Breaking Warmbloods
Should I start my Arabian from the ground with the correct headset, or work up to it?
I've only broken in Quarter Horses and warmbloods. With them, I've been advised to get down the lunging, walk, trot, canter, correct lead, balance, etc. before I begin working on head set. I rode Arabians for 5 years until a couple of years ago, and I remember that when breaking the horses in, my trainer worked on their head set from the very beginning. I've also been advised by other Arabian trainers and riders to work on my Arab's head set from the very beginning on the lunge line with a surcingle. What is the proper way to go about training her to keep the correct head set and when should the training for it begin? All replies are greatly appreciated.
Forget the head and work on balance and impulsion. You should encourage her to accept the bit and carry her head properly, but don't force her into the proper headset. At this point, she'll turn into a horse who is artificially set and therefore is on the forehand with no engagement from behind (which is what happened to my half-Arabian). Instead, work on teaching her to carry her entire body. Her head will naturally fall into place and you can "tweak" it after she knows how to carry herself. If you start forcing it down/in now, you'll lose her natural rhythm and balance. So yes, go ahead and encourage her to take the bit and give to your hands, but don't stick a big bit or training aid on her, or pull her down with your hands, to make it look a certain way. Take what you can get and allow it to happen naturally. Once your mare consistently moves from her hind end and accepts contact with the bit, you can wiggle your fingers and really drive her forward, setting your hands so that she has no choice but to push into them and therefore drop her nose. You have to continue using your legs so that she doesn't lose her rhythm to avoid meeting your hands. This can all be done from the very beginning, but don't sacrifice anything else to do it. The back end is more important than the front end.
I own a half-Arabian who I previously showed in HA/AA Hunter Pleasure on the Arabian circuit. We did pretty well. However, when I first bought him as a three year old, he had no idea how to carry himself (head or otherwise). I was young and naive and after a year or two with him having a high head (and not really carrying himself properly, though he had beautiful gaits) I started taking lessons with this "trainer" who was cheap and convenient and supposedly had these amazing Arabian hunter horses (they won lots--if they went to shows where they were the only ones in the class!). She stuck a severe bit on my horse and told me basically to pull his head down. I'm not against using a harsh bit in the correct hands, but in this case it was not a good idea. My horse quickly learned to "tuck" his head--to get away from the bit. In doing so, he lost all of that natural impulsion and rhythm he previously had and had this awful, dragging trot. At the canter, he was terribly on the forehand. I quit with that trainer after about a year, but the damage was done. It wasn't until I was about fifteen that I started taking lessons with a serious dressage trainer who helped me fix the problem. It took two years of work before we really got his natural balance back and taught him how to carry himself properly, but after that we had more success showing than we'd ever had. So in other words, skip the shortcuts and teach your horse how to move first.
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BREAKING MATA HARI Volume 1
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Gregor And the Curse of the Warmbloods $43.89 The third book in the popular Underland Chronicles finds Gregor fighting the "Curse of the Warmbloods," a disfiguring plague that threatens to destroy any warmblooded creatures. Forced to return to the Underland--a vast underground world filled with factions of humans, rats, bats, and cockroaches--for a meeting, Gregor and Boots must take their mother with them. But due to a tragic accident, Gregor must go on a quest for the cure, which can be found only in the terrifying Vineyard of the Eyes. Filled with humor, fast-paced adventure, and suspense, the series also includes the first two books: GREGOR THE OVERLANDER and GREGOR AND THE PROPHECY OF BANE. |
