Who’s responsible for today’s training problems ?
Most people spend time with horses in order to relax and enjoy being around them, and have little interest in success in the sport or in economic gain trumps all other sources of motivation. It seems that in today’s sucess-oriented society, even the very reasons people initially decide to take up equestrian sport have shifted considerably. The hunt for success and recognition often doesn’t allow time or space for thoughtful, quiet work with the horse and a naturally oriented training process. Thus, what has developed is bad « craft » of horse training, in which the « repairmen » (especially the veterinarians) of poorly « crafted » sport horse have become firmly established as a « necessary » part of the training team.
According to the saying, « You can’t make an omelette without breaking an egg », many of today’s competitive riders engage in pulling, squeezing, jerking, and more.
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Applying strict criteria and a careful selection process, a large number of breeders have been trying for decades to provide exceptional stud horses and fantastic riding horses, which give the impression of being able to produce spectacular gaits without any effort – even seem ready for competition – at a young age without having received any training. Some riders are blinded by the apparent potential of these well-bred horses, and believe they only have to get on and win ribbons when they enter the show ring with this kind of « horse material ». Some breeders don’t do much to change this way of thinking for the following reason : the greater the rider’s desire to be sucessful, the more the economic pressures, the more he will force the training of their horses. Sadly, young horses, in particular, become mere objects of profit, and are often not ridden and trained in a way that is appropriate for their age. After all, « time is money ». In our current system, taking the time – the years – needed to train a young horse in a manner that suits its age is bad for business.
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p. 19 & 25.
Hyperflexion
The reason why riders are placing a horse's head-neck axis in an extremely round and deep position (well-known today as the Rollkur or "hyperflexed" position) is to get the horse to raise its back and "swing" it. But doing so with this method puts enormous tension on the upper neck muscles and ligament system, and the back via the supraspinous ligament. This does cause the back to rise but it is in an "overstretched" manner. Current research shows that horses moving with such a headneck position demonstrate a very large amount of motion in their backs at the trot. It's dangerous to confuse this type of movement with the desired "swing" in the back just mentionned since an overstretched back is not relaxed during work. Furthermore, an attentive observer will notice that horses worked regularly in this position have a straight, flat back line, with "inactive" trailing hind legs and no noticeable "flexion in the haunches".
p. 88.
Correct physiological training
One thing is certain : the initial training stage should be basic and unspectacular. It should only serve the purpose of strenghtening the skeletal muscles, developing forwardness and building a positive relationship between horse and human. (...)
The first goal is for the young horse to be happily moving forward in rythm. It should be allowed to carry its head and neck in a position that's as free as possible. The way it is accomplished is with soft, elastic and even contact between the rider 's hand and the horse's mouth.
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A young horse that tends to "curl" up, or run into the hand - a situation that causes the horse to wind up tightly - should be dealt with calm and reassurance.
p. 96-97.