I want to start from a fundamental and very simple assumption: horses don't like to be ridden. They would much rather be in a nice meadow all day without having to work or answer any of our requests, whether from the ground or from the saddle.
Horses don't like to jump, lead changes or the Spanish walk. Having said that, unfortunately, however much we may love them, it is not possible for now to imagine a world in which horses are not saddled and ridden. The private individual can do it with his own horse, but there is still an immense number of animals for which this remains purely utopian.
The entire breeding mechanism, and consequently the survival of the species, nowadays, is closely linked to the activities we carry out with the horse, be they sporting or amateur.
This does not mean that the system works, that it is not necessary to try to change it or that it is right to assemble them, train them, commit them by any means and at any cost. On the contrary. The number of traumatized, depressed, angry and suffering horses is immense.
Apart from a few lucky cases, a horse has the more chances of living in dignity the more it is able to carry out one activity in an excellent manner or more activities in a decent manner. I'll give you a practical example...
Every horse deserves a dignified life
We bought a 10-year-old aggressive and very anxious Spanish stallion from a dealer at meat price. After a period of re-education the horse became wonderful in the countryside, calm, courageous and very responsive to requests. However, we realized that in field work, however improved, there would always be a technically complex horse and not suitable for an amateur. This aspect, when we had to find a good living arrangement for him, would certainly have been limiting.
Many people, even those who predominantly enjoy walking, enjoy doing some field work as well. We would therefore have had to find a very technically skilled person or someone who only and exclusively wanted to go out into the countryside. This greatly reduced the number of people who could decide to adopt it and keep it for the rest of their lives.
This story ended well, the horse was given to someone who had the technical skills to handle it but still chose to keep it away from the sand field and above all to take care of it forever.
Not all horses are equally lucky
Being able to buy horses of this type and then give them away has been one of our main activities for the last ten years, it has given me some of the greatest joys I have ever experienced. Silently, we have given a future back to many horses, with our own strength and I can only be extremely grateful to those who worked alongside me making it possible.
Another large part of our daily life consists of working with those horses that are lucky enough to already have an owner, who sometimes seeks help to advance in training, but more often has problems to solve and refuses to change "mount". In most cases these knights and amazons already have a very open and loving vision, they are looking for practical help, but they have already made a very powerful ethical choice by deciding to look for solutions. Their horses are lucky.
Then there is a third branch, and here I finally get to the point, which is that of sport horses. They belong to breeders or owners who usually already have other horses and in most cases they are destined to be resold, at a price which varies according to their potential. These are the horses I've always been most apprehensive about, the more qualitative they are, the rarer they are to find an owner for life.
In recent years I have decided to work with young sport horses, not only for the ugliness that occurs at a competitive level - for those it takes time and hope and I assure you that in some riding schools some over 25 year olds who do hours and hours of lessons fare just as badly - but because I think more than any other horse they need a really solid foundation.
Owners of "pet" horses are in general much more open and sensitive to the issue of ethical and conscious horse riding, they are willing to spend more time, possibly giving up certain ambitions in favor of an ideological choice. This is not true for the entire competitive universe, where performance and economic income still reign supreme, dictating the law to the detriment of the horses' well-being. The point here is that the horse has to work, no one cares how. But it matters to me!
One horse at a time, towards a better life
If a horse trained by me is more serene and balanced, he will have a better chance of not becoming anxious in the face of difficulties. If this horse is more willing and responsive, he will have a better chance of adapting to different riders and not become resistant to requests. If this horse is cooperative and free from stiffness, he will have a better chance of escaping demanding and grueling training.
Gradually, I hope, you will realize that there are no auxiliary reins, gimmicks or other tricks that can make an excellent substitute for good training. And so I continue on my way always with the hope, tame after tame, one horse at a time, of being able to change things.
Edited by Giulia Barberis, for Fedda.
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