From: Katinka
Dear Jessica,
First I want to thank you for years now of very excellent and useful advice. Second, I need to apologize for my english, it's not my mother tongue.
I'm a 43 yo woman from Holland and my husband (46) and I have been riding for over four years now, regrettably only once a week at a school on school horses. During winter we have english dressage and jumping classes inside, during spring and summer our class mostly goes on 2-hour trail rides outside. In addition we like to rent our school horses on Sundays and to rent unfamiliar horses to go trailriding during holidays abroad. So we are novice adult riders having a lot of fun, and we regret we cannot ride more often or have room for keeping our own horses. But luck just hit me.
We happen to have a male riding companion who owns and breeds 2 beautiful scottish highland ponies, a magnificent stallion, Senna of 4 and a sweet mare, Mary of 3.5. Senna has managed to get Mary pregnant and we expect the foal to arrive in August. Our friend knew about my dreams of owning my own horse one day and proposed to buy a second mare together. He wants to breed with her with stallion Senna, and I would have her as a riding horse. We agreed on this and we have found a lovely highland mare, Flora, in Germany (highland ponies are very rare on the european continent, in Holland there are only 20 of them). Flora has had 5 foals already, her German owner wants to start out with some new mares and was willing to sell Flora.
It's in every way a great solution for my friend and me. Flora will not be lonely with Senna, Mary and the new foal as companions, and together they will share a really enormous pasture. I won't need to be there every day or ride her every day, the owner of the pasture (experienced with horses, he keeps his own there too) will take care of hay and water etc and keep an eye on them. Highland ponies can stay outside all year, but they also have a shelter from the rain and some big trees to stay out of the sun. Our friend and I will take care of the vet and blacksmith appointments. In spring we're going to pick Flora up in Germany. I hardly can't wait.
I should add we have made a deal with Flora's German owner regarding hidden illnesses and faults, and we can give her back if unfortunately not all should not be well.
But my question is about training Flora. She's an adult mare of 14, trained as a riding horse for years, but the last years she's hardly been ridden on. Flora's breeder from Scotland tells me she's the sweetest little mare she's ever known. Her German owner tells me she's a great riding horse also, but regrettably did not have the time for riding her. So I don't know what to expect when Flora arrives or how to go about training her.
My male friend and co-owner suggested to hire our riding teacher to train Flora for some time and get her ready for me. but I really would like to work with her myself from the very first beginning. Problem is I don't know the first thing about training a horse and haven't got any experience in this matter. but also I absolutely abhor from my teacher's harsh methods of "breaking" (i.e. yelling, screaming, kicking and beating it into submission) a horse in 5 minutes. It results only in a mutually fear-based relationship between horse and rider.
I've been reading books on natural horsemanship for a year now (mostly from a German guy named Klaus Ferdinand Hempling, who works with wild horses from the French pyrenees). It's all about leadership, communication, clarity, patience, trust and developing a longterm relationship of giving, taking and learning from each other. There's no forcing, beating or strong punishments whatsoever needed, he says, in this kind of working relationship. Well Jessica, you will know all about it. but all in all I strongly believe in this method and I would like to start out with Flora this way.
But is this wise? as I explained, I've never trained even one horse, so it's obvious I will make many and maybe serious mistakes without even knowing it. Also I doubt if I could learn working with Flora from a book. But I have no money to take her to natural horsemanship classes or clinics, and can not find anyone in the neighbourhood who knows about this method. What would you advise, Jessica? Should I give her in training to someone experienced who will treat her harshly and make her a frightened, submitted little mare in little time?, or should I go muddling about for ages, falling and getting up, lovingly but unprofessionally myself? I should add that my friend and husband will be there too to work with me, I'm not alone in this.
Although I would love to work with Flora myself, I want what's best for Flora, not for me. I want her to become a healthy and happy little horse who loves to play and to work with me. So I need advice in Flora's interest only.
Many thanks in advance, Katinka
I'll answer your question, but I'm also going to discuss several different issues, make some suggestions, and issue a few warnings. You'd better go get a cup of coffee or tea, because this will be LONG. ;-)
First, the answer to "which person should train a horse, the brutal, violent trainer or the novice?" is "NEITHER ONE". Both choices are bad, and both would put the untrained horse at risk, in different ways and for different reasons. If you were considering the purchase of an untrained horse, and these were the only choices available to you, then it would be best if you did not purchase the horse all. However, I think that you have other options.
Given the situation you've described, I'm going to suggest three possible courses of action for you to consider:
1. You could go ahead with your part-purchase of Flora, with the understanding that you would practice some of the gentler "natural horsemanship" techniques on her, and that you would use her for light riding when possible. Meanwhile, you would continue the sort of riding that you and your husband are already doing - the lessons, rentals, and holiday rides together. You would be well-advised to find a new riding teacher, however, because you cannot learn horsemanship from someone who is violent and brutal toward horses.
2. You could purchase - with the aid of a trusted instructor/trainer (vide infra), an experienced, reliable, sound, friendly horse for riding. Not for breeding, or for breeding and riding, but only for riding. Then, by taking lessons from a good instructor and learning some elementary training techniques, you could enjoy your horse year-round, possibly in the company of your husband on a borrowed, rented, or leased horse.
3. You could look closely at the cost of purchasing and maintaining a horse (initial purchase price plus health care, vet care, farrier care, feed, saddlery and tack, etc., even if the pasture is free). Then you could take that sum of money and spend it on yourrself - on your equestrian education. A horse can be taken away from you by chance, accident, or illness, but an education can't be taken away. Once you have it, it's yours forever - and once you have it, you'll be in a better position to purchase and keep AND ENJOY a horse of your own.
Now I shall go back to your original plan, and mention some issues you may not have considered.
The horsekeeping arrangement you've described certainly sounds as though it would be very nice for a horse, but you should consider the following before deciding that the arrangement is right for you. One problem with this plan is that "broodmare" is not the same job as "riding horse", and "riding horse" is not the same job as "riding horse/babysitter for adult beginner rider". Getting a long-time broodmare into riding condition isn't the easiest task in the world; neither is keeping her in reasonably good riding condition through the first part of her pregnancies when she can still be ridden. Then there's the need to begin again, starting slowly and building up when you can start riding again - that is, after each foal is several months old.
Under the right circumstances, these things can be managed by a patient, experienced rider who has other horses to ride during the broodmare's five or six months off. But the situation is frustrating, even for experienced riders and trainers - each year, just as the mare begins to achieve a good state of "riding fitness", and just as the rider begins to think "ah good, we're making progress toward the next level", it's time to put the saddle and bridle back in the tackroom for several months (if not longer). As a result, the training progresses very slowly, three steps forward and two steps back.
So, you must ask yourself how much and what sort of riding/training do you want to do? Neither you nor Flora would benefit if you attempted to begin an intense training program - you wouldn't know what to do, and one or both of you would get hurt. On the other hand, if your interest is really just in enjoying the mare's company, practicing some groundwork, and doing some light riding, you could both enjoy the process.
Don't worry so much about training Flora to be a riding horse; from your description, it seems very likely that she has more riding experience than you do. ;-) Remember, Flora is very far from a wild horse - she is an older mare that has been handled all her life, trained, and ridden up to the time she became a broodmare. She won't have forgotten anything. You won't be able to expect her to DO everything she was trained to do, simply because she has been a broodmare for the last six years or more, and her body has changed during those years. She won't arrive with the muscular development or the trained responses of a fit riding horse - you'll need to understand and accept that. But if you get along well with her on the ground, and both of her previous owners say that she is a sweet mare that was once a fine riding horse, and your veterinarian thinks that she can become a riding horse once again, her attitude toward riders is likely to be good.
Flora's previous owners should be able to tell you a lot about her training; you could also ask her current owner to ride her and have someone make a video of the ride and send it to you. Explain that you don't expect to see a polished athletic performance, but that you want to see Flora being handled, groomed, tacked up, and ridden. If you can see for yourself that she is kind and cooperative, and can start, stop, and turn in response to the rider's signals, you will feel more secure about your ability to handle her.
The sort of "training" you want to do with her is really just a matter of getting to know her, helping her become accustomed to you and to your way of handling her, and then, over time, developing a frienship and enjoyable riding partnership. Since she IS trained and IS accustomed to being handled and ridden, you won't have to worry about your lack of skill and the probability of making mistakes. Once she is happy in her new home, you will be able to begin. If you handle her daily, give her a good grooming, talk to her, take her for walks, and let her graze, she will quickly learn to enjoy her time with you, and you can build on that through repetition over many weeks. You don't need to be an experienced trainer to do any of those things - you only need to be a kind person who talks softly and moves slowly. By the time your mare is fit enough to ride, she will like and trust you.
Even though she is not a wild horse, you can learn a great deal about horse nature and horse behaviour by watching her as she adjusts to her new home. Don't be in a hurry to begin working with her - wait until she is secure and can give her attention to you. Before you do anything at all with her, let her settle in to her new environment and establish her position within the herd.
Take a few days (at least) watching the horses interact. At first, Flora will undoubtedly be pastured somewhere near the other horses. When they've all got to know one another through sight and smell, and Flora is added to the group, you should begin watching them all. If you'll go early in the morning, take your lunch and a rug to sit on, and stay all day, watching but not interfering, you will learn a great deal about how horses communicate with one another and how they establish the "who's who" in the herd hierarchy. There may be some vocalizing, especially at first, but horse language is primarily one of movement and posture, and that's what you will need to observe closely. A week of attentive horse-watching will tell you much more about horse language than any book or videotape could, because you'll get the information directly from the horses themselves, not filtered through anyone else.
Your own attitude is obviously good, so if you keep her hooves and teeth in good condition, monitor her diet and exercise program, fit and adjust her tack carefully, you should be able to go for short, slow rides every second or third day, increasing the length of each ride a little until she is sufficiently well-conditioned to carry you for an hour or more.
As for additional training and education (your horse's and your own), this is another question, and takes us into another area entirely. The question here is not one of "traditional" versus "natural", it's a question of good horsemanship, full stop. Your description of the training you want to do ("it's all about leadership, communication, clarity, patience, trust and developing a longterm relationship of giving, taking and learning from each other. There's no forcing, beating or strong punishments whatsoever needed") is a good one. You should realize, though, that this is not new, nor is it unique to any individual, school, or discipline of riding or training. Those are the most fundamental principles of horsemanship, going back thousands of years.
Whether your riding goals are the dressage arena or the cross-country course, or whether you simply want to enjoy quiet, slow trail-rides, the person who teaches you and your horse needs to be someone who can help both of you learn well and develop into healthy, sound, happy individuals with a good working partnership. The trainer who does this is the right trainer for you, whether his (or her) methods are "classical" or "natural" or any other label you can find (and there are a good many).
Horse-training is best learned in the traditional way, as an apprenticeship. You don't need to sign your life over to someone else for seven years, but you SHOULD find a teacher whose style and methods you respect, and then spend as much time as possible with that person, watching the training, taking lessons, and asking questions. This will give you the knowledge and experience you'll need if you want to train a horse of your own someday.
Developing your powers of observation and learning how to interact appropriately with horses is something that simply takes time and effort - more if you don't have the help of a good teacher, less if you do. If you want to develop your confidence in your ability to handle horses, and you'd like to employ some round-pen (or square-pen, since you're reading Hempfling) techniques, you can learn those from any good teacher, including the horses themselves. The methods are simply basic advance-and-retreat ones, regardless of their label.
Choosing a good trainer may be your most difficult task. If you want to become a rider and trainer, you will need help. It's very important to look at people's actions, not at their advertising; it's equally important to know what you are seeing when you observe the horses. Any trainer's system should be judged by the horses' reactions, movement, attitude, and physical development. If the advertising doesn't match what the horses tell you, believe the horses, every time. ;-)
An overtly brutal trainer is utterly unacceptable, as I'm sure you know. But at least an overtly brutal trainer is easy to identify and avoid. It's not always as easy to identify the trainers who claim to be gentle - but whose actions proclaim them to be otherwise.
Use your own good judgement when evaluating trainers, don't be too eager to believe anyone's claims, and don't make the mistake of thinking that a local trainer, perhaps only ten or twenty miles away from you, can't be good because he doesn't promote himself and doesn't sell videos. Truly good training is quiet, uneventful, and slow rather than noisy, dramatic, and fast. There are many good horsemen working quietly at small barns around the world. If you look for them, you'll find them training a handful of horses, gently and calmly, with no public fanfare. Good horsemanship, whatever its label, can be found even in the humblest of small facilities - but you have to be willing to look for it. Visit trainers, look at the horses they train, look at the riders they teach, watch training sessions, watch lessons, SEE WHAT THEY DO.
How much help will you need? If all you want to do is teach Flora to like you, help her become more fit, and then enjoy quiet rides together, you can probably do that even if you don't find professional help. The question is whether you want more, because if your real desires are to become a good rider and learn how to train horses, you should probably take a different path.
If you are harbouring more ambitious ideas, my advice would be that you first learn to ride well, learn about horses, spend quality (and quantity!) time with a good teacher/trainer even if you have to devote your weekends and holidays to the task. Then, when you're ready, with the teacher/trainer's help and advice, purchase or lease a horse that is already trained to do the things you want to do. (Meanwhile, if you want to practice your horse-handling and ground-training skills on your friend's broodmares, that option should still be available to you). If that goes well, after a year or two you might consider purchasing a horse that is at a lower level of training, and working with your teacher/trainer to help improve the horse's training and bring it to a higher level.
This plan has several advantages. It puts your education first, as it should. It gives you the time to learn - which you'll need. And it prepares you to choose the right horse later, at a time when you will have a better idea of what you actually want and why. Taking the "long way around" gives you the chance to work with many different horses and develop a sense of what sort of horse would make the best partner for you. Sometimes a rider's thoughts change drastically with experience - for example, consider (all examples are from real life) the rider who begins by dreaming about three-day eventing and then falls in love with dressage, the rider who begins by dreaming about competitive dressage and then finds herself deeply involved in endurance riding, and the rider who puts all of her money into the purchase of a lovely young Thoroughbred mare, only to discover, after a few frustrating years, that what she really wanted all along was more education - and an older Morgan gelding. Keeping your options open whilst you get your education seems like a very good idea to me.
But for now, let's return to Flora. Assuming that you decide to purchase her, I'd like you to consider some thoughts about the riding horse/broodmare plan.
Your friend is obviously just beginning his breeding program, since he has one young stallion, one young mare, and one foal on the way. Horse-breeding is a risky business, and in this case you're looking at a triple risk, at least - an inexperienced horse-breeder with his first stallion, mare, and - we hope - foal. Buying a second broodmare for him, or with him, is a high-risk investment. By providing your friend with a broodmare, you're contributing to HIS dream, which is very kind of you. But if YOUR dream is to become a good rider and horseman with the ability to train horses, you would do better to look for a sound, kind riding horse that you can ride all year, and the chance to work with a good instructor/trainer who can help you learn to ride really well and understand how horses function, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Then there's the fact that combining business arrangements with friendship - not always a good idea. Investing in a friend's business is fine IF you can easily spare the money (so that the friendship won't disappear if the business fails), but you've indicated that you don't have a large amount of money to spare. Horse-breeding on a tiny scale is usually done when someone wants to breed one or two horses for personal use, NOT when someone wants to go into a money-making business. Horse-breeding on a small scale is EXPENSIVE. Owning two mares does not mean getting two foals each year; getting two foals does not mean having two top-quality, marketable foals, and so on. Breeding a mare or two at home is an activity for the very dedicated - or the very wealthy.
If you do decide to combine business with friendship, do NOT make the mistake of thinking "Oh, we are good friends, we trust one another, we don't need to go to the bother and expense of having a legal contract."
You need a contract. The best way to protect your friendship is to put everything in writing, being careful to specify every detail and every forseeable possibility, including the possibility that you or your friend might wish to terminate the arrangement. Make everything very clear, otherwise you run the risk of a major misunderstanding. It's very easy to have unpleasant disagreements when one person is thinking "I'm letting you use my riding horse to make a foal" and the other person is thinking "I'm allowing you to ride my broodmare".
Consider the worst that could happen, the least convenient and most costly possibilities, and ask yourself how and whether you could deal with them. Then, if you still feel that this is a good arrangement and that Flora is the only horse you want, you'll know that you've done everything possible to be well-prepared for any eventuality.
If you do bring Flora home, I hope that she will be happy and sound, produce some lovely foals, and become a wonderful friend and companion for you.
Jessica
Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE is a free, subscriber-supported electronic Q&A email newsletter which deals with all aspects of horses, their management, riding, and training. For more information, please visit www.horse-sense.org
Please visit Jessica Jahiel: Holistic Horsemanship® [www.jessicajahiel.com] for more information on Jessica Jahiel's clinics, video lessons, phone consultations, books, articles, columns, and expert witness and litigation consultant services.