Our Horses Our Teachers

[kedwards]

I read, I work hard, and I honestly try to do what my instructors say. But, I've found nothing more helpful in working on "faults" than getting on a horse that will give you immediate feedback.

My first instructor used to have a knack for finding just the right horse to help me sort out a problem. When I was getting a little lax in my equitation over fences on a big steady-eddie guy, she put me on a ConnemaraXArab who would be much more responsive to changes in weight. I did a face plant on the landing side of the fence when I jumped ahead, landed weighting down her forehand, and she responded by dropping her head to the ground and quickly exiting me down the front. Needless to say, I did not make THAT mistake again.

More recently, when I found myself sitting unevenly, I had the good fortune of riding a retired upper level dressage horse who would do a flying change any time I wasn't conscious of keeping myself even. Talk about perfect feedback! It's so easy to be unconscious of a tendency to ride unevenly, but when your horse is doing tempis (and you aren't asking for them), there's your sign.

Anyone have any stories to share of a particular horse that was able to do the job for the instructor and "teach you a lesson?"

[arabianbaby]

i wish i had that now. my current horses.... one will do nothing i want no matter how nicely/properly i ask. little jerk. other one will only canter on one lead and likes to gallop for the jumps when doing flatwork and literally RUN OVER the standards when jumping. my daughter's is so perfect i'd never know i was doing anything wrong if the other two didn't make it so apparent. :P
but i did have an instructor who was great that way too. at the time i didn't want to hear it but it was very similar to yours... he wouldn't do lead changes but did some wonderful leg yeilds that i never asked for every time i was slightly off balance. i would love to have that again... even though mine aren't teaching me quite so clearly i do learn something new from them every day though. :)

[Mossy]

Connie teaches me every time I sit on her back. [Including sometimes what happens if I daydream unduly, and forget to pay HRH the attention she KNOWS she deserves!] One of the many things she has taught me is confidence to let her run when she needs it. She will come back to me when asked but she is a bit quick when "getting rid of that tickle".

[Skyhuntress]

You know, before I bought my Trakehner, I had a hooribly unsteady position. Techniqually, it was relatively correct, I was just unbalanced. My trainers warned me that I would have to learn, and learn quickly, how to ride an unpredictable horse (Storm) or I'd end up on the ground more times then I could count. And I began to learn how to stay in the saddle properly-it was either that or fall every ride when he bucked or bolted (his fav). It taught me to ride the difficult horses and gave me a much bigger appreciation for riding

[MelanieD]

Fatty has taught me that you don't 'control' half a tonne of opionated beast, you ask nicely and hope it will agree that you are in charge :D

[KarinUS]

I think my biggest learning experience was unrelated to riding and more related to horse keeping. If I had not had DJ I think my whole view on horse keeping would be a lot more mainstream and old school.
His response to inadequate horse keeping practices is so immediate and noticable that I view thinsg very differently. Horses (most of them) are such adaptable creatures and will put up with a heck of a lot.
If my first wouldn't have been so demonstrative about things I probably would still be in the "I do this and that and he does just fine so there is nothing wrong with it" camp.
It has turned me a bit into a fanatical lunatic but I think every horse I will ever own will benefit from what DJ has taught me about keeping a horse's mind healthy and happy. :)

As far as riding goes, it's humbling experience that never ends. I change a little thing and they do a whole lot better. It really always is 99% pilot error for me. A very cool thing he has taught me riding wise is to ride with my seat not my legs. It took me a while to get it but he prefers a change in seat to being urged on with the leg.

[Mehitabel]

on this subject, there's a great book by this name by alois podhajsky of the SRS - i thoroughly recommend it. it's not a training manual, it's about how the various horses he's had have been different, and the various ways they have been trained.

[kedwards]

;)The allusion wasn't accidental. The book is, "My Horses, My Teachers." Beautifully written, enlightening, and educational. I pick it up whenever I'm looking for inspiration or to recenter my perspective.

[ponylover88]

...

[chev]

This is something I was talking about with OH yesterday. I've had three lessons now, and each time a different horse. And each lesson has taught me something new about how my riding works with or against a particular horse.

Yesterday I rode Dusty, who's jumped most of her life and just come back into work after a long time off. Her jumping is fantastic - point and go. Really good for concentrating on my position and not worrying about how to get her over something. But her flatwork is not so good - she's long-backed and it's easy to lose her quarters especially on a bend, she has a tendency to canter disunited, and quite often strikes off on the wrong leg on the left rein. She also rushes; it was an amazing lesson partly because it really made me aware of how I could work with her and support her to get the canter transitions right, but also really helped me work on exactly where my legs should be (if my lower leg slipped forward, she fell out straight away.) Because I had to work on slowing her rushing and balancing her, it also helped me become more aware of my own tempo. We made so much headway on my legs just because Dusty made me think about them and work at them.

I learn every time I get on a horse. They teach me something about myself each time I ride.

[jUmPingIsLifE]

Says Who, that little mustang pony i ride. now really he is super honost he would jump anything UNLESS he hates it when a rider gets really ahead and he isn't afraid to stop as if to say "stop it you idiot or i refused to jump this for you" if you get left behind at one jump you might be ready to move on to the next jump but more often then not he will stop as if to say "uh uh you sat on me last time there is noooo way im doing that again"
and although he tends to be a lazy bugger he also bucks when you use a crop so me makes you work with him with your seat and legs more then your crop.


Tahoe...i used to get ahead wicked but he stoped me of that. he is really good now and will take care of his rider but last year if i got ahead that horse would stop, drop a shoulder and sometimes ad a playful buck he dumped me soooo many times. that is one habbit that i have nearly been cured off. at least when im riding Tahoe or says who at least!

[Peace]

Years ago, when I was first learning to post the trot, I rode an old schoolmare who, if a student was so inconsiderate as to use the reins to balance, would take the bit in her teeth and head straight over the nearest jump - needless to say she always came down alone on the other side. :eek: :p Sierra taught me to have very quiet hands, even as a beginner. ;)

Quanah, whom Leslie has trained to work completely off leg and weight cues, actually responds to all of mine, including the ones I don't know I'm giving. :o Best of all, he has the patience not to get mad when he figures out I didn't actually mean to ask for what he offered. :)

Bram, when I was going through my awful no-confidence-on -the-ground-or-in-the-saddle phase, took it upon himself to de-sensitize me. Unlike other horses, who naturally became unnerved by my shakiness, Bram very deliberately *did* all the things that scared me - invading my space, spooking, etc. - but always knew exactly when to stop before I became truly afraid. Sounds strange, I know, but it worked a treat! :)

[toohorsemad]

I had the weight problem too! M

[toohorsemad]

I had the weight problem too! My instuctor had me ride with different stirup lengths and it really helped!

[kedwards]

Haven't tried that, Toohorsemad, but ocassionally when I am cantering along, my SJ instructor will yell out "drop your right stirrup! Now, pick it up and drop your left stirrup!"

I learn every time I get on a horse. They teach me something about myself each time I ride.

Amen to that, Chev!

[horsecrazychick]

Hehe, Jazzy has taught me tons of things... First, that you should always ride bareback if you're not sure the saddle fits properly(got bucked off). Second, that you ride the horse all the way to the jump, don't just go on autopilot even if the horse seems to have every intention of jumping it perfectly(soared over the jump without the horse several times). And third, how to ride countless movements I never thought a horse capable of, from bucking, rearing, leaping, bolting, crowhopping, spooking, etc. more often than not thrown into the routine for no apparent reason. :D And oddly enough she's the only horse I still love riding over any other horse.

[Styric]

The best schoolhorses for that were Beetlejuice, Dan and Chevy.

If you got slightly off balance, Beetlejuice would stop dead, even at a canter or over a fence. I ended up sitting by his ears a few times.. and once ended up with him stopped with one end on one side of the fence and the hind on the other!!

He wouldn't move until you'd gotten yourself balanced and asked him correctly to move along. It's really good to teach you to maintain your balance.

Dan taught you to guide with your leg, not your hands. If you turned him with the rein, he was so flexible he could touch his nose to his outside shoulder at a canter, and still canter straight.

Chevy is absolutly brilliant, adjusts his attitude depending on your riding ability... most people think he's either hyperactice, difficult or downright psychotic.

I've put a total beginner on him and all he does is plod around in circles and go at a slow trot no matter how much they move around, thump or jiggle. If you don't balance properly in the trot and thump around, he'll downright refuse to canter. The more you ask, the slower he goes. If you balance and trot without thumping his back, he'll canter np. Great for the beginners who want to 'go go go' without learning the trot first.

With me however, he'll buck, bolt, spook, trot and canter at mach 90, and generally be a dork. He's extremely sensitive to leg cues and the difference between a halt to walk and a halt to canter is a couple more ounces of squeeze with your calf. God help you if you kick him... you'll end up holding on for dear life at a gallop.

If you try and jump him without riding him all the way to the fence, he'll stop dead. If you're not sure about the fence, he figures I don't want to jump it anyway. If you dont keep your weight even and legs driving, he'll duck out... but if you ride quietly and confidently to the fence, he'll jump it every time and is the most honest jumper around.

He's also brilliantly smart and will learn something super quick. The problem is if you bore him like making him do the same thing over and over again, he'll start spicing it up by putting in random bucks, changing gaits and pretending one of the fences is a huge horse eating monster. He's not serious, he's just letting you know that if you don't make things interesting, then he'd be glad to do it for you.

Without Dan and Beetlejuice, I never could have learned to ride Chevy with his inquisitive, 'if you're not paying attention, I'm sure I can amuse myself' attitude. I can now sit a reiner turn, stay on Chevy when he stops in the middle of a bounce because I overjumped, and laugh it off.

Horses are the best teachers.. and they make sure your pride doesn't outgrow your ability!

[Colorado Sunset]

Kewards- I used to ride in poland doing dressage, and there was one horse that was as safe as houses, but very very well trained. So, although he was far to good for them, lots of the more novice riders had a sit on him. He was the same as your horse- if the rider was unbalanced, along came flying changes every stride! If the rider put too much weight into the inside seatbone he would do shoulder in, all oblivious to these riders on top! :p

[notpoodle]

hehe mine gives feedback straight away, along the lines of 'you never said i wasnt supposed to turn in and stand in the middle' and 'you call these canter aids! haha, i think not, i shall do as you 'say' and trot faster, you gotta be a little bit more specific here, my dear!' . i learned a lot from this pony (and am still learning), probably more than i ever learned from any horse before! okay, she sure wont teach me dressage or anything like that, but she is a dab hand at pointing out the obvious :D

julia
x

[xXSundanceBayXx]

Fatty has taught me that you don't 'control' half a tonne of opionated beast, you ask nicely and hope it will agree that you are in charge :D

he he same as noggin. :) sully taught me to be less flappy with my legs. soloman made me keep my heels down when jumping because everytime i didnt i fell.
and dolly taught me how NOT to go down a muddy hill-on your bum! :D