Ponies Practice New Manoeuvres Whilst In Pasture

Horses have similar characteristics to humans, and a number of these can be used to overcome our equestrian coaching problems and learning blocks.

Horse riding is a recurring cycle of care, coaching, and then application of the things taught and learned till the pony in question is solid on her cues and knows how her rider wants her to respond in every situation. Before a pony reaches that stage , however , generous amounts of time and effort will unavoidably be consumed. And for such equestrian sport as dressage, an equine ballet of beauteous precision, rather more time and effort and frustration is a requirement. Thru the method of training, both trainer and horse can be stressful, compelling, and irritating. There are occasions when the health of a mare being trained might be put at risk—the danger coming from a trainer’s need for her to learn. Pushing her too hard beyond her tangible learning curve now would only function to stress her out and put negative stress on her. And administering performance boosters to young horses is likewise inadvisable as too much may endanger their health in the long term.

So it’s a good thing that like us as horse riders who learn on our own, so do our horses learn in pasture when they’re left to their devices.

This may be difficult to believe at first. But to see how it occurs, the next time you introduce a manoeuvre to your mare, observe her while in pasture thereafter. For instance, teach her to pivot around to reverse direction. This is a very unnatural move—horses go round in a semi-circle to reverse directions at freedom. After a session trying to teach her the lesson, ensure she’s got a handle on the basic motions, and do not worry about the move not being perfect yet. Give her a break and let her graze for a bit. Observe her as she grazes in pasture—instead of reversing direction the natural way (the half-circle) she will start reversing directions through the manoeuvre you taught her. Though the movements could be clumsy as she’s yet to polish them, seeing your horse do the move on her very own is amazing in itself. And as she continues using what she is learned to reverse direction, given time she’d inevitably become good at it. Every time you let her out onto pasture, she’ll continue to utilize any moves you’ve taught her in favour of what she initially knew. And the longer she uses them, the better she gets at them.

This suggests if we use this natural behavior of our horses we will teach them up to the point where they no longer display further progress, then just let them out to practice on their lonesome. This extra step in an equestrian coaching regime means we avoid putting too much pressure or administering too many performance improving drugs while letting ourselves rest too. And better yet—horses learn best when their lessons are spaced out at a regular interval and in between lessons they practice at liberty. Their practice-method of self learning is restricted of course; do not expect them to pull off any graceful dressage moves while in pasture.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about cheap horse rugs