This past week I concentrated my efforts on creating a routine for Furst Love that I can use every day that I ride him. A routine is important for all horse training as it gives the horse consistent handling and training methods thereby making the learning process less stressful. Young horses are particularly influenced by regular training regimes which will help regulate their temperaments and strengthen their bodies in the right way. Furst Love is only 4 and perhaps now is a good time to give a brief history of his life on planet earth so far!
History of Furst Love
I first met Furst Love in 2 July of 2006. My trainer and dear friend, Emile Faurie (Olympic Dressage Team rider for Great Britain 3 times) and I decided to do some young horse shopping at an auction in Westphalia, Germany. Udo Harlemaart, long time dealer and top breeder in Germany, escorted us to the event.
After many Lots in the Auction ring, we still hadn't seen anything that suited our purposes (athletic, well bred, well priced) Udo pointed out a young colt in the program by Furst Piccolo, (Fidermark/Florestan line) which Udo rated as one of the top breeding stallions in Germany. He pointed out the extraordinary hind leg action of the 3 month old bay colt which trotted alongside his mother with purpose and poise!
His full brother had been recently successfully graded at the Stallion Grading so it seemed like a reasonable investment. Besides, Emile wanted the bottle of champagne successful bidders get when they buy a horse so....I became the new mummy of Furst Love.
We sent Furst Love to a famous Stallion Training yard in the north of Germany where he lived for the next 3 1/2 years. "Little Man" handled my young stallion with such finesse and professionalism until he was backed that the backing process was very straight forward. We considered sending him to the grading however he was 1/2 inch too short to pass so even though all other boxes were ticked his life as a stallion was to end. I did not want to ride or handle a stallion particularly if I could not breed with him.
He was well mannered and accepting almost immediately under saddle and 2 months after his backing, I flew from the UK to Germany to ride him for the first time.
I had not seen my protege for almost 8 months so when I caught sight of how he had grown into such a beautiful horse, standing in the stables, neck arched, shoulders square with a most beautiful head I was quite simply, blown away! Riding him was even more of a thrill - he was soft in the mouth, athletic with 3 good paces, gentle and quiet and exactly what one would want in a 3 year old.
I returned again in the spring to ride Furst Love one more time before we flew him to the USA. He was a little stronger and more forward moving but still a well mannered gentleman. I was thrilled and excited to start my new project in Savannah, Georgia!
Sticking to my Routine
I reviewed my routine last week so this week I will comment on how things are progressing.
Throughout my sessions with "Fursty" I am concentrating on 2 specific goals:
1) That he stays in front of my leg at all times. That means he moves off my leg immediately (not 10 seconds after I give the aid) and that he stays going forward even if the contact is not always consistent.
The contact will improve as he get stronger and more balanced but the strength and balance will only improve from his ability to move and stay forward.
2) That he learns to understand and obey my commands. The first challenge we have is me getting
on Furst Love. He moves about, is inattentive and restless when I get near the mounting block. The second challenge is halting and immobility which he finds very tiresome and annoying!
Moving Forward
All horses, young or old, should move forward and stay forward of their own volition! That means Fursty has to go without the constant nag of my spur in his flank. I use a few methods to keep him forward including rising to his trot at a brisker rhythm and taking my leg away and giving him ONE firm kick with both legs (I use very small spurs) to remind him we are moving. Fortunately, he is a forward thinking horse to start with so it is not so hard to get this result. If his contact varies and he pokes his head out this way and that, I keep a gentle contact, wait until he is balanced then ask for the contact again. I don't chase after the contact at the risk of the the forward rhythm but I am always gently seeking it. To me, the most important goal with a young horse is... MOVING FORWARD. The contact will get more consistent as he gets stronger.
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| Successful Forward Canter work at last! |
In Germany I know that he was mounted in the stable with 2 people helping the rider. I have to hand walk him to the menage, lunge him and then get on, sometimes without the help of someone else so I need to quickly establish who is boss on the ground and how he must stand still while I get on. To start with I move the mounting block about 1 yard away from the fence. I move him through so he is sandwiched between the fence and the mounting block with a bit of room to move. It makes it harder for him to move side to side. Lazaro, the wonderful head groom at my stables, holds him firmly, still with the lunge line attached and feeds him a mint or carrot to keep him occupied while I get on. This way, Fursty associates me getting on his back with treats = pleasurable experience!
I do this same routine every time I get on to establish a easy learning pattern for my horse.
Halting and Immobility
In my many years of training with Conrad Schumacher, I have learnt the value of standing in the halt position to achieve a consistency in the contact (more on this halt contact later) For young horses who want to go, go, go...this is an challenging exercise but I want to be able to have immobility so that if I need to I can get his attention and get him listening to me. In each working session I will practice about 5-6 halts and I set time frames to achieve. Early in the session I will aim for 4 seconds of immobility and by the end of the session 10 seconds. Over the last 2 months I have gotten up to 15 seconds and then asked him to move on so he now comes in and out of halt without too much resistance.
I am 6 weeks into my training regime and I feel that we have made some good progress with various aspects of the training including the halt, mounting block, and hacking (he is a gem to hack). I would like to have him a bit stronger so that he can balance himself better, particularly on the right rein, and I would like the canter work to be more balanced also. Until next week!
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