Building Confidence, Strength and Coordination.
By – Peter Andrew Shaw
Some say there are many ways to get to the top, I say good training is good training, not fashion, but I say there may not be so many ways of staying there. As with children, it takes time to build confidence, strength, understanding and the willingness and ability to rise to a new challenge, understand the processes needed to solve the questions at hand, as well as apply that knowledge. Horses need time to, for all of this, but also to gain enough strength, fitness and flexibility to be able to carry themselves more on their hocks without damage. It takes hundreds of days to repair from connective tissue injuries and only seconds sometimes, to do them. The more we keep our training away from the high intensity, repetitive, exciting kind of exercises and more to the low intensity flexibility and strength exercises, the sounder our horses stay, the longer they last and the more we can call on them when the chips are down, the same for the riders.
There’s a saying that, “the longer you walk in the beginning, the longer they last in the end.” But, of course, there’s walking and walking. I’m meaning walking with the horse using the entire top-line and swing through the back. That stretching and loosening of the whole horse through good reaching forward and down with the neck. This walking is also yoga for the brain. Time to breathe relax and learn where their limbs are, over uneven ground and undulations, will improve proprioception and prepare the horses, and riders, for work in a higher pace. Always practice harder things in a slower pace first to give time for horse and rider to think and react, adjust their balance and answer the question, then reward each little attempt. You’ll be surprised how quickly the horses understand with timely rewards. We’re really mentoring the horse to be a confident grown up athlete, not dominating it into submission. That has other consequences in relation to relaxation, effort and longevity.
What is Proprioception?
- Derived from the Latin ‘proprius’ (‘own’) and ‘reception’ (‘sense of’)
- The sense of one’s self in space (Conscious and Unconscious)
- Muscles and connective tissues contain intricate nerve receptors
- These receptors and managed by neurotransmitters which relay information back to the brain
- This information guides horses (and humans) to navigate movements that are in harmony with the world around them.
Why is this important?
Reference mend.horse
Just like with children at school, we do all sorts of gross and fine motor exercises and coordination tasks to improve their co-ordination etc, so too the horses and riders need to be doing exercises to improve their proprioception. We’ve all seen sportsman working on their footwork, coordination, hand eye work, etc, to improve their skills and performance. We need to focus on improving ours and our horses’ proprioception. With this comes more and more confidence as each learns how and where to place different parts of their bodies, limbs etc to enable a balanced execution of the task. As we deposit more and more to the horses’ and riders’ bank of understanding, organisation, co-ordination and ability to read a task and organise their bodies and limbs, keeping their balance on approach, over the task and the depart, then confidence grows and grows and with that more and more relaxation, helping to take out tension which only stiffens bodies, limbs and minds. The correct jumping and training exercises can not only help the horse pitch up at the appropriate moment to jump clean, but also can help the horses be able to bring their knees up higher and faster, making their jumping safer, especially at speed, when needed.
It’s important to be very aware of your horses’ normal reactions, paces and range of movement etc. It is important to look for signs of proprioceptive decline early to prevent and reverse further damage.
Some causes of damage could be:
- Traumatic/acute injuries. (Kick, fall, etc)
- Ill-fitting tack
- Poorly used training device, or poor training methods
- Inappropriate or incorrect shoeing or dental
- Overuse, fatigue, repeated concussive forces, inadequate rest, too many repetitions.
- Neurological diseases/Aging/Disuse
So as you can see, being aware of the motion of your horse, how it changes for the better or worse, and having a program that is realistic and horse centric, not just about competitions will help you stay at the top of your game longer with a happy sound horse. I know many of you are busy riders, with multiple rides. Make a point of checking your own horses over regularly, so training the grooms to the high standards that will help you succeed, that attention to detail in every area, contributes to your winning formula.
There are all sorts of simple exercises to do with the horse each day to help the horse establish the characteristics of Rhythm, Suppleness, Contact, Impulsion, Straightness and Collection, as well as fitness, strength of both the bones, muscles and connective tissues whilst still engaging in a competitive program to suit where your horse and yourself are at in training and fitness. The old adage of competing two levels above your training level, certainly might help with horses and riders not chasing their tails and losing confidence with too many questions and demands on them on the edge of their understanding or readiness. I understand at a certain level there aren’t two more levels, above where you’re at, but by then the horse and rider should be way more establish in the basics, the how, why and when of the aides and the outcomes, and the ability to repeatedly answer the harder questions. I did say I was going to talk about the basics this time, but I thought that this might be more beneficial to start off after our “Start, stop, left and right,” information earlier, as it’s all part of our basic understanding and plans.
Whilst helping the horse with its proprioception, don’t neglect your own as well. A fit agile, coordinated rider has way more chance of not getting in the horse’s way, but also of “sticking” when an incident may occur and allowing the horse to solve it unhindered, but helped. There are many people these days professing to be experts in posture and fitness, however, be careful as so many of them won’t have you working on the right muscles and posture to help your riding. Being discerning is they keep and doing your research as to what’s correct. The same with the horses’ shape and exercises, there is not fast track or tricks.
Simply walking up or down hills in hand or under saddle can help both horses and riders adjust their balance and use the core, bending their limbs more. This is fairly low impact, of course depending on the speed and the incline. For riders as well, try walking up hill and see where you load weight. Try lifting your belly button up and back slightly and walk up the slope. You’ll be surprised how it takes load off your knees and feet. Of course, this should be developed over time including each gait and increased speed, but only once the horse is more and more able to organise itself to travel successfully faster over undulations.
“Poles and grid” work is also an excellent way of helping horses and riders with their own proprioception. Both the horses and riders can develop a rhythm and balance, simply slightly raising poles and walking over them allowing the horse’s neck to lower and lengthen to help free the shoulders and the back and encourage the horse to read the question asked and respond appropriately to it, will help strengthen the core with very low risk of damage through fatigue or strain.
The horse and rider can build to trotting and cantering over a variety of configurations, please ensure your placement and distances are correct when a series of poles are used.
For more inspiration you could read or watch Cavaletti, by Ingrid Klimke for many exercises to develop you horses proprioception. I have seen her work with a very plane moving little thoroughbred at Dressage and Jumping with the Stars in Werribee, Victoria and through the exercises his movement became much more expansive as his suppleness and confidence improved. It was a joy to watch, and anyone can do it.I am sure most of you know all about this and are excellent at developing your horses well, I just wanted to make sure we’re all on the same page before progressing with the training and articles. It doesn’t hurt sometimes to be reminded of the things we know and may have glossed over as we become busier.About the Author
Mr Peter Andrew Shaw
Peter comes to us with a lifetime of successful experience as a coach, rider, judge and teacher. He spent 22 years in Public Education, becoming the Principal of three different primary schools in his career. Peter has been training, riding and judging since his early teenage years, reaching Grand Prix level judge in 1988 and now an FEI Level 3 Eventing Official, having working in many states of Australia, the UK, Europe and USA with the highlights last year being officiating at Aachen and the European Eventing Championships in Luhmuhlen.
As a rider ,Peter has won on every horse he’s competed on in Dressage, Eventing, Show Jumping and Showing and won at the Australian Dressage Championships, as well as winning up to FEI Level. His students have won up to and including Grand Prix dressage and 5* eventing. He also trained the Philippines Dressage Team to win Bronze, Silver and Gold, in the World Dressage Challenge. Quite a full career for sure.
