I drove to North Start Training Center in Chapel Hill on Saturday, stopped the car, got out and wondered what that noise was. The 13 year cicadas are in full voice in that part of the state and they spent the day dive bombing us and landing on everything. The sound they make is incredible!
Henk van Bergen did a magnificent job both talking over the cicadas and sharing his training concepts. The symposium’s title was “Achieving Throughness” which as Henk explained is not one concept but a combination of many. Henk also shared many insights and much wisdom with a very appreciative audience. For me it was another opportunity to affirm that the training scale is the correct approach to progressing dressage horses through the levels.
After a brief introduction Henk explained the importance of the warm up with horses at all levels. “The horse must be in front of the rider’s leg and there must be contact with the reins. It is the combination of responsiveness to the leg aid and the feeling with the hands that creates balance.” Henk went on to explain the importance of the warm as a diagnostic for the training session. “The warm up should be as short as possible and as long as necessary. The rider must look for that feeling from the horse that he is ready to work. Once you have control of the rhythm and the body position by influencing the neck through the reins you have balance, then you can teach whatever you like.”
Henk is a strong believer in the use of transitions to develop the horse. He calls the gaits the building blocks and the transitions the cement between the blocks. “Transitions increase the strength in the hind leg” he said. He asked each demonstration rider no matter what level they were riding to start with transitions within the gaits before doing transitions between the gaits. “If you practice transitions between the gaits before the horse is supple you create tension. Practicing transitions within the gait also reduces anticipation and loss of balance. You reward by allowing the horse to change gaits when he is balanced and soft.”
For the warm up Henk wanted each horse to demonstrate a relaxed, forward stretch at the trot. The riders were instructed to maintain contact in the stretch and not allow the horse to lower his head much below the point of the shoulder as this tips the horse on the forehand and blocks the shoulder. “Horses that are unwilling to stretch are often scared or not trusting. You cannot have relaxation with tension so using artificial aids to tie their head down just does not work they must be relaxed through their back.” Henk said, “Stretching allows the hind leg to step under the body. When you take a break allow the horse total freedom of his neck but maintain the activity of the walk. When the break is over the only thing you need to reestablish is the contact.” Henk advised not to ask for more energy and power than the horse’s level of relaxation can handle. He observed that horse’s that are fussy in the mouth are showing us that there is a problem behind the saddle often related to the hind leg not being sufficiently active.
Henk had thoughts on sitting the trot. He observed that it is difficult to sit the trot if the horse is not using its back correctly. “It is not good for the horse or the rider” he said. “Once the back is relaxed sitting trot becomes a lot easier, sitting trot without stirrups can be bone jarring for horse and rider unless the horse is using his back correctly.”
Henk cautioned riders to be very aware of what their horses were communicating with them. “You can be firm with a horse if he understands the meaning of the aids. If he does not understand or does not want to his reaction is very similar, but the rider’s reaction would be very different in each case.” Henk used the image of someone typing to illustrate how the aids must be applied one at a time to make sense to the horse. “An accomplished typist appears to be using multiple keys at one time but in reality they are only using one key at a time. That is how it must be when we ride - one aid at a time.”
Development through the levels was illustrated by each demonstration rider being a level higher than the previous one. Henk said that development can be very slow and likened it to grass growing. “You don’t see the grass grow but every Saturday people are out there cutting it” he said. “As the horse develops his balance improves. It is like someone learning to walk a tight rope. Initially, he uses his arms a lot for balance and his body may waiver. The accomplished rope walker can walk the rope with his hands down.” As Henk explained this he demonstrated the concept much to the delight of the crowd. “Transitions improve balance, but there is a fine line between not doing enough and doing too much” Henk said. “There is also a fine line between good training and abuse!”
Throughout the day, Henk shared his ideas on teaching and coaching. He advised instructors to identify what a horse and rider combination can do well. “The horse maybe capable of FEI work but this is only possible if the rider is educated too” he said. “We must find what the pair can do together.” Henk also observed that breeders are producing horses that are built for dressage who can often compensate for the rider’s lack of feel. On the flip side he also noted that these well bred horses often have temperaments that are more difficult to deal with.
Henk noted that it is important for riders to enjoy the level they are at and enjoy the process. He suggested that the teacher is a translator for the horse and helps the student to understand the feedback the horse is giving him. Personally, I really liked this and it makes a strong case for instructors to be active riders whenever possible. “The good teacher does not give too much information at once” said Henk. “The teacher selects which mistakes impede progress and development the most and works on these first. It is not even necessary to mention the other problems that are going on until the student understands the concepts you are trying to teach.”
I was impressed by Henk’s approach to training. He understands horses and is practical pointing out that not every horse is built for dressage and that riders need to recognize this if they plan to work their way up the levels. His training philosophy reflects the training scale and he did a magnificent job of explaining why the training scale works and how to use it in the development of the dressage horse.
Now about those cicadas – they kept up their noise all day, I guess if you only emerge every thirteen years you have a reason to celebrate!
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