Andreas,
I was reading some excerpts from de la Gueriniere's "Ecole de Cavalerie" and ran across a passage which made me stop and wonder about how the stallions are trained at the SRS. The passage was this:
"It is a principle to which all experienced masters subscribe that a horse should never be galloped before having been suppled with the trot so that it neither bears on the hand nor pulls at the reins. One must wait, then, until the horse is supple in its entire body, trained to the shoulder-in and the croup to the wall, and is accomplished in the piaffe between the pillars; and as soon as it has reached this point of development, it will perform the gallop willingly without much coaxing."
If I understand this correctly, it sounds as though de la Gueriniere is saying not to canter the horse until it is thoroughly developed in collection. Am I misunderstanding this? It could be that I am reading the passage entirely out of context as all I have are excerpts rather than the whole text. However, it got me wondering -- Is this something the SRS has ever practiced?
Thank you, in advance!
Hi, I am obviously not Andreas. But, I believe I can answer your questions. You have not misinterpretted the quote from de la Gueriniere or taken it out of context. I have two different translations of his book and they read very much the same with only minor differences in the English wording chosen by the translator. It is clear from the context that he intends to postpone cantering a horse until he has obtained full collection at the trot. That is not what they do at the Spanish Riding School. Young horses are ridden calm forward and straight in all three gaits for about 2 years before they begin serious collection. However, they do seem to apply the first part of de la Gueriniere's criteria: they have the horse supple at the trot wihtout leaning on the bit or pulling. I hope that helps John
AntwortenLöschenTotally correct John (Cordova)!!! La Gu챕rini챔re made a big change in the training of horses at his time. Great masters at his time abused horses to an extand that horses got injured at the training. Nobody in our days can imagine the cruelty in their methods. La Gu챕rini챔re changed that totaly! Not even that, he changed also the riders seat. He created new saddles to fit the new seat.
AntwortenLöschenI published the article, but I do not know why all those signs like Sorry for the inconvenience! Atjan
AntwortenLöschenWow! Thanks for all the info, you guys! I find the training practices at the SRS to be a subject of much interest. ~Equus
AntwortenLöschenIf you are interested in the training practices at the School, there are some resources that are readily available: "Complete Training of Horse and Rider" - a book written by the late Director Podhajsky is still in print and costs about $15 in the US. "The Spanish Riding School: Four Centuries of Classic Horsemanship" ISBN 0070259844 - a book written by Podhajsky's successor Col. Hans Handler - out of print - it used to be high priced (over $100) because it's something of a collector's item but many libraries in the US have been selling off their copy. So, you should be able to find a copy for $25 - $50. If you go to a book search site such as BookFinder.com, it will show you copies offered by used booksellers around the world. Personally, I would not buy a used book in "Acceptable" condition. I would select one in Good or Very Good condition. There should be some in the $30 - $50 price range. Lots of photos and diagrams to clarify the text. I included the ISBN because there is a book with only the photos by the same author & photographer with nearly the same title... The DVD/Video lessons by retired First Chief Rider Arthur Kottas. These are readily available through tack shops, equestrian bookshops, and Ashanti Farms (A US farm that hosts clinics with Kottas. They are on the web) Clinics with the current riders from the School. They teach clinics using the same techniques they use at the School even though the riders and horses range from beginners to FEI level professional trainers. Andreas does clinics here in Seattle WA, Carmel CA and Santa Fe NM. The lessons are expensive but well worth the money. Auditing is a realtively inexpensive way to go. All the hosts welcome auditors. Most of us who ride in the Seattle clinic also watch most of the other lessons because we can learn by watching what Andreas does with the other riders. I am sure that an auditor who pays attention would get a lot out of watching lessons with Andreas.
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