Yvonne riding Radiance

Natural Horsemanship Training with David Beard and Skyliner

“And the big bad wolf huffed and puffed but could not blow down the house. So the third little pig was safe”. What a sensible little piggy! Not only did he build the house out of brick, but he also built it according to code, on a very sound foundation.

Building a solid foundation, when training a horse, takes an incredible amount of time, effort, patience, feel and understanding. Many riders move ahead before they have mastered the basics or installed a solid foundation. They may be riding new movements, so they think they are advancing, but the horse often lacks quality and softness. It is important to check and 'back track' as necessary, to re-establish the basic desirable qualities. Otherwise your horse will resemble 'a house of cards' - the higher up you go, the less stable things become. Often, things advance quicker once you have 'back tracked', and filled in the 'holes' in both your riding and your horses training. Sometimes, it is necessary to back track way further than you could have first imagined, in order to move ahead. "Remember the three T's - Things Take Time" (Major Andres Lindgren).

There is also the question of 'which came first the chicken or the egg'.

(Ok, I know, first it's about pigs and now it's about chickens). However,

the better your horse is trained, the easier he is to ride, which allows you to sit well - but, the better you sit and ride, the more effective you are, enabling your horse to advance.

It is the riders responsibility to change their position first, in order to have the correct effect on the horse. Having said that, the horse has to have a certain amount of 'rideability' to be safe and cooperative, to allow the rider to focus on themselves. Riding a good schoolmaster, can give you the opportunity to establish feel, awareness and muscle memory. Or, it may be necessary to have a trainer work with your horse for a while. Either way, at some point, you the rider have to become the trainer. You have to learn how to sit, correctly use the aids, and understand the 'how and why' of what you do. As one of my former instructors said "you are either training or un-training your horse every time you ride". Let's face it, we all have the legs, hands, seat and back. It's how we use them that counts.

Well, the little piggy was in a similar situation while building his house. Should he install top of the line kitchen cabinets and a granite counter top, as his interior designer suggested, or should he install more insulation first and keep the basic kitchen? He knew the architect had done a wonderful job with the plans, and he could always make the kitchen fancier later. So he decided to add more insulation and stick to the basics.

"Train today, for a better ride tomorrow".

It always comes back to the basics. If you are just going round and round and not really improving, inspite of reading all of the books and taking lessons, it is time to re-evaluate your whole situation. Firstly you have to acknowledge and accept where you are as a rider. This can be quite difficult, painful and humbling, but from that starting point you can make the changes to move ahead, with the correct help.  By understanding your starting point and the biomechanics of your body, you can learn to be a more effective rider, and begin advancing with your horse. You can set attainable goals, and work towards them.

And what about the little pig? Well, he had established a solid structure and later added the “fancy stuff”. He was glad he waited on the kitchen design. He changed his mind and went for butcher block counter tops and was much happier in the long run.  Yeah, for piggy!!