True horsemanship is far more than being just a good rider or equestrian, or even a good horse handler. It is much more than simply being able to make a horse subject to our will in any manner we choose. Within the horse community there are many areas of expertise; the handling and starting of young horses; re-training of difficult horses; competition; sports and work - which in itself has many specialised fields; stud management; strapping; racing; foundation training; performance training; instructing, again in many fields – and many more.
Many specialists are exactly that, they have expertise in one area and leave the others to someone else. Horse Breakers, for example, will have far more experience with green and difficult horses than with finished or higher level school horses. Competitors in higher levels of competition have strappers to take care of the handling requirements of the horse. The type of riding done is often concentrated with more contact riding than the areas of ground work, on-line or freestyle ‘no contact’ riding.
The horse is the final judge when it comes to true horsemanship ability. Observe someone’s horses, what kind of temperament they have, how they handle, their respect and ground manners, how they perform under saddle and when asked to concentrate and particularly how they finish – are they relaxed and improving, or stressed and working hard?
A true horseman would be equally successful in all of the areas that you are studying in your Foundation Programme. They would have excellent on-line and liberty skills. They could communicate lightly and respectfully, with or without reins and their contact riding would be soft, graceful and beautiful to watch with a happy, willing horse.
You may have noticed throughout the Quantum Savvy programme so far, that in Level 1 we worked mainly on-line and with no contact or freestyle riding. In Level 2 we introduced liberty to advance our communication skills and we began a small amount of contact riding. In Level 3 we have equal amounts of on-line, liberty and no contact riding, plus a large amount of contact riding. In fact we have been layering and building our skills as we prepared our horses and ourselves. In other words, we prepared ourselves mentally first to make sure we were in the right frame of mind. We then worked on our emotions, to ensure that we could stay cool, calm and collected under all types of circumstances. This was especially important so that we didn’t revert to our instincts if we got nervous; for our horse by running off and for us by grabbing the reins and digging in. Now in Level 3, we can concentrate on the physical. For our horse this means more collection and flexibility; for us being more conscious of how we ride and what we offer.
Once you have completed your Level 3 successfully, all of these foundations will be in place … you will be a horseman! From here you are ready to specialise and go on with any pursuit you desire. For those wanting more, there will always be more to learn. Those of you bringing new horses through the levels will really hone your foundation skills. Levels 1 – 3 have been your learning experience. Levels 4 and on are for the horse. Once you have achieved Level 3, you really will have something to offer to the horse
Read More Road To Horsemanship articles.
- By Meredith Ransley, Quantum Savvy.