Are We Pushing Our Horses Too Fast?

Klaus Balkenhol Talks About Young Dressage Horses

Olympic veteran and international dressage trainer Klaus Balkenhol says, "Farbenfroh at Aachen and Bonfire at Sydney--relaxed, supple, moving effortlessly--are classical dressage becoming art that we see too seldom. Instead, wringing tails, horses jammed into frames, short-necked, behind the vertical, mechanically-performed movements are the norm. They are also evidence of horses being pushed too fast," says Klaus Balkenhol. "Breeders, with the availability of shipped semen, have created better horses--horses that are more athletic and more sensitive due to the Thoroughbred influence. These talented horses offer more at an earlier age, creating a dangerous situation when inexperienced trainers take what these horses offer before the horses are physically or mentally capable. The education of trainers hasn't kept up with the development in horses.

"Classical education of the dressage horse requires much time and lasts for the horse's entire life. Laying a solid foundation of basics--fromt eh first moment the horse is handled and continuing with strict adherence to the consecutive elements of the training scale, by an experienced, educated trainer--will produce a horse who is a joy to watch. If something goes wrong with the basic training--so it goes out of the classical direction and fails to obey the systematic gymnastic training scale--the horse can easily be permanently damaged, either physically or mentally. Rest, medical treatment, and a return to the basics can sometimes correct physical damage.

"Far worse is a horse who has been pushed too fast mentally. He may never again trust his rider. Faults in basic training are difficult to overcome because, in most cases, the trainer remains the same and continues to make the same mistakes. A single lifetime isn't long enough to ride every horse or learn to solve every problem. Young trainers should start with a thorough education, followed by apprenticeship under an experienced horseman. The trainer who's too vain to be told what his problems re doens't deserve to be called a horseman. Each horse is unique and presents different problems. What's easy for one horse may be very difficult for another. Trainers should always be willing to advise other trainers."

Why Trainers Push Horses Too Fast

Klaus explains, "Although breeders have created a better horse, the market has created a demand for a stronger, healthier, more powerful horse. It's easier to sell a horse that looks like a carefully developed eight-year-old, and not like a three- or four-year-old just beginning his career. If you force it, you can get a three-year-old to physically look like a developed eight-year-old. Too many colts remain stallions which, if approved, promise breeders higher prices as three-year-olds. Now 250 to 300 young stallions are presented each year, when only 40 or 50 will be approved. Few breeders have the sense to geld the yearling stallions and leave them on the pasture to mature naturally. Instead, yearling stallions are brought into a stall, fed too much grain, and at three, look like six- or seven-year-olds. They have muscle mass, but not enough bone structure to support it. The look mature from the outside but aren't . . . and when started to work, degeneration sets in.

"Competitions also create pressure to push horses too fast. In the past, competitions in Europe would end when the winter set in, allowing the horses a needed rest from showing. Now, competitions are scheduled throughout the year without any breaks. In 1999, at Del Mar, many observers impressed by Brentina competing at Prix St. Georges thought she would lead the U.S. team to Sydney. But Brentina wasn't yet ready for piaffe or passage; when asked, she became nervous and anxious, losing rhythm and relaxation. Fortunately, her trainer/rider, Debbie McDonald, and her owners, Peggy and Parry Thomas, value Brentina over a too-early Olympic appearance. They took Brentina back to movments she could do easily and with joy, building her mental confidence and physical strength over many months. When she was both physically and mentally ready for piaffe and passage, these movements came easily and beautifully for her. Winning the Festival Of Champions this June and earning the highest Grand Prix score ever for an American horse prove the correctness of their decision not to push this lovely horse too fast.

"Trainers who always adhere to the classical basics of the consecutive training scale will consistently produce horses that are a pleasure to ride, are responsive to the rider's aids, and are ready to learn upper level movements."

TRAINING SCALE

1. Relaxation

2. Rhythm

3. Regularity of gaits

4. Freedom of gaits

5. Contact (accepting contact)

6. On the aids

7. Straightness

When you have these first seven, usually confirmed within the first two years or when the horse is six, he's ready to begin dressage training.

8. Impulsion

9. Straightness

Common Mistakes In Pushing Too Fast

Tightening the noseband: "A horse resists by sticking out his tongue. Tightening the noseband too much puts pressure on the nose and on the poll. If it is necessary to tighten the noseband very tightly, then something has gone very wrong in the basic training of the horse. The horse cannot be relaxed, the first step on the training scale," warns Klaus.

Specializing too early: "Drilling every day in the indoor arena is too intense for the young horse. It's very important, especially in the first two years of training, not to specialize the young horse. Training should include a variety of activities, including trail riding, which is good for the mind as well as building strength with hillwork. It should include jumping, either free or low jumps under saddle, including small natural obstacles on the trail, and cavaletti. A variety of work will allow the horse to stay mentally fresh and to enjoy his work. Only when the horse is happy can dressage become art."

Not checking tack frequently: "Saddle and tack need to be checked constantly for proper fit and adjusted as the horse's body changes with growth, and as his fitness improves with the training. If the noseband gets too low, for example, and the skin between the noseband and the bit is rubbed and becomes sore, this causes the horse discomfort and loss of relaxation. Regularly check for sharp edges and bit problems in the horse's mouth and teeth."

Working too long: "The goal of our training is to build the horse's mind and his muscles. Suppleness and relaxation require adequate muscle strength. strengthening requires both contraction and relaxation. Blood flow and oxygenation occur when the muscle relaxes. If the muscle is kept in a constant state of contraction, it loses power and strength, and actually becomes smaller. Frequent rest periods, especially for a young horse at a free walk on a long rein, are necessary. The rest periods are not for a rider's fatigue, but to allow the horse to stretch and relax his muscles. The rest breaks will give you a completely new horse. This is the systematic gymnasticizing of the horse."

Riding when the horseman is tense: "Horses are particularly sensitive to the rider's mood. A rider shouldn't ride if she is under undue stress or doesn't have the time to ride. If the rider has a bad day, give the horse a rest day or go for a relaxing trail ride; don't work in the arena. The horse mirrors the rider's mood."

Not praising the horse enough: "The horse must perform from joy, not subservience. Praising a horse frequently with voice, a gentle pat, or relaxing the reins is very important to keep the horse interested and willing. If the horse offers piaffe, for instance, because he's excited, praise him for it. You shouldn't stop t he lesson at that point nor make a big deal out of it. If you don't want piaffe, quietly urge him forward into trot, but you should NEVER punish him for offering the piaffe.

"The rider of a young horse should have developed a seat of velcro on the lunge, so she can confidently sit a buck. If a young horse wants to buick a little, it's natural and will relax the horse. Do not punish the young horse for just being a horse."

Exercises To Build The Horse's Confidence & Strength

"Transitions between gaits (walk/trot, trot/canter, trot/halt) and transitions within the gait (collected walk to extended walk) are excellent exercises to build a horse's confidence, hind quarter and back muscles, and responsiveness to the rider's aids.

"Half-halts should be practiced each lesson. The horse should respond to the half-halt, and the rider should immediately give. If the horse does not respond to a half-halt, a stronger but not prolonged aid should be given, immediately followed by release so that the horse remembers this pleasant moment and wants to respond immediately. If the horse isn't trained to respond to half-halts, then the rider cannot give and the horse will constantly be against the bit, on the forehand, unbalanced, and unable to carry himself.

"The walk is a gait that cannot be improved, but it should always be maintained. Allow the horse to walk on a free rein to find his natural walk. When the horse is relaxed and the walk is regular, square halts can be practiced. Use half-halts to collect the walk. Then, with a supple hand, ask for halt. This is a difficult exercise. From an energetic walk, prepare for the halt with half-halts. At the halt, the rider should leave the horse alone, being sure not to work backward with the hands.

"In walk pirouettes, riders have a tendency to overcollect the horse and to continue pulling on the reins. Then they must rely on the spur to move the horse around, which often causes the haunches to swing out. If the horse isn't responsive enough to the aids, then the horse should be schooled outside the pirouette before the pirouette is attempted again. When the horse is able to collect to a high degree on a straight line, then the rider can consider beginning pirouette work. Ride out of the pirouette in the shoulder fore position on a straight line.

"Work on passage by trotting a 20-meter circle and collecting the horse towards passage, keeping the rhythm. The rider's hands must stay forward, and the horse must be allowed to go forward by himself, with the rhythm supported by the leg and seat. Immediately, trot on. Let the horse go, but don't hurry him, which would interrupt his natural rhythm. Piaffe and passage must show a purity of the gait first. Then you can ask for more expression.

"Shoulder-in is a great exercise to prepare for schooling half-pass. If accuracy is lost in the half-pass to the right, correct by working shoulder-in to the left. Rhythm and liveliness should be the same whether the horse is straight or moving laterally. A passage-like trot in half-pass is not acceptable. The half-pass must be ridden forward with steady contact on the inside rein to keep the forehand from leaning.

"Canter pirouette shouldn't be ridden with haunches in. If the haunches are in, the shoulder must travel farther, and the horse becomes confused. The haunches should follow the forehand, and the hind legs should step toward the center of gravity. Supple contact is needed; the horse must feel that he is free.

"To teach a young horse flying changes, first the horse is ridden forward in the trot. if the horse is reluctant to go forward, the whip is used lightly. the rider must establish the training scale--relaxation, rhythm, tempo, contact, and collection--whether the horse is Training level or Grand Prix. Once the horse is in front of the leg, the rider can begin doing exercises.

"First, the horse is asked to canter very forward across the diagonal, collected at the wall and asked for the change immediately after the horse is collected. This increased collection makes the change easier for the horse.

"The horse can also be ridden in a big pirouette on one lead, which is a collecting movement, then straightened for one canter stride, and then ridden out on the other lead (like riding a figure eight). Changes are asked for after collecting exercises.

"The horse can also be leg yielded in the canter down the long side to three meters away from the wall, then asked for the change as the horse is allowed to return to the wall.

"The rider must be careful that the hose isn't allowed to go sideways in the flying change--the changes must go forward! Flying changes must come out of a swinging back and a desire to go forward, not from the horse being chased into the change. The horse must have complete trust in the rider.

"If a horse is short on the change to one side, the whip should be used to correct it. If the rider tries to correct by pressing harder with the leg, she'll unbalance or confuse the horse. The whip and spur are aids, not punishments. If the whip is used too firmly, the horse gets angry and tense, which is counter-productive. When the whip is used lightly, it serves as an aid.

"Flying changes come from the horse's hindquarters, which can work well only when they aren't disturbed by the rider's hand."

Summary

"A young horse always deserves to be educated by an experienced trainer, always following the consecutive steps of the training scale. The horse should always come first. Any problems that arise are the responsibility of the rider to solve. The horse is always a horse; the rider must always be a horseman."

Reprinted from Hunter & Sport Horse Magazine

Sep/Oct 2001 Issue

Written by Kyra Beth Houston & Gay Walker

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