Who decides you are a good rider?

Who decides you are a good rider (answer at the end of the post)? What makes a good rider?

You might think that judges decide who is a good rider by how they place the class or where you finished in the competition. You might think that having your horse do what you want it to do, when you want it to do it, makes you a good rider. 

Many people say they want to ride so that their horse is an extension of themselves. Yet you see the majority of people riding with gross aids. By "gross," I mean that you see the rider using their whole arm to turn, their whole leg/kicking heels to go or move sideways, leaning back and using the weight of their body to pull on their horse to a halt—it means the aids are obvious. The horse shows the effects of these gross aids by physically having to compensate for the disruption in its balance. It will brace, become crooked, hollow its back, etc. A horse that is out of balance is insecure; it will become nervous and more likely to react with a fight or flight response to this stimulus. And yet people continue to ride/train with gross aids, believing their horse will eventually understand what they are asking for, and then they will be able to ride with lighter aids. What really happens is that the people do not improve as riders. Their horses become more stressed, reactive, and develop physical issues due to having to compensate physically for the disruption to their balance and inability to use their body as needed. The reaction to the pain these gross aids will cause the horse to become anxious, and the ridden experience to be potentially traumatic. No one is improving. But maybe that rider won the class/competition, maybe the horse did do what the rider asked when the rider asked. So, are winning and compliance the result of a good rider?

Try this exercise

It may seem obvious, but some people don't realize how much the rider affects the horse.

1. Find someone who will walk hand in hand with you. Tell them this is an exercise and that you want them to react naturally to what you do.

2. You hold their hand and use your hand to communicate how you want them to move using "gross" aids. Suddenly, stop by pulling their arm to you. Run ahead and drag them with you. Suddenly turn and pull their arm in the direction you want them to turn. Sometimes swing your arm with their arm, sometimes hold it close to you so there is less room for them to move without being turned from the forward motion, and must move more slowly. Try to do this for 1 minute.

3. Trade places with your partner and have them "lead" you around in a similar manner. Do this for one minute.

4. How did your partner react to this exercise? How did you react to this exercise? What was your emotional reaction to this exercise? Imagine you do this more days than not for an hour at a time. How would you feel about this time? Would you look forward to seeing our partner show up for this exercise?

5. Now ask your partner to do this exercise again for one minute. Note if they seem reluctant - insist anyway.

6. This time, walk hand in hand at a matching pace, gently holding their hand. Use small, soft signals to ask for changes in pace, direction or halt. Use a signal to prepare your partner for these aids. Turn your body to look the way you would like to go to change direction. Use a verbal cue to go forward or halt. See how softly you can move together. Never upset the balance of your partner with your aids.

7. Trade places. Ask your partner to "lead" you, softly maintaining balance and preparing you for what the next ask would be, as you just did with them.

8. Discuss the differences with your partner. What were the physical, mental, and emotional differences between the two interactions?

9. Which interaction would you like to do again? How did each interaction affect how you felt about your partner?

This exercise is to help you understand how much how you use your aids affects your horse. This applies to ground work as well as mounted work. These two examples are much like being a horse with a bad rider and a good rider. A bad rider might win a competition or get their horse to do what they want it to do at any given time. A good rider has a horse that is calm, confident, and trusting.

A horse that is badly ridden is mentally and physically stressed and uncomfortable. The longer it is badly ridden, the worse it is for the horse and the more poorly trained and damaged it becomes.

So, who decides you are a good rider? You probably know the answer by now. It is your horse. A horse that is relaxed, confident, and trusting of the partnership is the sign of a good rider. Training to develop this might seem to take more time, but physically forcing your horse to do something isn't training any more than dragging your dog down the road is taking it for a walk.