IN the second article in this four-part series we looked at the some of the development work required to build the basic cornerstone reflexes and responses.

Keeping focus on quality work at each phase of the horse’s education is the hallmark of successful experienced riders with dependable competition performance. Amateurs practice until they get it right but professionals practice until they can’t get it wrong.

Rideability like everything else with horses is developed over time with good practice making greater reliability. However, some horses are naturally more compliant in their temperament than others. With horses who are naturally hot and reactive it is important to drill the following factors to keep horse and rider safe and successful on the competition journey. The factors we’re going to look at in this article are consistency, self-carriage, partnership and holistic management.

Developing consistency

Previously we highlighted how practice creates repeatable behaviour which can be relied on in competition. A key part of building consistency is developing your aids and testing the signals you have trained over the course of your development work.

Understanding how to link progressive exercises increasing in difficulty towards your end goal will ensure continued development of consistency over time. Remember that all equine movement which can be put under stimulus control (on the aids) are made up of four base movement units (from the book Equitation Science).

• Yield: moving the quarters left or right.

Breaking down each movement into these basic responses will help you address weaknesses and ensure responses are more reliable.

Self carriage

Many horses are allowed to be over-dependent on their rider. This puts immense pressure on the rider to get everything right, some very elite riders are capable of this but the vast majority of us need the horse to fully play their part in the training process.

In any discipline the horse has to work in his own balance without the constant support of the rider. Of course this is particularly important in eventing where the horse is negotiating significant variation of terrain and has to adjust and adapt his balance and footfalls. I like to think about self carriage like cruise control which needs to be tested on a regular basis.

The essential idea is that when you set the horse up at a specific pace they should continue at that pace in good form until an alternative aid is given by the rider.

One of the best ways to develop self carriage is to set up the pace and then release all pressure and see if the horse maintains pace and balance. If the horse changes readjust and release the pressure again and repeat until he holds the pace and balance.

When the horse practices “cruise control” it gives the rider more brain space to see the big picture and give clearer instructions. Self carriage is one of the most important skills to train in your event horse.

Self carriage testing appears in many dressage tests in the form of give and retake the reins. In this movement the only variable that should change is the rein contact. The horse should maintain balance and pace.

Independent partnership

Building on from self carriage is a strong partnership between the horse and rider team with mutual respect, trust and confidence. Each equestrian discipline has a multifaceted range of skills, constants and variables that require two brains working in harmony.

The rider has to take full ownership of their responsibilities (look and plan, speed, direction and position and balance) while the horse has to buy into their role which is to make correct judgement for where to put their legs and how much energetic effort is required. Training the horse’s reflexes will allow the rider to rely on the horse to make good choices in competition particularly working over fences.

In the early stages of a horse’s training they rely on the rider to guide them through their role. Putting the time into development work will pay dividends as the horse’s reflexes become reliable and consistent.

Exposing horses to simpler versions of the questions they will find in competition develops the horse’s confidence and the rider’s trust in the horse. When working through your training programme you need to include exposure to a large range of fences so your horse can develop their intuition and buy into the system!

Once the rider can trust the horse’s judgement and the horse has faith in the rider’s signals and cues then true reciprocal partnership will be established.

Holistic management

Taking a broad view of your equine management programme is essential to produce solid competitive performance. This includes every aspect of your horse’s routine, equally important to competition training is support mechanisms and processes to keep horses sound in body and mind.

When performance is diminishing, addressing the whole picture leads to more consistent change. This is one of the reasons why some yards with a variety of riders can have such long term success. Variety in the training will help you cover all the bases and can fill in some of the gaps. Riding out and lunging are often overlooked in their importance to the horse’s complete training programme. Hacking, especially slow work, can be useful in the early training work to build fitness and proprioception.

Practicing lateral work and medium paces on the way home often helps maintain the energy and suppleness through the ribs and can help give the horse the right idea and feel. Lunging is also helpful both for the horse’s biomechanical movement pattern development and for the rider to see the horse from the ground.

Good lunging like riding takes sufficient skill and practice, it is worth noting that lunging gadgets and equipment are no substitute for skill and technique.

Putting it into practice

Building rideability is an ongoing process involving committing to a system rather than moving from one training fad to the next. With the correct approach and enthusiasm significant improvement can be made to the horse and rider and to their competition results by developing responses and reflexes.

If you would like to contact the author with questions or for coaching, please email Brendan@BerginEquine.com