Sustainable Dressage

Today's AB Tech class was very interesting, and I had a ton of fun! We all discovered (and rediscovered) what an amazing horse Jasmine is. You wouldn't think it to see her in the pasture or to lead/drag her up to the barn. She seems like a normal, mellow school horse. But, man...she can move, and boy is she fancy! It was fun to watch her try to take care of the novice riders while at the same time harboring the ability to really MOVE with the more advanced rider. I've said it at least a dozen times before, and I'll say it again: She's worth her weight in gold.

Anyway, I've been thinking this afternoon (while weed-eating and working in the yard) about the idea of riding correctly, riding well, and being in harmony with the horse. So much of what we've talked about in regards to the horse's body, his anatomy, his various functions and systems really informs us to be compassionate riders. This, then, demands that we be thoughtful, reflective, and understanding. We've also talked quite a bit about dangerous and abusive training techniques that take very little of the horse's natural functions and systems into consideration. It's heart-breaking to see the videos of horses being ridden in such barbaric ways.

However, not EVERYONE rides that way. Here is a website I'd like you to check out in your spare time (ha! who has that?). It's called "Sustainable Dressage," and there are some fantastic articles on it regarding the training scale, collection, and rollkur. Another thing I love about it is the various illustrations that show how leverage bits work, how the horse's body moves, and our unintended effects upon the horse's movement. I wish this lady would write more; her site hasn't been updated in ages. I like her methodical approach and her evident compassion and understanding.

On a completely different note - Obe is happy as a clam in her new pasture with Rocky! Being in raging season, she was SOOO lovey-dovey with him, licking him, nuzzling him, drinking from the trough while he did. She's like a middle-school girl all twitter-pated over the boy in French class! Ha!