(“Ten meter circle at Hatteras.”)
All posts by wcwdressage
Is it fashion?
(“… a degree of horse trading …”)
The Next Rung
(“She used to grind hoof pairings at the scrapple plant.”)
If horses had ears…
(“My horse ain’t right in his head for this.” )
… Oh, wait, they do, so never mind. To rephrase that, if horses could tell us things they’ve overheard, these would probably be some of the things.
How can I convince my friend her circles aren’t round?
BILL— Everyone from time to time needs a visit from the Geometry Police. We see circles which are flat sided, ones which go into corners, and ones which begin and end at the wrong place. We draw our students elaborate diagrams of “tangent points” replete with eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one. We distribute the Cones of Shame in the arena. Sometimes none of it does any good because they have convinced themselves that their circles are already round enough.
Down for the Count
(“These were “owners,” not necessarily to be confused with horse people.”)
Poultry in Motion
(“. . . it’s kind of a chicken(bleep) way to go about showing.”)
Term(inology) Limits
(“If you say it enough ways, something is likely to click.”)
Does it hurt them to have other people get on my horses?
BILL— It can be good or it can be bad pending on a lot of factors, namely what the riders are like and the temperament and level of training of the horse in question. The first thing to resolve is your motivation. Is this to benefit you, the other rider, or the horse?
One of the most memorable rides in my life was in December 1974 when one evening at the Poulins’ I was invited to have a short ride on a Hanoverian mare who had been the reserve horse on the Canadian team at the Munich Olympics. It was all carefully supervised of course, but it did great things for my self esteem as well as giving me a new, very meaningful reference point.
It’s a great gift to be able to bestow on someone if you have a special horse that they can learn from. That said, the most important quality that a rider must possess to be allowed to ride your horse(s) is judgment – knowing what she is capable of and what she should leave alone.
If it’s a question of allowing a person more knowledgeable than yourself to get on your horse, their judgment and your trust in them are still the operant qualities. From my personal viewpoint I feel that anyone who rides with me should-– if I deem it useful– be willing to let me on their horse. I think I know enough at this point in my career not to bite off a lump I can’t chew!
I can think of several examples, however, where a rider did not want a particular clinician climbing on their horse to show off in a way that could be detrimental to his ultimate training. That is a difficult circumstance! On the other hand, If the owner knows the horse has some dangerous behavior that hides under the surface and does not want anyone else getting on, that is understandable.
Ruling out such instances, by and large it is not only valuable to get on other people‘s horses but also to see a more advanced rider working yours. Sometimes a new slant on an old problem works wonders.
Gone Fishin’
(“. . . each movement would be written on a slip of paper and put in a fishbowl . . .”)