Get Effective!!! Classical Dressage, Natural Horsemanship, Riding Lessons, Trick Training, Ground Work, Mustang Gentling...
It's all about relationship
Welcome
Here at Rudy Horsemanship we train horses using classical dressage and natural horsemanship- we believe horses should "Ride Like a Dressage Horse and Handle Like a Ranch Horse!" We bring out the best in young horses whether we are preparing them for warmblood inspections and dressage careers, or for an amateur trail rider, or a Mustang Makeover. Great training requires great horsemanship whether you wear a cowboy hat and wranglers, or top hat and tails.
We teach riders to use their seat. A strong seat is the best tool a rider can have! When I give a child their first riding lesson, I make sure she learns to use her seat aids and develop feel for the horse. When I teach middle-aged lesson students, I make sure they are secure physically and emotionally to empower them to be a good leader for their horse. We also make sure our rider’s understand horse psychology, timing and feel, and how to develop the horse’s mind and body. We are blessed to have students that love and respect their horse, and would prefer to develop their horse in a slow healthy way.
What is Classical Dressage? The word dressage is a French term that simply means “Training.” Dressage masters have been training and developing horses for use as riding horses for thousands of years. A young horse needs to learn how to be ridden. When we sit on the horse, we put weight on his back muscles which causes him to contract and tighten his back. This is not healthy for him or comfortable for us! Early lessons for the young horse involve teaching him to accept our aids and our weight. We encourage him to stretch towards the bit, which lengthens his neck and lifts his back in a relaxed natural way. ALL riding horses need this elementary training to be sound, comfortable, and healthy. To further develop the dressage horse we teach him to bend evenly in both directions and to push evenly with both hind legs. We do lateral movements so we can control the shoulders and hindquarters with more precision. This makes our horse a joy to sit on as he becomes more athletic and buoyant in his movement. Advanced dressage lessons for the horse shift his weight more over his hind legs which makes the horse cat like in his movement. Not only can he start and stop, and turn on a dime, but he is so tuned into his rider’s seat that the rider feels like the horse is an extension of her own body. Dressage is for every horse and every rider. Not everyone wants to compete in dressage shows, but anyone who rides should want to ride a horse that has been developed properly as a riding horse and as an athlete.
What is Natural Horsemanship? Natural Horsemanship is the long fancy term for horsemanship, but the term has stuck, so we’ll use it. Many people think of natural horsemanship as specifically addressing the horse’s emotional and mental state through ground lessons. (Aka, break out the rope halter and fiberglass stick.) When we get a horse in training that has emotional or leadership issues, or needs retraining, or has simply not had a lot of handling, then we definitely start on the ground and will use obstacles, flagging out, and other stimulus to address the horse’s issues directly. But horsemanship does not always look that way. Good horsemanship might mean practicing good trot serpentines at the beginning of your ride because one of your short term goals is to introduce your horse to counter canter by cantering a very shallow serpentine. Good horsemanship is being able to read your horse, and developing good feel, and making sure your tack fits. Good horsemanship is knowing when to give your horse the time to figure it out, and when to give him a whack. (This indeed, may be THE determining factor that makes a good horseman!) Natural Horsemanship doesn’t mean you own a round pen-it means you put the horse’s mental and emotional needs before your performance goals.
Stop in often at the website and the barn- we are happy to have visitors watch our training sessions. Just give us a call...
Danee 717-623-3409
Davin 717-623-3492
