Equiosity

Sound horses - that's what we all want. The question is does your riding contribute to keeping your horses sound? That means so much more than fit. It means are you riding in such a way that your horse will be stay sound well into his twenties? Anja talks about classical dressage and the role that it plays in developing a horse's balance for the good of the horse. This is followed by a discussion of her work between Alexandra and Dominique.

This episode begins a very special series. In July I attended Anja Beran’s Annual International Workshop. I was accompanied by eight other clicker trainers. At the end of the week Anja sat down with us for an evening of questions. I began by asking Anja for her definition of classical dressage. From there the conversation ranged over a variety of questions, including one from Heather Binns on the use of bits, spurs, and whips.

I know many in the clicker training community are unequivocally opposed to the use of these tools. But when you hear Anja’s explanation of how she uses these tools it, it may not change your mind for your own practice, but it may help you to understand why others choose to use them.

This is a double decker episode. Dominique was not able to join us for the interview, but I wanted her reaction to Anja’s interview. When she first heard Anja talking about bits and spurs, she sent me a distressed email. Why are we presenting this interview? She had heard similar words from other trainers. Everyone says whips are arm extenders, but what she has seen is at some point they aren’t used to just point, they are used to hit.

The words she was hearing at first made her very uncomfortable. She was not at the Workshop so she had not watched Anja Beran’s training as I have done now over three years. She has not seen the horses nor has she experienced what I also know - you can ride horses into soundness. But after listening to Parts 2 and 3 of the interview, Dominique came to understand that Anja Beran very much shares our ethical foundation. The welfare of the horse sits first and foremost at the center of her training.

This is an important interview. I feel very privileged that Anja spent so much time with our group. It was a great pleasure to spend the week watching her beautiful horses. It is important to preserve classical dressage. It is part of our riding heritage and there is much that can be learned from the old masters that is of benefit to our horses. I hope you enjoy this interview series with Anja Beran.

We've been visiting with Becky Chapman, a classical dressage riding instructor, biomechanics coach, and clicker trainer. Last week Becky shared with you the story of Mack. We should have warned you in advance that tissues would be needed. From triumphs to tragedy our horses take us on quite the journey. But as Becky said so beautifully, better to feel the sorrow than never to have known our beloved horses.

We also met Philly, her daughter’s pony, the horse Becky rode through classical dressage master, Philippe Karl’s teacher instructor program.

And now in this final installment of our conversation with Becky we are meeting the newest addition to her equine family, Rosie, an off the track thoroughbred.

We conclude our interview with Becky Chapman with a discussion of the key components that are central to the training programs we have each developed.

Becky Chapman is a biomechanics coach and classical dressage trainer. She runs a training facility in Suffolk, in the UK. All the horses in her yard are clicker trained. Last week you heard about Becky’s simulator.

It’s a wonderful machine. I remember during one of my visits Becky and I spent a morning exploring the single-rein riding techniques that I teach. It was fascinating to see what the computer was telling us as we made small changes in the way the rider used the reins. It was so much fun to see the details of the single-rein riding confirmed by the simulator.

The simulator veered us off into Becky’s current coaching. My next question brought us back to horses and the story of Mack, the horse that took Becky to the prestigious Horse of the Year show.

This is Part Three of our conversation with Becky Chapman. Becky is a classical dressage riding instructor and biomechanics coach. She is also a clicker trainer. Becky has been sharing the journey which brought her to clicker training. Last week you heard the story of Gazelle, a mare who introduced herself to Becky by rearing up and falling over sideways. Becky still bought her and tried to turn her into a riding horse.

She had two major falls from her that resulted in serious injuries that required long recovery times. In an odd way these injuries turned out to be a good thing. The long recovery gave Becky time to study subjects that were outside the normal British Horse Society teaching curriculum that had been her original formation.

After she recovered from the second fall, she began riding with Mary Wanless. Becky described Mary as a very experienced biomechanics coach who approaches horse instructing with a physicist’s brain.

Becky’s interpretation of Mary’s work is that most riders are part of the problem. So the question is how do we help riders to become part of the solution? That’s the question we’ll be exploring as we rejoin the conversation.

In June Alexandra Kurland was visiting with Becky Chapman. Becky runs a training facility in Suffolk, in the UK. One evening they sat down together for what turned into a long and fascinating conversation. In Episode 1 Becky shared her early steps into the horse world. We stopped just as she was about to introduce us to Gazelle, and the drama that came with her. This episode jumps back in where we left off.

Becky Chapman is a classical riding instructor and biomechanics coach. And she is also a clicker trainer. In June she joined us for a three hour conversation that ranged over many topics. We've divided it into five episodes. In Episode 1 Becky shares with us how she got started with horses. Becky is a great story teller. Her background is one that is shared by many of us who have always loved horses and who know about the drama that horses often bring with them.

We’re continuing on with our conversation with Ann Edie. Ann is blind. She uses a miniature horse named Panda as her guide. Last week we stopped at a point where we were asking Ann about the transition from command based to cue based training. This isn’t something that is unique to using a guide horse. If you have come to clicker training from traditional training where you have been told you have to get tougher with your horse so he’ll respect you, this question will resonate with you.

We’re continuing on with our conversation with Ann Edie. Ann is blind. She uses a miniature horse named Panda as her guide. Last week Ann and I talked about why we were interested in training a guide horse. Panda’s training has turned her into a super "tour guide". She's so good at her job Ann is learning much more about the neighborhood she lives in. That’s where we stopped, so that’s where we’ll pick up in this week’s conversation.

Last week we began a conversation with Ann Edie. Ann is blind. Instead of a dog, she uses a miniature horse named.

We’ve been talking a lot about cues in the recent podcasts. There is no better way to illustrate the concepts we’ve been exploring than to talk about Panda’s training and the job she does for Ann.

As we normally do, we’ve divided our conversation up into smaller segments. This is part two of that larger conversation. We began last week with the contrast between command and cue based training. We’ll begin here with a question Dominique asked about why Ann chose Panda as her guide.