I'd like to say that starting a young horse correctly is as simple as teaching it a few ground manners, free or line longe work, saddle and bridle it and mount up. I'd like to say that once the horse has accepted this amount of input and is relaxed, training under saddle is a straightforward matter of kicking on. Not so.
Paul training a young ANCCE stallion at WVH
Horses are not plug-n-play and every young horse, even before you hop aboard (or rather lightly place your seat in the saddle from the height of fa mounting block so as not to make the horse stiff to one side by mounting from the floor using the stirrup iron), needs more than just urging it into the trot and beginning work on transitions up and down, taking it's head side to side for directional aids with reins.
It is true that mounting the horse and teaching it to accept the presence of the weight and activity of a human being on its back is a good start. Musculature of the horse's back has hopefully been developed beforehand with either long lining, free or line longe schooling.
But the neophyte 'trainer' that has no understanding of the biomechanics of the particular horse on which they start work, is at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to protecting the young horse's individual soundness and ability to answer the demands requested of it during a schooling session.
I have written extensively on the topic of training the dressage horse based on its temperament and conformation (for example: see Part 1 and Part 2 articles that appeared in Horse Bits and Catskill Horse magazine).
During my career while training with some notables in the dressage sphere in Germany, the subject of riding a horse and training its every step with a strong understanding of its genetic and inherent or innate abilities alongside its strengths and weaknesses in temperament and conformation was taken for granted.
The influences of Schumacher, Boldt, Rehbein (with whom I was privileged to train one summer), Theodorescu, pervade the echelons of dressage in Germany on the topic of the horse's conformation being duly considered during training plans. Schumacher in particular has made this knowledge available through in the U.S.A. through his clinics this side of the pond (in particular at Tempel Farms), and DVD releases.
Many young riders are keen to start their own horses and this is to be encouraged. But just as with anything else in life, while they may ride brilliantly on a trained horse someone else has made, they don't know what they don't know when it comes to nurturing their often large uncoordinated and underdeveloped equine charges that are embarking on their careers.
The most important factor as a dressage trainer myself with 'some' experience in this quarter, is to always nurture and cherish the exuberance in a young horse.
This is Charrington WVH - a horse we had from a baby and trained to Grand Prix
During my time with Werth's trainer, the late Shaulten-Baumer when I was dealing with horses I had purchased at the Elite Verden Auction (and frankly sometimes regretting some of those purchases), he would advise me to give the horse time to lose 50% of the muscle and topline that had been artificially produced through tension during the course of preparation of the horse for the sale.
Once the horse was back to looking his age, and without the issues and tightness/soreness that the very talented auction riders had been able to rush and produce due to their own abilities to 'muscle' the horse into frame, he advised at that point that now I must start at the beginning.
I employed this method for many such horses that came to our yard during the 90's, and he was indeed correct. Most horses overcame their somewhat sullen or erratic behaviors, and over time reacted to their lessons with exuberance and playfulness and ultimately with relaxation and understanding.
It is so much easier to just ride the horse properly from the beginning. A horse will naturally place his head in the correct position to utilize his back and carry the unnatural weight of a rider if the trainer utilizes the correct techniques and seat to facilitate the horse to bring its hind legs under him and free its back.
Some horses need lots of transitions, others need more work on circles. You need to follow carefully the clues the individual horse gives you as you proceed. Look for his preferences and the tasks he finds easy and encourage him in those. Return to those areas when you feel him lose focus or become tense.
It is extraordinarily common for young horses to either become not truly 'in front' of the leg (mostly seen in warmbloods) or become rushed in their gaits (often seen in Iberian horses).
There is much to learn about baby steps in the early parts of a horse's career.
Sadly sometimes the folks that put in that good early saddle work training the horse are not the ones that go on to show the horse at Grand Prix due to the horse being sold or moving on for various reasons. However, the time spent at these very basic tasks by a knowledgeable trainer, especially one that has the experience to know the ultimate goal to be reached and the road map for it, (I have a new book coming on topic!) set the horse up for a lifetime of success where hopefully he will reach his full potential in the performance ring.
I always say there is a reason they say a horse is "broke or green broke." It is often the case that the horse's nature and spirit has not been respected and the desire the horse has to please his rider has been sullied at best and even at times ruined entirely. I'd rather say a horse is "educated to the saddle."
A good trainer can often recover the horse's 'joie de vivre' but damage may have inadvertently been done to a horse's longevity soundness wise during the process and mentally during tense moments the horse may revert to former negative behaviors, even mild ones such as shutting down.
It is always important as a trainer to remember that a horse learns nothing from a rider that shouts at it. Figuratively speaking this means a rider that finds a horse not moving forward simply assessing the situation as needing more leg or kick, or a horse not turning being obliged to bend its neck by a strong lean on an inside rein instead of setting up the horse's shoulder correctly to enable it to make the turn.
Folks often raise the question, "When should I start my homebred horse," but they should also ask themselves, " Once I'm mounted do I really know what my horse needs to make him confident and excel on the learning curve."
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