Me and Topy in front of my house

Tom and Bill Dorrance, credited for being the original Natural Horsemanship trainers, had a collection of simple but profound statements that embody Natural Horsemanship.

  I, like most dressage riders or trainers, am somewhat of a control freak. On one hand, this control and focus leads to many structural advantages when trying to master a very complicated and difficult discipline that is dressage. On the other hand however, it can be a serious liability that will not only drive you down the wrong path, but so far down that path that you may never be found. And your horse will become an unwilling participant in a one-sided relationship that is detrimental to both his physical and emotional health. When we try to control the horse too much We inevitably end up either making them dull and hard to the aids or over reactive and insecure. Neither is very helpful in developing a beautiful and harmonious dance partner. 

This is part one of a three part series on contact.

A few weeks ago I got an email from the USEF with an ad about a new bit. The language used to sell this bit was, in my opinion, horrifying. I couldn’t help but think this is what’s wrong with competitive equestrian sport these days.

Coming home from another successful horse show with Seneca “the wonder pony” has really got me thinking about what exactly it is that makes him so wondrous. He definitely is NOT the most talented, in fact he’s probably one of the least naturally gifted horses I ride, but what he lacks for in God-given scope in gait, he more than makes up for in heart and willingness. Which got me thinking -why is this so?

Let’s explore this concept of “the happy athlete.”

The FEI states that:

“The object of dressage is the development of the horse into a happy athlete through harmonious education. As a result, it makes the horse calm, supple, loose and flexible, but also confident, attentive and keen, thus achieving perfect understanding with the rider.”