Quiet Riding

Horses and Riders Working in Harmony


Horses in the Fog

Training

[As additional resources, links to book reviews and book purchasing information can be found beneath the quotations when this information is available.]

"To get the better results, a person needs to start down below where most people want to work with the horse."

Bill Dorrance and Leslie Desmond, True Horsemanship Through Feel
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"Without [proper] preparation he needs to have built in, why that horse is lost. He has no other way to be sure what he's supposed to do."

Bill Dorrance and Leslie Desmond, True Horsemanship Through Feel
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"There's no formula to it that's going to fit every horse or make sense to every person."

Bill Dorrance and Leslie Desmond, True Horsemanship Through Feel
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"As you progress in your lessons, experiment with how little it takes to get something accomplished."

Bill Dorrance and Leslie Desmond, True Horsemanship Through Feel
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"It's always a good idea to drop back and review some things with a horse that the horse and the person can do well together without confusion or tension of any kind.... With a little break in things, and a little practice doing what the horse can understand, why the confidence and good feeling that comes from doing that for a few minutes is liable to get him back on the right track for anything that he didn't understand just a little further up the line."

Bill Dorrance and Leslie Desmond, True Horsemanship Through Feel
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"You need clear and flexible plans and the horse needs time to experiment and think."

Bill Dorrance and Leslie Desmond, True Horsemanship Through Feel
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"We want to get the basics introduced early because so many people like to go fast. They want to start those horses too far up the line — way above what those horses or even the people themselves can understand without a foundation."

Bill Dorrance and Leslie Desmond, True Horsemanship Through Feel
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"When training is correct, the basic paces always improve. When the training is incorrect for whatever reason — harsh gadgets, 'front to back' riding that focuses on the position of the horse's head and neck and ignores the hindquarters, shortcuts — the quality of the paces degenerates."

Joyce Harman, Cross-Train Your Horse, Simple Dressage for Every Sport
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"We must develop along with our horse and we must both learn from one another."

Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling, Dancing with Horses
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"The old method of training the rider by requiring five or six months of trotting without stirrups is still an excellent system. By doing this, the legs have to fall naturally close to the horse. The rider also acquires a good seat and a sense of balance."

François Robichon de la Guérinière, The School of Horsemanship, Part II
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"Symmetrical gymnastic development can have very practical consequences for your horse's tendons and joints and its physical ability to respond to our aids and meet all of our demands equally well."

Kathleen Schmitt, The Seamless Seat
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"...one of the biggest threats to a traditional and time-tested training system may arise from the steadily growing economic interests of an ever larger number of people."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"The human who participates in equestrian sport with his horse must subject himself, as well his horse, to training. The goal of any training is to bring about the best possible harmony between rider and horse."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"When the training is solid, is correct for the horse, and the demands are gradually increased, he has a good chance of growing old as an athlete."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"The goal of good training is to develop the specific musculature needed for the discipline, so that the equine athlete is able to meet performance demands."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"...the horse's reactions to training depend on a sensitive rider figuring out how to maximize the good days."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"During the first years of training, the physical and mental qualities are developed that enable the horse to do his job and stay sound."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"Conformation weaknesses must be considered in training, and may be compensated in part with appropriate gymnastic exercises."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"The quality of the horse's training has a prime influence on the development of clinical problems such as lameness."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"Many horses climb to the highest level of the sport in spite of poor and rough training methods. The price is very often mental and physical damage to these horses."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"An interested buyer should pay careful attention to how the seller interacts with and trains the horse."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"Forced training techniques lead to various problems: The horse is hard to ride and train, and perhaps has elevated health risks."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"The horse is a prey animal that needs to carry his ears and eyes high. A training philosophy that diametrically opposes the being of one of the two partners can never lead to harmony."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"There are many highly interesting thoughts about training in the different cultures that could be useful to all riders if they would take the time to learn about and understand them."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"It helps every rider's development when she looks into the training of other horse breeds and other riding cultures, both practically and theoretically."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"We should talk more and compare different riding cultural ideas with our own, and then try out new methods."

Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Balancing Act
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"Nothing develops a horse better than steep hills, rocks and brush to run in with just enough good feed, vitamins and minerals to keep him growing but not fat."

Mary Twelveponies, Everyday Training: Backyard Dressage
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"Remember that any horse training is work for quite awhile and that the reward is a horse that easily does what you want most of the time."

Mary Twelveponies, Everyday Training: Backyard Dressage
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"As for holding the horse's attention, part of the secret is not to make the exercises too long — especially when an exercise is new."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"As soon as we see signs of boredom, we change to some other activity, and it is best to do this before you see the signs!"

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"Training sessions are so important because they establish the pleasure of working and being together..."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"I always interleave periods of hard work with pleasurable games or walks and relaxing moments....You have to be clear in your mind what is 'work' and what is 'play,' and know it will vary from horse to horse."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"I try to vary the activities as much as possible so that the horses do not become bored."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"You must avoid the danger of the horse developing a negative association with any particular exercise."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"By transforming what might be deemed work into enjoyable play, the horse grows like a child and at the same time comes closer to us."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"Learning to go beyond what he has already achieved brings an increase in pleasure and develops intelligence. This in turn enables the horse to better control his fears and to acquire a higher standard of physical and mental health."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"Each horse develops at a different rate and hurrying the pace only leads to trouble later."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"A horse never forgets ill treatment but, just as with people, the effects can be softened and his confidence built up again slowly."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"The spark of enjoyment in learning must be nurtured, not dampened, and this can only be done slowly."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"The stress of certain 'speed training' methods can produce measurable damage because the horse learns to be obedient by the clever manipulation of the trainer and without the horse's voluntary participation as part of the process."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"...each horse develops as an individual and reacts differently to the same stimulus."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"It is our duty to develop curiosity and intelligence [in the horse]."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"I try to encourage the animal to think for himself and 'act on' rather than 'react to' my wishes."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"Quite often we can take the advice of a master as a starting point. It is then up to each one of us to find our own solution and customize it for each horse."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"Through repetitive, mindless training, a horse may simply 'shut down' and go through his paces like an automaton."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"The more experienced you are, the more you may favor a particular system or way of training, but you still have to be prepared to adjust it to each individual horse and to continue doing so as the horse develops."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"When a horse is raised in a herd he is already 'being trained' as a matter of course."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"Time, and I mean a long time, is so much of the essence of training a horse that any method that delivers extraordinary results in a few minutes — or even hours — is simply not of interest to us."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"...the horse world is often guilty of starting horses too quickly and forcing them at an unnatural pace."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"Instead of trying to force him into a state of submission I invite him to cooperate."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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"Teaching is largely a matter of helping the horse to take steps himself, at his own pace and without pressure."

Magali Delgado & Frédéric Pignon, Gallop to Freedom
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