[Brief rider] N°2

Do you have to sweat to have worked well?

One thing I hear a lot is this idea that because the horse is doing groundwork, or working at a walk, then he's not really getting any exercise, and it's a bit of a holiday.

What do we understand? That you have to have "gotten your hands dirty" to have done a good job?

I am convinced of the opposite.

Every action we take alongside our horses has an impact, positive or negative. Most of the time, I feel like I have to start from the basics, those of understanding, trust, listening, having to teach or relearn the horse that he has a voice, that he can come out of his shell, before even being able to move on to postural work, and strengthening himself. And here again, it turns out that I spend a certain amount of time, not insignificant, trying to show them how to use their bodies, as best I can and with the technical background that I have today.

All this time I'm working, and so are they... So I don't understand this idea that you have to "scratch" (horrible expression!!) a horse to get anything from it, or even employ it/tinker with it...

The concepts of balance, carrying capacity, or even training load and the sensitive limit of overtraining are complex and difficult to grasp. So why impose x repetitions to obtain a movement, when the horse is clearly exhausted? Couldn't we better prepare the horse for the exercise we are going to ask of it, to put it in good shape, and save time?

If the horse seems to be a particularly powerful animal, it is nonetheless fragile, and not made for what is asked of it: carrying, jumping high, turning, etc. This is why we should perhaps take a greater interest in who it is, how it moves, to better individualize its work, and stop repeating a method to all individuals...

Because with them, the work is played out on all levels: physical, psychological, emotional, and traumatic, even before it becomes specific, endurance, cardio, or strength. Sport is built on the foundations of a prepared athlete, not on that of an exhausted athlete on the verge of collapse, both emotionally and physically. Yet, this is often what we encounter most...

Starting with a good foundation saves time in the specific training that the horse will receive, because balance, impulsion, autonomy, should be universal to all practices, whether we do classical, western, or aquapony.

And for that, there's no need to push the horse to its physiological limits, but rather to work thoughtfully, carefully, and updated as needed. In short, to listen.

So now we stop telling ourselves that we have to sweat to have worked hard, or that a session without muscle soreness isn't a real session, or that Galopin is really better after having "put him hard".

And we try to take into consideration all environmental factors: is he eating enough, continuously, is he getting quality rest? How did he experience this or that transport? Nothing should be neglected, everything has an impact.

Let's do better, and often, let's do less.

The Roque'd'Or Stables, boarding / development, Loir et Cher

#BTMM #horsetraining #horse #ownerstable #loiretcher #equestriansports

(And in the photo, a fantastic mare who deserved that I knew how to do better, but who contributed so much to my learning)