Xenophon's Basic Training Principles
A friend gave these to me the other day. It was so refreshing to be reminded that these principles are as true today as they were thousands of years ago! Nothing about the horse has changed!
1) Your horse should be your loyal friend, not a slave!
2) Give its training as much attention as if it were your own son.
Make sure that both body and soul of your horse are carefully trained.
It should excel both in it's capacity to perform and its reliability.
Imprinting and influencing its charater should be particularly important to you!
Begin to imprint it whe it is only a few days old to deeply trust you, respect you and obey you.
Make your horse be philanthropic! It should downright love you.
3) Teach it to love work and to voluntarily obey!
4) Be cautious and considerate of its needs!
5) Do everything in your power to understandably communicate with your horse/
It shjould understand your "language"! Rewarding and punishment are the only instruments
needed for its upbringing. But rewarding is absolutely the first priority. Reward every special
performance and every progress in learning - the best way to reward it is to give it a break or
stop work!
6) Don't bore your horse! Vary the work, offer the horse a variety if stimuli. Don't ride it only on the
track, but also train it in the open country, jump it and take it hunting.
7) Work on training your own body and character! Make an effort to obtain a correct seat,
independent of the movement of the horse, which allows you controlled guidance of the horse in
every exercise, tempo and terrian. Your hand should on no account disturb the horse's mouth!
Train yourself to remain calm in all situations and to control your emotions. Leave no space for
fits of rage!
8) Realize that the exercises in high school dressage are not tricks you can teach your horse to do
with the help of unnatural means of coercion. rather, they are a horse's form of impressive self-
expression, shown to other members of its species when it is especially excited.
9) Your horse should experience joy in its work and movements, adn its posture should reveal its
enthusiasm.
10) Don't try to collect and elevate your horse bridling it strongly backwards or using other means
of coercion. Ride decisively forward with lightly applied reins, giving them in at the right
moment.
1) Your horse should be your loyal friend, not a slave!
2) Give its training as much attention as if it were your own son.
Make sure that both body and soul of your horse are carefully trained.
It should excel both in it's capacity to perform and its reliability.
Imprinting and influencing its charater should be particularly important to you!
Begin to imprint it whe it is only a few days old to deeply trust you, respect you and obey you.
Make your horse be philanthropic! It should downright love you.
3) Teach it to love work and to voluntarily obey!
4) Be cautious and considerate of its needs!
5) Do everything in your power to understandably communicate with your horse/
It shjould understand your "language"! Rewarding and punishment are the only instruments
needed for its upbringing. But rewarding is absolutely the first priority. Reward every special
performance and every progress in learning - the best way to reward it is to give it a break or
stop work!
6) Don't bore your horse! Vary the work, offer the horse a variety if stimuli. Don't ride it only on the
track, but also train it in the open country, jump it and take it hunting.
7) Work on training your own body and character! Make an effort to obtain a correct seat,
independent of the movement of the horse, which allows you controlled guidance of the horse in
every exercise, tempo and terrian. Your hand should on no account disturb the horse's mouth!
Train yourself to remain calm in all situations and to control your emotions. Leave no space for
fits of rage!
8) Realize that the exercises in high school dressage are not tricks you can teach your horse to do
with the help of unnatural means of coercion. rather, they are a horse's form of impressive self-
expression, shown to other members of its species when it is especially excited.
9) Your horse should experience joy in its work and movements, adn its posture should reveal its
enthusiasm.
10) Don't try to collect and elevate your horse bridling it strongly backwards or using other means
of coercion. Ride decisively forward with lightly applied reins, giving them in at the right
moment.
No comments:
Post a Comment