WILLIAM MICKLEM - RATS, REWARDS & RESULTS Part 3

What I am about to say will not make me very popular with some trainers but I feel I have to bite the bullet! It has been suggested that a horse comes on the bit by the rider using the half halt. My initial difficulty is with the expression on the bit, which is both misleading and unhelpful with the emphasis on the front end and the rein contact. As a horse can only come on the bit with the use of the back, and connection all the way through from quarters to the head, we need a better expression. This is why I, and many others, prefer to use the phrase between the aids or on the aids.

Secondly, as there are so many horses that do not come through in the back, and therefore are not ready or able to come between the aids, it is misleading to suggest that half halts are the way forward. It is also both contradictory to the FEI rules and too difficult for many riders. A half halt is defined in the FEI rules as a hardly visible, almost simultaneous, coordinated action of the riders aids, with the object of increasing the attention and balance of the horse. So no mention of putting on the bit, and the level of difficulty described is such that most novice riders trying to do this end up doing a half baulk rather than a half halt!

AN EASY PROGRESSION

Before half halts can begin a rider has to practise giving leg and rein aids individually and eventually getting the right instant response from their horse. Many top trainers talk about leg without hand and hand without leg meaning just thisand of course a rider also has to learn to use each leg and each hand independently. If this is not done as part of a progression riders tend to end up pushing and pulling at the same time, causing confusion, falsely shortening the horse and not encouraging the all-important self carriage. Gradually the time between aids can be shortened as rider and horse progress, as long as the right response is gained from each aid, and then eventually a half halt can be given as good coordination and feel are established over many months and possibly years..and remember it should be hardly visible.

IMPULSION NEEDS THE CONSTANTS

Of course even a very young horse can be put between the aids if the early work is good and the five Constants are in place. This is why I like to use work on the lunge, both before a horse is ever ridden and when retraining, so that they come through in the back and show real impulsion before having to cope with the weight of the rider on their back.and this is the key point, impulsion is needed if a horse is to go between the aids and impulsion needs the Constants.

In my last two blogs I have talked about avoiding a mechanical approach as Acceptance, Calmness, Forwardness, and Straightness are established. Today it is the turn of Purity, the last of my five Constants:

PURITY

This refers to the purity or naturalness and correctness of the paces, including both a natural and regularly repeated sequence of steps and period of suspension, and a natural outline and use of the body, head and neck. Purity opens the door to a horse going close to PERFECTION.

There will only be purity of the paces if the various muscle groups function as an ensemble. The muscles must work together to produce one unit, then there is real synergy, and the combined effects exceed the sum of the individual parts. The muscle groups join together like a great harmonious chain when the horse has been progressively conditioned and trained - and this is an art. However there are three main obstacles to this ideal that are commonly observed. Each of them served to disconnect these muscle groups:

1 Riders do not work sufficiently at becoming supple enough to go with the movement of the horse and remain softly in equilibrium. This weakness, sometimes combined with excessive weight, prevents the back playing its fundamental role in producing an athletic horse.

2 The excessive and/or unrefined use of various gadgets disconnect the use of the neck from the rest of the horse and encourages an unnatural way of going.

3 A general lack of progressive conditioning, including: (a) insufficient warm up, stretching, cool down, and rest periods; (b) over specialisation in particular exercises or activity causing the same muscles and joints to be used repeatedly and excessively; (c) the trainers inability to work a horse anaerobically, as well as aerobically in order to develop spring and explosive power.

USE OF THE BACK

The biggest obstacle to synergy and purity is undoubtedly a restricted use of the back. The back of the horse resembles a horizontal bridge stretched between the withers and the pelvis and is the crucial anatomical component for movement. It is the true source of motion, equilibrium and co-ordination.

To work towards good use of the back you have to look at every horse as an individual and work from what the horse does well. Every horse will be able to do something in at least one pace of good quality. This is the starting point of good use of the back and it opens the door to quality work in all the paces. Therefore each horse needs careful work to begin this process and every horse will be slightly different and need slightly different exercises.

SYNERGY & REWARDS

The synergy of the muscular groups and the way groups of muscles form chains, mentioned above, is echoed in the way the five constants work together. None of the constants should be considered in isolation and eventually achieving all the constants together produces a synergy that is powerful and exciting for the trainer. It also makes the horse feel very good, which is at the very heart of accelerating progress and fulfilling potential.

There is no reward more important than the horse feeling good. I was listening to an international trainer recently who was emphasising a three stage strategy to working your horse - preparation, exercise, reward. While this appears to make good sense there are many riders who treat it as permission to ask the horse too much and it ignores the most important type of reward.

In training humans there are extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. The extrinsic rewards are things like money, awards, bribery and chocolate bars! The intrinsic rewards are things like feeling good about oneself, achieving a personal best, feeling satisfied, being healthy, and knowing that you worked hard and put yourself in. Coaches are continually taught the vital importance of intrinsic rewards and how in the long term they are the real reasons people keep going.

HAPPY HORSES

The same is true with horses. If a horse is happy, feeling good about itself, they will be willing to keep working. Is this not true? Horses can take great pleasure in what they are asked to do. Witness the squeals of delight from a horse enjoying their jumping or the sheer enthusiasm for life displayed by a group of horses out cantering with their riders. Even clearer is the pure contentment of a horse that has these five constants as they worka contentment that can never be reproduced by giving an extra bag of carrots or bribing with a bowl of nuts.

The relaxed position of the ears, the calmness in the eyes, the regular breathing and the ease of movement are all symptomatic of a horse that accepts their riders, is calm forwards and straight and moving naturally as one co-ordinated unit coming through their backs producing purity of the paces. In other words the Constants are in place. This is the best reward for horses and this will produce the best results.

Results that are of the highest quality and will be long lasting, results that will allow you to centaur yourself. I guarantee it. Happy days. William

www.WilliamMicklem.com

PS High Caress doing well at 2 weeks.will we go back to her Dad Puissance??

WILLIAM MICKLEM - RATS, REWARDS & RESULTS Part 3

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