Fine Riding: Blending Classical Riding and Equitation Science

227 Pages·2021·12.195 MB·English

by  Susan McBane

Fine Riding

FINE RIDING
Blending Classical Riding
and Equitation Science
Susan McBane
Front cover: Anne Wilson’s Pura Raza Espagnol mare Mill Sigilosa (Secret). Photo by Black
Cat Photography.
First edition published 2022
by CRC Press
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ISBN: 978-0-367-63895-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-63894-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-12119-0 (ebk)
DOI: 10.1201/9781003121190
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Contents
Foreword by Sharon E. Cregier ...............................................................................vii
Preface.......................................................................................................................ix
Acknowledgements.................................................................................................xiii
About the Author ......................................................................................................xv
Chapter 1 Two Approaches With the Same Aim ...................................................1
Chapter 2 What Are We Dealing With? ..............................................................15
Chapter 3 Recognising Equine Emotions ...........................................................37
Chapter 4 Happy at Home ...................................................................................49
Chapter 5 What’s Wrong With Conventional Riding? ........................................71
Chapter 6 The Equitation Science ‘First Principles of Training’ ........................81
Chapter 7 The Right Start for Raw Recruits and Old Hands ..............................97
Chapter 8 On the Bit—The Key to the Door ....................................................121
Chapter 9 Adding Finesse—Self-Carriage on the Weight of the Rein .............159
Chapter 10 Fast Work and Jumping ....................................................................177
Conclusion ............................................................................................................195
Recommended Reading .........................................................................................197
For Your Information .............................................................................................201
Index ......................................................................................................................203
v

Foreword
Unchanged for millennia, horse behaviour interpreted through human expecta-
tions has historically been subject to fads and fiats. Its capabilities and nature were
ignored, from docking tails and ears to ‘make the horse grow stronger’, to insisting
that the human dominate in every situation.
Throughout, the horse retains characteristics that, if not acknowledged, result in
vices and endangerment to horse and human. Its reflexes are faster than a human’s.
Its nerves are so close to its bodily surface that it can respond to the minutest stimuli.
It is acutely aware of the human’s subtlest emotional signals. The near-imperceptible
nod or lean directed Clever Hans’s seemingly astounding mathematical abilities.
The authentic horseman is aware of these strengths, guards against their abuse,
and develops them into a cooperative, beneficial relationship. Through the centuries,
these aspects of the horse’s nature have been incorporated into classical riding—the
art of developing a lightness of aid and response, a mutual commitment between
horse and rider.
Classical riding came into its own from fourth century BC horseman Xenophon’s
time through to the cavalry of the early twentieth century. Cavalry needed horses
which could be ridden with one hand, guided by legs or shifts of weight, supple and
balanced with economical movement. If there was any modification, such as stirrups
or the forward seat, which increased equine comfort and efficiency, it was quickly
adopted.
The classicists’ main ‘rock’ is the exquisite balance, security, adaptability and
communicative qualities of its famous default seat, a controlled relaxation as our
author describes it. It is equalled by the goal of riding any breed or type with ‘reins of
silk’ or, as I have heard it described: reins of rotten cotton. Until two or three genera-
tions ago, this quality was emphasised but is now rare.
The plea to work with the horse’s mind and anatomy is under attack by the pres-
sure of competition and obscured by tradition. The discerning eye views with dismay
the prize-winning exhibits of the modern show ring: the hollow backs, the tail swish-
ing, the inflexible pasterns, the tongue lolling indicating pain in mouth, hip or hind
legs, tails broken and ‘set’, shoulders atremble with strain and pain, all from execut-
ing moves beyond what the physique can accommodate.
Classical riding is not to be confused with competitive dressage even at the Grand
Prix level. It is, to the tutored eye, a readily recognised style . There is no room for the
crowd-pleasing, judge-awarding showiness and exaggerated movement so attractive
to sponsors and the ‘riders in the stands’.
Equitation Science affirms the effectiveness of classical training. Developed
almost two decades ago by Australian equestrians and scientists, Paul McGreevy of
the University of Sydney and Andrew McLean of Equitation Science International in
Australia, it is the catalyst for the International Society for Equitation Science. (See
the For Your Information section at the end of this book). It grew from established
animal learning theory into specific evidence-based equine learning theory. Its aim is
vii
viii Foreword
to train a horse so that it understands us rather than having to guess how to respond
to our aids or defend itself because it does not comprehend.
Equitation Science offers a system of groundwork which virtually ensures that
the horse is reliably responsive to the basic aids before being backed or mounted. It
delineates a clear progressive outlook along the training path. Should problems arise,
it offers analytical tools to resolve them or prevent them in the first place.
For those riders around the world who have immersed themselves in any aspect of
Equitation Science as an aid to classical riding, the reports are of an experience that
is truly humane and superbly effective. The rider–horse connectedness that results is
gratifyingly exhilarating. In the words of trainer Vicki Hearne, by making our com-
munication with our horses ‘kinaesthetically legible’, the bonuses are incalculable.
Expect a happier horse, longer lived with fewer behavioural and physical problems,
the work of the trainer made easier, and increased safety for both horse and horseman.
Equitation Science, by introducing the Why, directs us to the scientifically vali-
dated How. Equitation Science together with classical riding is today probably the
most humane, effective and practical way of training and enjoying the horse, com-
petitive or not. To avoid getting involved is to accede to the status quo. Our horses
deserve better.
Sharon E. Cregier
Sharon Cregier, Ph.D., FIASH (Hon., Edin.) was a founding member and North Ameri-
can Coordinator of British psychologist Moyra Williams’s Equine Behaviour Forum
which promoted sympathetic horse handling and the then revolutionary bitless riding.
As a member of the international Animal Transportation Association, she has won three
international awards for her work on improving horse transport. Retired from teaching
research skills at the University of Prince Edward Island, she is a supporter of the Tech-
nical Large Animal Emergency Rescue work and continues to pursue all facets of horse
behaviour through membership in the Animal Behaviour Society and the Animal Wel-
fare Science, Ethics and Law Veterinary Association. She is guest editor for the open
access journal, Animals, specialising in horse transport and behaviour and co-edited
the third edition of Fraser’s The Behaviour and Welfare of the Horse ( 2021 CABI).
Preface
THE BEST OF THE OLD WITH THE BEST OF THE NEW
Of all the thousands of equestrian books on the market, there isn’t another one with
the specific theme of this one—that of blending the ‘time proven’ principles of clas-
sical riding with the new, scientifically proven ones of Equitation Science, which is
based on equine learning theory.
There are many different ways and schools of thought about riding and training
horses, and many people have their own loyalties to a particular system to the extent
of not being willing to look into others, to see the good or bad in another system, let
alone give it a try.
This book is an introduction to what I believe, from experience, to be the two most
humane and effective ways of training, riding and managing horses today, intended
to give readers a working knowledge of both and, consequently, the ability to blend
them so that the result is greater than the sum of its parts.
Classical riding is often seen as an esoteric school of thought and practice, a bit
apart from other methods and not to be tampered with. Apart from the fact that all
horses and ponies, whatever their circumstances, can benefit from classical princi-
ples and techniques, there are actually several schools of thought which are regarded
as classical—the French way as practised at the Saumur school but also a slightly
different and older French way now practised at Versailles, the Viennese way upheld
at the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna, the Iberian way which many believe
to be the purest type of classical riding and other methods stemming from classicism,
such as good Western riding.
It has to be said that, surprisingly, even at some classical establishments, we can
still sometimes see ways of going that are not in accord with true classical principles,
such as the poll being too low (not the highest point of the outline), ‘shortened’ necks,
horses overbent, frothing at the mouth, behind the vertical and others, described later
in this book. These are all hallmarks of force and restraint. The important thing is to
be able to recognise them and not let them pass in your assessment of what you are
seeing.
HISTORY OF CLASSICAL RIDING
Classical riding is often thought to have been named after the classical period of
history usually regarded as the ancient Greco-Roman world which extended from
the eighth century BC to the sixth century AD . It is generally believed that this period
of history, specifically in those two partly interwoven civilisations, saw a rise in the
arts, education and society to a state of maturity, justice, realism, quality and erudi-
tion that had not been seen in previous times.
Artworks from earlier centuries often show horses with what is now recognised
as a demeanour betraying pain and distress, and it is not surprising. The fearsome
bits and spurs depicted are not the equipment of a modern classical horseman or
ix