Lessons and Training

Training

Now accepting a limited number of horses for training, showing and sales!

 

Objectives as a Dressage Instructor and Trainer

My training is focused on getting the rider and horse coordinated, both with each other as well as independently. I find it of utmost importance that the rider learns to use the aids consciously and effectively through eliminating the use of contradicting aids, in favor of very clear aids. My training is aimed so the rider learns how to train the horse, not just ride it.

As a dressage trainer, I have always wondered what the rider is REALLY doing while riding, and what the horse would want to tell me if he could. The benefit of giving lessons on the Dressage Simulator is that I always get the answers I am looking for.

To teach and learn on a ‘horse’ that has no attitude, is 100% straight, is always sensitive to the aids, and never gets tired, is something I think most horse trainers and riders have dreamt of! Since I started teaching riders of all levels on a Simulator, I am amazed to have learned what most riders do, either consciously or subconsciously, during a lesson!

When I teach on the Dressage Simulator, I connect it to riding and training a real horse as much as possible. This works very well, as the rider can sit, steer and use the aids as he/she is supposed to do on the real horse, including leg yields, shoulder-in, half-pass and lead changes, etc.

It is very important to teach riders to be quiet when they ride; not asking the horse to do something all the time. Just to ride in collected trot down the long side, sitting still in the saddle, holding both reins evenly with a soft and steady contact, while not using the legs, is a very difficult task for lots of riders.

The extraneous aids, of course, show up on the Simulator, and the Simulator will attempt to comply to all aids given, but a real horse will learn to either ignore all of the different aids, or he will try to run away from it. For a trainer, it can be difficult to put a finger on why the horse either ignores or overreacts to its rider, while on the Simulator, is it obvious!

The Simulator helps riders with precise timing of the aids: half-halts, when to do them and how; exactly when to give the aid for a flying change; giving the correct aid for a walk to canter transition, etc. It is also extremely useful in finding out why a rider can’t get clean changes, in perfecting the timing and counting of tempi changes and how to approach a pirouette without stopping the horse while maintaining a good, quality canter.

On the Equine Simulator the rider can practice difficult movements over and over until he/she gets it right, without exhausting the horse!

I have the philosophy that we all, as riders, have the responsibility to be more aware of what we are doing when we ride, and that we should own our mistakes and correct ourselves instead of the horse. Practicing, learning and perfecting on the simulator allows us to know when a mistake is the horse’s, and not when it is caused by rider error.

If the rider learns to be more aware of exactly when, where, and how much the leg aids are coming on, as well as being totally aware of if they are blocking the hands, or have stiff wrists/elbows, the horse will be able to respond by becoming more supple.

As a trainer, I am continuously working on improving my way of giving instructions. Depending on how I give them, the rider can or can’t comprehend what to do. When something goes wrong, it often goes more wrong, very quickly. With the Simulator, I get a chance to explain to the rider in a very calm environment how a certain movement is done, or work through complex issues. The rider’s own stress when being told several instructions at the same time, often shows in rougher riding. This is something all of us want to avoid, so teaching first on the Simulator helps the rider, the horse and the trainer!

On the Simulator, the rider gets a chance to work through whatever problem they are having; there is no horse getting upset and adding to the stress. The rider learns how to deal with her own stress and how to solve the problem in a safe and productive environment.

I encourage all trainers, instructors and riders to use the Equine Simulator to their advantage, to become better students and teachers, in all aspects of riding!”

Barbro