TFD Coaching

This is a really well written post and worth a read.

An open letter to riding school riders and parents.

We know that the vast majority of riders and parents of riders have a deep respect for horses and care for their wellbeing.

We also understand that paying for riding lessons is a considerable expense, especially when compared to some other activities which don’t involve partnering with a 1/2 tonne of sensitive prey animal.

We also understand that riders and parents want to feel that their time and money is resulting in tangible ’progress’. We desperately want that too. One of the biggest welfare ‘wins’ for our horses is to get riders as quickly as possible to the point where they can move with the horse in balance whilst giving clear, light cues (signals to the horse sometimes referred to as aids). The reality is that, whilst riders are still in the ‘messy middle’ of developing balance, body awareness and understanding, the experience for the horse can be mentally and physically challenging. Add in the additional challenge of carrying multiple riders per week who are all at different stages and applying cues differently and it becomes very easy for horses to have a negative experience of being ridden. We know that you don’t want this and neither do we!

The reality is that getting to the stage where riders can ride independently, with understanding and softness takes a significant amount of time for the vast majority. Riding is:
A sport (the physicality of balance and suppleness)
A science (understanding how horses learn and the biomechanics of horse and rider)
An art (uniting in harmony with the horse to create beautiful movement)
A responsibility (ensuring that the horse’s experience of being ridden comes ahead of the rider’s experience of riding)
A commitment (riding is a lifelong learning journey which has no end point)

Our coaches are balancing the sometimes conflicting needs of ensuring lessons are safe for riders, avoiding as much discomfort for horses as possible AND making lessons fun, challenging and tailored to individual needs. Safety and horse comfort HAVE to be the number 1 priority (an uncomfortable horse is an unsafe horse).

You can accelerate progress between lessons by:
Learning anything and everything you can about horses. The more you understand them the better partner you will be.
Spend time preparing your body for riding. Yoga is brilliant for developing balance, suppleness and body awareness.
Utilise mechanical horse lessons. They are the ideal way to develop correct movement patterns in a welfare positive way.

In those lessons where you may feel not much progress is being made, consider this: the rider is learning to respect the needs of their partner and put their needs first. They are learning patience. They are learning kindness. They are learning to be a trusted partner and friend. Surely that’s worth investing in?

Most horses pass from one human to another - some horsemen and women are patient and forgiving, others are rigorous and demanding, others are cruel, others are ignorant.

Horses have to learn how to, at the minimum, walk, trot, canter, gallop, go on trails and maybe jump, to be treated by the vet, all with sense and good manners.

Talented Thoroughbreds must learn how to win races, and if they can't do that, they must learn how to negotiate courses and jump over strange obstacles without touching them, or do complicated dance like movements or control cattle or accommodate children and adults in therapy work.

Many horses learn all of these things in the course of a single lifetime. Besides this, they learn to understand and fit into the successive social systems of other horses they meet along the way.

A horse's life is rather like twenty years in foster care, or in and out of prison, while at the same time changing schools over and over and discovering that not only do the other students already have their own social groups, but that what you learned at the old school hasn't much application at the new one.

We do not require as much of any other species, including humans.

That horses frequently excel, that they exceed the expectations of their owners and trainers in such circumstances, is as much a testament to their intelligence and adaptability as to their relationship skills or their natural generosity or their inborn nature. That they sometimes manifest the same symptoms as abandoned orphans - distress, strange behaviors, anger, fear - is less surprising than that they usually don't.

No one expects a child, or even a dog to develop its intellectual capacities living in a box 23 hours a day and then doing controlled exercises the remaining one.

Mammal minds develop through social interaction and stimulation.

A horse that seems "stupid", "slow", "stubborn", etc. might just have not gotten the chance to learn!

Take care of your horses and treasure them.

Hot on the heels of Ros Canter Eventing’s masterclass of a round yesterday, we’re taking a look back to when Sally asked Ros how she mentally prepares for competition. Her absolute focus, skill, and the incredible partnership she shares with Lordships Graffalo never fail to inspire us 🥳 Ros has every element of her performance fine-tuned to the smallest detail — right down to her choice of saddle. She rides in Equipe Saddles, designed for refinement of aids and perfect harmony between horse and rider ♥️ Zebra Products are proud to be the UK distributor of Equipe Saddles — available through your local independent saddle fitter 🦓

🐴DRESSAGE SOLUTIONS!🐴 How To Know If Your Inside Leg Is Effective?

To help you determine if your inside leg is effective in sending energy to the outside rein …

Imagine that, as a result of using the inside leg, the outside of your horse’s neck seems like a balloon filling with air and the outside rein feels like a bungee cord with positive tension and an elastic connection.
— Martin Kuhn

🎨 Sandy Rabinowitz