The guarantee of satisfaction

 “The only guarantee of satisfaction is careful preparation.”  

Dietmar Specht  

"We are always dealing with two living beings whose work has to come together."

As the secretary general of the Germany Equestrian Federation, Dr Dietmar Specht played a crucial rôle in the development of dressage in Australia.

from 1984 The Horse Magazine, article 

Self Carriage

 https://blog.dressagenaturally.net/34-self-carriage-dressage-naturally 

Self Carriage from a Dressage, Naturally Perspective

Self-carriage is one of those qualities that, no matter what discipline you are doing, makes you say: "Wow, this horse feels great!" It is usually defined as something like: "When the horse is balanced and maintaining himself without needing support from the rider's hands". In dressage, it is typically thought to be a result of a well ridden half halt, but it has just as much to do with being balanced mentally and emotionally as it does with being balanced physically.

As a professional dressage trainer and natural horseman, I have learned to take a broader look at the quality of self-carriage; how it is created and what is necessary for it to happen. With Dressage, Naturally, I look at the mind, emotions and body of the horse. Self-carriage is more than just a way of carrying the body.

Is self-carriage an elusive quality that we must train for years to feel, hoping to maintain to for even a few magical strides? No. It is a quality that can be practiced immediately and in more situations than you may think. Of course, as you ask your horse to expand and learn more challenging maneuvers, there will be times that self carriage is difficult due to his lack of coordination, understanding, balance or strength in that particular movement. It is a good test to see how well we have prepared and developed our horse for what we are asking.

Let's look at what is happening during moments of self-carriage. 

The Horse in Self-Carriage:

• Physically: The horse has his body balanced in a way that is appropriate for the movement he is doing. His hind legs are engaged and carrying his body. His spine is free from excess tension. He is aligned in a way that his weight is not falling forward or sideways or hanging back.
   
• Mentally: He understands what is required of him and so is able to organize his body for the task. There is no lack of balance due to him not being sure where he is going or what he is being asked to do.
   
• Emotionally: He is comfortable and calm and so feels no need to escape where he is, or be anywhere else. He is not fearful of making a mistake and therefore can be looser and more supple in his body. This will allow him to make the subtle adjustments necessary to remain in perfect balance. He trusts that he can settle into what he is doing, knowing he will always be given a warning when something new is going to be asked.

And, just as importantly ... he hopefully has a human attached to him that is not throwing him off balance mentally, emotionally or physically!

 

The Rider in Self-Carriage:

• Physically: The rider has his body balanced in a way that is appropriate for the movement he is doing and he is able to follow the horse's movement as it is performed. He can do this without gripping or holding onto the reins for balance. He can be silent and neutral with his aids when the horse is doing what he asked. Being neutral in self-carriage is something in between giving no information (leaving your horse wondering what to do) and micromanaging him every step of the way (leaving him feeling helpless).
   
• Mentally: The rider understands how to ride the movement and apply appropriate, non-conflicting aids. He is focused and clear in his communication. He can recognize when his horse is in a good enough balance for the movement he is doing. 
   
• Emotionally: The rider is comfortable and calm and is confident in his ability to ride what he is asking his horse for. He is not fearful of the horse or situation and therefore can be looser and more supple in his body. This will allow him to make the subtle adjustments necessary to remain in perfect balance. He is riding with patience and not from ego, and so will not be forcing his horse past his capabilities.

As you can see, there could be many reasons why a horse is not in self-carriage! If self-carriage is lacking, we must take some care to evaluate what the cause is, and know that there may be different strategies for improvement, depending on what it is. 

 

Let's take a very simple movement to illustrate a concept. The movement will be standing still on a loose rein. Not a "perfect square halt", but just simply standing still. I see this so often — The student rides out to me to have their lesson, I ask them some questions about what they would like to work on and the horse is standing, then walking off, then standing for a moment somewhere else, then walking in a circle, then leaving ... you get the picture. So I ask if they can please stand still while we talk and the rider shortens up the reins and holds her horse in one place (with varying degrees of success). Already, it is clear that there are self-carriage issues! And this is during something very easy! Usually what ever is happening while standing still is also happening during movement. In this case, the horse is never quite where the rider suggests, is not calm and attentive and, in order to really get it done, she must hold on with her hands. Not exactly a good recipe for self-carriage. I would be willing to bet he also didn't stand quietly while being groomed ... perhaps he was up against the cross ties already practicing lack of self carriage and feeling controlled.

I put a fairly high priority on solving this issue. One strategy could be to totally control the horse. Physically, not let his body move. Hold him there. If you were a quick, strong, effective enough rider, you could possibly prevent him from moving. But it wouldn't necessarily change his mind for the next time, unless he resolved and then relaxed. This could work for a fairly non-emotional horse. The trouble is, if he is emotional, he could "blow". And resolved isn't really a trait I want to strive for. Plus, we are being conflicting, because in the moment we are trying to convey the idea, "Hey, just relax", we are also having to be very strong and activated in our body.

A strategy I use is to pick a place on the ground, go to it, stop, totally relax, trust him by dropping the reins and expect him to stop and relax. If he walks off, I spring to action, move his feet to quickly get back to that particular place on the ground and when I get there, stop, drop the reins, relax and trust. Repeat as necessary! To make it more obvious, sometimes I build a box with poles or cones. It is a mental/emotional exercise to have the horse with me in self-carriage during relaxation. This will help his mind understand, "Oh, every time we are here, she stops and relaxes". He has already told me he doesn't understand or respect that communication of "be here with me", so it is worth taking the time to follow through until he does. Isn't that what self-carriage really is: "Be exactly here with me"? If he can't be here with me in self-carriage during something as simple as standing still, chances are he doesn't get the concept, and I will be dealing with it every stride of everything we do. I need to make the decision that I am not going to hold his body for him. He is free ... to stay or change. But I set up the exercise in a way that in the end, he decides to stay.

You can do the above exercise even with an emotional, claustrophobic horse, as it never makes the horse feel trapped. It works fairly quickly and does the same thing for the horse as it would for a nervous, fidgety student, if I took the time to connect and say, "Hey, look at me, take a deep breathe, relax!" 

 

This is, of course, self-carriage in its most exaggerated, basic form, but it is refine-able. Later during a movement you won't have to stop and drop the reins to find out if your horse is in self-carriage. You will begin to recognize the feeling you get from your horse that he would stay with you if you dropped the reins. In the dressage Third Level competition tests, there is a movement where the rider is asked to show a "clear release of the inside rein" for approximately 10 meters at the canter. That is testing the self-carriage. A horse that can do that well has developed the mental/emotional/physical ability to be exactly "here with" his rider even at the collected canter, on a precise circle. By giving the rein, we prove it. If he can't hold his balance there, is an adjustment you can make that will help him become more capable? Ask yourself, was he not understanding/respecting? Was he emotionally distracted/tense? Was he physically crooked/misaligned? Then you can make an appropriate, meaningful correction that will make next time better.

The mind and the body are connected and I am constantly amazed at how a horse's bio-mechanics and balance can change when they are mentally and emotionally prepared and engaged. In the example above, chances are, when the horse relaxes (emotionally) and understands (mentally) there is a good chance he is also standing squarely (physically) in his body. I am also amazed at how often my horse's nervousness and tension are simply due to my own unbalance and miscommunication or the horse's lack of balance or strength (An example of that would be riding a horse into a halt, but your body or your horse's body is off balance or lacking engagement, causing the horse to step to the side, backwards or trickle forward, then he gets nervous because you make a strong correction after the fact).

It is our top priority as riders to embody what we are asking for and be able to lead our horse well through the movements we ask of him, like the best dance partner in the world. It is not our job to physically hold them there. Every moment that we hold on, preventing an imagined, potential "mistake", we are cheating our horse from feeling true lightness. We are telling him we don't trust his abilities, which is saying that we don't trust ourselves, as we are the ones who are responsible for developing his abilities!

 

Don’t be afraid to let go of your horses and get the truth! Let go for an entire ride or for a few strides here and there, but let go! For me, the practice of riding without the reins or the bridle has a huge benefit in that I must take care of the mental, emotional and physical self-carriage of the horse. The paradox is that letting go and trusting our horse may give us the opportunity to feel something horrible ... or something amazing. The more we trust our horses and prove we can ride their bodies with our bodies, the greater a chance we have of true self-carriage. You can experience it sooner than you think and preserve it as you develop.

Don't give your old horses away!

 

Think long and hard !

Colorado Horse Rescue Network

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So you think it's safe to rehome your old horse? Nearly every emaciated senior we get eventually has a previous owner contact us just shocked at how their horse ended up. They gave their senior away to a loving home with kids. Now a year or two later it's fighting for it's life from neglect and starvation.

Truth is, the safest place for your old horse is with you. Period. Can't keep it for whatever reason? PUT IT DOWN. Save it a slow miserable death with strangers. And yes, the slow starvation of an old horse is painful and cruel. This isn't your great aunt in a nursing home with medical care and medication, this is a horse who's eventually going to start breaking down it's own organs just to stay alive. It's not pretty, and it's not natural. In the wild it would be killed by predators or a storm long before it's heart stopped. It never fails, every day someone sends me a listing for an old horse with "lots of life left". You know how many seniors I find great forever homes for? Not very many. Everyone wants a horse under 20. And the ones willing to take a senior are often shocked at the cost to maintain a horse over 25. All I see when I look at those listings is a walking skeletonat at a sale barn or a sheriff calling me about an emaciated old horse someone doesn't want in the next 12 to 24 months. Stop kidding yourselves that someone is going up care for your old horse. 9 times out of 10 they won't. Let it die fat, happy, safe, and with YOU.

Bernadette was a free kid's horse, given away. Turned out well right? Moses was at a gymkhana last summer doing leadline, his owner a self professed trainer and rescuer. Again story book ending. Lily, a champion endurance horse given to a family for a special needs boy... came to us 2 years later a bcs of 1 and was said to be blind and crazy (she was neither). I can go on... twenty stories come to mind. Even an old horse we offered to take, who's owner sent it instead to a kid's camp in the mountains... we didn't get that one in time she died the day we picked her up. Owner was shocked. How could this happen? Well it happened because you gave away your old horse. So stop it. Right now. Can't afford to put it down? Call me. We will help.

But for the sake of your horse, don't give your old horses away!

ADS Rulebook Glossary

 ADS Rulebook Glossary

Criteria for inclusion in the Rulebook Glossary:

1.       The word or terms must be or have been published in the ADS Rulebook

2.       Definitions to be approved by the ADS Technical Committees for inclusion in the Official Glossary

 

Article 2 Definitions of Terms

For the purposes of ADS Driving competitions, events and clinics and the rules thereof, the following definitions are commonly understood to mean as follows:

 

ADS	refers to and denotes only The American Driving Society, Inc.
Attendant
Carriage Dog	A dog, riding on the vehicle, serving as a companion
Class	An activity by Entries, judged according to criteria specified in the ADS Omnibus or Rulebook.
Coach Dog	A working dog accompanying a coach
Combination class–	A class in which a horse is driven for a portion of the class and ridden for a portion of the class.
Combination hunter	A Single horse entry to be shown in two or three successive sections: in harness, under saddle, over fences
Combination hunter	A Single horse entry to be shown in two or three successive sections: in harness, under saddle, over fences
Competition	The competitive activities of Divisions/Classes or combinations thereof within the Event/Show.
Competition age	Human -  the age of an individual reached during the current calendar year. (See: Horse Age ) Junior – Unless otherwise defined: Competition age under 19. Adult – Competition age 19 and over. Junior A – competition age: 10 and below. Junior A drivers must be accompanied by a knowledgeable adult horseman at all times. Junior B – competition age 11, 12, 13. Junior B drivers must be accompanied by a knowledgeable adult horseman at all times. EXCEPTION: Junior B drivers competing with a single Very Small Equine (VSE) turnout in a securely enclosed arena need not be accompanied by a knowledgeable adult horseman unless required by the organizer. Junior C – competition age 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Junior C drivers competing with a single horse/pony turnout at their discretion need not carry a groom/passenger unless required by the competition.
Competition Age, Horse	minimum competition age, Multiples - restrictions are applied considering the age of the youngest horse. Combined Driving - four years Dressage - three years Pleasure Driving - three years Recreational Driving – three years
Competition knowledgeable person	A person generally accepted as having experience in competition rules and procedures. Not necessarily licensed by any association.
Competition participant	Anyone who rides on a vehicle or assists an entry at any time during a competition
Competitor / Athlete	The person identified as the Driver on an Entry Form
Concours d’Elegance	An award or class in which a turnout representing the most elegant effect, to include vehicle, harness, appointments, horse(s), driver, passengers, grooms, etc., but above all, general impression is most important.
Course	A series of obstacles or gates that a Turnout must navigate, usually companied by a published navigational map. Dressage Tests, Reinsmanship Tests are not considered Courses.
Disability	Physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which may hinder [a person's] full and effective participation as a participant on an equal basis with others
Dismounting		The deliberate or accidental departure of an Athlete or Groom from a vehicle
Dispensation	The suspension or modification, issued by the ADS, of certain rules or requirements of competition
Disqualified	Prohibited from taking any further part in the Event or winning any prize; may be required to forfeit all prizes won at the event
Division	a group of Entries, combined according to various criteria, including but not limited to driver and/or horse, experience, configuration, turnout, animal size, animal or driver gender, vehicle style, breed, etc.
Draft	a. Draft Pony – Under 14.2 hands, approximate weight less than 1200 pounds b. Draft Small – 14.2-16.2 hands, approximate weight 1200-1600 pounds c. Draft – over 16.2 hands, approximate weight greater than 1600 pounds
Driver	The Competitor or Athlete controlling the reins and whip and brake
Eliminate(d)	Prohibited from taking any further part in a class or competition for contravening the rules; not eligible for an award in that class or competition See: Art 208; the entry remains eligible to compete in the remaining competitions of the show. May be applied where no other specific penalty is prescribed.
Entry	A turnout participating in an event or show, usually defined by the Organizer as the combination of the horse, vehicle and driver
Event/Show	the entirety of activities, classes, competitions or combinations thereof, commencing and concluding as defined by the Organizer in the ADS Omnibus
Excuse(d)	Must leave the competition as instructed by the ringmaster or judge.
Groom	A member of a turnout capable of rendering assistance
Headgear	protective headgear that meets the recommendations of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF); helmet
Horse	In a general sense, any equine
Judged	Participating in a class at least to the point when results have been officially determined by a judge
Knowledgeable adult horseman/competition knowledgeable/technically qualified	for Junior A and B Drivers, may be the groom, when one is required, or may be an additional person – in which case that person is subject to the same requirements and penalties as a groom
Livery	Stable Livery consists of one of the following: (1) A conservative suit, white shirt, dark tie, derby, dark shoes and leather gloves. (2) A conservative jacket, jodhpurs or drill trousers, jodhpur or paddock boots, white shirt, stock or four-in-hand tie, leather gloves, derby or conservative cap. (3) Hunting attire with a hunting derby or bowler.   Full Livery consists of:  a close-fitting body coat with buttons of yellow or white metal to match the furnishings of the harness used (if possible), white breeches, black boots with tan tops, white stock, black top hat and brown leather gloves. The color of the coat remains the owner’s preference, but preferred colors are conservative in nature and, where possible, complementary to the color of the vehicle.
Maiden, Novice, Limit, Open	Pleasure Driving: see Article 214 ; Combined Driving: see Art 913.3
Management	The person(s) responsible for organizing and running the competition.
Measurement Card	An ADS Form recording the official height on an equine
Must, Shall	When the terms “must” or “shall” are used in these rules, and no penalty is prescribed, any competitor who fails to comply MUST BE SEVERELY PENALIZED by the judge.
Official	Judge or Technical Delegate who is eligible to officiate at ADS Recognized Events
Omnibus	list of the details of a competition or event;  prize list if one is published.
Pony	Combined Pleasure
Prohibited, not permitted, mandatory, obligatory, required	When the terms “prohibited,” “not permitted,” “mandatory,” “obligatory” or “required” are used in these rules, any competitor who fails to comply MUST BE ELIMINATED or DISQUALIFIED by the judge, unless another penalty is stipulated
Retire	An entry not wishing to continue in any competition for any reason may leave the competition; although not eligible for an award in the competition from which it has retired, the entry remains eligible to compete in the remaining competitions of the show.
Salute		The acknowledgment by an athlete of the presence of a judge or other persons performed as described in the rules.
Should	When the term “should” is used in these rules, any competitor who fails to comply SHALL BE PENALIZED AT THE JUDGE’S DISCRETION.
Showgrounds		All land used for the Competitions comprising the Event, and areas for exercising and warm-up, stabling and the parking of trailer, Carriages. A showground is a place where driving-related events occur.
Sporting tandem	See Art 229
Test
Turnout	The combination of driver, horse(s), groom(s) and vehicle entered in a competition.
Warning Card	A notification issued by a competition official to any competitor, participant or official for improper conduct or for non-compliance with the rules of the ADS. See ADS Policies and Procedures – Warning Cards
Withdraw	An entry not wishing to continue competing for any reason may withdraw from the show.

The following are definitions currently in the 2022 rulebook and probably can be scrapped.

 

From 2022 Rulebook

Children – See [FEI] General Regulations Appendix A – Definitions

 

Entry – In Driving, the unit composed by the Athletes (Drivers), horse(s), Groom(s), harness and

Carriage appropriate to the turnout as defined in these Rules.

Event Official – See [FEI] General Regulations and Annex 3.

Horse – Refers to a Horse or Pony authorized to compete under [FEI] Chapter 6.

Junior – See [FEI] General Regulations Appendix A – Definitions

Organizing Committee “OC” – See [FEI] General Regulations.

Period of an Event – See [FEI] General Regulations Appendix A – Definitions

Schedule - the list of times and dates at which actions of an event are intended to take place

Turnout – A Carriage with the Horses, harness, Athlete and Grooms.

Young Drivers – See [FEI] General Regulations Appendix A – Definition