HHorses and horse people oftenhave very differentmotivations. The horse’s isto be safe, free and havesocial interaction. The horse

person’s is often to jump over obstacles,perform a reining pattern or do dressagemovements on horse back. These twodesires could not be more different. Different methods show us different ways

of how to bridge the gap between thesedesires. Good horse trainers use proventechniques and great feel in order tomotivate horses and we all try to learn fromthem. However, as horse people tend to be‘practically’ oriented, it is easy to just go forthe technique and forget about the feel. Weenjoy getting practical guides of whatexactly has to be done to achieve somethingwith our horse. We want to know when topull, when to push or when to hold a horse.We want to treat challenges with horses thesame way we do with other technicalproblems - we have a problem, we use sometechnique and then it is fixed.

BEWARE MECHANICALHORSEMANSHIPUsing technique with no feel quickly turnsinto ‘mechanical horsemanship.’ Ourtraining time with our horses starts to feelempty and both horse and handler start tolack motivation. It shouldn’t be this way.Working with horses could be one of thebiggest chances we get in life. Horses give

us the chance to get to know our own mindsand bodies, and can sensitise our ability forfeeling. We just have to make the decisionthat we are willing to work on ourselvesmore than on our horse. One thing horses show us is that if we get

into their way of thinking and try toexperience the world in the way they do,they will allow us to change their behaviourwithout any resistance. Let’s take anexample. Say we have a horse that wants togo really fast and is quite nervous.Translating the behaviour of the horse intohuman language the horse would askquestions all the time. Questions like, ‘May Igo faster?’ A mechanical horseman wouldanswer by pulling on the reins saying, ‘No,you may not!’ The conversation goes on –‘May I look over the fence?’ ‘No you keepyour head down!’ ‘May I start running at thelope?’ ‘No, you slow down!’All the answers are ‘No!’ and we even tell

the horse to do the opposite. This way thehorse might start doing what we wantbecause he is better off – but what kind ofmotivation does he have to do his best?Everything the horse suggests gets rejected.We try to take all the energy and desire outof the horse. Once everything is shut downwe want to make the horse do what we want.Therefore we try to get some energy back

18 May/June 2013

Horsemanship

We just have to makethe decision that weare willing to work onourselves more thanon our horse

FeelDon’t become a ‘mechanical’ horseman using technique alone. Try alittle feel and get the most from your horse, says Florian Oberparleiter

The Power of

www.westernhorseuk.com 19

into the manoeuvre we want. But thinkabout it. Yes, you can get back some of theenergy that you have driven out before butyou loose the joy, the power and the desireevery manoeuvre could benefit from.

KEEPING ‘LIFE’ IN YOUR TRAININGCompare a so called ‘broke’ horseperforming a manoeuvre under saddle and atliberty on his own. Which movement isnicer? Usually the one he does on his own.Why? Because there is life in it – energy andpassion you can feel. Wouldn’t it be great if you kept that life

and joy within your training? Wouldn’t it begreat if these physical exercises didn’tbecome monotonous routines? In order forthis to happen the desires of both horse andhuman have to become aligned. In the example of the fast and spooky

horse we would need to stop telling the horse‘No!’ and start saying, ‘Yes, go as fast as you

want, but please go to the left.’ Or, ‘Ok andnow you can even run, but please do it to theright.’ Then, ‘Good! Now keep moving at thespeed you want, but please jump this barrelhere.’ The start of this kind ofcommunication is best done from the ground. What happens is that you gradually change

the behaviour of the horse without everturning the horse down. Soon the horse willget interested in what you suggest to him andwatch out for your signals. It will stopbursting and start asking where it can use itspower and where to wait. You redirect thefocus of the horse on to you withoutinterfering with his interests. This is just one example of what can be

achieved if we try to experience the worldlike the horse. Once again, if we just see thetechnique in it and do not use our feel, wewill fail. No one technique works for everyhorse but there isn’t one horse in the worldthat does not ask for feel.

Horsemanship

Florian is a young, innovative horseman from Austria. He has been fascinated byhorses all his life and has studied various training concepts in the United States andother European Countries. He has learnt from a huge variety of different horsemen,trainers and behavioural experts including Dr. Temple Grandin, an autistic professorof animal science at the Colorado State University, and world renowned horsemanMonty Roberts, who invited him to produce a video for his Online University.

FLORIAN OBERPARLEITER

FLORIAN IN THE UKWant to learn more aboutFlorian’s way of working withhorses? Sign up for Florian’s firstUK course on the 27-28 July 2013at Oak Tree Stables, Preston Road,Bucks, MK18 4DW.Florian will help you deepen

your understanding of how horsesperceive the world and how toapply this knowledge in practice.Learn how to use Florian’s simpleyet effective ground exercises todevelop a profound relationshipwith your own horse. You willbecome aware of the power ofyour body expression andexperience how sensitive yourhorse really is.Certified Monty Roberts

instructor Laira Gold isorganising the event. For furtherdetails contact Laira 0780 1538088 / laira@lairagold.com /www.lairagold.com