Training Thoughts 11/11/11

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF TRAINING
“Without a system nothing works.”(Josef Neckermann)

The goal of training determines the length of the road that leads you there. In other words: The higher the goal, the longer the road! High goals can, by definition, not be reached within a short period of time and that is why it is a good idea to set intermediate goals for yourself along the way. Every time you reach one of these goals you feel you have made progress (and you have!) and you will not get discouraged because you haven’t reached the ultimate goal quite yet.This ultimate goal should be to have maximized your horses’ “Rittigkeit” (his willingness to cooperate with his rider) achieved together with perfection of his gaits while keeping him mentally balanced to enable him to come to the highest degree of harmony with his rider.The sooner you start with a systematical approach, the better it is for the overall well-being of your horse. The main reasons are:1. A horse that has been correctly ridden and taken care of will have confidence in his rider. This is an important position for you to be in because horses are herd animals and herds have leaders. When you are unquestionably in this position o f authority the horse will naturally be subservient which will make him more willing to work for you.2. When a horse has been trained with emphasis on correct warm-up of his muscles, ligaments and joints he will have a much more solid background from which he will be better prepared for the essentially hard work dressage is. By first working the horse in a frame that will gradually strengthen his body before moving on to the more collected work, many unnecessary injuries can be prevented.3. Loosened up muscles that are exercised at a steady rhythm will have better blood circulation and will therefore be better supplied with oxygen and energy.Obviously, the process of ‘getting there’ can not be hurried with short cuts and it will only be realistic when it is built up over many different stages of training and development.