Is your horse mechanical or is it following a feel? They are two very different concepts, by and large if you are engaged in equestrian sports you are probably trying to make your horse more mechanical and you are most likely using a lot less feel.
You may say that it is arrogant of me to say so, and if that is your reaction you just proved my point! Here’s the thing, sports have rules, rules are not related to horsemanship, they are related to outcomes, results. In fact judges don’t ever have to ride a horse, they have no requirement to be experienced horse-people, nont at all.
I am a certified Equestrian Canada Coach, to get the designation I did not even need to look at a horse. The same is mostly true for judges, they are trained to look for certain criterium that is desirable for points but have nothing at all to do with horsemanship.
Let’s talk about reining or western pleasure, what on earth happened to make it desirable to have a horse look like it’s half asleep, dropping its head way below the wither, with its nose almost hitting the ground. The funnier part of that is that even high level coaches, riders and trainers have the audacity to call that collection. Clearly they have no absolutely understanding of the biomechanics of a horse.
Again call me “arrogant” if you will, but let’s talk about how a horse balances itself. Generally horses carry their weight in about a 60/40 distribution, as they graze they walk around with their noses close to the ground in search of food, they are also front heavy, their head and neck reaches ahead of their front feet, and outweigh even the most developed hind quarters.
In order to balance itself for a quick escape from a threat (the very essence of the survival of the species for the past 400,000 years) a horse will collect (gather) itself by first raising its head and second by balancing its weight evenly on all four feet, allowing it to explode away in any direction.
When the head is carried low and forward the weight is excessively distributed to the front of the horse. Which explains why Western Pleasure horses look like they are crippled, and reining horses always lift their heads before they depart into a lope.
We can clearly see that sport rules have nothing nothing to do with horses, or horsemanship, they are all about scoring points based on mechanical outcomes, was the horse’s positioned properly to turn the cow, or did the horse pick up the lope on cue?
Is that really what you want? Did you really want a motorcycle or an adventure, and experience, a connection? For me, I have always been a purist, I have no interest in competition, I don’t care about ribbons, buckles or medals. I trained in Taekwondo from the age of fourteen, I have coached, trained and refereed provincial, national and international champions.
I have competed in five half-ironman races and a large number of running races, and I competed in Trampolining competitions when I was younger, and more on point I have also been to a couple of local horse shows and have never been particularly interested in anything more than self improvement.
Who do I have to prove my worth to? Do I have something to prove to you? How about a judge who has never ridden a horse? NO! The only approval I need is from my horse(s) and my own conscience – the man in the mirror. So if you ever feel that some of my blogs or commentaries seem “arrogant” or “insulting”, I challenge you to stand in front of the mirror.
If you are winning or pursuing winning at shows and events, you are probably following a mechanical path. Ask your horse how (s)he feels about how you interact, ask your horse if it needs a twisted wire bit, a cavison or a martingale, ask your horse if it understood the question, ask your horse how much it hurt when you demanded an immediate response.
Can you steer your horse with nothing on its head, no neck rope, no war bridle? I can, now I am not saying that make me anything to you or the world of equestrian events, but it sure means something to my horse(s). My horses are not purely mechanical, stopping and going on demand.
\I may never amount to much, but that really doesn’t matter – if I can for one minute make you “THINK” about how you are with your horse, then I have achieved my goal, and it may not be you, you may be on “a completely different path” and that’s alright, but if one person is inspired to consider a different approach then I will have achieved my goal.
Stop being mechanical!
Image credit to James Shoshone – Buckaroo and Vaquero Artist extraordinaire