If you’ve ever started a horse under saddle, if you’ve ever felt a horse take those first tentative, wobbly trot steps with you on his back, you know that carrying a rider’s weight takes away that ease and confidence, at least for a while. Our most important job is to restore it, as a thank you for his kindness in allowing our presence on his back. How do we meet this responsibility?
By inviting the horse to trust us, above all else. By reassuring the horse into relaxation. By establishing horse-rider communication in a mutually respectful tone. By gradually building the suppleness, strength and straightness that allows the horse to move with joy, power, and expression while carrying us. When we do this, his steps become swingier, his gaits more rhythmic over time. A horse who moves like that feels happy. His movement looks as spectacular as his conformation allows him to be. He is a pleasure to ride, and a pleasure to watch being ridden. People who watch a horse like that usually say “Wow.”
There are other, less time-consuming ways of making horses move in a way that makes (at least some) spectators say “Wow!” Scaring or forcing the horse into taking longer strides or lifting his knees higher is still common practice in many equestrian subcultures, from gaited horse shows to competitive dressage. But such movement is a cheap imitation of the real thing, the Velveeta version of brilliance. Horses who show fake brilliance, rooted in tension and fear instead of in trust and confidence, are not happy, which is why sitting on a horse like that does not feel pleasant. It feels unsettling. It feels like riding a powder keg that can explode any second. A casual spectator may not see the difference, but a rider feels it, loud and clear. Movement based on tension and fear can never be truly beautiful.
This is George, who used to feel tense and worried, moving with the ease and confidence that took a couple of years to develop. Riding him is a privilege I feel grateful for every day.
Comments