Horses have similar characteristics to humans, and a few of these can be employed to overcome our equestrian coaching problems and learning blocks.

Horse riding is a constant cycle of care, coaching, and then application of the things taught and learned till the pony in question is solid on her cues and knows how her rider wants her to respond in every situation. Before a pony reaches that stage nevertheless , generous amounts of time and effort will unavoidably be consumed. And for such equestrian sport as dressage, an equine ballet of beauteous precision, rather more effort and time and frustration is a prerequisite. Through the process of coaching, both coach and pony can be stressful, compelling, and frustrating. There are occasions when the very health of a mare being trained might be put at risk—the danger coming from a trainer’s desire for her to learn. Pushing her too hard beyond her tangible learning curve right now would only serve to stress her out and put negative stress on her. And administering performance boosters to young horses is similarly inadvisable as too much may endanger their health in the longer term.

So it’s a great thing that like us as equestrians who learn on our own, so do our horses learn in pasture when they are left to their devices.

This could be difficult to credit initially. But to see how it happens, next time you introduce a manoeuvre to your mare, observe her while in pasture thereafter. For instance, teach her to pivot around to reverse direction. This is an especially unnatural move—horses go around in a semi-circle to reverse directions at freedom. After a session trying to teach her the lesson, ensure she’s got a handle on the basic motions, and do not worry about the move not being perfect yet. Give her a break and let her graze for some time. Observe her as she grazes in pasture—instead of reversing direction the natural way (the half-circle) she is going to start reversing directions through the manoeuvre you taught her. Though the movements may be awkward as she is yet to hone them, seeing your pony do the move on her own is fantastic in itself. And as she continues using what she’s learned to reverse direction, given time she’d unavoidably get better at it. Each time you let her out onto pasture, she’ll continue to utilize any moves you’ve taught her in favour of what she initially knew. And the longer she uses them, the better she gets at them.

This suggests if we use this natural behavior of our horses we can teach them up to the point at which they no longer display further progress, then just let them out to practice on their lonesome. This additional step in an equestrian training regime means we avoid putting too much pressure or administering too many performance improving drugs while letting ourselves rest also. And better yet—horses learn best when their lessons are spaced out at a regular interval and in between lessons they practice at freedom. Their practice-method of self learning is constrained naturally; do not expect them to pull off any stylish dressage moves while in pasture.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about cheap horse rugs