THE PROBLEM WITH DRESSAGE

THE PROBLEM WITH DRESSAGE

Over the years I have started writing an article by this title a few times. Each of those times it was going to be a negative piece that picked holes in the sport of dressage. But I am glad I never completed them and published them because what they really just reflected was my own self-discovery that even though I had spent my life owning horses I actually didn’t know much about horses, how they learnt, how to train them, or really anything about dressage beyond that you navigated a horse around dressage tests at competitions and tests escalated in difficulty of movements. The new perspectives I gained had given me eyes that allowed me to see my old ignorant self in others. The lack of appreciation for the significance of a horse as a thinking, feeling, incredibly trainable creature. A creature that communicates constantly how it feels, what it understands and is motivated to perform. But the truth is that this is not the problem with dressage because ignorance of the horse and how to communicate with it effectively is everywhere and not just in dressage. The problem with dressage is that the competition side of the discipline blurs what dressage is actually all about. Dressage is not about riding dressage tests, well you can but that is not the purpose or real point of dressage, dressage tests just allow you to attend a competition and test your training. Dressage is actually about taking a horse and physically improving it and if you do a good job you will have a horse that is confident in its work and you will get to enjoy the partnership with that horse for many more years than if you neglect its physical development.

This last point is very relevant to me because when I was sitting there writing those unfinished articles pointing my finger at dressage for being ignorant I was neglecting my horse’s physical development. While I was busy showing how well controlled my horse was, how responsive he was to my cues and how he could perform all these movements I was clueless to the damage I was doing getting him to perform all these movements I had not physically prepared him well enough to do. He understood what I wanted him to do from travers to flying changes and careful use of pressure kept him motivated to perform them until it all feel apart. A good analogy to explain what I had done that may make sense is that I had taught my horse how to pick up boxes, light boxes as well as heavy boxes of all shapes and sizes but I had not taught him the best posture or way to pick up those boxes that protected his back or joints nor had I been considerate about making him strong enough to pick up the really heavy boxes. It all fell apart at a competition when I had to scratch because he was struggling to canter and it has taken me well over a year to get him to a point that he is now physically coping and slowly improving with training.

If you read my other articles you will read all the various realms of knowledge that have given me light bulb moments in my journey of learning how to work well with horses, it started with horsemanship which initially opened my eyes. The sciences of ethology, behaviour and neuroscience refined my skills, gave me new training tools and boosted my insights into the horse. A focus on my own ability to sit quietly and balance on the horse showed me the importance of pilates and maintaining my fitness and core strength. Discovering this showed me how powerful this was at reducing the overall pressure the horse experienced when being ridden which had a significant impact on training and performance. But now the world of dressage is revealing to me that school figures are not just shapes to ride, they are lines to analyse the horse and the way it places its body. Dressage movements are not just something to teach a horse to do to progress in competition they are specific exercises that target body parts similar to my pilates exercises that work specific muscle groups that can help to target areas for improvement in strength and flexibility/suppleness. Stringing school figures and movements together is a strategic gymnastic workout that again allows you to analyse and assess the horse and the progress its physical development. Dressage has shown me the importance of the science of biomechanics and how what you teach a horse has to be both thoughtful but also has way more important purpose than just being able to demonstrate the movement in front of a dressage judge.

So today I sit here wondering what I will discover next, what I am currently ignorant about because the more layers and pages I turn over in my quest to understand and develop my skills to work with horses the more I realise it is inevitable that there will be more for me to learn and that is really cool. This is also why I chose not to be one of those people that write articles criticising others or ranting on about bad training, bad attitudes or poor practices….because not only have I been there and with most likelihood still doing things wrong. I don’t cast stones, I find brilliant teachers, make wonderful friends and promote the enjoyment of learning and discovery.

This article I dedicate to the wonderful Thomas and Shana Ritter from Ritter Dressage. I am part of Thomas and Shana’s online Artistic Dressage Beta Course, and although it is their first attempt at creating on an online learning platform to impart their knowledge it really is fantastic. So look up Ritter Dressage on Facebook and click like and keep an eye out for their next course.