Kirsty Wastney - Sound Education

20/01/2022

13/05/2021

Love the horse first, and the sport second.

Sure, you can buy the flashy tack, the big lorry and the carbon fibre boots. You can feed the “top of the range” feed along with every supplement under the sun. You can combine it all with infra-red this and magnetic that as well as investing in all the physio, massage, chiropractic, alternative and vet treatment money can buy...
..but it won’t make them happy. Sure, it’ll help keep them healthy, it’ll keep their body in shape and make sure they’re ready for the next competition, but a horse’s happiness does not come from “things”.

We expect so much from our horses. We load them up, take them to strange places, expect them to perform, even with a distinct change in our energy as nerves and anticipation creep in.

We sell them to new homes with promises of “no vices”, “perfect schoolmaster” and “bombproof”. Setting an expectation with no leniency, no margin for error, no thought given to how that horse has just been taken away from everything it knew and landed somewhere totally in unfamiliar.

We expect them to blindly trust, to follow, cooperate and comply. To be polite, to stand, to tie up, to stop and go when asked... and they do this all by choice. How do we know? Because we’ve all met a horse that chooses not to at some point. We know they can say no.

And yet, there are still people who believe after all these animals give, they deserve to be stood in a 12x12 stable for 23 hours a day, only coming out for exercise. People who see a horse as an asset rather than an animal, who believe that protecting their investment should come before a horse’s well-being.

We expect so much from these beautiful, intelligent, forgiving animals, the very least we can do is give them the time and space to do what nature intended them to do; to graze, to run, to buck, to roll in the mud, to groom with their friends, to sleep in the sun... to just be a horse.

A healthy horse is not always a happy horse, so don’t forget...

Love the horse first, and the sport second.

21/03/2021

Just Enjoy....

One of the significant differences between us and our horses is our ambition. From a young age, we are taught to place higher value on progress and performance, than on peace and pleasure. Many of us believe that if we are not constantly chasing success then we are wasting our life away. We believe that bettering ourselves involves sacrificing peace for progress. We feel guilty for resting, and are encouraged to constantly push ourselves out of our comfort zones and prove our worth through our achievements. We place such little value on our own peace, contentment and joy.

Let working with your horse be your escape from the prison of the human ego. Let go of your expectations, pressures and desires. See your horse as the unique and beautiful expression of life that he is, and let him see you for the being that you are. Your horse does not see the value that you place on yourself or your desires. All he sees is if your heart is open, and if he is safe with you. Let your love for your horse be your only inspiration to improve yourself as a rider, trainer or owner.

Give yourself permission to spend time with your horse purely for pleasure. Embrace your horse with an open heart and just enjoy their company. Your actions do not have to constantly be goal-driven.

There are a few beautiful mantras of Manolo’s that I have heard many times when riding and working with the horses as a reminder to be in the moment….

🔹 "Ride like you are in love with your horse.”
🔹 "Forget about the rest of the world when you are working with your horse.”
🔹 “Work with your horse with love, with the only goal to make him feel good.”

And my favourite one…. “Just enjoy…”

- The Heart of Dressage

10/03/2021

💗this.. 👌

Don’t forget your why.

We unconditionally commit ourselves to this sport. We sacrifice enormous parts of our lives, and ourselves because we are so passionate about what we love.

But whilst we work, grind and graft to become the best riders and owners we believe our horses deserve, we sometimes forget the most important thing...we forget why.

Why we get up at 3am for a competitions, why we forgo new clothes so our horses can have special shoes, why we get up 2 hours earlier than “normal people” because stables don’t clean themselves, why we invest our hard earned money in saddles, entry fees, supplements and rugs.

We do it because once upon a time, a little kid fell in love with a horse and never looked back.

We do it because these animals bring us incomparable happiness.

They lift us up from the darkest of places and they give us a reason to get out of bed.

They push us, challenge us and shape us into better people by teaching us lessons we’d never learn anywhere else.

They unlock a whole part of us that we never knew existed. A stubborn, determined, strong willed part that refuses to give up.

They keep us grounded, reminding us that sometimes even though certain things may be out of our control, our own actions and emotions never are.

They make us laugh, when we don’t even feel like smiling. They are like warm soup for the soul, they fill our hearts without even trying.

So next time your in the saddle, just take a moment. Breathe, smile, laugh... and don’t forget why.

03/01/2021

Before backing your youngster please read -

A horse ages roughly 3 times faster than a human.

So a 90 year old human is a 30 year old horse. Both very old, usually arthritic, don’t have many of their original teeth left, and very likely retired and enjoying the finer things in life.

A 25 year old horse is a 75 year old human. Still works so far.

A 20 year old horse is a 60 year old human. At that point where the body doesn’t work like it use to but the brain is all there and wants to be active.

A 13 year old horse is a 39 year old human. Middle aged, prime of their life where their knowledge and physical ability are about equal.

So let’s get down to the babies and work our way up.

A 3 year old horse is a 9 year old child. A child. Not ready for work by a long stretch. We have moved past sending children down the mines.

A 4 year old horse is a 12 year old child. Often will do odd jobs for pocket money, maybe a paper round, mowing lawns etc. Basically a 4 yo horse can start a bit of light work to earn their keep.

A 5 year old horse is a 15 year old teenager. Think they know it all, cocky, and ready to up their work and responsibilities. Still quite weak and not fully developed so shouldn’t be at their physical limit but can start building strength.

A 6 year old horse is an 18 year old human. An adult. Ready to work hard.

Pushing your youngster too hard too young will result in failure of many body parts. Joints, tendons, ligaments as well as their brains. Waiting one year at the beginning can give a horse another 10 years of useful working life. Be patient with your pride and joy!

Written by Vicky Fowler

07/10/2020

I love so much about this. Everyone in the equine industry thinks they have “it”. In a time where success can be bought and incredible horses make up for an appalling lack of skill and true horsemanship we can often learn so much from the humble and less known trainers. I think those people know enough to know what they DON’T know, that quick fixes aren’t always a long term solution and that almost everything is more complex than it seems.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A HORSE WHISPERER. There never has been and never will be. The idea is an affront to the horse. You can talk and listen to horses all you want, and what you will learn, if you pay close attention, is that they live on open ground way beyond language and that language, no matter how you characterize it, is a poor trope for what horses understand about themselves and about humans. You need to practice only three things, patience, observation and humility, all of which were summed up in the life of an old man who died Tuesday (July 20, 1999) in California, a man named Bill Dorrance.

Dorrance was 93, and until only a few months before his death he still rode and he still roped. He was one of a handful of men, including his brother Tom, who in separate ways have helped redefine relations between the horse and the human. Bill Dorrance saw that subtlety was nearly always a more effective tool than force, but he realized that subtlety was a hard tool to exercise if you believe, as most people do, that you are superior to the horse. There was no dominance in the way Dorrance rode, or in what he taught, only partnership. To the exalted horsemanship of the vaquero -- the Spanish cowboy of 18th-century California -- he brought an exalted humanity, whose highest expression is faith in the willingness of the horse.

There is no codifying what Bill Dorrance knew. Some of it, like how to braid a rawhide lariat, is relatively easy to teach, and some of it, thanks to the individuality of horses and humans, cannot be taught at all, only learned. His legacy is exceedingly complex and, in a sense, self-annulling. It is an internal legacy. The more a horseman says he has learned from Dorrance the less likely he is to have learned anything at all.

That sounds oblique, but it reflects the fact that what you could learn from Dorrance was a manner of learning whose subject was nominally the horse but that extended itself in surprising directions to include dogs, cattle and people. If you learned it, you would know it was nothing to boast about.

There is no mysticism, no magic, in this, only the recognition of kinship with horses. Plenty of people have come across Bill Dorrance and borrowed an insight or two, and some have made a lot of money by popularizing what they seemed to think he knew. But what he knew will never be popular, nor did he ever make much money from it. You cannot sell modesty or undying curiosity. It is hard to put a price on accepting that everything you think you know about horses may change with the very next horse.

From an article by Verlyn Klinkenborg 'Death of a Legendary Horseman' - NY Times July 24, 1999 - http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/24/opinion/editorial-notebook-death-of-a-legendary-horseman.html

Image of Bill is by Steven and Leslie Dorrance - http://www.billdorrance.com/about.htm

26/06/2019

Sadly both Dr Reiner Klimke and Susan Hayes Woods are no longer with us, but this edited interview from 1995 is a pignant reminder that modern dressage started to go wrong over 20 years ago...

SUSAN’S INTERVIEW WITH DR. REINER KLIMKE AT THE AACHEN CHIO JULY 1995

Susan: I was watching you as you schooled Biotop in the indoor arena this morning, and it was wonderful. I noticed you were working him in a fat snaffle, and I wondered if you could talk about the importance of working in the snaffle for upper level horses.

Klimke: I ride at home only once a week on the double bridle.

Susan: Do you mean for most of your Grand Prix horses, or for this one especially?

Klimke: All. I want to have them very light in my hand. It is easier when they are really “through”, and they take the bit and take your hands. Then they are not afraid to come out to the double bridle.

Susan: Biotop seems to be very “out” to the bridle–there is not a lot of overflexing.

Klimke: And when he goes in extensions, the neck and frame extend too. And yet there are horses who make their extensions with overflexed necks and they score just as well…

Susan: Can you explain that?

Klimke: Well, when I tell you this, I don’t want to sound jealous, but I live for classical riding. Classical riding means that the horse must go: that is, the energy must come through and the horse reaches forward. But the judges don’t always mark accordingly. I don’t mind; I know what is right. I have been in this sport for nearly 40 years.

Susan: I also saw today that you were doing a lot of work on the basic paces, and simple transitions.

Klimke: Yes. The horse must go forward and he must be happy. If the horse is happy and he trusts you, then you can teach him. If you punish him, that is wrong.

Susan: They never forget. Is there any place for punishment in riding?

Klimke: I hate to punish a horse. It must not be. It can happen to anybody. Sometimes you lose your patience, you try to make the horse a slave. But it is not right. Sometimes you see riders blowing up, even here, with top riders. I say to myself, “Poor horse, I wouldn’t like to be in your stable.”

Susan: Why does it happen? A lot of these riders will teach and talk about riding classically, and mean to do it, but then it is different here. Is it the pressure?

Klimke: I think everybody wants to win. Perhaps they think if they make a horse tired it will be submissive. Sometimes it may work, but if you really look you can see what is wrong. Some judges don’t have a really good eye, and they judge by punishing mistakes, like too many or too few strides in a pirouette, for example.

Susan: Too much counting and not enough…

Klimke: Yes. The principle is: how is the walk, how is the trot, how is the canter, how is the acceptance of the bridle, how does the back work–all of these things. And in addition, the figures. But they deduct too much if a figure is not 100% okay. You see? If you make a pirouette and the horse really uses his hindquarters, and maybe the pirouette is a little big, you should not be given a 5.

Susan: That’s a little extreme.

Klimke: Yes. It can be at least a 6, can also be a 7, when the horse really canters classically. Even if the circle was too large, remember that you must deduct from 10. The judge must be able to see the main achievement of a horse and rider, in a movement.

Susan: This brings up another question, and that is–there are some amazing equine athletes here, and some of them get a lot of points because of that. Where are the places in the Grand Prix test where the talent can’t cover up the problems with the training?

Klimke: I look only at the way that the horse moves, in all three gaits. He must come from behind, with a swinging back. The head and neck must seek the bit. I hate it if the horse comes behind the vertical and stays there. When the horse is really “through”, you must be able to open and close the frame, and keep him reaching into the bit. And right now, in the judging, in my opinion, this doesn’t count for enough. But sooner or later, good riding will be rewarded. You must not lose your patience, you see. And don’t give up.

https://woodsdressage.com/ for the full interview and about Susan Hayes Woods

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