Delta Dressage Association hosted a clinic with Jeff Moore at Barbara Marshall’s luxurious facility in Eads, TN on March 24-28. Andrea Lugar graciously made the arrangements with Moore, her long-time trainer. On Saturday and Sunday he paused from teaching to give a two-part lecture from 10 am to noon on “Is it me or the horse?”
Moore’s perspective on dressage is from the French system, which starts with balance and lightness. His analysis of the rider’s influences on the horse, and the horse’s response to those influences, is very methodical – using lists to separate and categorize each part.
Moore described himself as a “backlash teacher. The usual method is to say something like ‘put your leg here…’ but do you ever think why that needs to be done?” Moore studies closely the relationship between horse and rider and the horse’s basic thinking. “When you’re trying to do a movement and it isn’t working, blaming the horse and/or the rider doesn’t work in solving the problem. It’s not that simple!”
Moore offers considerations “to keep in mind to become a thinking rider. Horses don’t want to please (or dis-please) us. They do whatever works for them! Horses have no idea what we want – no foreknowledge or agenda or plan of the day. Horses care about “when am I off the hook?”
Moore says, “Most riders lack even basic knowledge about human and equine biomechanics and most riders lack a ‘system.’” To help riders establish a system, he begins with lists – particularly his basic “life lists for horses and riders.” The starting point, as would be in any multi-variate analysis, is to separate the issues, prioritize the issues, and recognize what the horse is doing, what the rider is doing.
Next, it is important to develop empathy, or horse-think. Moore is always interested in the learning process of animals. “Figuring out how a horse’s brain works is hard for humans. It’s easier if you have experience with other animals, e.g., livestock. Horses think linearly. Humans don’t do this well, but we need to if we are to deal with horses effectively. We already know what’s wanted, but the horses don’t. Horse’s can’t look at a goal and find an alternative way to get there. We need to get in the horse’s mind set.” Again, he emphasized – think in terms of lists.
“Biomechanics is not something riders are usually taught. Sports people and riders want the latest technology of devices, saddles, etc., but not the latest in thinking techniques.” When teaching students, he asks ‘What did you just do?’ and has the student analyze and explain. Riders must be able to give accurate influences to the horse. “It takes many repetitions to ‘install’ something, get a task accomplished. It takes even more repetitions to ‘uninstall’ something.”
So, in communicating with the horse, Moore says, “Imagine being in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language. Others are trying to convey something to you; you don’t understand; so they get louder, more in your face, and faster! And you still don’t understand! That’s what humans do to horses. It’s important to find the horse’s speed of learning.” So slow down – slow your thinking process.
The rider having the proper physical requirements is key (another list): balance and position (proprioception). “Proprioception is an important part of any sport – knowing where your body parts are in space and time. How much pressure are you applying? Light? Heavy? How do you measure pressure?” Moore uses a produce analogy.
Suppleness is another term riders often confuse. “Suppleness is the range of motion, not fluency of operation,” Moore explained. “It is the ability to increase your range of motion.” He called for a volunteer from the audience and asked her to touch her toes, which she easily accomplished. Then he asked her to touch her toes, keeping her back arched. Impossible!
Strength: how strong do you need to be to ride? “Strength in the core is most important, yet women usually lose core strength more easily than men do. So you don’t need bigger biceps or thicker thighs to ride well.”
Other physical necessities are: motor skills, i.e., coordination. Stability: Moore described three versions – longitudinal, lateral, and rotational. Elasticity is another term that people misconstrue. “Elasticity means the tendency to return to its original form after changing form. It’s not slack, saggy, or Raggedy Ann style. “
Moore described the physical influences of the rider: rein effects: “keep contact, release, turn head, turn head and possibly chest.” Legs: “one at a time, say go or go sideways.” Lateral displacement of weight, or center of mass, and control of the saggital plane. These are the axes; the frontal plane is perpendicular to the saggital plane. Riders need to have control of these, such that the frontal plane must never twist.
After considerable explanation of the physical elements, Moore turned to the Approach to Training list. “Technique is always first,” which includes the rider’s body function and use and timing of aids. Second is tactic, which includes exercises to help the training. Third is psychology of training; reward is how the training is accomplished. “Secession of aids lets the horse ‘off the hook,’ to be left in peace for a moment, which is what the horse is looking for.”
In analyzing how our training and riding methods are working, “We have expressions that describe sensations, but have nothing to do with fact,” Moore said. Then he mentioned several commonly heard expressions about what the horse is doing and asked the audience, “fact or sensation?”
Evaluating the horse’s responses: is the horse uneducated, just doesn’t know, or got the wrong end of the stick, meaning he tried but misinterpreted the intent? One must distinguish between non-response and wrong response. Also take into consideration the horse’s conformation, personality, and background. Moore explained the difference between character and temperament: “Character means goodwill, quality of kindliness. Temperament means liveliness or lack thereof.”
Moore’s home base is Osierlea, a private dressage training establishment in north-central California, near the village of San Juan Bautista. His training philosophy is clearly outlined on his website at: http://www.osierlea.org/Philosophy.html. Start with life lists, then read his psychology of learning list, biomechanics of the rider and biomechanics of the horse lists. These will give you a basic overall view and explanation of his training system.
Moore’s perspective on dressage is from the French system, which starts with balance and lightness. His analysis of the rider’s influences on the horse, and the horse’s response to those influences, is very methodical – using lists to separate and categorize each part.
Moore described himself as a “backlash teacher. The usual method is to say something like ‘put your leg here…’ but do you ever think why that needs to be done?” Moore studies closely the relationship between horse and rider and the horse’s basic thinking. “When you’re trying to do a movement and it isn’t working, blaming the horse and/or the rider doesn’t work in solving the problem. It’s not that simple!”
Moore offers considerations “to keep in mind to become a thinking rider. Horses don’t want to please (or dis-please) us. They do whatever works for them! Horses have no idea what we want – no foreknowledge or agenda or plan of the day. Horses care about “when am I off the hook?”
Moore says, “Most riders lack even basic knowledge about human and equine biomechanics and most riders lack a ‘system.’” To help riders establish a system, he begins with lists – particularly his basic “life lists for horses and riders.” The starting point, as would be in any multi-variate analysis, is to separate the issues, prioritize the issues, and recognize what the horse is doing, what the rider is doing.
Next, it is important to develop empathy, or horse-think. Moore is always interested in the learning process of animals. “Figuring out how a horse’s brain works is hard for humans. It’s easier if you have experience with other animals, e.g., livestock. Horses think linearly. Humans don’t do this well, but we need to if we are to deal with horses effectively. We already know what’s wanted, but the horses don’t. Horse’s can’t look at a goal and find an alternative way to get there. We need to get in the horse’s mind set.” Again, he emphasized – think in terms of lists.
“Biomechanics is not something riders are usually taught. Sports people and riders want the latest technology of devices, saddles, etc., but not the latest in thinking techniques.” When teaching students, he asks ‘What did you just do?’ and has the student analyze and explain. Riders must be able to give accurate influences to the horse. “It takes many repetitions to ‘install’ something, get a task accomplished. It takes even more repetitions to ‘uninstall’ something.”
So, in communicating with the horse, Moore says, “Imagine being in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language. Others are trying to convey something to you; you don’t understand; so they get louder, more in your face, and faster! And you still don’t understand! That’s what humans do to horses. It’s important to find the horse’s speed of learning.” So slow down – slow your thinking process.
The rider having the proper physical requirements is key (another list): balance and position (proprioception). “Proprioception is an important part of any sport – knowing where your body parts are in space and time. How much pressure are you applying? Light? Heavy? How do you measure pressure?” Moore uses a produce analogy.
Suppleness is another term riders often confuse. “Suppleness is the range of motion, not fluency of operation,” Moore explained. “It is the ability to increase your range of motion.” He called for a volunteer from the audience and asked her to touch her toes, which she easily accomplished. Then he asked her to touch her toes, keeping her back arched. Impossible!
Strength: how strong do you need to be to ride? “Strength in the core is most important, yet women usually lose core strength more easily than men do. So you don’t need bigger biceps or thicker thighs to ride well.”
Other physical necessities are: motor skills, i.e., coordination. Stability: Moore described three versions – longitudinal, lateral, and rotational. Elasticity is another term that people misconstrue. “Elasticity means the tendency to return to its original form after changing form. It’s not slack, saggy, or Raggedy Ann style. “
Moore described the physical influences of the rider: rein effects: “keep contact, release, turn head, turn head and possibly chest.” Legs: “one at a time, say go or go sideways.” Lateral displacement of weight, or center of mass, and control of the saggital plane. These are the axes; the frontal plane is perpendicular to the saggital plane. Riders need to have control of these, such that the frontal plane must never twist.
After considerable explanation of the physical elements, Moore turned to the Approach to Training list. “Technique is always first,” which includes the rider’s body function and use and timing of aids. Second is tactic, which includes exercises to help the training. Third is psychology of training; reward is how the training is accomplished. “Secession of aids lets the horse ‘off the hook,’ to be left in peace for a moment, which is what the horse is looking for.”
In analyzing how our training and riding methods are working, “We have expressions that describe sensations, but have nothing to do with fact,” Moore said. Then he mentioned several commonly heard expressions about what the horse is doing and asked the audience, “fact or sensation?”
Evaluating the horse’s responses: is the horse uneducated, just doesn’t know, or got the wrong end of the stick, meaning he tried but misinterpreted the intent? One must distinguish between non-response and wrong response. Also take into consideration the horse’s conformation, personality, and background. Moore explained the difference between character and temperament: “Character means goodwill, quality of kindliness. Temperament means liveliness or lack thereof.”
Moore’s home base is Osierlea, a private dressage training establishment in north-central California, near the village of San Juan Bautista. His training philosophy is clearly outlined on his website at: http://www.osierlea.org/Philosophy.html. Start with life lists, then read his psychology of learning list, biomechanics of the rider and biomechanics of the horse lists. These will give you a basic overall view and explanation of his training system.
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