one of the easiest and most read publications anywhere. While our guaranteed classified ads Š in full color Š are a popular attraction, they, by themselves, are only a part of what this magazine is about.
We are not breed or discipline specific because we find there is a significant amount of crossover when it comes to training methods, health issues, and interests of equestrians everywhere. You do not need to be in Arizona, or own a Quarter Horse, to appreciate the danger of the West Nile Virus. Our tagline,
Uniting the Equestrian Community, is a reflection of our goal in the Southwestern United States. More and more we are finding that people who have historically worked with only one breed are branching out either into other breeds or experimenting with cross-breeds. This
Openness is beginning to show not only in our monthly articles, but with instructional clinics worldwide as more
equestrians realize there is more than one breed.
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CLASSICAL HORSE by Ginger Gaffney
Solitary Practice: Training Yourself
On my breakfast table I always leave room for a small collection of my favorite equestrian books. After feeding and turning out my horses
I'll come in for a cup of tea and read through a few pages, just for inspiration. I'm not a technician when it comes to reading or riding. I have found over the years of riding that equine books are most helpful when they find their way into some part of my ride. I read the great masters of equestrian art in order to allow some of their enormous ability in the saddle to seep into my own seat and body as I ride every morning. It
isn't every day that we get to spend time around those riders who have 35-40 years of riding under their belt. Their gift to us is the inspiration we find inside their lifetime of experience. Inspired writing from great horsemen and women help to keep our fingers on the
Touch stone of riding.
For most of us riding is a solitary activity, alone in our arena with our horses, quietly playing with the nuances of balance and movement. In these quiet moments I frequently experience the gift of inspiration coming up through my horse, speaking the words I read just the other day;
The rider must enjoy the exercise. His own enjoyment will not lead him to be tempted to force the horse into giving more then he is capable of.
Nuno Oliveira
Sometimes I spontaneously recall a drawing or a photo, some image that helps me soften my back and search for the balance required for the movement I'm working with. I find that reading and admiring the great riders and trainers of the past and present informs me somatically, that is through my body, how to proceed in this art we call horsemanship.
Riding for me is 100% feel and 50% technique. This equation leaves us little time for much else and makes riding horses a lifetime pursuit. Many people come to learning through their minds first and secondarily through their bodies. I would like to lay out one way to help your riding, one you can work with on your own, in your solitary practice with your horses. This is one way I have helped myself develop a sense of feel when riding my horses. My approach to riding is the
artists way, much like a dancer training to move in a measured and beautiful sequence. I gently approach my sessions with my horses. Each day brings me something new to remember. Each day part of me falls away. The only constant is change. Every moment will be here and gone, and I will be new with each one. A great trainer and a good friend, Frank Barnett, tells me,
It's just so damned impermanent, Moment to moment our horse changes its balance. Just as we begin to feel it, it changes. How we allow this change to happen and how we influence this natural state of flux depends infinitely on our own ability to release ourselves, our bodies, our minds. Release into the new moment, forget the confusion of the last trip around the
arena breathe, bring your feeling back, start over.
Feel With Your Eyes
Lunging a horse is a great way to begin to feel movement. Classically we lunge our horses thinking that we are doing this solely for the benefit of our horses. Yet so much information is passed on to us through the visualization of our
horse's movement on the lunge that we must give this exercise our full attention. Watch your horse move on the lunge when he settles into a natural forward rhythm. How does he move? Do his hips swing underneath the belly or are they a little stiff and upright? How does he hold his head in all his gaits and tempos. Does it change? How does he use his neck in his transitions from trot to walk, canter to trot? Is his jaw soft, is he on the bit? When he is on the bit, what height does he carry his head and neck? How long can he sustain his tempo at the trot or canter without any encouragement from you? Can you see his back and hindquarters engage?
The object of asking these questions is simply to bring awareness to yourself, of how your horse carries himself. Over time you will find that the answers to these questions change. You will begin to feel with your eyes. Carry this new feeling into the saddle, carry the vision of the movement with you and picture that same walk, that same trot with you on the top of it. Give yourself the time and practice it will take to harmonize yourself with the vision of your lunged horse and the feeling of the ridden one. Over time the two will become one because the horse can feel what you see!
A Path of Discovery
No matter what your experience level is when answering these questions, ask yourself anyway. We have to allow ourselves a path of discovery. I have found that the heart of learning lies in our solitary practice, the work we do on our own every day. We must have a plan, a program to proceed with. This we can get from studying with a knowledgeable trainer.
But the core of learning takes place in the everyday mistakes and accomplishments of our riding. People are afraid to make mistakes, they feel confused when things
don't go right. Right is always changing. What is right for a first time shoulder-in, is not necessarily right for a shoulder-in a year from now. When do you start to try? If we deny ourselves a path of discovery by relying heavily on trainers and limiting our practice time because we feel confused, we will never develop that all-important aspect of riding called FEELING.
Soften and Follow
People often come to horsemanship with a mixture of their own ideas, things they have read or things they might have heard at a clinic. I find many people have very little bodily awareness of these ideas once they mount their horse. Animals have an amazing ability to be fully present inside their physical bodies. How they feel is ever present in how they move. As riders we should attempt to mirror this ability, allowing our intellect a chance to rest. How do we do this astride a 1200 pound animal? It is my belief that feeling should come before technique in riding, and I start all my sessions on horseback on a loose rein following my horseÕs movement at a nice forward walk. I focus on breathing and releasing any of the tightness I feel in my lower body and legs. My only concern is to have my horse move freely on a square at a regular tempo which I repeat inside my head softly. This is my chance to enjoy the moment, and I take my time. I carry a small riding crop in one hand and use it only to encourage my horse to keep time with the tempo I have inside my head.
Lightness in riding is not simply techniques we teach our horse, it is also our own ability to develop a body that moves elastically with the movements of our horse. All great riders know about the gift of noninterference, where we allow our bodies to be still and soft, agile and open. In the beginning we simply need to follow and feel the sensation of being ever present with our
horse's back. From this practice we begin to notice more acutely the moments in which we are no longer
with our horse's movement. I ride my horse going both directions with this awareness and gradually shorten my reins, keep my tempo and ask for my horse to soften his head, neck and jaw. Simply, I will ask him to go on the bit. While I do this I breathe. I keep myself uninvolved in the results of my efforts. If my horse gets worried or if he moves his head up and down at first I just continue with my asking. Opening and closing my fingers around the reins in a constant give and take until my horse settles into a softer frame. It may only last three strides, and that is fine. I pause to say thank you for the effort and then I return to asking quietly for my horse to soften onto the bit again.
Return to What We Do Well
When I feel the walk is going fairly well and my horse seems to be pleasantly attentive, I will ask for these same qualities at the trot. At first my horse might speed up at the trot. I keep the rhythm of the trot I want in my head and close my fingers around the reins with a give and take motion, not a constant contact. If all is not well I go back to my walk, breathe and release my body into the walk and wait for a good moment to try again. Often when things do not go well, people will tense their bodies and feed that tension into the horse. It is very important to remember that we can always go back to what we can do well. This will serve as a constant reminder to loosen our tightness wherever it exists. My teacher, Dominique
Barbier, always reminds riders that we learn more on the more difficult days.
It's our chance to feel, resolve and grow as riders. I have found this to be all so true for my more difficult days in the saddle. If we keep things simple, and try to resist all the technical advice pounding away in our brains, we will find a way to allow for the movement to happen. I wish I had a magic wand, but it simply
doesn't exist. Horses teach us to move freely again, but in the process we are constantly reminded of how much we have forgotten.
When we are ready to ask our horses to stop or to move from a trot to a walk, we simply change the rhythm in our heads, breathe out and drop some weight into the saddle. Our back will no longer willingly follow the
horse's back, but become quite still. If our horse does not listen to our request we will close the fingers around our reins and in a give and take process squeeze the reins asking the horse to listen more attentively to our body weight and lack of forward motion. I often use a downward verbal request that I have already introduced in the lunge work. My intonation of this request goes from a higher tone to a lower tone, using a relaxing voice. I keep this request the same for all my downward transitions. As in all our requests, if something goes wrong or the horse simply
isn't listening well, I continue with the request without becoming frustrated or worried. I know I can always drop more weight into my stirrups and close my fingers tighter, so I remain as still and motionless in the saddle as possible. With careful repetition you will have your horse doing downward transitions with simple weight aids.
Keeping Things Simple
I know the impulse to add Technique into these simple guidelines will certainly arise. The question is: Will these techniques get you closer to your goal? Have they so far? Often these techniques require more use of the hand and leg and often this results in a rider who forgets to stay free with the movement of their horse. Remember that everything will change and each day your sessions will develop into a series of sensations that only you and your horse will know. If we add something new each day to try and gain more results, how do you think this will affect your
horse's understanding of what it is you are asking?
Keep it simple, use your body to free up a slow moving horse. Refrain from using the leg, carry a crop- but use it only to reinforce what your body and mind are already asking.
Bring the life into your body, as Tom Dorrance once said. Be sincere. Do you really want a nice forward trot, or are you afraid? If
you're afraid, be kind to yourself, do the simple things well first and do them for as long as you need. The moment will come when you trust yourself and trust your horse. It may only stay a short while at
first but it will return.
The fundamental thing is to enjoy the time spent with your horses. On days when
I'm feeling slightly uninspired I may just go off on a short trail ride, or I may bring some music into the arena and sing along with it as I ride. Your horse will certainly feel your smile return and you may even get some comments from passers by.
Change can be immediate Dominique once told me. When I am truly enjoying my sessions with my horses my whole day feels complete. I hope that these simple ideas can help some of you feel as fulfilled as I do with my training and daily practice of horsemanship. When I look around at the riders I see, often I am mesmerized with the beginners. How they sit on top their horse as if God had just granted them the wish of a lifetime. We ride so that each day can be this special. Take your time and enjoy the ride. HT
Virginia Gaffney lives and trains in Northern New Mexico. She teaches and trains horses using the French Classical approach to Horsemanship, which emphasizes lightness and harmony in riding. She can be reached at
ggaffney@newmexico.com. |
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