Introduction
On the 9th and 10th of May, I was fortunate enough to be able to audit a two day clinic with Bent Branderup in Ostertal im Odenwald, a picturesque valley south of Frankfurt.

The clinic was run with three theory sessions, and three riding sessions. There were eight horses, some of which had particular conformational or mental difficulties (e.g. a 'nervous' friesian, an 'hysterical' mare, a horse that was only worked in hand due to heart problems, and a horse that had a deformed front leg from a paddock accident). There was also a horse being prepared for a stallion licensing, and one being trained up as a higher level school horse in attendance.

Some of the riders worked bareback, some in 'traditional' english riding tack, and some rode one handed from a curb bit only. One horse was ridden in a Hackamore; apparently any bit in its mouth (of any material) causes its mouth to swell up.

I found the work with the WB with the deformed leg to be the most impressive; this horse is being worked to try to get it to use its body in such a way that it carries as much weight on its hind quarters at all times. The idea is that the strength that it builds up should help it in the paddock as well, and to try to keep the horse sound for as long as possible (e.g. for a long and healthy life). This horse looked very soft to ride, and its training to date seems to be very successful. This horse is starting to work on piaffe.

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Theory 1

When you are educating a horse, you should know for what purpose you are educating him. There are no real jobs for horses any more, but there are huge range of activities such as racing, jumping, dressage, pleasure riding, western riding etc etc. Training that is applicable for horses being used for one purpose may not be appropriate for horses working in another area. Too many people don't know what they want, but whatever it is, they want it now.

The aids should be used in such a way that they can help the horse – if not now, then in the future. It is possible to use a tap on the shoulder as an aid for a pirouette, but this aid won't allow you to help the horse in the future if it's hind quarters fall out when performing the movement because you can't support the back end with an aid on the shoulder. However, for carriage horses, aids on the shoulder might be appropriate.

You should be cautious in how you interpret texts of the old masters. For example, Steinbrecht (Gustav Steinbrecht, The Gymnasium of the Horse) talks about forward and straight. To Steinbrecht, forward means that the hind foot falls in front of the position that the front foot has just left; straight means that even when moving sideways, the hind feet should not fall outside the horse's body.

It's good to read books, but you need to understand what they mean.

Bent Branderup ideally wants the hand to do little, but has found it difficult to get his students to follow this advice. So, he has decided to take a different approach – the students should use the hand to place the horse's head. Can you get the horse to put its head where ever you want it at any time (even when the horse is afraid of something)? If the answer is “yes”, then the horse is with you.

If the horse is afraid, then his head is up in the air like a giraffe, looking around.

The horse in the wild has his head down eating for approximately 16 hours a day. However, having his head on this level is too low for movement.

So, we need to find a middle place (a 'golden middle point'). This point is dependant on the relationship between the spine and the hind quarters, and on how 'educated' the horse's spine and hind quarters are.

We also want to make sure that the horses throat is open so that the salivary glands are not compressed and blocked. Horses produce around 15L of saliva every day, and we don't want to damage this.

The reason that we want to place the head is so that we can move the spine, and through that, get to the hind quarters.

Many horses in modern dressage are like Porches with VW engines installed in the back. When you look at pictures of the trot, the parallel movement of the legs has been lost (the back leg is 'slow', or 'behind') – you have lost the engine.

The back foot should reach forward and press down. The force (weight) is carried via the hind quarter to the spine, and from there forward.

When BB places the horse's head somewhere, he looks at the position of the spine from the poll, to the shoulder, and back.

The spine lies in the middle of the horse's shoulder. If too much weight is being placed on one shoulder, we can fix it.

The forces carry through the spine to the pelvis. In moving, we want the horse to step under himself, to carry the weight. His inner hip should move a little more inside than his outer hip.

Longer horses will tend to show more movement of the pelvis, and shorter horses less; this doesn't matter, the important thing is that the movement is there.

We would like the inner hoof to fall approximately underneath where the rider sits i.e. under the centre of gravity (CoG). If this point is where the horse's centre of gravity is naturally, then the horse will be very easy to work with. If the foot doesn't naturally land under the place that the rider will sit, the horse will be a little more difficult to train.

They need to learn to step under where the rider sits. BB prefers to call it 'stepping under' rather than 'over track', as he thinks the expression is more descriptive.

Bent's first concern is the inner hind leg; it doesn't matter if the legs move everywhere and look flashy and impressive – they must carry the rider. After concerning ourselves with the inner hind leg, we look to the inner hip, which should have a circular movement: forward down and rear up. Not all horses have this, and they will tend to shuffle/push (schieben) – this is not so bad for carriage horses, but not desirable in a riding horse.

What we see with the eyes, we also need to see with the seat, that is, you need to be aware of every movement through your seat (where are the hind legs in the walk? Trot? Where is the back? Etc).

The word Schwung is often falsely used – it needs to refer to the swing of the back, not the swing of legs.

If you press your left seat bone into the saddle, the horse should make the left side 'hollow' – the rib cage is rotated by the hips.

Many horses learn that if a rider pulls on the left rein, they can stiffen the right muscles to support themselves. We want to use an inner rein and have the outer muscles stretch – then we sink our seat bones a little, the inner hip moves forward, the rib cage rotates and the inner hind leg can move forward actively.

On an educated horse, we can slightly vibrate the inner calf, and the horse will 'bend' around it. A young horse doesn't understand that there is a different leg aid for 'go-forward' and 'bend'.

In every movement (except the airs above the ground, where both hind legs do the same thing simultaneously), the seat bones move 'back and forth' with the hind legs – otherwise, how can the rider feel the movement of the hind quarters?

The first rule (in sitting on a horse) is not to disturb the horse. It doesn't matter how pretty the rider looks on a horse, if they hinder it, they have a bad seat. An ugly seat that is used to good effect and is effective is a good seat.

We might want to use a light seat, particularly on a young horse, but this doesn't mean that you have no seat. Your seat bones are not on the horse's back, but your thighs are still on the horses rib cage (so you weight is shifted a little forward, and your weight is on your thighs). Be careful when riding in a light seat, as it is quite possible (and easy) to ride a horse out of balance.

The thigh can have the same influence as the seat, or even more due to the fact that its effect is applied from a distance.

The thigh can do more for the rotation of the ribs than the calves.

Ride from the inner thigh to the outer rein. The horse's lower jaw needs to move, but don't let your outer hand block it. This is another reason that Bent likes to use a cavesson, so as not to block the jaw and tongue of a young horse.

You should try to observe horses when the are free in nature, and feeling proud. These biofunctions are what we are trying to emulate in training. A horse that is tense and scared under a rider may perform the movements we ask for, but it is not the same.

The horse must be able to produce saliva with a bit in its mouth. If it can't, then it is a 'dead' mouth.

The bit that requires the smallest amount of saliva to lubricate it (and make it comfortable in the mouth) is a smooth metal bit. Sweet iron is not quite as good, but also ok (and BB uses it on some horses). Rubber and leather (?) bits are not quite as good, as they need more saliva to protect the mucous membranes.

The horse also needs to be able to swallow the saliva. If the hand of the rider is too heavy, the bit will be pressed onto the tongue, and the rider will have inhibited one of the horse's natural functions. We can't avoid it totally, unfortunately.

A foreign object in a horse's mouth is always hard. It is therefore important to concentrate on the other end – the hands – to ensure that the horse is as comfortable as possible.

Whilst the idea of 'hands without legs and legs without hands' is generally a good one, don't make it a religion – there are always exceptions in life.

If we lift the horse's head a little up and out, the spine is stretched a little, and the centre of gravity of the horse will be shifted slightly back.

When we ask for collection, the inner hind steps under the horse's centre of gravity, the back swings, the rib cage swings up, and the head and neck are raised via the shoulder-rib muscle connection.

In some horses today, we see very big shoulder muscles in the horse from lifting the front feet, but comparatively weak hind quarters (which indicates that the horse doesn't move from behind). The poor rider pulls their hands back, compressing the neck and spine. A horse that moves forward in this manner will tend to push its legs really forward, and quite straight, and they will often 'flutter' a little. You will tend to observe this in horse's that have lost their regularity and the correctness of their gaits (I.e. in the trot, the hind leg moves 'slower' than the front leg, and there is no 'parallelity' between the forward and rear legs). Moving in this way tends to cause lots of shocks through the legs and spine.

Working in long reins gives the horse a frame (like a picture frame) to work within. Work in hand has the same effect on the horse as if a rider was on the horse's back. When working in hand, a neck strap (as is often used on horses that have just been backed) may be used – pulling the strap up slightly will encourage the horse to lift the neck and shoulder.

The difference between a classical and modern rider is the effect on the shoulder that they have with the rein.

The horse should be in front of the seat and between the reins.

Bent won't get on a horse that doesn't have steering, gas and brakes installed – it is not necessary to do so.

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Riding Block 1

During the riding sessions, he made use of flexions – moving the horse's head slightly to a position where the inner eye was in-line with the inner hip, and at approximately the point of the shoulder. This was done on the ground; and then with a rider on the horse – when the rider was on the horse, they shifted their seat bone lightly as well. The inner rein was left on the neck. When the horse relaxed in this position (to one side or the other) the rider was asked to give the aid to move off on that hand.

An exercise that was asked of every rider was to say out loud when the outer hind was in the air - “from now 'til now”. This was to encourage the riders to be aware of where the hind legs were, and what they were doing.

He commented that very many breeders don't ride, which is a shame, as they are in the business of producing ridable horses.

The canter aid for a 'campaign horse' is applied with the inner leg. For a school horse, we teach the horse to canter with the outer leg, as we will use the inner leg more for lateral movements.

Ride the inner hind into the trot. When making a canter-trot transition, try to keep the energy and momentum of the canter in the trot.

The shoulder in is the first step to the art of riding. It is a movement that is as old as the art of riding, and opens the door to moving each hind leg at will, and therefore to the higher levels of equestrian art.

You should begin trying to 'control' the hind legs from the start of the training, however – when you ask for a 'walk on', tap the desired hind leg and it should be the first to move forward first.

If you are working in-hand, you can hold the whip vertically where the rider's leg would be as a visual reference for where the hind leg is stepping under.

To learn lunging, walk on a circle then make the circle larger. On the lunge, the trot to halt transition, we want the horse to stop on the hind quarter, not on the shoulder. And we really don't want them to stop by turning around on the forehand to look at the handler.

Remember to use the whip to the girth as a support for the 'leg', and to the neck to keep the horse out (support the circle). The whip in front of the horse for 'stop', and behind the horse to drive it on. Sending a wave through the lunge line also tells the horse to do something with its head and neck, e.g. up, down, fwd, back.

Putting a young horse on the lunge teaches him to bring his inner hind under him. When he can do it naked, put a saddle on him. When he can do that (balanced etc), but a rider on, and work again. You teach him to use his hind quarter on both sides.

The months that we put into the horse on the lunge at the beginning can save years at the 'other end'.

Made great use of shoulder in and croup in (traverse), both along the long sides of the arena, and on the circle.

One method of teaching a canter pirouette is to practice croup in at canter on a circle. As the horse becomes stronger, spiral in; eventually you have a canter pirouette.

It is a good exercise to swap from shoulder in to croup in on a circle at all paces (walk, trot, canter). Croup in is an exercise for a freer shoulder.

Muscles on both sides work together, but we focus a little more at the start on stretching the muscles of the outside of the horse.

Riding with one hand – flying changes can be a bit trickier to do. On an educated horse, you can turn your hand over.

In the walk, when the inner hind is in the air, the rider's seat bone is at the highest point.

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Theory 2

We have the first effect of the direct hand – as seen on the ground. We need to watch the entire horse, to see what we do that has a positive effect on the horse.

If the hind feet are working better, you will see the effect in the front, and vice versa. Everything hangs together.

If it looks nice, but doesn't work properly, then it is wrong. (e.g. some examples in dressage competition).

If I want something (some change) from the head, I want it to make the hind end easier.

If the horse ignores the rider, it is bad luck (for the rider).

If I do work on the head and neck, I need to be careful, as anything can be done wrong.
When teaching a horse flexions, don't stress the horse. If placing the head doesn't work at the start, use a treat.

When doing any training, take into account where you are; the horse needs to learn to trust the handler in all situations.

Domesticated animals have has some of their instincts removed, and ca. 20% of their brain power. Horses are not (in general) stupid animals.

Bent likes to look at how horses interact in a herd situation. He prefers to work with horses that are bold and smart.

A five year old stallion from the wild (if you can find one) is the easiest to train once you have got his trust. (He is confident, and has learnt to 'be a horse').

He also prefers to have smaller rather than larger horses (with all else being equal), and buys horses that he likes and enjoys working with.

Bent spends time making sure that his horses enjoy their work and environment, without stress. E.g. go into the arena, walk around, have a treat and go back to paddock.

Horses and handlers are both trying to communicate in a foreign language. The handler must be the teacher (of the language). The horse knows what to do, but we need to teach him the 'language' so that he can do these things on request.

After the horse has been taught the basic language on the lunge, the rider gets on. You start to expand on the language – e.g. the rider uses his leg when the whip is pointed at the leg.

If you want to, you can do everything on the ground (including piaffe, pasage etc) before a rider gets on the horse's back.

Bent thinks that in general, the quality of trainers today is so low because the quality of the horses is so high. To be able to train an average horse to perform well takes a good trainer.

Bent likes to see his students improve 'bad' horses, e.g. building muscle on happy horses, even if they don't 'do' anything.

He feels that a poorly moving animal in the wild become targets, as they are seen as weak. He has seen one horse who was strengthened, and whos movement was improved by work increase its position in the herd from 'outcast' to one of the highest horses.

A good seat is one that can improve the horse's movement, and follows the horse's movement. An ok seat is one that doesn't negatively effect the back.

The difference between 'forward' and 'quick forward' is how far the hind legs move forward. In 'forward', the leg itself moves further forward, in 'quick forward' the legs shuffle forward faster.

The rider needs to be able to feel where every leg is at any time.

The idea of the half halt is to move the centre of gravity aft.
If a horse is working collectedly, the rider:

can move their stomach and hand forward, and the horse's head will move forward (as will the horse's CoG).
Can open their hands, and the horse will be lighter in the hand.

The curb chain works on the jaw, which works on the poll for a change in the head position.

When we try to lighten the front of the horse, we are really asking the horse to use the hind quarters to lighten the front. To have this lightness, we also need the ribcage to raise.

The saddle shouldn't position / hold the seat – the seat should place the saddle. The saddle shouldn't move if the girth were removed. The Chicos in Hungary, for example, often ride without girths. The girth is just there to make things safer, and to help a rider with getting on if they need it.

At the beginning, when we start to ask for collection, only ask for moments of collection until the horse has built strength.

Exercises such as shoulder in and traverse are very good, as they allow us to have the hind leg available when we want it.

Bad movement, and poorly executed movements, can build more muscle than if they were performed correctly. Not all muscles are necessary.

A horse should be able to do a walk on the spot (like piaffe) even though it has no name. They should also be able to do a school walk and school canter, even though they are not required in the tests.

The levade is an extreme case of the half halt – the horse is very light at the front.

Terre a terre is a true canter as both the hind legs go forward at the same time.

A school trot with more collection is a piaffe. With more swing, it is a passage.

Horses need to be led by someone that can lead. It is like dancing with a man that doesn't know the steps and doesn't lead; the woman can lead, but she may not enjoy it as much.

The riding art is not about dominating the horse, it is about leading it, and the horse wanting to be led.

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Riding Block 2.

Piaffe to canter to piaffe is an exercise that can bring more energy and collection.

Transition to canter from croup in.

Look where the horse is looking, with your shoulders parallel to the horse's shoulders, and your hips parallel to the horse's hips.

Travers used to be used to position a rider so that they could use a weapon without the horse's head being in the way. Bent spent quite a bit of time with one rider, getting her to pretend that her whip was a 'lance', and using traverse to try to 'get him' whilst he was moving around. The improvement in the horse/rider was remarkable.

For one mare (described as 'hysterical'), performing haunches in from one side to the other down the centre line (with the smallest amount of haunches in) was used as a preparation for flying changes.

Another exercise to prepare the mare for flying changes was swapping from shoulder in to traverse on the wall. (?)

For the same mare, traverse on a circle was used at the walk with the circle spiralling inwards. At one point, the shoulder has to move more than the hind quarters, and you have a pirouette. The same was to be done in canter, but be cautious – just because you can do something at a walk doesn't mean you can do it at a canter. The horse needs to build strength.

A correct canter pirouette has 8 steps, geometrically equal. This is from the training of campaign horses. At any point in the pirouette, you should be able to move forward RIGHT NOW.

The grey horse, worked in hand only (due to heart problems): The neck strap is used to lift the spine in the neck by pulling up, which is more effective than any bit.

In older literature, when they say reins (as in 'use the reins'), they mean the effect of the reins on the neck. When they say use the hand, they mean the effect of the hand on the bit.

When Baucher says 'the hand', he means 'the left hand'.

In old times (the 1600s), they used to have knots or bosses on the reins to act on the neck. These can still be in south America, where they have kept a lot of the traditions from the 1600s (brought over by the Spanish).

If a horse goes behind the vertical as an evasion, try to activate his inner hind leg and send him forward to put him back in front of the vertical.

If that doesn't work, try giving him all the rein and activating his hind leg again.

You need to feel the horse through your seat. Use your eyes to observe what he is doing. Use sound to hear (are the foot falls even? Is he louder with the front or hind feet? Or quiet with all?)

Check the arena once you have finished riding. It should be fairly flat still, not full of little 'granade' holes from foot falls.

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Theory 3

Normally in riding, it is the person that needs to physically change, and the horse needs to change mentally, not vice versa.

Remember that good teachers tend to have good students. You need to teach the horse to learn and find a connection to the horse. This is one of the most important lessons of 'natural horsemanship'. Many people today are no longer raised with horses (or any animal), so this is an important lesson for many people.

So, if you weren't raised with horses, you might need to learn how to make this connection.

Originally (in riding art), a horse was well trained and well mannered. For example, a horse could be harnessed to a carriage by one person (which is often not the case today). Horses were required to stand still during mounting, something that many, many horses cannot do today.

The horse 'kindergarten' is teaching the horse to learn in a fun way, and usually involves the headstall, leading etc.

Horses should want to be with you, and hopefully enjoy the work. Otherwise, look for another job for the horse.

You should start with exercises that the horse can solve immediately, such as putting his head down and then get a reward. The horse gets the idea that he can solve lessons. Bent doesn't want a horse that thinks he can't solve the lessons.

Education of horses is a one on one education, therefore, the education can be individually tailored for every horse.

We want the horse to think that he is Mr. Universe, and to let him keep this pride. Show the horse what he can do, not what he can't.

Sometimes the mental problems are the hardest to solve. If the horse has a conformational or physical problem, we can work around it (without making the situation worse).

Building muscle takes a few months only. However, the suppling and strengthening of the ligaments and tendons takes years. The horse will look different in a few months, but there is still (strengthening) work to do.

Many people have no respect for their horses. If you fear your horses, then you do not respect them – and the horse will not respect you.

A horse that has been educated out of fear cannot be trusted, and would be useless in a fight.

The respect needs to be a two way street – the horse needs to respect his handler as his teacher, and the teacher needs to respect his student.

It is easiest to get respect from a horse when it has been raised in a herd, as they learn respect there. We can't set our small physical self against the horse, we need to use our minds.

Many people today find unnatural movement beautiful. Pluvinel wanted natural movement. Napoleon would have won at Waterloo if the German's rode then as they do now. Their horses would have broken down due to the unnatural movement.

Look at the horse's personality. Does he have fear? Love? Curiosity? Introversion?

Feed the horse yourself, if you can. Very often, the way to a horse's 'heart' is through his stomach.

You need to teach a horse to feel 'rewarded'. Horses don't have 'reward' in the herd, so he needs to be taught. Some horses can feel 'rewarded' by pats and scratches, others need tidbits.

There are many horses that want to do the right thing for the owner all the time; the owners of such horses are very lucky.

Getting off the horse once it has done something good can be a good form of reward, especially if you are in the arena. It is not quite as interesting for the rider if you are in the middle of a trail ride, however.

When you go to work with your horse, you need to know what you are going to teach today. This must be in relation to the total lesson plan, and what we did yesterday, and what we will do tomorrow. You can't ride yesterday, or tomorrow – only today.

You should redo the basics every day.

But make sure you think what the horse CAN do today. What did you do yesterday? Did you give him some new work that may have given him muscle cramps? Then make today easier, and work different muscles.

Do try not to give a horse sore muscles, this can be detrimental. A nice horse with muscle pain will still try to do what you ask from him, but often the work will be wrong. Not all riders will notice that things are not right, and you have taught the horse an evasion.

If you have achieved what you wanted to achieve, stop for the day. Due to human nature, this can be difficult, especially when one horse holds all your 'dressage dreams'. It is not so difficult if you have numerous horses to work every day.

Build all exercises on something that the horse already knows.

If we had a perfect horse (from a book), we would only have to teach it the aids. Real horses need to be built up to carry a person.

When we are working with the horse, it is something like a dialogue, but a little bit more like a monologue. We ask the horse, and the horse should say 'yes'.

Just because some people have good manners, it doesn't mean that they are cultivated. It might be a facade. We can see this very clearly in how they treat weaker things, such as horses.

Every rider is his horse's teacher. You can't avoid this. You are never 'just' a rider.

As a rider, you can't buy results. You can only pay for some one to supervise you whilst you learn. Many people think that they can buy results.

You learn everything from theory or observation, you have to be able to do it and understand it, and then do it again. Other wise it is just theory.

Bent hopes that we can take his words and try to get some understanding from them. We 'know' what we have to do, but might not necessarily be able to do it just yet.

The best learning comes from hours in the saddle. As we can't (in these modern times) spend as much time in the saddle as our ancestors, we need to study the theory to catch up. For example, a Vaquero might be able to do a flying change, but he can't necessarily tell you how he does it.

We need to learn what the tools are and how they work, and then we can learn how to use them. If we are lucky, our students will become artists.

There are many instructors that like to keep their students 'dumb', as they think that this will keep them in work. This is stupid.

Those that give instruction must be able to formulate their ideas and knowledge. This can help the instructor himself, as you really need to know your stuff. It can also help an instructor as you look at a student and think “what would I do?”, suggest it to the student and see what works for that horse and rider combination.

An instructor should never criticise a student even though there might be experts watching the ride. You need to encourage your students, not embarrass them; the opinions of observers shouldn't matter. And in the same vein, you shouldn't let a lesson become a show.

As a rider, don't ride for those watching you, ride for yourself and your horse at every point.

Magpies will chatter anyway.

We need to push the boundaries in order to progress; pushing the boundaries is not always 'pretty', but then we should always go back to harmonious work.

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Riding block 3

As a rider getting on a horse that you don't know, you should never just get on after tightening the girth. If the horse is cold backed, you'll end up on the ground.

When riding a shoulder in and changing to traverse, the inner seat bone stays in the same place.

When you are riding shoulder in, make sure that you are not going sideways like a crab at the North Sea.

A horse is not necessarily collected when it is going slowly, only when there is more weight on the hind quarters.

Lean forward in a canter for a 'campaign' canter, and lean back for a school canter, like on a rocking horse.

Normally 7 km/hr is the relaxed working walk, this is another remainder from the campaign horses (from German officers moving regiments from place to place). When working cattle, this is normally done in a trot with some canter manoeuvres, thus the working trot and canter.

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Conclusion

It is permitted to deceive a judge or and audience in a dressage test, but do not try to deceive yourself.

If we want to ride, we need to have the tools and know what we are trying to achieve (e.g. train a dressage horse, or a jumping horse etc).

There is no longer any 'right' or 'wrong' way in riding, there are only different choices. Bent encourages his students to use different methods.

If you choose to following the 'riding art' path, then your goal is to make the aids invisible. This is communication at the highest level.

You should be able to move your stomach and effect the horse.

If you are trying to show the communication that you have with a horse, it is very difficult, as you are trying to show a feeling.

Try to aim for harmony with your horse. Disharmony is ok in music, or dance, or art, but not with a living being.

Bent wants to promote the art of riding, but also promote its usability in the sport of riding.

Today, we are allowed to ride; the old masters had to ride.

Often, people have strong opinions grounded only in belief. It is a shame that those that actually know are often insecure and quiet, and vice versa. Be open for everything, and be open for development (new theories etc). Even if you don't agree with someone, you may still be able to learn something from them.

Don't ever feel so secure in your knowledge that you shut yourself off from learning.

Passion to learn, and patience are the most important components of the riding art, and you need to have both.

It is human nature to chose challenges in life. Many people chose a challenge that is fairly easily attainable. When they have achieved their goals, they look for a new challenge.

But with the riding art, it is very difficult to attain perfection. As soon as you have 'climbed one peak', there is another in front of you. You just need to make sure that you take the time to have a break and a breather, to ensure that you have the energy to continue.