The perception of the horse is the crucial element concerning working horse wise; the hórse is the one deciding one the work.
It is essential to think about this long enough to really get it. You must understand what and how your horse perceives before you can let you horse want what you want. You are the one with the superior brainpower and the perception of the horse should dictate your tactics, and how you manipulate your horse. Yes, manipulate, because the bottom line is that your goal is a horse serving your goals.

In the past and current decade quite a bit of ethological studies about the horse have become available for the general public. With respect to riding and schooling the horse it is absolutely stunning how well certain old documents fit into the latest knowledge, and into a picture of applied horse psychology: schooling and riding horse wise.

Rarey: midway the 19th century (1857) John Solomon Rarey, the original 'horse whisperer' summed up basic principles very well:
1. the horse needs to understand what you mean
2. the horse should not be aware of how strong it is
3. the horse must be physically able to do what we ask

In a world of horse breakers Rarey thus independently came up with the principles that were once fully understood by one of the most outstanding horse civilisations in history; the Mittani (Northern Syria).

Kikkuli: 1345 years before Christ, no less than 33 centuries ago, a truly brilliant training concept was put onto a set of clay tablets in cuneiform writing.
Horse master Kikkuli, himself a Mittani, in the service of the Hittites lays down a method to prepare and train vast numbers of war horses.
For the specialists this concept is without doubt worthwhile to study in detail and I myself have trained several of our horses this way with stunning results. Within the scope of this site however the underlying philosophy is the key element.

Throughout the training Kikkuli puts one element above all: preventing stress, either physical or psychological. His method is walking the tightrope to prepare a vast number of horses to a maximum of fitness in the shortest possible time without wasting means, including the most valuable; the horses.
He discriminates between physical and psychological stress and prevents overstressing.
A truly unique element is his procedure to beforehand identify all horses that will develop problems later on in the process and thus prevent a waste of resources and abuse of these horses.
Kikkuli makes sure that the horse understands, is capable and is always working with confidence. He is adamant in only adding and building on one element at a time. First without a load and only at the end of the training with a load (rider).

Putting Rarey and Kikkuli together the basic recipe is:
- first teach the horse the purpose: the 'aha'-erlebnis
- stay within the horses possibilities
- make sure it is rewarded by the successful completion of what you ask

In a different chapter you will read that having a rider on its back is a stressing factor for the horse. Both physically and mentally.
Translated into daily practice this means:
- everything you want under the saddle should first be fully understood by the horse without the rider on its back
- only teach and train one thing until that is fully mastered by the horse
- every following step in the learning process starts at an easier level than the phase just concluded

The horse learns best in cyclic periods. Most riders are familiar with the 3rd day syndrome; the moment the horse starts to test the new element, usually the third day. Obviously this can be the 2nd, 5th or no day. This phenomenon is all about pressure and confidence. It depends on the character of the individual horse how you deal with this and how you can avoid this.
On the one hand a horse gets confidence from routine, but on the other hand it can get bored by it. It is an example of the perception of the horse. Some are rewarded by conquering a new challenge, some by the mental activity itself, some by the physical exercise and others need a hug, food or just your approval. It is the horse that decides what makes it worthwhile to perform the task successfully.

The length of a phase in the training process depends on how your horse ticks, on what you are doing but above all on how good yoú are.
A horse needs a pause to mentally and physically adapt to the learned before it can tackle the next phase. The structure of the learning process can best be understood by looking at it like a saw tooth graph. The process itself moves upward but every next step starts at a lower level with an intermediate pause.

33 centuries ago Kikkuli worked with one type of horse originating from one specific region, domesticated from one local wild ancestor.
We are nowadays working with the vast variety of breeds and blends. Most of these concocted from two or thee dozen lines of wild ancestors.
Kikkuli exclusively trained male horses as the mares were needed for breeding.
Current day riders are seldom aware of the fundamental combined difference of sex and individual character of the horse. A potential harem stallion, a lead mare, a lower ranked mare or the 'freak' gelding make for huge differences. Obviously there is also a huge difference in physical potential of the individual horse. This all means that not every horse is equally fit for the same task.

What remains is that every horse is just a horse and subordinate to its program designed by the evolution of the species. The strategy is laid down by this, but the tactics need to differ. It is therefore paramount that the rider masters a well filled toolbox of different horse wise methods and solutions.
Within the scope of this site we define this toolbox as a range of creative ways to school the horse with the door open, to aptly rewarding the individual horse and leading to a horse that wants what the rider wants.

Next Page