About Development

Breeders spend much time arranging matches that will produce individuals with the best chances of reaching top potential. But more people are learning that some backyard horses do as well as or even better than some who are well bred. Why might this be? I think the answer is in better energy flow. Inside every horse is a God-breathed free spirit, born to dance and fly. Whether the horse expresses his joy with his pasture friends or you depends upon how well the footsteps he takes pass their effect through the body.
It is not news that horses should be worked with as individuals but what might be news is that a highly experienced trainer is not necessarily the answer for a horse. Training wisdom is what is essential. A famous prayer applies here. Some things we can change, some we cannot, but it is up to us to decide not only what can and cannot be changed but also what avenue to take to affect change.
Affecting change through work with energy flow is one avenue that can prove fruitful and which does not require superior training expertise to understand. One example of misunderstanding about energy blockage is in the concept of the square stance. Trainers strive for straightness and squareness but what we may be missing in all of this is the horse's own perspective on what feels square, even and balanced to him. You may be of the opinion that the horse doesn't know any better what is good and not good for him and so what he feels doesn't matter in the equation. So what am I saying? I am NOT saying that we should adopt the attitude that if he is not straight we should overlook it as long as he is content. NO! This is not my object. What I think so many of us fail to do is really grasp how hard horses will try to BE 'square' and TRAVEL 'straight' because we insist. Like it or not, a living creature has an outward as well as an inward manifestation of posture and the two are not necessarily physiologically in agreement. Is the horse deceiving us? No! On the contrary he is very likely obeying us outwardly while inwardly he may be cramped, loose, twisted and holding himself on the verge of his own breakdown.....all in the name of meeting our demands. How does the energy flow sound in a picture like this? Poor at best. So what do we make of this problem? There is a discrepancy between appearance and energy flow on the inside. We absolutely must educate ourselves to recognize this----to recognize the feel of it.
Interestingly, many judges are oblivious to this discrepancy. So be it. But equally interesting is the FEI's interest in seeing 'happy' horses in the competitive arena. How ironic is this! Happiness!.....How do they define or identify 'happiness'? I personally think that there is a particular quality of a 'happy' horse. It is excellent energy flow. The muscles will look soft, the mouth easy and calm, the tail will swing softly and not swish, the footfalls will be as quiet as silk slippers and the rider will not appear to work hard and his face will reflect the horse's face in depth of union.
The direction we should take in developing a horse then is to fully observe the horse as he moves in his more natural world---how he stands, eats, moves off, plays and relates to the ground beneath his feet and obstacles in his path, how he breathes and how he sleeps. Exercises should include considerations of simple steps and moments of quiet rest in stillness, simple reactions to leg and hand, variations of pace ridden and free, spacial relationships between the rider and horse on the ground, movement at various paces over and around objects, play and socialization, touch and even massage. All these things work together to awaken the horse to greater awareness and use of the whole of his body, especially the inner parts we cannot see....inner skeleton, musculature, horizontal and vertical motion and combination of such, neck and tail balancing effects as well as his visual experience and his inner 'eye' that feels for how he arranges his posture on the inside.
In this way we give the horse a sense that we appreciate how he feels and the chance to perhaps change the way he habitually carries himself if there is a better way for him that permits and fosters improved energy flow.
This is the course that development should take. 30-45 min in an arena drilling and perfecting movements and gaits has drawbacks when we consider the potential blockages which never get released or the chance to be addressed. There is nothing wrong with schooling! But some horses do not need to be schooled!.....they might only need to learn to let go of anxiety and feel freedom. Others may need a specific type of exercise only but not others that turn around and dismantle all the good that the specific exercise helped!
You see dance is about relationship. This can be joyful or drama-filled but the picture is a happy coming together. No matter what goals you have for your horse's development always remember that when you act in your partner's BETTER interest it will ALSO be for your own!