Natural Horsemanship ... Dressage ... Dressage Naturally

by Karen Rolfe

Natural Horsemanship...

…is the idea that the dynamics of horsemanship can be achieved naturally using psychology, communication and understanding instead of fear, mechanics and force.  When we develop horses naturally we make a promise to think, act, feel and play like a horse, seeing everything from the horse’s point of view.  In the Parelli program we learn how to use love, language and leadership to overcome the prey/predator dilemma, build relationships the horses can trust, and communicate with them on a mental, emotional and physical level.  You and your horse learn how to be calmer, smarter, braver and more athletic.  We use four ‘savvies’ to achieve this:  on-line, liberty, freestyle riding and finesse or concentrated riding. 

Dressage ...

…is when you use high levels of communication, and a gymnastic training program to develop the horse’s physique, coordination, balance, strength and confidence through more and more challenging movements. As a student of dressage you will learn about the biomechanics of the horse, and how to develop the full range of your horses’ movements.  Dressage training can benefit every horse, although not all horses have the natural ability to continue to the highest levels of training.  You will learn concepts such as freedom of movement, collection, suppleness and self-carriage.  Dressage begins with achieving a balanced harmonious connection with your horse, and culminates in movements such as piaffe, pirouettes, half-passes and tempi-changes. The F.E.I. rule book states that the object of dressage is “the development of the horse into a happy athlete through harmonious education.  The result is a horse that is calm, loose, supple and flexible, but also confident, attentive and keen, thus achieving perfect understanding with his rider.” When you realize that two-thirds of the words in the definition above describe the psychological state, and only one-third describe the physical state, the possibility

Dressage, Naturally ...

… is when the human makes the commitment to put the principles of natural horsemanship before the goals of dressage, while still striving to achieve amazing results. The solutions to our frustrations with our horsemanship can be found in a place beyond technique; they can be found in the changes we must be brave enough to make on the inside of ourselves to do what is best for our horses. Dressage horses are horses too.