| It's important to have a training system so that you | | | | · If he doesn't, chase him forward by tapping |
| school your horse in a clear and consistent way. The | | | | him with the whip or bumping him with your legs (or |
| down side of having only one system is that one | | | | both!). |
| approach doesn't work for all horses. If a particular | | | | · RETEST with your light aid. (If you don't |
| system isn't right for your horse, and you try to force | | | | retest, he'll just get lazier.) |
| him to conform to that method, he can fall by the | | | | · If his response is "better" but not 100%, chase |
| wayside. | | | | him forward again. |
| Because I want every horse to develop to his | | | | · RETEST with the light aid. |
| potential, I've come up with my system, which I call | | | | · When he surges forward from an aid that is |
| "Benign Antagonism". Simply put, if your horse does | | | | as light as a mosquito bite, praise him. |
| something you don't like, very calmly do the opposite. | | | | I became a big believer in this system when I had my |
| This approach is "benign" because your adjustments | | | | first FEI schoolmaster, Sacramento. Sacramento was |
| are done quietly and without force. It's "antagonistic" | | | | a very sweet but extremely lazy Holsteiner, who |
| because you simply do exactly the opposite of what | | | | stood 17.3 hands and weighed 1,800 pounds. When I |
| your horse would like to do. The cool thing about this | | | | was first getting to know him, I would close my legs |
| method is it works for every horse regardless of style, | | | | and get practically no response. So I'd use more leg, |
| conformation, breed, or temperament. You custom | | | | and he'd react a bit better. I drew the mistaken |
| design your system for each individual. | | | | conclusion that I just had to have stronger legs. After a |
| In the next four articles, I'll look at some common | | | | few weeks of using "more leg," Sacramento stopped |
| questions that you might have so you can see exactly | | | | giving me an answer to that aid, and I had to use even |
| how to use benign antagonism to customize your | | | | stronger leg aids. It was as if he was laughing at this |
| system. | | | | neophyte on his back saying, "Go ahead-squeeze. |
| Those questions are: | | | | That's right. Now squeeze harder. Pretty soon you'll be |
| 1. Should I Use a Light Leg or a Strong Leg? | | | | so exhausted that we'll get to take a break!" |
| 2. Should I ride my horse "Deep" or "Up"? | | | | That's when I decided to approach this training issue |
| 3. What's a good tempo for my horse? | | | | from a benignly antagonistic point of view. Sacramento |
| 4. What do I do with my horse that doesn't like to bend | | | | wanted me to use a lot of leg, so I decided to teach |
| to the right? | | | | him to be "hot off" a light leg as a survival technique |
| The Light Leg versus "More Leg" Dilemma | | | | for my weary body. This approach was totally |
| Most of the horses I see in clinics (even the hot ones) | | | | effective, even though he was quite set in his ways at |
| are behind the leg. If your horse is dull to your driving | | | | age twelve. |
| aids, you end up riding him from front to back whether | | | | My Horse Runs Away From My Leg |
| you mean to or not. | | | | On the other hand, I started my dressage career with |
| I'm from the school of thought that says a horse | | | | a hot Thoroughbred off the track. This horse would |
| should react promptly and eagerly to subtle leg aids: | | | | threaten me with his body language. It's as if he was |
| When you use your leg lightly, your horse should | | | | saying, "Don't you dare touch me with your legs. If you |
| respond immediately and enthusiastically. It's exhausting | | | | do, I'll rush off really fast." |
| and not very pretty to squeeze and grind with your | | | | So, I took a different approach with him than I did with |
| legs every stride. Instead, train your horse to react to | | | | Sacramento. I wrapped my legs firmly around his |
| feather light aids. | | | | barrel all the way from ankle to hip. Essentially, I was |
| When you're not giving a leg aid, rest your legs quietly | | | | saying to him, "These are my legs. Get used to them. |
| on your horse's sides. When you choose to give an | | | | They are not going away. But you can see that you |
| aid, increase the pressure slightly and momentarily. | | | | don't have to be afraid of them either. Take comfort in |
| Never adjust your aid by repeating it or making it | | | | feeling them hugging you. They won't take you by |
| stronger to allow for your horse's dullness. Instead, | | | | surprise when I use them." This approach worked like |
| insist that he become more reactive to a refined aid | | | | a charm with my insecure, sensitive Thoroughbred. |
| by putting him in front of your leg. | | | | Use the theory of Benign Antagonism to help you out |
| My Horse is Dull to the Driving Aids | | | | of any training problem. In my next article, I'll discuss |
| Here's the process of putting your horse in front of | | | | making a decision about whether to ride your horse in |
| your leg (or any of your driving aids, for that matter!) | | | | a deep frame or in a finished product, competition |
| · Use a feather light aid, and expect your horse | | | | frame. |
| to SURGE forward | | | | |