Charlot Dekkers Equine Connection

04/10/2023

So tempting to believe some are smarter than others!

// Terminology Tuesday - Intelligence //

It is common for horse-people to compare the supposed intelligence of horses. This is a far more difficult thing to do than it would at first seem. Usually, the comparison is made with regard to how fast the horse learns certain things in training, a test that is essentially based on how the horse responds to the aids, or how the horse reacts to body pressure. So the question of intelligence is really only a test of how motivated the horse is to respond to pressure on its body. The horse that seems less intelligent in that regard is often outstanding when the motivation is changed, such as to food or some other attractive stimulus. All that you can safely comment on in any comparative sense is differences in motivation. In addition, horse training does not test 'intelligence' in the sense of higher mental abilities, but simply taps into some basic hard-wired learning systems in non-associative and associative learning.

(Excerpt of the book 'Academic Horse Training', p. 13)

23/09/2023

Wouldn't get far without the "famous four'!!

Nearly all horses are retrainable, usually quite rapidly - remarkable changes can occur within the first session.

Occasionally a behaviour takes a bit longer to resolve. Then we just stick to the basic training principles (try to avoid throwing everything at it - just stick with scientific training), and with patient persistence, nearly all horses can be retrained.

Consistently doing the homework helps, but no need to over train. A maximum of 45 minutes, 3 times a week is plenty, and less is fine too. This allows time for the training to 'sink in' - to be passively processed by the horse as they rest and graze.

20/09/2023

One thing at a time so your horse can keep up!

10 Principles of horse training continued:

5. ELICIT RESPONSES ONE AT A TIME.

Each cue must be given at a separate time. Simultaneously cueing for different responses inevitably causes stress and confusion as each one inhibits the other. Repeatedly doing so will desensitise the horse to those aids. This effect is magnified if the cues are contradictory such as acceleration and deceleration.

Some complex movements require a combination of responses, but each one is still given independently. To prevent confusion, the gap between cues needs to be clearly discernible; especially early in the horse's training. As the horse's education progresses, different cues can be given closer together; but they must remain independent.

A horse given contradictory aids is likely to react to the stress in ways that compromise their own and/or human welfare.

05/06/2022

Good for a laugh 🤭

THE REAL RULES OF DRESSAGE
1. If you really want to get better at dressage, take it up at an earlier age - and grow an extra 3 inches of leg.
2. A dressage test is a test of your skill against another competitor's luck.
3. Dressage is about achieving a harmonious working relationship with your horse, whose only idea of harmony is eating grass in a field with his buddies.
4. If you want to end a drought or dry spell, wear a new jacket and hat to an outdoor arena.
5. Untalented, difficult, aggressive horses have robust health, good hocks and long lives.
6. Talented tractable horses are accident prone and have OCD lesions.
7. You will ride the best test of your entire life just prior to being disqualified for not wearing your gloves.
8. Never keep more than 300 separate thoughts in your head before a test.
9. Never keep less than another 300 separate thoughts in your head during a test.
10. Horses do not improve their paces because you are wearing expensive German breeches.
11. If you chose a disco theme for your dressage to music test then the judge will be more than 90 years of age and Swiss.
12. The less skilled the rider, the more likely they are to share their critique of your test.
13. If you are considering the services of a horse clairvoyant to help you with training then you have reached the point of total desperation - try the German breeches.
14.Your horse has never heard of Podhajsky, let alone read the book.
15. No matter how badly you ride a test, it is always possible to ride a worse one.
16. If it ain't broke, try shifting your position and it will be.
17. Judges only suffer from temporary blindness (or kindness) when they are judging someone else's test.
18. If you fall off your horse in the arena you will have paid to have the test videoed.
19. If you are feeling confident before a show then three of the GB dressage team will turn up to give their young horses some "experience."
20. Your horse will perform its best piaffe ever when you ask for extended canter.
22. Since runs of bad competitions come in groups of three, the fourth competition is actually the beginning of the next group of three.
23. No one cheats at dressage because no one has worked out how to do it.
24. It is surprisingly easy to end a test with a perfect square halt once you have scored a four for every other movement.
25. The result of an expensive lesson from a top pro is that you will stop believing in that tiny piece of innate ability that was holding your riding together.
26. Remember when buying a dressage horse advertised as "needs experienced competitive rider" this really means "needs the skills of Isabelle Werth just to stay on board."
27. If you think your test was better than someone else's, it probably wasn't.
28. If you pay £60,000 for an imported WB, you will be beaten in Prelim by a Welsh Cob, ridden by a 9 year old.
29. Clinics given by someone with an interesting accent are not necessarily superior to those given by the homegirl.
30. If you go to the expense of raising an expensive WB foal, he will have a talent for jumping and no walk worth talking about.

02/05/2022

Very true 💙

27/04/2022

I love this post, so important to look after our vets, farriers and body workers! 💙

What do you do to help keep the professionals safe in our industry?

Did you know, vets have the highest injury risks of all civilian professions! Wowsers!😱

Talking to Dr Ruth Taylor, she told me some of the overlooked aspects of handling a horse for assessment and procedures.

Here were some of the main areas Dr Ruth highlighted:

- The basics are so important! That is standing still, being touched all over, letting the vet stand at their hind end and touching their hind legs.

- Holding a horse safely. Knowing how to position your horse so your vet doesn't receive a kick to the head. Paying attention and NOT being on your phone.

- Trotting up. Being able to run alongside your trotting horse without a big fight in doing so.

- Floating! Horses being able to float.

- Taking horses out to different environments to get used to being in new places, in case they have to visit the clinic.

- Handling in new places. Knowing how to handle your horse safely in a new environment.

What I teach owners:

🐴 Park: a horse standing still and calm

🐴 Touch: how a horse can tolerate touch everywhere - even if there is an injury

🐴 Trotting up: a super amazing GO button!

🐴 Floating: a calm relaxed horse who self-loads

🐴 Confident handling skills: no matter where you are and what your horse does!

👉If you'd like to learn some simple tips on creating a safer horse, get in touch! It's my speciality to see horses change from aggressive or anxious to calm and relaxed 😌

For more on training for keeping your vet safe, have a look at the series 'Don't break your vet' by Gemma Pearson

https://youtu.be/JnwrDMsQGx0

25/04/2022

Definitely a 2 way street 💙

You are personally responsible for becoming more ethical than the society that you grew up in.

Let that sink in for a moment.

YOU, alone, are responsible for becoming more ethical than the very environment you grew up in, in all areas of your life.
Kindness breeds kindness, ethical actions and treatment of our horses breeds the same as well.

That means taking the time to learn more about the sport you love, and the various facets of equine care that mean the difference between a happy, comfortable life or one of pain, learned helplessness and misery.

We live in an age where the information of the world is at your fingertips, and while nonsensical BS floats around in the mix, critical thinking is really all you need to help w**d through the misinformation. Ask the RIGHT questions of anything you read.

Who does this benefit - financially or otherwise?
Does this make logical sense?
Who funded the research?

Also asking yourself not what you can do to immediately "fix" a behavior, but why that behavior is present to begin with.
Why does your horse shy away?
Why does he "like" or "dislike" a certain direction?
Why does the horse NEED a flash?
Why does the horse NEED to be ridden in spurs?
Why do you need to lunge your horse for 20 min before you get on?
Why do you feel you need to "teach the horse who is boss"?

Once you start taking an active role in the wellbeing of your horse, and really being present you will start to have actual 2-way communication and a true partnership.

Ethical doesn't mean having the reins hang loose and never nudging your horse forward, it means LISTENING.

Listen.
Understand.
Communicate.

That is ethical riding, training, saddle fitting, and more.

16/03/2022

There’s so much we can teach and correct with groundwork!

Setting Good Ground Rules The safe and simple guide to training your horse in-hand This e-book contains the complete set of articles as published in Horses and People Magazine by…

19/02/2022

Consistency and patience 🙌

// Friday Fact - Consistency //

Horse riding is a complicated sport and our body posture makes a difference and is critical in correct communication with the horse, ultimately in dressage but also in jumping, racing, reining, camp drafting, polo, western pleasure and working equitation.

It is critical that the rider's body does not speak to the horse in the wrong way. In some methodologies, the seat is always passive like riding the perfect wave on a surfboard, in other methods, seat and posture become signals themselves.

The most important point is whatever method you choose, stick to it. If you keep changing and for example, shopping for coaching, the horse may become confused and trouble may set in.

This is an excerpt of the article series 'Conversations with Dr Andrew McLean', available to purchase here: https://esi-education.com/product/conversations-with-dr-andrew-mclean/.

05/02/2022

Well said indeed 👍

If things aren’t working, it usually means that your horse doesn’t understand what you want. Even if it was working on another occasion, something may have changed.

Don’t despair, there are lots of things you can do to make your request much clearer and simpler.

First, stop and take a long, slow breath. Then, try one of these three tips:

1. Slow it down! If it’s not working at canter, try it at trot. If it’s not working at trot, try it at walk. If it’s not working at walk, try it from the ground (that’s Tip 3!).

2. Break it down! Break down what you are asking for into smaller parts, or take things back a step. When you reward a basic attempt, you will soon get what you are looking for.

3. Try it from the ground! There’s so much you can do in hand that will improve your horse’s understanding when you are in the saddle.

Remember that we can all get confused when we’re learning something new. Sometimes we even feel like we are going backwards. That’s very normal!

Take your time, keep stress to a minimum (laughter is good!), put safety first and always make sure there is no physical reason why things aren’t working (eg. pain, discomfort, insufficient strength).

Have you or will you put one of these tips into action to get back on track with your horse? We would love to know what you did.