William Micklem's Posts - Barnmice Equestrian Social Community2024-03-19T10:14:32ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklemhttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2187917421?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://www.barnmice.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=3oc3j3a5h05tx&xn_auth=noWilliam Micklem asks IS THIS A MAGIC SUIT OF CLOTHES?tag:www.barnmice.com,2010-08-08:1773158:BlogPost:2634162010-08-08T07:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB">Dublin show at the Royal Dublin Society in Ballsbridge is the centrepiece and driving force for many in the Irish Equestrian community. It is so dominant in our culture that people just talk about it as ‘the horse show’, despite the fact that there are…</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">Dublin show at the Royal Dublin Society in Ballsbridge is the centrepiece and driving force for many in the Irish Equestrian community. It is so dominant in our culture that people just talk about it as ‘the horse show’, despite the fact that there are approximately another 2,000 annual horse shows<br/> in this extraordinary horse loving country.<span>yes""></span> The horse show is five life enhancing days of equestrian celebration. It caters for every type of horse and pony, with the traditional show hunter championship still generating special interest despite the competition from the high level show jumping on display in two arenas from 8 o’clock in the morning till 7 o’clock at night. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br/></span> It is five days of bowler hatted stewards, huge rosettes, ladies in silk and not a little retail therapy; five days of glamorous international riders, visits from our President, Mary McAleese, and huge cheers for the winners of each and every class. It is without doubt one of the really great horse shows of the world.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">This year there is a special visitor doing daily demonstrations in one of the sand arenas in Simmonscourt …. none other than Monty Roberts, the young horse guru. I will probably upset some people because I do not think we need a visit from Monty at this time. Yes he has generated publicity for the show and yes without doubt he makes many more people think about how they<br/> communicate with their horses, but it ignores one central fact…it is not fundamentally difficult to get on a horse’s back. What is difficult, or what requires real expertise is to put a horse between the aids, using their backs and going in such a way that they are prepared to carry a rider.</span></p>
<p>HE IS NOT THE HORSE WHISPERER</p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">Monty’s often used mission statement is that he wants “to take the violence out of horse training.” An admirable statement that the vast majority of us can buy into without difficulty. However in the process he is disingenuous by suggesting that most horses are treated brutally and have their spirits broken by ignorant handlers. This is as untrue as the clever linking of his name to the well known film ‘The Horse Whisperer.’ The horse whisperer was based on the work of Buck Brannaman, who was also</span> <span>the lead equine consultant for the film, and</span> <span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">still teaches and rides brilliantly in the USA. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br/></span> This has been confirmed many times by the author of the horse whisperer, Nicholas Evans, but no one has heard it from Monty’s lips.</span> <span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Evans himself said, <i>"Others have falsely claimed to be the inspiration for Tom Booker in The Horse Whisperer. The one who truly inspired me was Buck Brannaman. His skill, understanding and his gentle, loving heart have parted the clouds for countless troubled creatures. Buck is the Zen master of the horse world."</i></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">There is little need to get on a horse’s back in record time….and there is little need for Monty Robert’s quick mount trick. There is however a great need to prepare a horses for being ridden so that they can cope with the weight of the rider without dropping and locking their back and becoming an inefficient athlete. <b>None of my young horses are ridden away until they first go in a connected and quality way on the lunge.</b></span> <span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">Yes the rider should be introduced earlier, sometimes much earlier, but riding a young horse that is not connected back to front does little except<br/> establish bad habits and a poor way of going. Unfortunately the work of Monty Robert encourages the riding of young horses at too early a stage, when they have neither the physical preparation nor way of going to cope easily. It is therefore often counterproductive and harmful to their future development.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">THE REAL NEED</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">So where is the priority need for education? Unfortunately too many Irish horses are still harmed by early days with riders who do not have the expertise to ride a horse between the aids with a ‘classical’ progression and rely instead on the quick fix of gadgets to pull the heads in unnaturally. These people urgently need education on lungeing and riding techniques that will give more horses the chance of an easier and more effective way of going when carrying a rider.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">Monty Robert's method is not unique. My own Father Dick Micklem used a very similar method, learnt from the Argentine polo players in the late 1940’s. However he only used it on the horses that had learnt to buck people off having been badly handled by others. As he said himself <i>“for the majority of horses getting on their backs is easy. What you need to spend the time on is giving them a ‘mouth’ and getting them to ride well.”</i></span> <span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">So Monty Roberts is rather like the King in his magic suit of clothes. One day we shall realise he is naked!</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">ONWARDS! William</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">http://www.WilliamMicklem.com</a></p>William Micklem offers TEN MORE LITTLE BEAUTIEStag:www.barnmice.com,2010-08-01:1773158:BlogPost:2617132010-08-01T21:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-top:2.0pt;mso-add-space:auto; text-align:justify;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ver1</span></span> <span style="font-family:Verdana"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">-</span> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The spring of a superb piaffe.</span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Spring is so important in performance horses. It is seen in horses that use their backs and is shown by lightness of step with a short stance time and<br/> anaerobic ‘fast twitch’ muscle use. Ironically in striving for power and forwardness this spring and coiled connection is often lost.</span><br/></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-top:2.0pt;mso-add-space:auto; text-align:justify;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ver2</span></span> <span style="font-family:Verdana"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">–</span> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hearing a horse breathe.</span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Horses can easily hold their breath in walk and trot, and they do hold their breath when tense and when not coming through in their backs. Then, when well ridden or lunged, and just as they are about to come through, they groan and breathe and possibly blow their noses.</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Just as with a human in good posture/form and with good use<br/> of their spine their breathing becomes regular and deep from within. A great tip is to canter a horse that is holding their breath. In canter a horse is forced to breathe every stride and afterwards will then often keep breathing better in walk and trot. So for those evaluating fitness counting the rate of breathing in canter is meaningless as they breathe in time with the stride. You have to wait until you return to walk.</span><br/></span></p>
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<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-top:2.0pt;mso-add-space:auto; text-align:justify;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><b><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ms3</span></span></b> <span style="font-family:Verdana"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">–</span> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Seeing a rider smile .</span> <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">‘</span></i></b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The one who smiles is the one worthwhile’</span></i> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">they say and how true it is. Of course some smiles just take place internally and are shown by a deep contentment and<br/> being at peace with the world.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-top:2.0pt;mso-add-space:auto; text-align:justify;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ver4</span></span> <span style="font-family:Verdana"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">-</span> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Feeling a horse smile.</span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Horses can also smile internally and a rider or trainer who has empathy can feel and hear this smile.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-top:2.0pt;mso-add-space:auto; text-align:justify;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ver5</span></span> <span style="font-family:Verdana"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">–</span> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Watching a horse consume fresh grass.</span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The best and most natural food for ponies and horses is grass….strange how we forget this. Yes we are often short of grass and good grazing but this should not stop us trying to ensure that our horses always have some grass to eat as it really is the basis for good horse nutrition and the greatest preventative for colic. This is also why hay is so important and more important than hard food/concentrates.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-top:2.0pt;mso-add-space:auto; text-align:justify;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ver6</span></span> <span style="font-family:Verdana"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">–</span> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hearing students come up with new ideas.</span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is such an important part of becoming an independent rider.</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Much more important to come up with ideas, even if some are<br/> proved wrong, than come up with no ideas because you are afraid of being wrong. I would never have achieved 90% of what I have done in my life if I had been afraid of new ideas and asking questions…..and I would never have invented the Micklem bridle.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-top:2.0pt;mso-add-space:auto; text-align:justify;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ver7</span></span> <span style="font-family:Verdana"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">-</span> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Watching a horse being lunged in a Micklem bridle.</span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I have no embarrassment in saying this. It is not about patting myself on the back, instead it is about comfort for the horse. There is simply not a more comfortable lunge cavesson for your horse and it works wonderfully as I show almost every day with all my young horses….and yet it is also the bridle you then ride away in.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-top:2.0pt;mso-add-space:auto; text-align:justify;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ver8</span></span> <span style="font-family:Verdana"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">–</span> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Watching a child rise to praise.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Praise must be honest praise but how very powerful it is to tell a child “that was the best you have ever done”, or “you deserve a medal for your effort and determination”, or “you did that well, just like an Olympian.” Working from the positive and from what a child can do, as opposed to what they cannot do, is a golden key for long term achievement.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-top:2.0pt;mso-add-space:auto; text-align:justify;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ver9</span></span> <span style="font-family:Verdana"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">–</span> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Watching a horse rise to praise…</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">..but can they hear your praise? See below.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-top:2.0pt;mso-add-space:auto; text-align:justify;text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ver10</span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">–</span> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hearing a “thank you.”</span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Saying thank you when thanks are due means so much to those that hear your thank you.</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thank you to a car driver that slowed down or moved out to<br/> give you more space. Thank you to a helper for doing a good job. Thank you to your horse….and you can teach your horse a cue that says thank you and yes that was the right response, but that does not mean chattering to your horse or slapping them on the neck thinking that it must be obvious to them that you are pleased. You have to teach your horse to hear your thank you and hear your praise.</span><br/></span></p>
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</div>MANDIBA LEADS AT REBECCA FARMS CIC W 3*tag:www.barnmice.com,2010-07-24:1773158:BlogPost:2591322010-07-24T07:30:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p style="text-align: left;">After the dressage my home bred hero Mandiba leads the World Cup 3* event at Rebecca Farms in Montana....congratulations to Karen O'Connor and all her team....while his full brother High Kingdom, with Zara Phillips aboard, is in 12th place after the dressage in the Advanced division at Aston Le Walls in England and like his brother goes cross country today. Their half brother Tredstep…</p>
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<p style="text-align: left;">After the dressage my home bred hero Mandiba leads the World Cup 3* event at Rebecca Farms in Montana....congratulations to Karen O'Connor and all her team....while his full brother High Kingdom, with Zara Phillips aboard, is in 12th place after the dressage in the Advanced division at Aston Le Walls in England and like his brother goes cross country today. Their half brother Tredstep Boa, by the Irish Draught Sea Crest, was 5th in a CIC 2* in the UK recently and heads to Gatcombe Park next week where he will meet High Kingdom. Meanwhile yesterday another half brother by the Irish Draught Grange Bouncer was 4th in his Pony Club event against all comers with my son aboard! What a mare their dam High Dolly has proved to be....and I have a clutch of youngsters coming on from the same family....what a lucky man I am. ONWARDS William</p>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">http://www.WilliamMicklem.com</a></p>William Micklem offers TEN LITTLE BEAUTIEStag:www.barnmice.com,2010-07-23:1773158:BlogPost:2587202010-07-23T08:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB">So sad to hear that Oki Doki is no longer with us….who needs cheering up? The great thing about age is the ability to enjoy the little equine things that possibly were once hidden by the pursuit of rosettes in earlier days:…</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB">So sad to hear that Oki Doki is no longer with us….who needs cheering up? The great thing about age is the ability to enjoy the little equine things that possibly were once hidden by the pursuit of rosettes in earlier days:</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">1 – <b>Admiring the view. ‘</b></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">Snaffles’ the famous equestrian artist said that the view between a horse’s pricked ears was “the finest view in Europe” and this Argentine vista is also hugely impressive.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">2 – <b>Hearing my daughter’s pony nicker the moment I open the front door of my house in the morning."</b></span> <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">He is a 30 year old Kerry Bog pony, and a King among equines with enough enthusiasm and joie de vivre to brighten any day.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">3 – <b>Watching my daughter’s pony canter joyfully away into the field in the morning…..</b></span><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB">and then canter back in the evening.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">4 – <b>Finishing putting on a set of boots without putting my back out……</b></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">a healthy reminder that horses need good physical conditioning programs as young horses to build up their core strength and allow them ‘through’ in the backs.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">5 – <b>Watching a child hug their pony….</b></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">a huge benefit to both child and adult.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">6 – <b>Seeing a well fitting Micklem bridle ….</b></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">it is a source of pride to me of course but more importantly a source of comfort for the horse.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">7 – <b>Hearing a horse squeal on landing after a fence …</b></span> <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">and hoping that any subsequent joyful buck won’t unseat the rider!</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">8 – <b>Watching the owner’s face rather than the horse as the horse performs faultlessly in a special competition….</b></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">or similarly the loyal groom hiding behind a tent pole.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">9 – <b>Feeling the water on my face as I ride through leaves after a rain storm….’</b></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">soft’</span> <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">rain is a greatly underrated riding weather.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">10 – <b>Going to bed knowing that all the gates are shut.</b></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">Dream onwards! William</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">http://www.WilliamMicklem.com</a></span></span></span></p>SENSE & NONSENSE says William Micklemtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-07-17:1773158:BlogPost:2570672010-07-17T11:30:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p><br></br> Happy children and happy summer riding days. Full of friendship and partnership with both their ponies and other riders. How lucky these young riders are as long as they come under the wing of a good coach. A coach who fully understands that what children learn first tends to stay with them, just as with a young horse. So our young riders and young coaches need excellent coaches. They don’t need to be high-level coaches of elite performers,…</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img width="400" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2203032319?profile=RESIZE_480x480"/></p>
<p><br/> Happy children and happy summer riding days. Full of friendship and partnership with both their ponies and other riders. How lucky these young riders are as long as they come under the wing of a good coach. A coach who fully understands that what children learn first tends to stay with them, just as with a young horse. So our young riders and young coaches need excellent coaches. They don’t need to be high-level coaches of elite performers, they just need to be excellent at starting students off with sound, safe basics and opening the door to the joy of participation… and as ever simplicity and simple progressions are a golden key to achieving this.<br/> <br/> NONSENSE<br/> <br/> I try to concentrate on what is required rather than what is wrong, but on this occasion it may be useful to give a few examples of the nonsence I have heard recently being taught to young riders, still in the beginner and novice stages. They show no understanding of a simple and safe progression:<br/> <br/> <b>- Rising trot to control the trot speed</b> <br/> <br/> Riders who were only one step off the leading rein, and yet to established a consistent balance in rising trot, were asked to increase and decrease the speed of their ponies by rising for longer or shorter periods of time. This may be something that an advanced rider might use but it has no place in a beginner rider session. <br/> <br/> <b>- Driving with the seat</b><br/> <br/> It was suggested to riders from beginner level to Pony Club ‘C’ test level that they should drive with the seat to make their horses use the back. I would be delighted to hear how this works, especially with these novice riders who in the main have yet to learn to use the legs normally or have consistent rein contacts. This is a hangover from the dark ages of dressage. There is nothing about this in the Pony Club manual and as the dressage legend Reiner Klimke himself clearly stated “The main forward driving aids are the leg aids not the use of the seat.”<br/> <br/> <b>- Sitting trot with a long leg in jumping saddle</b><br/> <br/> It is obviously a priority to ride in such a way so that the ponies eventually come between the aids/through in the back. Endless sitting trot with a long leg in a jumping saddle with ponies/horses hollow in the back will never achieve this. It puts the lower leg too far back for the rider to be effective, as well as making it difficult for the pony/horse as the rider’s seat is further back than in a dressage saddle. With the rider bumping around it is counter productive in every way, so riding without stirrup irons in walk is all that is required for riders that tend to ride too short or are holding themselves away from their pony/horse.<br/> <br/> <b>- Half-halt</b><br/> <br/> The half-halt is not something that should be introduced to novice riders yet it was the major point of several of the flat work sessions for these novice riders, despite the fact that they has yet to learn to use normal small leg and rein aids. The rulebook says that a half-halt is ‘ an almost imperceptible coordinated use of the aids’, something simply not possible for any of these riders I watched. It is something for a Pony Club ‘A’ tester not ‘C’ tester and something that can only be introduced when the pony/horse is between the aids. <br/> <br/> <b>- Jumping with the wrong canter</b><br/> <br/> From the beginning it is possible to get approximately the right canter to jump with. The importance of using standard three and four stride related distances (starting with just planks on the ground) to establish the right speed of canter for a show jumping round is hugely important. With the right Direction and the right Speed there is the basis of a good round….and then it is all so very simple. <br/> <br/> Getting the right canter and speed goes in parallel with two other main areas, grid work to improve the rider’s position and the jump technique of their pony/horse, and fifth leg training to make sure the horse looks after the rider and themselves. The students need to become aware of this three pronged strategy and the reasons for doing this. <br/> <br/> <b>- Jumping with the wrong balance</b><br/> <br/> Of course I should have started with the balance of the rider as it is what the coaches should be starting with. But this is the most depressing and worrying subject for me to write about so I have left it till last! I see so many young riders sitting on the back of the saddle as they approach the fence, often with their coach shouting “sit up”, and then firing their upper body forward on take off as they try to stay with their pony/horse. Jumping like this will lead to a dead end of poles on the ground and riders having unnecessary falls.<br/> <br/> SENSE – WE OWE THIS TO OUR CHILDREN<br/> <br/> A still load is a light load and a consistent balance is required for safe and effective jumping. It is not possible to be in easy harmony when actually jumping the fence to have the seat in the saddle and no rider does this naturally. Therefore the balance to be established and key skill for jumping is to be easily able to ride with a light seat. This is why the rising trot balance is also such a key skill. So it’s simple ….teach a balanced rising trot with the seat just kissing the saddle and then with a steady pony/horse safe jumping is immediately possible. And yes it is done initially without a rein contact, with the rider holding on to the mane.<br/> ONWARDS…William<br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">http://www.WilliamMicklem.com</a><br/></p>Start Horse Jumping Safelytag:www.barnmice.com,2010-07-02:1773158:BlogPost:2512442010-07-02T08:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p>I never cease to be amazed about the 'S' word. A word that is so very powerful and very important in all areas of training. A word that allows accelerated progress and increased safety. The word of course is SIMPLICITY…..and contrary to what many say it is not that difficult to achieve, at least to a large extent. Just…</p>
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<p>I never cease to be amazed about the 'S' word. A word that is so very powerful and very important in all areas of training. A word that allows accelerated progress and increased safety. The word of course is SIMPLICITY…..and contrary to what many say it is not that difficult to achieve, at least to a large extent. Just reject the complicated, keep seeking to do less, use less equipment …..and run a mile from those who use the horse’s adaptability to construct a maze of weird and wonderful tricks and procedures, that may well achieve something worthwhile but will always restrict potential because they are too convoluted, difficult and time consuming. Many equestrian gurus build their reputation and career on such 'unique' but ultimately misleading training methods. <br/> <br/> <strong>PLACING PLANKS</strong><br/> <br/> Let me give some simple examples related to jumping: Firstly the use of a placing plank when jumping fences out of trot. It is both safer and more simple to use than either a placing pole or trotting poles. The use of a placing plank instead of a placing pole is not universal but it is undoubtedly safer for the horse, who can severely injure a leg when standing on a pole that rolls – particularly if the ground is fairly smooth and fairly hard. In addition it leads to less odd jumps as the plank stays in position even if a horse treads all over it. I have used placing planks instead of placing poles for many years, especially in a Pony Club and group ride situation and am in no doubt of their effectiveness. At last years British Horse Society Coaches Conference international show jumping rider and coach Tim Stockdale said the same thing. It is a simple measure that can be used immediately with no extra training requirement for the coaches and no disadvantages beyond the slight additional weight of a plank.<br/> <br/> It is obviously a standard procedure to trot to fences with young riders or young horses and at the start of many grids with all levels of horses. However, unless it is with more advanced riders or horses, this needs to be done with a placing plank so that the take off point can be almost guaranteed, making it so much easier for horse and rider. However I continually see riders trot to fences without a placing plank with the result that the horses take off point varies, making it difficult for the rider to 'stay with' their horse and avoid jabbing their horse in the mouth. This is not only counter productive for developing good jump technique but it leaves the rider in greater risk of a fall. <br/> <br/> Trotting poles can be used instead of a placing plank, but the extra poles are more of a complication initially and delay the process. Trainers say that you need rotting poles to ensure the horse stays in trot but I have rarely failed to get a tense or unsettled horse to trot to a placing plank by circling (approx 10m) both left and right in trot or walk in front of the fence until the horse is solidly in trot as they face the fence.. In addition I have proved on film that continually using trotting poles is not helpful in getting the two hind legs together on take off, which is a top priority, whereas using a placing plank is magical for doing this. Initially I usually start with the placing plank 3m from the fence and then slightly shorten it gradually to approximately 2.5m, depending on the shape of fence.<br/> <br/> <strong>HOLDING ON TO THE MANE</strong><br/> <br/> Another key simple technique for the rider is to hold on to the mane when jumping….as in the picture above. It is a simple and effective standard procedure with both beginner riders and with more advanced riders when jumping a fresh or young horse. Not only does this make the rider more secure but it stops the horse being jagged in the mouth. If continually jagged in the mouth most horses will end up refusing, or become hesitant on take off, both of which are so difficult for the rider to cope with and will leads to falls. The hands can be close to the mane about a third of the way up the neck over the fence, so it is actually easy to hold on without most people noticing. An alternative is to use a neck strap, but it is difficult to keep it far enough up the mane and to stop it spinning round the neck if the rider falls forward, so I prefer the mane…and once again it’s more simple.<br/> <br/> So I start by getting my beginner students to initially practise holding on to the mane and letting go without any jumps. Then do it over planks on the ground and then when trotting into fences. A simple progression = safety. Onwards. William<br/></p>
<div><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com" target="_blank">www.WilliamMicklem.com</a><br/> <br/><br/> <br/> <br/></div>A PROD UCT OF IGNORANCE says William Micklemtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-06-26:1773158:BlogPost:2499322010-06-26T20:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
<p>Last week I mentioned about the possible use of electric cattle prods on horses in USA rodeo shows. Over the next two days an extraordinary 27 people e-mailed to assure me that this practise no longer took place. I was heartened but not convinced. Then Barnmice received an e-mail from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) with an official statement entitled PRCA Livestock Welfare Statement – Electric Cattle Prod: <br></br> <br></br> <b>“PRCA rules allow for the use of a livestock prod as…</b></p>
<p>Last week I mentioned about the possible use of electric cattle prods on horses in USA rodeo shows. Over the next two days an extraordinary 27 people e-mailed to assure me that this practise no longer took place. I was heartened but not convinced. Then Barnmice received an e-mail from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) with an official statement entitled PRCA Livestock Welfare Statement – Electric Cattle Prod: <br/> <br/> <b>“PRCA rules allow for the use of a livestock prod as a safe, effective and humane way to move livestock. Additionally, PRCA rules allow the use of a prod to facilitate the safe exit from the bucking chutes for horses that may have the tendency to stall. In order for this process to take place the owner of the animal, the rodeo judge and the contestant must agree. <br/> <br/> The livestock prod is powered by flashlight batteries with similar stimulation as an electric livestock or pet fence and allows for harmless encouragement of the horse to leave the chute. It does not make a horse buck, nor does it effect the competition once the horse and competitor have safely exited the bucking chute.”</b><br/> <br/> A LOOK BEHIND THE WORDS<br/> <br/> So that’s OK then. They <b>do</b> use it, but it’s all about ‘animal welfare’, ‘safety’, ‘agreement’, ‘pets’, and of course not forgetting ‘harmless encouragement’. A lovely group of soft, cuddly words, ideal for sending a strong subliminal message that all is well in the world of rodeo horses. But let’s look behind these words:<br/> <br/> <b>“PRCA rules allow for the use of a livestock prod as a safe, effective and humane way to move livestock.”<br/></b> <br/> One of the first strategies for any debater or courtroom lawyer is to create a link by association to something that the audience will agree with. But it is nothing but a slight of hand that many will immediately see through. I am not talking about moving groups of livestock (cattle and pigs) in transit or on the farm, where the traditional method of using a cattle prod is apparently felt necessary and acceptable. I am talking about moving a single horse from the chute into a rodeo ring, with a sensitive animal who shows much greater reaction to such prods than cattle and pigs . It is no different from using an electric prod on Moorlands Totillas to get him into the dressage arena, or on Hickstead to get him into the show jumping ring….and who would find this acceptable? <br/> <br/> <b>“Additionally, PRCA rules allow the use of a prod to facilitate the safe exit from the bucking chutes for horses that may have the tendency to stall.”<br/></b> <br/> Facilitate is another gentle word…a great and important word for all coaches and trainers…but as used here it is a euphemism. In truth the word that should be used is forced….and I am reminded of Alois Podjaisky’s famous dictum ‘anything forced or unnatural cannot be beautiful.’ The attachment of the word ‘safe’ to exit suggests that otherwise the exit could be dangerous…but the horse knows well that the only danger and discomfort is after they have left the chute which is why they ‘stall’….another gentle euphemism for ‘dig their toes in and refuse to come out’ unless they are given an electric shock, which we all know horses hate. <br/> <br/> <b>“In order for this process to take place the owner of the animal, the rodeo judge and the contestant must agree.”<br/></b> <br/> I am sure the horses are comforted by this allusion that there is some independent monitoring going on here. It is a business and in order to get a return they are all dependent on the horse performing in the ring. They are dependent partners in the process. <br/> <br/> <b>“The livestock prod is powered by flashlight batteries with similar stimulation as an electric livestock or pet fence”<br/></b> <br/> This is stretching the meaning of ‘similar’ to the limit and the cosy mention of flashlight batteries is yet another slight of hand. 9 volt flashlight batteries even power stun guns! You have probably all heard of stun guns, which are used by the police and armed forces to incapacitate people. So quoting from my encyclopaedia… <i>“Conventional stun guns have a fairly simple design. They are about the size of a flashlight, and they work on ordinary 9-volt batteries. The circuitry includes multiple transformers, components that boost the voltage in the circuit, typically to between 20,000 and 150,000 volts, and reduce the amperage. It also includes an oscillator, a component that fluctuates current to produce a specific pulse pattern of electricity. This current charges a capacitor. The capacitor builds up a charge, and releases it to the electrodes, the "business end" of the circuit."</i><br/> <br/> Now an electric cattle prod is <b>NOT</b> designed to give this level of shock, but it is much more than a normal livestock electric fence, which would be bad enough anyway. The power source and use of a capacitor in these cattle prods is confirmed in the advertising for one of these gadgets: <i>"The Hot-Shot Power-Mite features 'Compact' Hot-Shot circuitry and capacitor discharge 4,500 volt prod. Uses two 9 volt alkaline batteries. Overall length 6 1/4 inches.<br/> Rodeos use the Hot-Shot device in defiance of the manufacturer's own recommendations: "The Hot-Shot Power-Mite livestock prod is designed, manufactured, and marketed for use to aid in the movement of cattle and hogs. Hot-Shot does not condone the use of the Power-Mite or any Hot-Shot electric prod for use on horses, including horses in a rodeo environment."</i></p>
<div><br/> <b>“and allows for harmless encouragement of the horse to leave the chute.”</b><br/> <br/> If it is harmless encouragement it would be in general use in other equestrian sports …it is not positive encouragement it is bullying. <br/> <br/> <b>“It does not make a horse buck, nor does it effect the competition once the horse and competitor have safely exited the bucking chute.”<br/></b> <br/> Once again the word ’safely’ tacked on to a misleading statement …the bottom line is that in many cases it makes the competition possible. Without it the spectators have an empty ring and no competition. Therefore it effects the competition directly. <br/> <br/> So strip away the comforting wooly overcoat from the PRCA official statement and this is actually what the PRCA are saying:<br/> <br/> <b><i>PRCA rules allow the use of an electric prod to force the exit from the bucking chutes for horses that refuse to enter the ring because they strongly dislike or fear being in the ring. The owner of the animal, the rodeo judge and the contestant are all complicit in this action. <br/></i></b></div>
<div><b><i>Using the same mechanics as a stun gun the electric prod is powered by 9 volt batteries and a capacitor which give the horse a powerful shock that makes the chute even less appealing to the horse than the ring. The competition could not take place without the horse leaving the chute, in which case we would all be out of a job.<br/></i></b> <br/> However possibly no one needs to be out of a job, because horses might be taught to buck and perform willingly without electric shocks and bucking straps, simply because most horses are fundamentally so willing and easy to train….if the trainers are knowledgeable, methodical and humane. This is up to the PRSA to prove possible.<br/> <br/> Nonetheless the e-mail response from the PRCA appears to be misleading and disingenuous. We all use horses, and by association with another equine organization that approves the use of electric prods in these circumstances we are all the poorer for it. We need to find our inner tiger and publicly reject the use of these devices and substitute ignorance with education. Onwards. William.</div>
<div><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">http://www.WilliamMicklem.com</a><br/> <br/></div>FIND THE TIGER WITHIN US says William Micklemtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-06-18:1773158:BlogPost:2464972010-06-18T07:30:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2203032033?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="265"></img></p>
<p>What do you do when a horse sport different from your own uses cruel methods? Be grateful that your own sport is humane and clean and turn a blind eye or do something about it?<br></br> <br></br> Of course what constitutes cruelty is often debatable. In my opinion the isolation of horses in single cells with minimum activity is cruelty, and I am not alone in having concerns about the mental abuse of horses in bad dressage, while others think racing over…</p>
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<p>What do you do when a horse sport different from your own uses cruel methods? Be grateful that your own sport is humane and clean and turn a blind eye or do something about it?<br/> <br/> Of course what constitutes cruelty is often debatable. In my opinion the isolation of horses in single cells with minimum activity is cruelty, and I am not alone in having concerns about the mental abuse of horses in bad dressage, while others think racing over fences is cruel. The current primary area of focus in the FEI cruelty arena is the use of performance enhancing or pain killing drugs, and the greatest interest in the public arena are the dangers to both horses and riders when going cross country in eventing. <br/> <br/> I happen to believe that the stable management and riding skills of those in eventing contribute directly and positively to the health and well being of thousands of horses and indirectly to thousands of others as these riders and trainers coach and influence new generations of event and pleasure riders….turning ignorance into knowledge and responsibility. In fact I believe it is difficult to find a sport which makes a bigger contribution to horse welfare than horse trials.<br/> <br/> I also believe that there is a difference between cruelty caused by ignorance and cruelty caused by deliberate violence…the conscious and obvious use of pain to elicit a desired response. The use of electric shock prods or nerve lines for example. Thankfully such instruments of torture are rarely used within the world’s horse population, however, whatever the sport, <b>if such methods are used they are damaging every equestrian sport by association.<br/></b> <br/> Therefore I was shocked to read of certain USA States banning the use of electric prods in the rodeo industry. If it is necessary to ban the use of electric prods then I assume there is evidence of them being used. Then I watched film footage on U Tube of rodeo horses apparently refusing to buck unless a prod was used. Look it up yourselves on U Tube under Born To Buck……..and I have a question? If these horses are ‘born to buck’ why are bucking straps needed?<br/> <br/> If we see or hear of the use of cruelty we need to voice our feelings and ensure the relevant competition organisation and/or National and International bodies police the situation and make it clear that such behaviour is totally unacceptable. To do this we need to find the tiger within us and be brave. But make no mistake <b>we need to do this in the best interests of ALL equestrian sports.</b> Onwards! William</p>
<div><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">http://www.WilliamMicklem.com</a></div>LEAPING TO NEW HEIGHTS with William Micklemtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-06-11:1773158:BlogPost:2430072010-06-11T08:30:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Should you jump young horses? How young can they be to jump? Here is my home bred High Kingdom jumping a 1.30m oxer as a 3 yo. It is a glorious sight:…</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Should you jump young horses? How young can they be to jump? Here is my home bred High Kingdom jumping a 1.30m oxer as a 3 yo. It is a glorious sight:</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">However there are a three elements which this photograph do not show: Firstly and most importantly the careful progression of exercises leading up to this which ensured sufficient<br/> strength of mind and body, secondly his huge natural talent which meant that he was still very much in his comfort zone, and thirdly the placing fence which is out of shot, two canter strides away, and ensured he was going to meet this fence on the perfect take off point. <br/></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He was also on the lunge, rather than being loose jumped, so that I could control his approach speed and length of stride to exactly match the distance from the placing fence to the bigger fence, and he was in my specially designed young horse arena which is 25m X 20m in an oval shape but<br/> with one long side being straight…and of course the surface was secure enough to jump off. (So many young horses are ruined by jumping off a surface that is too loose, with the surface moving<br/> so much on take off that the horse get a fright.) The poles are also lightweight and in shallow cups with safety cups on the back pole.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This picture, combined with trust in my judgement, was an integral part of finding the right home for High Kingdom because he was subsequently bought sight unseen by Zara Phillips. Now five years later he is still <a target="_blank" href="http://review.barnmice.com/1354/equestrian-show-jumping-tips-from-george-morris/">jumping</a> with the same super talented ease:</span></span></p>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><img width="400" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2203032384?profile=RESIZE_480x480"/></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I don’t jump two year olds and only jump three year olds to assess their ability and am very careful to stay within their comfort zone. I never jump big fences except in the above circumstances and of course I always want a happy, confident horse. However a major part of this happiness and confidence comes from their first two to three years that my young horses<br/> spend as part of a small herd in a 25 acre area with hills and water and uneven ground to negotiate on a daily basis. The value of this is huge to both their physical and mental well being.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I will probably go to my grave still persuading horse riders to keep their horses more naturally in small groups throughout their lives and providing a more natural existence in their formative years on varied terrain. Horses kept in isolation in single stable cells and in relative inactivity are horses that have drawn a very short straw and will suffer as a result. Changing these managements practises will allow us all to leap to new heights. Onwards! William</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.WilliamMicklem.com</span></a></span></p>William Micklem says IT’S WORTH THE WAITtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-06-04:1773158:BlogPost:2376402010-06-04T16:30:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
<p class="MsoTitle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There is no doubt that early intervention is the efficient way to tackle learning difficulties and weaknesses. To nip a problem in the bud leads to both accelerated progress and happier students. This applies to both mental and physical challenges and to both humans and horses. Any behaviour or way of going that is undesirable is much more difficult and time consuming to change if it has become habitual.…</span></p>
<p class="MsoTitle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There is no doubt that early intervention is the efficient way to tackle learning difficulties and weaknesses. To nip a problem in the bud leads to both accelerated progress and happier students. This applies to both mental and physical challenges and to both humans and horses. Any behaviour or way of going that is undesirable is much more difficult and time consuming to change if it has become habitual.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoTitle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">GETTING ON THEIR BACKS IS NOT THE PROBLEM</span></p>
<h1><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This particularly applies to a horse using their back, or what is often described as ‘coming through’ in the back. A small proportion of horses find this easy but even these horses can quickly tighten in their backs and become less athletic when ridden badly. A lackof connection through the back inevitably reduces the potential and useful working life of a horse. There are even many horses whose physical discomfort through the back eventually makes them unwilling to work and as a result they are labelled ‘difficult’!</span></span></span></h1>
<h1><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is why I don’t ride any of my young horses until they are first coming though in the back on the lunge and going in such a way as to be easily able to carry the weight of the rider and keep going in the same ‘connected’ way. What people have to realise is that it is NOT difficult to back (mount & ride away) the vast majority of horses. What IS difficult is to gain the skills to ensure a good quality way of going from the start. This is why I take issue with those who take great pride in getting on their young horses within minutes or a few hours work yet have little expertise in getting their horses through in the back and beween the aids. I would go as far as saying that many young horses are prevented from being efficient and happy athletes by being ridden too early and that this is a major challenge for the horse industry.</span></span></span></h1>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">MANDIBA & HIGH KINGDOM</span></div>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My two home bred event horses, Mandiba and High Kingdom, that have done so well internationally with Karen O’Connor and Zara Phillips, are good examples of my use of lungeing to get a young horse through in the back. Mandiba found it very easy. Here he is as a three year old after three days on the lunge, after which he was ready to be ridden away with a progressive riding programme:</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">No gadgets are used apart from side reins and the bit is connected with the clips to my Micklem bridle so there can be no strong pressure on the tongue or bars of the mouth. Then here he is this year at Rolex coming second in the dressage:</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2203068200?profile=original"/></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">However High Kingdom was a different story. It took three months of lungeing to get him to the same stage, as he was disconnected and went with a restricted step. However once going in this manner he was able to make rapid progress under saddle:</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I have no doubt that if we had lost patience High Kingdom would have had an average trot habitually and we would have lost out on the stunning sight of him last weekend being placed fourth in the dressage in the World Cup class at Tattersalls International last weekend:</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It was worth the wait....worth the wait of that three months on the lunge. Onwards! William</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.WilliamMicklem.com</span></a></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> </p>William Micklem says FREE THE BACKtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-05-28:1773158:BlogPost:2347812010-05-28T08:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: left; margin-left: 47pt; text-indent: -29pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Jack le…</span></span></p>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><font face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><img width="360" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2203037514?profile=RESIZE_480x480"/></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: left; margin-left: 47pt; text-indent: -29pt;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Jack le Goff, who worked extensively with eight time USA Olympian Michael Plumb, shown in the picture above, died last year. Jack was both a wise man and a brilliant coach. He arrived from France in 1970 to take over the USA Event Team. He never missed winning a medal with any of the eventing teams that he coached in his 14 year tenure in the United States. His teams won gold medals at theOlympic Games in 1976 and 1984 and a total of eighteen medals in eight <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif;">international championships, including four consecutive Olympic Games and three consecutive World Championships. It was an astounding accomplishment by which the USET still measures itself.</span></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A GOOD IDEA HAS TO GIVE WAY TO A BETTER IDEA</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So did he recommend lungeing? Yes very much, to the extent that when asked about a basic fitness and conditioning programme he did not advise using the traditional horse trials regime of one month of walking before doing active<br/> work. Instead he suggested that we should “use lungeing and hacking on alternate days. Starting with fifteen minutes on the lunge and then twice that time under saddle.” He realized that a month of walking with the rider sitting in the saddle and no period of suspension did little to help the use of the back or impulsion.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So a good idea had to give way to a better one and it also included the idea that it would be better when hacking to always mix the walk with rising trot and a little light seat canter, because once again it helps the use of the back.<br/> My new equine partner is now also following this regime. When he can easily cope with an active 90min hack and up to half this time on the lunge he will be ready for his jump training to start again.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">MARY KING & WILLIAM FOX PITT</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I was thinking about all this today as I watched those two British eventing legends, Mary King and William Fox Pitt, warm up their horses for the dressage at Tattersalls International 3 day in Ireland, where there is a World Cup qualifyer. They both make extensive use of rising trot….. and what beautifully balanced positions they have. Their seats just ‘kiss’ the saddle as they ‘lower’ it to the saddle and their balance stays very consistent during both the rise and lower.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It reminded me of watching Reiner Klimke about eighteen years ago at a World Cup dressage round at Gothenburg in Sweden. I was there to watch and<br/> learn and I watched as he rode a chestnut quality horse for two days in a<br/> snaffle and largely in rising trot. I thought it was a younger horse he had brought along to get use to the general buzz of the show. However on the third day I looked up and saw he was changing the bridle to a double. A few minutes later he rode in to the arena and did his Grand Prix test. He didn’t win but he wasn’t far away.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">CAROL LAVELL & HERBERT REHBEIN & MIKE PLUMB</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">At the same show was Carol Lavell, from the USA, and her great and extremely well named Olympic dressage horse ‘Gifted’. I had taught her a number of years previously when she competed an equally well named event horse ‘Better and Better’, who also went to the Olympics but with that cross country genius Mike Plumb. Carol was in Germany to train with Herbert Rehbein as well as compete. What was so obvious about Herbert’s riding and training was his ability to free the back. The elasticity, softness and harmony of his seat was wonderful and to the vast majority of horses it was an instant ‘get out of jail for free card’ that opened the door to a better way of going and a better life. Mike Plumb did the same thing when jumping his horses.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So lets free the backs of more horses and for many of us lungeing is a great option that will allow us to do this. Onwards. William</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">http://www.WilliamMicklem.com</a></span></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> </p>GOING ROUND IN CIRCLES with William Micklemtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-05-21:1773158:BlogPost:2323682010-05-21T08:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Every exercise comes from a circle, even riding on a straight line. Riding a horse truly straight in a straight line is one of the most difficult but important things we aim to achieve in…</span></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Every exercise comes from a circle, even riding on a straight line. Riding a horse truly straight in a straight line is one of the most difficult but important things we aim to achieve in training. The more a horse gets in the habit of being crooked on a straight line the more uneven they become in their physical development, the more one sided they become, and the more they are likely to be ‘hollow’ rather than ‘round’ in their outline with a restricted use of their backs. So the use of circles and parts of circles is vital for ‘roundness’.</span></span></b></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">THE PROGRESSION</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The recipe or progression is quite simple….put your horse ‘between the aids/through in their back’, using the circle they are most comfortable on and the pace and speed they find the easiest, normally a relatively slow walk or trot. Then gradually make the circle bigger, thereby reducing the bend, and then change the direction. Soon your horse can be between the aids in both directions and going in a true working trot. At this stage you can start working in straight lines with a slight bend to the inside using the introductory stage of shoulder in, position to the inside. It will then be possible to have your horse calm forwards and straight in all three paces. This really does work and as long as a horse is not in pain or stressed it can happen in a very short period of time, often in half an hour and rarely longer than a week if the horse is ready to be ridden.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">OUR CHALLENGE AS RIDERS</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Of course there are a couple of snags to this recipe:</span> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Firstly</span></b></span> <span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">you need to be a competent rider to do this! You need to have an easy balance and be able to ‘go with’ your horse. In particular too few riders realise the magical importance of having a soft ‘allowing’ rein contact. Once a truly allowing hand is established then it is possible to begin to use rein aids effectively. The same applies to the leg contact, although this is easier for most riders than the rein contact. As well as being in harmony with your horse it is also helpful if you are a fairly light load for your horse! If you want your horse to be ‘round’ and ‘through’ in the back then bumping around with a few too many pounds of weight is not a helpful burden.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Secondly</span></b></span> <span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">you need to be able to teach your horse about the basic aids with feel, clarity and effectiveness. This is often not easy with young and/or untrained horses, who understandably may wonder why they are being asked to do strange exercises in a strange arena<br/> being ridden by a strange rider.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">OUR CHALLENGE AS TRAINERS</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The compromise that many accept is to do a low level quality of work initially, with the horse not being ‘between the aids’ and ‘round’ while our riding improves and the communication issues are being sorted out. The problem is that this quickly leads to an habitual way of going that is inefficient at best or at worst unnatural and often uncomfortable to the horse. Whatever the result it will mean that time and resources will be required for retraining if quality work is required. Of course I entirely accept and respect the wish of thousands of pleasure riders whose main aim is low level riding, and simply the freedom and joy of being able to ride, but quality performance, and often greater pleasure, is actually possible for many of these riders as well.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">THE MAGIC OF LUNGEING</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The easy route through our challenge as riders and trainers is to use circles without a rider….to lunge well. My new partner, mentioned last week, is close to the end of his second week of lungeing. He and I are now communicating well, which we both appreciate and enjoy enormously, and means that his level of ACCEPTANCE, CALMNESS and understanding of what is required is significantly<br/> improved. His way of going is also significantly improved, with more FORWARDNESS and use of his back, and even a canter which maintains roundness and has a period of suspension. Therefore his paces have more PURITY. He is going fairly evenly in both directions so the beginning of STRAIGHTNESS is also there, but more will have to be done when he is ridden to develop this. However the key point is that with no confusion or fighting and as a result of his lungeing he is now almost ready to be ridden again…..and now that he is going better he will be much easier to ride.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">FULL CIRCLE</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It should be no surprise that good lungeing is so effective as</span> <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">every exercise comes from a circle, even riding on a straight line. Riding a horse truly straight in a straight line is one of the most difficult things we things we aim to achieve in training. The more a horse gets in the habit of being crooked on a straight line the more uneven they become in their physical development, the more one sided they become, and the more they are likely to be ‘hollow’ rather than ‘round’ in their outline with a restricted use of their backs. . So the use of circles and parts of circles is vital for ‘roundness’</span></i></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. So ONWARDS with good lungeing....and of course do lunge using a Micklem Multibridle, which is better than any other lunge cavesson you will ever find.</span></span> <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">William</span></span></p>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">http://www.WilliamMicklem.com</a></i></span></font></div>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"></p>William Micklem says FACE THE CHALLENGE WITH A PARTNERtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-05-14:1773158:BlogPost:2297972010-05-14T08:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB">I have a new challenge and a new partner. A six year old gelding who is not very happy. I use the word ‘challenge’ deliberately, not because I am thinking of going into battle but because it focuses my mind on what I need to do in a positive way. ‘Challenge’ is an effective word in the same way that ‘problem’ is not effective. Obviously it is so much more positive and…</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">I have a new challenge and a new partner. A six year old gelding who is not very happy. I use the word ‘challenge’ deliberately, not because I am thinking of going into battle but because it focuses my mind on what I need to do in a positive way. ‘Challenge’ is an effective word in the same way that ‘problem’ is not effective. Obviously it is so much more positive and motivating to say ‘I have a challenge’ than to say ‘I have a problem’, which only brings the focus on what is wrong and is deeply depressing! To be effective we need to focus primarily on what we need to do rather than on what is wrong…or indeed what has just gone wrong.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">THINKING AHEAD TO BE EFFECTIVE</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">For example it is common to see a rider look back at a fence their horse has just hit, when of course they should instead be thinking about their approach to the next fence. To look back is a double negative because it also distracts and slows the decision making process of the brain. Because of this errors of course in both show jumping and dressage are more common after a fence or movement has gone wrong.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">So in the short term thinking ahead positively is vital. Equally in the long term it is also vital to think ahead and be positive about our possibilities. Not everyone wants to be an Olympic rider but few would turn down the option of doing things better and easier if it was available. Especially for horse riders this option is available with good coaching and certainly we all have the sparks of possibility.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">TOGETHER</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">Because I know from my experience that huge change is possible, and despite the fact that my new challenge is a horse, I also say to myself ‘ I have a new partner’, exactly as I do with my human<br/> students. Now this is not psychobabble as the more we can help ourselves automatically act and respond in a good way the quicker and easier progress will be made. By thinking of partnership and making the best of the situation, instead of despair and distain and getting out of the situation, a much better outcome is possible.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">So for better or worst I look at my new horse as a partner in our endeavors. Logic tells us that a positive, enthusiastic and respectful approach will be much more effective than negativity and bullying. Of course partnership is easy to work at if the horse is willing and talented just as it is easy if a human is willing and talented. In these circumstances it is easy to work towards partnership and everyone is happy. However the real test of a trainers is their ability to respond positively to those who are less willing and less able.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">LOOK IN THE MIRROR</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">We all probably think we act the same to students at both ends of the spectrum but we need to look in the mirror to check whether or not this is the case. My new equine partner is relatively unwilling and not coming through the back. Three days of lungeing have already made a huge difference and the trot is good….next week I think the canter will come and then he will have some active hacks to improve his attitude and fitness. Then he may be ready to jump and I think he is going to make a great horse and a great partner. Onwards! William</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">http://www.WilliamMicklem.com</a></span></span></p>HAVE NO REGRETS says William Micklemtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-05-07:1773158:BlogPost:2273662010-05-07T08:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;margin-left: 52pt; text-indent: -34pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">My apologies for silence over the past few weeks. My father-in-law died as the result of injuries sustained in an air crash and the energy and inspiration has been drained from our family…..but it will come back. We will remember and feed off his memory and huge strengths. He was a great role-model, particularly in the way he led both his…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;margin-left: 52pt; text-indent: -34pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">My apologies for silence over the past few weeks. My father-in-law died as the result of injuries sustained in an air crash and the energy and inspiration has been drained from our family…..but it will come back. We will remember and feed off his memory and huge strengths. He was a great role-model, particularly in the way he led both his family and his work teams to success. As I said about him at the celebration of his life:</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">“He was the slowest to say a negative word about anyone. He had a powerful and instinctive philosophy with people… he simply listened and showed respect. He was always quiet and patient, non-judgemental and supportive if he could be. They say that one reason a dog is a good friend is that his tail wags and not his tongue. To this extent Michael was a dog, albeit a highly distinguished and relatively house trained dog. He never betrayed a confidence and never talked without thinking …and indeed often thought without talking, but for this silence he was both respected and loved. He would give his opinion only if asked and if he didn’t know the answer he would never pretend he did. In areas in which he did not have the knowledge he would be the first to seek the expertise of others.”</span></i></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">As a result those he met trusted and respected him and flourished under his leadership. Lucky and blessed are those in the horse world who meet people with similar qualities. All associations need to find, train and cherish good leaders….leaders who have a broad view and keep a sense of perspective, leaders who have a sense of humour:</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">“Everything was laced with humour…"I have the body of an eighteen year old” he said to the nurses, ”I keep it in the fridge!" “What’s the meaning of Apéritif? It’s French for a set of dentures!”</span></i></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText3" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">For many the two main lessons from this type of tragedy are one, a reminder to seize the day, and two, that we shouldn’t get too worried about the small things in life. These are surely worthwhile thoughts, but I would add a third that usually leads to the other two. It is the about the importance of doing things well. My father-in-law did everything well in both his professional and private life. As a doctor it was vital to do things well and stay at the leading edge of his speciality, because it was often a matter of life and death. It also made him more efficient and allowed him to achieve more with the minimum of retraining and effort. He always had a clear understanding of the priorities in his roles as both doctor and<br/> father and did everything with great thought and precision.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText3" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Doing things well on a daily basis makes us so much more able to seize the day and ensures we concentrate on the important not the unimportant. To ‘do things well’ is not a bad maxim for us all and for coaches and riders it is vital….and doing things well is without doubt possible, because every exercise can be broken down into simple parts and every great dream into bite size action steps. Life is both too brief and too important not to do things well at every stage. By doing this we open the door to levels of achievement and fulfillment that enable us to say we truly did our best and have no regrets:</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText2" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">“Do not be sad for Michael…he led a fulfilled, joyous and wonderful life….he had no regrets.”</span></i></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So onwards in hope and joy…. and with great thanks for good horses, great coaches and the very special people we meet in life. William</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">http://www.WilliamMicklem.com</a></span></p>A POWERFUL PARTNERSHIP – Life & seizing lifetag:www.barnmice.com,2010-04-02:1773158:BlogPost:2165692010-04-02T08:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
<p align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A friend of mine died recently….before his time as they say….</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">but telling you about him is a joyful and hugely positive task:…</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A friend of mine died recently….before his time as they say….</span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">but telling you about him is a joyful and hugely positive task:</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A PHILOSOPHY FOR LIFE</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">He had a three fold philosophy for life: One, if you are going to do anything do it very well; two, never think you can’t do something because it hasn’t been done before; and three, the faster you can do it the better! His days and ideas were driven by enthusiasm and a sense of urgency that ensured a life bursting with achievements – he was head boy and first in his class throughout his life.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">His personal interest in horse trials was sparked relatively recently when his daughter campaigned his rather stout grey cob to regular rozettes in the Junior section. Much to the consternation of the selectors this grey cob mirrored his philosophy that no fence or challenge was too much and no speed was too fast! Then he bought other horses and as an owner delighted to enter the international arena and have international success. No cross-country round was complete without him running from one viewing point until the next to check on progress.<br/> In order to achieve this he kept to an exercise regime that included 45mins non-stop on his exercise bike up to the age of 70!</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A GREAT EXAMPLE</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">His involvement as an owner led him into event organisation at both a local and international level. He always set the bar higher, always led by example, always put his heart and soul into everything he did and always was open to a better idea. This made life with him challenging at times, but it also made him the epitome of Nelson Mandela famous words...</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">"We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine…and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."</span></i></span> <span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">My friend liberated many other people as he bounded through life.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">WELL PLACED PRIORITIES</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Competitive as he was on the day of each competition his own gold medals were simply the happiness and love of his wife and their family and grandchildren. He and life made a powerful partnership and he truly seized life every day. Onwards! William</span></span></p>
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<a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">http://www.WilliamMicklem.com</a><br/>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"></p>Best of William Micklem - 13 - NAMING AND SHAMINGtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-03-26:1773158:BlogPost:2137162010-03-26T08:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2203032145?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="252"></img></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Marengo with Napoleon</span></i></p>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img width="252" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2203032145?profile=RESIZE_320x320"/></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Marengo with Napoleon</span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What really famous horses can you name? There are few horses that cross all boundaries and become heroes in the minds of both the wider equestrian community and the non-equestrian world.</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Horses that would continually feature in quiz questions on more than two continents!</span></span> <span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">High up on most lists</span></span> <span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">would be Alexander the Great’s</span></span> <span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Bucephalus, Napoleon’s grey Marengo, Roy Roger’s<br/> palomino Trigger, and Anna Sewell’s heart breaking creation Black Beauty.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">DRESSAGE AND EVENTING</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br/></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">From Dressage the list is short. Possibly included would be those two multi Gold medalists, Swiss rider Christine Stuckleburger’s giant Granat and from Germany, Nicole Uphoff’s supercharged Rembrandt and the current wonder horse Totilas, ridden by Edward Gal.</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">From Horse Trials the spring heeled pony and Pan Am Gold medalist Theodore O’Connor, ridden by Karen O’Connor of the USA, broke all records for column inches in the papers until his tragic accident and death last year. Karen had previously found similar fame with the Irish bred Biko, who was voted the USET horse of the century and was Chelsea Clinton’s favourite horse. I am proud to have found Biko as a three year old and produced him for almost three years before he went to the USA. In fact my wife Sarah was the very first person to jump him under saddle, which doesn’t say much for how I took care of her because Biko was an expert at dislodging riders!</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Of course racing in all its’ forms reaches a huge audience and racehorses are therefore probably the most famous in the world. From the simply exquisite and legendary thoroughbred sire Hyperion, who was only 15.1 at the time of winning the English Derby, to the giant stride of Triple Crown winner <a target="_blank" href="http://review.barnmice.com/3382/secretariat-wins-1973-belmont-stakes/">Secretariat</a>, one of only three horses to feature on the front cover of Time magaxine. From the most valuable</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">stallion in the world Saddler’s Wells to the people’s champion Seabiscuit,<br/> whose life is now immortalized in the film of the same name. In the world of Steeplechasing a particular favourite of many was Jay Trump, with wins in both the Maryland HuntCup in the USA (3 times) and the British Grand National. However Red Rum, with his three wins and two second places the Grand National, holds all the audience records on his<br/> way to becoming a true national celebrity.</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It is worth going to Aintree racecourse, near Liverpool, just to see the life size bronze statue of Red Rum.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">ARKLE</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In Steeplechasing there are few who would now argue with giving the Irish bred Arkle the accolade of being ‘the greatest.’ To this day he is</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">the highest rated chaser of all time. Winner of fourteen championship races, including a three time winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, he was even featured on Irish</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamp"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">postage stamp</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">s in 1981. He also has the rare honour of a life size portrait owned by the State.</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It is by the brilliant artist Nicola Russell, and hangs in the Irish equivalent of the White House, Farmleigh House in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. He was not classically beautiful but what supreme ability and courage he had.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">GEORGE STUBBS AND WHISTLEJACKET</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a target="_blank" href="http://review.barnmice.com/1377/tim-stockdale-jumper-training-clinic/">Show Jumping</a> now has fewer horses that are household names as it no longer generates the vast audiences of the 1950’s and 60’s, when it was a top rated TV sport and the final competition in the main stadium in the Olympic Games. For<br/> example pictures of Italy’s Piero D’Inzeo, with his Irish bred grey show jumper<br/> The Rock, used to grace the front covers of all Europe’s top magazines and they<br/> made the front page of the New York Times when jumping at Madison Square<br/> Garden.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Being smaller than normal is always popular with a wider audience so it was not surprising that those two Irish ponies Stroller and Dundrum hit the headlines. Stroller won the individual silver medal at the Mexico Olympic games in 1968, ridden by Marion Coakes, when only five years earlier he was the top rated jumping pony in Britain. Dundrum’s story is even more extraordinary as he started life in a cart, bringing luggage from Tipperary station to local hotels. But he proved too unruly and was sold on to Tommy Wade who with him won everything from International Grand Prix, to Speed classes and Puissance. He regularly jumped over 7ft and was probably the best pound for pound show jumper of the last century. Every Irish politian at the time knew that the way to get their audience on side was to mention the name of Dundrum!</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Dundrum was always described as a Connemara pony, but he was in fact by the TB Little Heaven, who was brought to Ireland as a stallion to add quality to the Connemara pony population. Sadly he died just four years later but he was so successful as a sire that it is now difficult to find a top performance Connemara pony without Little Heaven in the genes.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">THOROUGHBRED GOLD</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The same applies to all the horses I have mentioned in this blog. With one exception they all contain at least 50% TB blood…yes even Trigger was half TB!</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The one exception is the dressage horse Granat, but even he was 25% TB, although you would be hard pressed to find this in the press releases which just describe him as a Holsteiner.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The superb Shutterfly, recent third time winner of the World Cup with Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, is probably closest to becoming a household name in<br/> modern showjumping. From a breeding point of view what is interesting is that although Shutterfly is described as a Hannoverian he is at least half TB and has more TB genes than those from any other stud book. What a shame it is that the TB influence in the modern sport horse is so often hidden. It leads us astray and often leaves us with inferior horses.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">HEROES HAVE NAMES</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It is also a shame that unlike horse trials so many modern international show jumping horses lack normal names.</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In my opinion this contributes to the reduced appeal of show jumping and why there are currently so few horses that are genuine household names. Thank goodness Shutterfly has a normal name. The public can relate to this but they cannot relate to long sponsor infiltrated names that change every coupe of years and have odd letters attached at the beginning or the end. I totally understand the need for sponsorship, but a big audience is the best financial stability any sport can have and to generate big audiences we need to praise and promote our best horses, who may well become heroes in time. To do this effectively they need normal names….Trigger, Black Beauty, Red Rum, Biko….there is a lesson here.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Of course most of us in Barnmice have our own heroes or heroines at home. Horses that make such a very real difference to our own lives. Happy Days. William</span></span></p>
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<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com"></a>NEXT TIME....A POWERFUL PARTNERSHIP....something for us all that is simplicity itself and truly works wonders.<br/></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"> </p>
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</div>William Micklem praises a RACING CERTAINTYtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-03-19:1773158:BlogPost:2113242010-03-19T09:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p style="text-align: left;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="6"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><i><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2203027073?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="200"></img></i></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoTitle" style="line-height: 150%;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="6"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><i>Bert de Nemethy</i></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoTitle" style="line-height: 150%;"><font size="6" class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><i>Bert de Nemethy</i></span></font></p>
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<h1 align="center" style="text-align: left; margin-left: 46pt; text-indent: -28pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Toda Today is the last day of the Cheltenham Festival…four days of the finest racing over jumps in the world in the heart of Gloucestershire, England. It generates more column inches than the biggest Flat racing festivals, and with almost</span></span> <span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">£3.5m in prize money and a value to the local economy of over £50 million, from the almost 300,000 spectators and workers, it is the diamond in a thriving National Hunt industry. Not to mention the almost £600m that will be staked nationally on the outcome of these 26 races.</span></span></span></i></span></h1>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">WHO GETS TOP BILLING?</span></span></h2>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: left;">What is interesting to me is the proportion of publicity given to horses and humans. The horses are the real stars who get the top billing and the top horses are household names, while the jockeys come next and then the trainers, followed some way behind by the owners! The fact that the horses are the real stars pleases me greatly and is surely a lesson for any horse sport. The horses need<br/> to be centre stage if a horse sport is to attract a massive audience. The star quality of Totillas is hugely important for Dressage as a whole, just as Theodore O’Connor was for Horse Trials and Shutterfly is for world show jumping.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 15pt; line-height: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">This is why it is so important for horses to be given normal names that the public can relate to, rather than a jumble of meaningless letters, numbers, prefixes and sponsor’s names. The more a horse becomes just a number and trade name the more we are treating our horses as machines and in the process we shoot ourselves in the foot and diminish equestrian sports. Spectators like to have favourite horses and an emotional attachment but need to connect with a name from the beginning if this is to happen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 15pt; line-height: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">ROLE MODELS</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 15pt; line-height: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">It is easy to see why the general public love the jockeys. They are wonderful role models. Despite being involved in an elite sport, with huge pressures and being hugely competitive in a race, they are a tight knit supportive group of men and women. (Yes women….in the first race this year Irish women rode the first two horses home and there are more female riders working in the industry every year.) Collectively they celebrate each other’s success and individually they show both great humbleness in winning and huge courage in defeat. Compared to so many petulant, ill disciplined and selfish modern sportsmen and women from many sports they are exemplary. We admire tennis player Roger Federer for the man that he is as well as his tennis, but sadly we also admire him because his good sportsmanship is unusual. However in the racing game in Ireland and the UK we have many heroes and great role models.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 15pt; line-height: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">ROLE MODELS IN THE SPORT HORSE WORLD</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 15pt; line-height: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I believe that the best riders and trainers in the sport horse world also have fine human qualities. They are respectful of both horses and those they work with, they are good team players, they are generous and persistent, and they have a sense of perspective about both winning and losing and the priorities of life. Some may say this is nothing but a romantic notion but put it to the test. Didn’t that legendary triumvirate of Bert de Nemethy, Jack Le Goff and Herbert Rehbein fit this bill, and I bet your own best trainers and riders do the same. And here’s the exciting thought….I believe an association with horses encourages these qualities and it is one of the major advantages of all equestrian sports. Something that should be valued and promoted by all associations on a daily basis.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 15pt; line-height: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">SQUARING THE CIRCLE</span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: left;">Now I know at this stage many of you will be thinking that jockeys are not such paragons of virtue….whips, tired horses and maximum speed come to mind. However it is certainly true that in the sport horse world we rarely take our horses to their physical limits, in terms of speed or energy, or mental limits in terms of stress. The fact that this is commonplace in racing but rare in most other equestrian sports gives us a considerable marketing advantage. We can therefore be more vocal about what a good life the vast majority of horses are given and how they enjoy their work. And despite common perceptions we also need to be more vocal about how they enjoy jumping<br/> and galloping.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 15pt; line-height: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Last year scientists from the University of Rennes in France studied 76 horses at Saumur to measure their levels of stress doing different activities. Their findings were that stress levels were higher in dressage than in jumping. As I watch my old ponies change from rather bored participants on the flat to ‘let me at it’ jumping partners, who even do little bucks, squeaks and whinnys after a fence, I know this to be true. Most horses love jumping, if they are working within their physical ability in a familiar task, and if it is in company and at a fairly high speed so much the better. Witness the behaviour of horses at the start of a cross country and you see horses keen to get started and keen to go faster than their riders want. It is without doubt a win win situation and a great way to give delight and ‘forwardness’ to the most jaded of horses or riders!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 15pt; line-height: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">A RACING CERTAINTY</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 15pt; line-height: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In all except one of the big races at Cheltenham this year the favourite has been beaten. It is a racing certainty that there are no certainties in racing. Similarly people are quick to judge some people as favourites to do well in horse sports or in life as a whole, and are quick to consign the remainder to a second division or failure. But never forget that Goliath was hot favourite to beat David and the world is full to busting with examples of people proving the judges and experts totally wrong! So onwards with courage and great hope because we all have the sparks of possibility. This is why I find Cheltenham such a great inspiration. With a little good coaching we all can show a surprising turn of mental speed as we use the<br/> fresh legs of our horses to enjoy some extraordinary mom</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ents on horseback. William</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 15pt; line-height: 18pt;"><font face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">NEXT TIME - NAMING AND SHAMING....PS Apologies for not putting up the expected blog, 'Bert, Jack and Herbert', this week......the best laid plans etc!</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 15pt; line-height: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">http://www.WilliamMicklem.com</a></span></span></span></p>
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<p> </p>Best of William Micklem - 12 - AT LAST A HIGH INTEREST INVESTMENTtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-03-12:1773158:BlogPost:2085292010-03-12T09:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span>I would always support investing in our coaches because the pay off is so great as they influence so many hundreds of riders over their lifetime. I agree with Sebastian Coe, the Olympic 800m and 1,500m medalist and now head of the 2012 London Olympics, that more money should go to<br></br> coaching and coaches rather than to individual performers…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span>I would always support investing in our coaches because the pay off is so great as they influence so many hundreds of riders over their lifetime. I agree with Sebastian Coe, the Olympic 800m and 1,500m medalist and now head of the 2012 London Olympics, that more money should go to<br/> coaching and coaches rather than to individual performers because it is better value for money. Whether or not this is right or wrong what is certain is that cross country riders get huge value for money by using a well trained cross country coach. The use of an experienced coach is also a primary route for overcoming fear.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">WALKING THE COURSE</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">Walking the course with an experienced coach or rider is probably one of the best investments in safety and reducing fear that you can make. However it is important that they have seen you ride and know your strengths and weaknesses, and also know your horse, otherwise, although their advice could be sensible it may be inappropriate in your situation. What the experienced coach will do is make the course walk a positive experience. They will put things in the right way, concentrating on the things you should do rather than the things you shouldn’t do, and only ask you to do things of which you are capable.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">ROOM FOR ERROR</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span>The most valuable part of course walking is to understand why certain fences and routes are easy if ridden in a particular wayand what your specific line and speed your be. Doubt and a lack of clarity<br/> leads to a lowering of confidence that leaves you unfocused and less safe. As doubt is reduced and confidence increased, in how you are going to ride the fences, you are much more likely to achieve the desired result and be safer.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">Of course the whole philosophy of cross country training and preparation should be to leave 'room for error' so a small inaccuracy should not create a dangerous situation, and with the right choice of daily exercises and horse everything will build towards this 'room for error'. As you increase the room for error you increase your safety and decrease accidents. Your horse being trained to look after you and take responsibility for the fence is the best way to increase room for error. Other ways are to have a horse with more than sufficient scope and gallop, so that they are always performing well within themselves, and for them to be more than fit enough so they will not be tired towards the end of the cross country.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span>SAFETY EQUIPMENT</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">Your coach will also be able to advise you on the safety equipment that should be used to prevent injury in the event of an accident. The skull cap is the same as that worn by steeple chase jockeys, but check with your association that you have an approved model. Many jockeys also wear a hunting tie around the neck, without a tie pin, so this is also recommended. The body protector and shoulder pads have also proved extremely effective in reducing injury and should always be worn, but make sure they fit well enough so that your movement is not restricted. The new air release body protectors which inflate if you have a fall are also great and are the same as those available for motor bike riders. However the greatest pay off for using a good coach, both before and at a competition, is that their expertise will make an accident much less likely to happen.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span>Particularly for the young the fear of falling off can be enormously reduced by learning how to fall and getting fit enough to fall, under the direction of a qualified gymnastics coach. This is a positive<br/> strategy that will benefit the vast majority of riders, because riders of all levels do have falls at times. Of course every effort should be made to avoid falls, but this does not reduce the value of learning how to do this. It is well worth watching steeplechase jockeys who do this on a regular basis. They put their chin on their chest, while rounding the back and tucking up their legs, making themselves ready to roll when they hit the ground.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">As preparation for this, as far as possible all young riders should learn how to vault on and vault off their ponies. My father had a wonderful rider called Trevor Power who was able to ride both his</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span>motorcycle or a horse standing up with his feet on the seat or saddle respectively. No wild horse could defeat him because he would just vault back into the saddle at any speed with the greatest of ease. His skills were rare but the vast majority of young riders can be taught in three or four sessions to vault on and off a suitably quiet horse or pony...and it is an important skill.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">...AND THERE'S HOPE FOR US AS WELL</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span>For the remainder of us keeping trim and gently active when not riding and working at our suppleness can lead to surprising improvements at any age. See the wonderful chapter in my book, the Complete Horse Riding Manual published by DK, on specific exercises to help your riding. They work! Happy Days. William</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">PS Your numerous and wonderfully positive response to these blogs on fear have shown that this is a real issue that it is often swept under the carpet. Which of course wastes talent and potential. I</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span>was terrified as a young rider, yet although I am now just past my 58th birthday I really look forward to jumping across country on a young horse I have at the moment - a half brother of Karen O'Connor's Mandiba.....as long as the knees hold out! It's all about making each day meaningful. Really happy days!</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><a><font face="Arial, Arial, sans-serif" class="Apple-style-span">www.WilliamMicklem.com</font></a></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Arial, sans-serif;">NEXT TIME....a new article...BERT, JACK & HERBERT...a story of connection and great lessons for us all.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 20.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"> </p>Best of William Micklem - 11 - FEAR AND THE ‘MAGGOT IN THE MIND'tag:www.barnmice.com,2010-03-05:1773158:BlogPost:2066972010-03-05T09:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
<h2 align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:16.0pt; font-family:Arial;color:windowtext"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(94, 94, 94); line-height: 26px;">Never underestimate the power of the mind, not only as a power for good but also as a negative power that can subconsciously restrict your activities and achievements. Fear is often connected to a negative attitude. There are two…</span></span></span></h2>
<h2 align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:16.0pt; font-family:Arial;color:windowtext"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(94, 94, 94); line-height: 26px;">Never underestimate the power of the mind, not only as a power for good but also as a negative power that can subconsciously restrict your activities and achievements. Fear is often connected to a negative attitude. There are two connected aspects of this negativity:</span></span></span></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">BEATING THAT NEGATIVE ATTITUDE</span></div>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">The first is when you focus on all the things that are wrong rather than those that are right. I make it a golden rule to work from what my students and their horses can do, rather than what they can’t do, and this makes a huge difference. It enables quality practise from the beginning, then increased confidence and accelerated progress are largely inevitable. Secondly with so many riders there is that ‘maggot in the mind’ saying “I can’t do this…the other riders are better… I’m dead!” What is needed</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span>instead is a ‘good genie’ saying “This is fun…I can do this…Yes!” In both these cases by working from the positive there is a hugely beneficial effect on your performance. Being positive is very efficient and self motivating as a method of training and pulls you forward, while negativity just builds barriers and destroys confidence and dreams.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">So the engine of success is readily achievable action steps and thinking positive. The secret is to first set your long term aims and plan backwards to where you are now. Then execute these bite-size steps directed specifically towards achieving your medium term goals. This stacks the odds in your favour and produces the opposite of a vicious circle. Being confident that we have the internal resources and method to take on a new challenge, we accomplish more and in turn become more confident. A good coach will also encourage you to watch riders and trainers who are obviously doing good quality work, because their standards and confidence will rub off on you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span>This is the beginning of role playing.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">ROLE PLAYING</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">The use of role playing and modelling is a powerful tool I use to overcome such challenges as fear and a negative attitude. Role playing is more natural to humans than many realise, because role playing and modelling is already used to some degree by us all in our daily lives. It is almost impossible to go through life without learning from and copying those around you. My twist to this basic truth is that you can make this more effective by first identifying what is missing in your mental armoury and then find the right role models to improve your performance in these</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span>specific areas.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">Having identified the mental attributes required, a role model is selected that you like and know well – often not a famous person. Just by focusing regularly on the role model and their desired qualities our behaviour will automatically move towards this image. This is a huge achievement for little investment. Role playing allows us, for example. to tap into the ‘I am the greatest’ spirit of Muhammed Ali, the ‘can do’ attitude of blind cross country skier and Canadian Winter Olympian Brian McKeever, or the courage of Paralympian Tanni Grey Thompson, and protects us from the paralysing pessimism that is all too characteristic of many underachievers. With regular use of role playing you will find that one image or key word can trigger a wide range of desired qualities. Alternatively I use a number of specific Hats to make the whole process even more accessible and</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span>effective. (See my web site under Habitual Hats.) The greatest value of role playing is that gradually you will not be role playing, because these attitudes will become an established part of who you are on a daily basis.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">THE ROLE OF YOUR COACH</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">Of course if you fall of regularly you have every reason to be fearful and every reason to change your coach! In my next blog I will talk more about learning how to fall and how a good coach can help</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span>overcome fear and avoid most falls. Even a novice rider can suddenly become secure when their weight is in the right place. More next time. Happy days. William</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Arial, sans-serif">www.WilliamMicklem.com</font></a></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Arial, sans-serif">NEXT TIME....AT LONG LAST A HIGH INTEREST INVESTMENT</font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><br/></p>Best of William Micklem - 10 - FEARS CAN BE CONQUEREDtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-02-26:1773158:BlogPost:2033412010-02-26T09:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
<div style="text-align: left;"><h1 align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 26px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Why do we not talk more about fear, when fear is a common emotion in cross country riders? There is probably no sane person who is totally fearless and everyone has his or her limits. Even a Grand Prix racing car driver, who is brave enough to…</span></span></h1>
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<div style="text-align: left;"><h1 align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 26px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Why do we not talk more about fear, when fear is a common emotion in cross country riders? There is probably no sane person who is totally fearless and everyone has his or her limits. Even a Grand Prix racing car driver, who is brave enough to average 150 mph round a circuit, may well frighten himself trying to improve his time by just half a second. Fear is a basic human mechanism to place limits on what we do. So we should not be</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">embarrassed by it, or fail to seek help either overcoming fear or changing a negative attitude.</span></span></span></h1>
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<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 26px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 26px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Horses are inspirational. Contact with horses can stimulate us positively enabling an improved performance in all aspects of our lives. Then as we successfully face up to more challenges we become more confident and braver. In this way horses can help us cope with fear. The other</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">side of this coin is that riding, and in particular cross country riding, can be frightening to many riders. Even if you only rate your fear as 4 out of 10 you will become both a better rider and a safer rider by taking this down to 1.This is why we must not ignore this subject.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">People say that they ride best across country when their adrenaline is flowing, but it is important to distinguish whether this is because of being motivated or being frightened. As fear is mentally and</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span>physically paralysing your performance will be adversely effected to some degree, making you less safe. This does not mean that you have to give up the sport because confidence can quickly return with a proper training progression and the right coach. If you are confident and motivated your concentration and reactions will probably be good, but if you are frightened you will become tense, lose your suppleness, and be slow to react. It is also important to remember that it has been proved that a nervous rider makes a horse morenervous, particularly at a novice rider level, which can potentially lead to dangerous fear reactions in the horse. A negative attitude will compound these<br/> problems, creating tension and fears without logical reason. So many riders have this double challenge to overcome, fear and a negative attitude.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span>There are two main types of fear: the fear of the unknown and the fear of the known. Fear of the unknown can be overcome by going to an experienced coach with a good track record, and by watching and talking to other riders of your level who are progressing successfully. In addition a good coach will demonstrate and explain every step in advance of you doing it, which minimises the unknown. Then as you develop trust in both your coach and horse you will soon wonder why you ever had this worry. The right horse that will look after you, is a key element, which is why it is important to choose a breed of horse or pony that is naturally sure-footed and sensible. Without a doubt too many riders have horses that, despite initially looking impressive, are ungainly and slow to react across country. I cannot emphasise strongly enough how important it is to undertake fifth leg training and to ride a horse that has a strong instinct for self preservation.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">Alternatively you may know what you are frightened of. You may already have had a bad experience yourself, or seen someone else in trouble, or you may have just imagined a disaster about to happen. The fact that this is only imagined makes this fear no less real than the others. Once again a coach can help enormously as good coaching opens the door to confident progress. A good coach will ensure you avoid bad experiences by proceeding one small step at a time so you easily achieve the desired result at each stage. Then with continual revision you will find yourself becoming</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span>more confident and braver. This will ensure that at every stage you practice good quality work until it feels natural – what is called unconscious competence. When this happens fear melts away as the exercise becomes as natural as riding a bike. Happy days. William</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Arial, sans-serif">www.WilliamMicklem.com</font></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: auto;line-height: 20pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 26px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><br/></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:20.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Arial, sans-serif">NEXT TIME...<b>FEAR AND THE MAGGOT IN THE MIND</b></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:justify;line-height: 20.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"></p>William Micklem says WE ARE PART OF SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL - Part 2tag:www.barnmice.com,2010-02-19:1773158:BlogPost:2012762010-02-19T09:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height:150%"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px;">Last week I began to look at the special value of equestrian sports. Jessica Kuerton, in the…</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height:150%"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 25px;">Last week I began to look at the special value of equestrian sports. Jessica Kuerton, in the picture above, is very sure about their special value....she simply loves her horses. What we also need to remember is their have huge added value in society and the workplace. This takes equestrian sports to a new dimension and a new worth that no other sport can match:</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height:150%">SPECIAL OLYMPICS, PARALYMPICS, OLYMPICS</p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB">With stories of drugs, cruelty and the ongoing Rollkur saga many now have a negative picture of horse sports but it is worth remembering that there is not even a whisper of removing equestrian sports from the Special Olympics and Paralympics. They are a core sport in these movements that bring huge benefits to some of the less fortunate in our society. But let’s not be led astray into thinking these are minor activities and occasions. They are in fact two of the biggest and most prestigious sporting gatherings on a global scale. The Paralympics has 19 sports and over 4,000 athletes from 146 countries, and the Special Olympics 18 sports, and over 7,000 athletes from 161 countries. Together they have an almost identical number of athletes as that going to a current Olympic Games, and together they provide one of the strongest reasons for leaving equestrian sports in the modern Olympics.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB">Equestrian sports are good sports, which is why they have been identified as one of ten priority sports by Sport England, and why there are 2.4m riders in the UK, 2.9m riders in Germany and over 7m riders in the USA. It is the second largest economic activity in the UK countryside after farming and the second most popular sport for German females and the fourth for French females. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><br/></span> These figures reflect what is happening in most equestrian countries, and taking all the activities together it is simply a huge sport. Most importantly it is both a sport for all and a sport for life….one of the very few true ‘family’ sports and sports in which men and women compete on equal terms.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB">EDUCATING - TRANSFERABLE SKILLS</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB">There are a number of other unique benefits of equestrian sports that cannot be duplicated with other sports. The most important of these is the least mentioned…..it is the qualities and abilities<br/> gained by riders that they can then use to empower themselves in all walks of life outside equestrianism. Many parents think of horse riding as just an activity that will keep their children of the streets, particularly at the time when teenage hormones can lead them astray! However what should be emphasised to them is that their children will learn important transferable skills.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB">As they work with horses they will learn for example about the need <b>to <i>have self control and be disciplined, the need to be trustworthy and humane, the need to simplify and be constructive, and the need to do things well from the start and be decisive.</i></b></span> <span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB">Why do horse sports require this? Firstly it is because we have to take responsibility for the care of our horse, and secondly and most importantly it is because of the fact that if you want to be a good rider you will also have to be a coach and a team player, because your horse is both your student and your partner. I have no doubt that riders become good coaches more quickly than participants in other sports because they already use coaching skills on a daily basis with their horses. A rider <b>has <i>to show patience, respect and generosity with their student and partner if they are to work in harmony. If they are to be<br/> effective, they have to communicate clearly and simply and be positive, working from what their student and partner can do, not from what they can’t do. They also have to look for better ways to do things and be prepared for the challenges they face if they are to be<br/> competitive.</i></b></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB">In business it has long been recognised that generally the ability to manage yourself and deal with other people is far more important than pure technical knowledge, and working with horses will develop these skills.<span>yes""></span> So look again at the words in bold in the previous paragraph and think about how they are applicable to business and non-equestrian activities and the logic of what I am saying will be obvious. The positive effects of horse riding, including increased concentration and brain activity and improved social behaviour for young people, should not be underestimated.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB">The fact that every rider has to be a coach to their horse, with these skills and qualities, highlights both the breadth of education a rider requires and the connection to the workplace. <span style="color:black">Peter Sutherland (Chairman of the London School of Economics, ex Director General of World Trade Organisation etc), in his recent launch speech for the Irish undergraduate awards said<i>..."It is essential for Ireland that we achieve general excellence in education if we are to compete. There is no doubt about the quality of the raw material: Young people make a profound impression abroad with their particular qualities. There are many reasons for this, but they have little or no bearing on an allegedly superior school or third-level education system. Personality, gregariousness and the lack of a class mentality are among the reasons. An ability to communicate and a constructive attitude are two others.”</i></span> <span style="color:black">He<br/> could have been talking about equestrian coaches and he was certainly talking about what I see as essential coaching skills.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana" xml:lang="EN-GB">Many of us are going through tough economic times, so families and individuals in all equestrian countries are questioning the cost of involvement in horse sports. Before decisions are made we should recognise the value of horse sports as a healthy, inspiring, enabling activity with huge added value for both individuals and the wider community. We should win hearts and minds and bring equestrian sports to a wider not smaller audience, and we should realise the truth in the statement that we are indeed part of something very special.<span>"</span> So those who care about the horse must work together in selling this message or together choose to be ineffective.</span> <span lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB">Onwards! William</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Verdana;color:black" xml:lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com/">www.WilliamMicklem.com</a></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000" face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><b>NEXT TIME</b>....FEARS CAN BE CONQUERED</font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%"></p>William Micklem says WE ARE PART OF SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL - Part 1tag:www.barnmice.com,2010-02-12:1773158:BlogPost:1986602010-02-12T09:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">There is huge diversity in equestrian sport, a diversity that brings great strength and flexibility with an appropriate activity available for almost everyone. However the horse world is also weakened by a lack of unity. The different disciplines often put up barriers between themselves, the English and<br/> Western riding worlds remain largely separate, and the racing world is often seen both from outside and within as a world apart.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">If we worked together more we would be seen as one of the most desirable sports in the world. We could be more united because we are all linked by one common element that is integral to every one<br/> of these activities…..the horse. We are all part of something very special because we are able to harness the power of a horse, a power that influences us as much mentally as physically. Horses are good for us and we need to all unite in shouting this message from the rooftops.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">EQUINE ASSISTED LEARNING FOR ALL</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">When some people dismiss horse sports as elitist or brutal we should tell the stories of the weak and damaged in this society who are helped to heal in their thousands by an association with horses. Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) gives us without doubt some of the most powerful evidence for<br/> the good that can be done for humans by interacting with a horse….and I believe that this positive effect is mirrored by the majority of people, whether less able or more able, in all equestrian sports. The extraordinary fact is that to benefit in this way we do not have to be on the back of a horse, just in close mental contact.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">The benefit I am talking about is not a rush of blood to the head, a temporary adrenalin high produced by exhilaration and challenge. Instead I am talking about the fact that an association with horses tends to make us feel better and as a result feel better able to do more withour lives. To some this will be perceived as a tall story but in truth there are thousands of riders who know exactly what I am talking about, because they have experienced life both with without horses and know what effect a horse has had on them mentally. With a horse we can <i>centaur</i></span> <span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">ourselves and find not only more physical freedom but also more mental freedom. As Churchill said <i>“There is something about the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man.”</i></span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">ENABLING AND EMPOWERING</span></p>
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<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;"><span xml:lang="EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">Dogs have similar positive effects on humans, as does swimming with dolphins, but horses are in a different league, in particular because of an extraordinary physical fluke that makes a horse suitable for man to ride? It is our great good fortune that a horse has a back and girth line so suited to carry a saddle, with the riders weight so closely aligned to the horse’s centre of mass. We are also so blessed with the willingness of horses to cooperate and work with us; and with their athletic ability and strength to jump huge fences, pull huge weights, and move most humans faster and further than they would be able to go on two legs. Not forgetting their vital historical role in both agriculture and war. <i>“All our past has been borne on hisback, all our history is his industry.”</i></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">INSPIRING</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">The truth is that there is something hard wired into humans that relishes movement, speed and athleticsm. We love Shakespeare’s famous words in Henry V because they ring so true…<i>"When I bestride him, I soar, I am a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span><i>hawk.”</i></span> <span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Horses are fundamentally beautiful in movement and the feel of a horse in movement is often close to flight and is inspiring. Even just their image is inspiring to many and there is no doubt that Pegasus is a magnificent image.</span></span></i></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">A few years ago I planned to use this phrase, Pegasus is a magnificent image, as the climax of a set piece demonstration to various dignitaries at Coleraine University. It was also being filmed for the main national evening news and the camera man and sound man were in place. Such an opportunity is rare and I was keen to create a very special moment worthy of this audience. Using a set up</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span>fence and a talented horse and rider I planned they should go down to this huge oxer, with the time in the air being sufficient for me to intone “<i>Pegasus is a magnificent image”</i></span> <span>with perfect timing and maximum effect.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">The dress rehearsal went perfectly and I was full of confident anticipation. The demonstration itself went according to plan up to the time the rider jumped the placing fence. At that very moment a dog, belonging to one of the audience but shut out of the arena, pushed over a metal drum into the side of the arena. The horse jumped slightly sideways away from the sound and tripped and shortened his stride….with the result that as I said “<i>Pegasus is <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span><i>a magnificent image”,</i></span> <span>with the full power the occasion deserved, one poor horse and rider crashed through my carefully constructed fence! Now, a long time later, I can laugh about it, but at the time there was nothing but a dreadful silence…. and I just knew that the organizers were making mental notes to remove the equestrian coaching course in future.</span></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><font face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" class="Apple-style-span">ADDED VALUE</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><font face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" class="Apple-style-span"><br/></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><font face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" class="Apple-style-span">So I went on the offensive and made a presentation to the School of Sport shortly afterwards. In this presentation I showed why equestrian sports have huge added value in the workplace and society. By the end the decision was a no brainer for them and the equestrian course was welcomed the following year with open arms! Next week I will share with you what I said to them. ONWARDS! William</font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><font face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" class="Apple-style-span"><br/></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><font face="Verdana, Arial, sans-serif" class="Apple-style-span"><b>NEXT TIME</b>....WE ARE PART OF SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL - Part 2</font></p>Best of William Micklem - 9 - LOVE IS THE ANSWERtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-02-05:1773158:BlogPost:1946922010-02-05T09:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p><br></br> It is so easy at times to lose control slightly and ask too much of your horse...or possibly worst, to intentionally ask too much in a deliberate and continual way in the belief that 'stretching' the horse in this way will yield greater progress. Education is the key, but to develop the experience, feel, and sensitivity to judge with some accuracy how much a horse can be asked is not a short journey. However what a hugely rewarding…</p>
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<p><br/> It is so easy at times to lose control slightly and ask too much of your horse...or possibly worst, to intentionally ask too much in a deliberate and continual way in the belief that 'stretching' the horse in this way will yield greater progress. Education is the key, but to develop the experience, feel, and sensitivity to judge with some accuracy how much a horse can be asked is not a short journey. However what a hugely rewarding destination it can be. The picture above suggests the attitude required to make this journey successfully.<br/> <br/> JEAN PHILIPPE GIACOMINI<br/> <br/> By chance I came across an interview with the Dressage trainer Jean Philippe Giacomini that I believe offers the fuel for this journey . He describes how as a young student in Nuno Oliveira's Classical Dressage School in Lisbon, he remembered an episode when the master stopped everybody in the class and dramatically asked why we all rode horses. After each student had fumbled some unsatisfactory answers, Nuno Olivereira stated: "I ride horses because I love them".<br/> <br/> Jean Phillipe went on to say "To this day, that powerful affirmation remains vivid in my memory, particularly in a horse world that has increasingly become a 'straight business' environment. A horse loving his trainer learns the fastest and performs reliably. After all these years, this fact is undeniably clear to me and the only way I know to achieve that desirable success is to love the horse first, because what goes around comes around! Every rider has his or her own level of proficiency, ambition and every horse his own level of God given talent. This results in presentations that can vary greatly in technical quality, yet the most endearing and noticeable aspect of any enjoyable equestrian spectacle, at whatever level, is a look of happiness on BOTH faces of the rider and the horse!"<br/> <br/> What a very appropriate thought for Valentines Day! Love is the answer with both horses and people and is a major driver for both greater empathy and effectiveness as a trainer and coach.<br/> <br/> BETTINA DRUMMOND<br/> <br/> Another student of Nuno Oliveira, for over 17 years, was Bettina Drummond. She relates how he use to say that the only judge he was concerned about was his horse. This is why he said to her, "When you get off your horse it is not the people who looked at you or the judge that are important. It is the horse that turns around and by his supple body and kind eye that is seeing the riding I gave it, as the one tribute I take as a student." A mutual admiration society I think and a rider in mental harmony with his horses.<br/> <br/> Bettina also talks about Nuno Oliveira's use of the back. "Mr Oliveira's back was never braced. The one thing he said to me was 'never brace your back.' He would go into the motion of the horse and redirect it." 'He would go into the motion of the horse'...what a superb description of a rider in physical harmony with the horse.<br/> <br/> It is not surprising that so many of his horses went so well. Bettina describes these times with these words. "In the moments he had the right feel, the joy radiated from him and the horses loved it." That love thing again...something worth striving for is it not? Happy Valentine's day...William<br/> <br/> PS Yes I know this is a week early but it gives you a chance to arrange something special for someone you love.<br/> <br/> NEXT TIME....a new blog...WE ARE PART OF SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL</p>Best of William Micklem - 8 - THE MOST DANGEROUS WORDS IN COACHINGtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-01-29:1773158:BlogPost:1917272010-01-29T09:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p><br></br> “You can spit in their ear to get them to canter,” a former coach of mine, Robert Hall, used to say, when emphasising how easy it is to train a horse if you use any aid consistently. In a demonstration I will often demonstrate this point by doing something silly, like pulling the hairs behind the saddle as I give the normal aids for canter. I do this about ten times, then take the leg away completely and just pull the hairs and most horses…</p>
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<p><br/> “You can spit in their ear to get them to canter,” a former coach of mine, Robert Hall, used to say, when emphasising how easy it is to train a horse if you use any aid consistently. In a demonstration I will often demonstrate this point by doing something silly, like pulling the hairs behind the saddle as I give the normal aids for canter. I do this about ten times, then take the leg away completely and just pull the hairs and most horses will still canter.<br/> <br/> A FUNDAMENTAL WEAKNESS<br/> <br/> However this is the root cause of a fundamental weakness with equestrian coaching that is not the case in other sports. We work consistently with our horses, get a result and EUREKA we have an answer that we use again and teach others. “I’m a practical horseman,” we often hear from the coach, “if it works I'm happy.” However these are some of the most dangerous words in equestrian coaching. It is not enough to just find techniques that work….we have to ask if there is a better way, a way that will allow more efficient progress, and a way that will work for all levels and disciplines. To provide answers to these questions coaches need to really study their subject and ‘stand on the shoulders of giants’ who have already gone down this pathway.<br/> <br/> Nuno Oliveira, shown in the picture above, was often considered somewhat of a maverick in the dressage world, but unlike so many trainers who are on the ego trip of their ‘unique’ method, he truly studied dressage training and was as familiar with Steinbrecht, Lorke, and the German School as he was with French master trainers.<br/> <br/> <b>I would suggest that a Dressage trainer today also needs to have studied jumping, and that any trainer of young riders needs to study all the major disciplines.<br/></b> <br/> THERE’S AN OLYMPIAN IN YOUR CLASS<br/> <br/> A coach has a huge responsibility to deliver sound and sensible advice that works for all the disciplines, and works not only at a lower level but also at a higher level. They have to do this if there is any possibility of their lower level student one day aiming for Olympic heights…and who can say in equestrian sports who is NOT going to possibly reach the highest level, and in what discipline. Every Olympic champion was once a very novice rider with very limited skills and ability and who are we to steal our rider's dreams by sending them down the dead end road of a coach who has failed to study their subject.<br/> <br/> There is an important added reason for this in equestrian sports. In most sports the road to elite performance is tightly controlled by age and maximal development from a young age – by your thirties you become a veteran - but in equestrian sports extraordinary heights are possible even in your sixties. This is not only true of Dressage. In show jumping, for example, Canada’s Ian Millar, Brazil’s Nelson Pessoa and Ireland’s Eddie Macken have all competed successfully at the highest level at this age in recent times, and in horse trials Bruce Davidson from the USA, and New Zealanders Mark Todd and Andrew Nicholson all continue to defy the aging process at the highest level.<br/> <br/> GOOD COACHING MAKES A DIFFERENCE<br/> <br/> New legs for old is a prime benefit of equestrian sports, applicable not just at elite level but also to all the tens of thousands of older riders who ride happily at lower levels, and who fulfil their potential and gain huge satisfaction because of good coaching…and a few of these riders will (not may) ride at International level if they have the right horse. Sadly there are probably even more riders who never do this because of initial training that that was inappropriate for higher level riding or a different discipline.<br/> <br/> Three of the most common horrors are (1) Doing sitting trot before a rider is ready and/or using an unbalanced riding trot position, which both stop a horse coming between the aids and prevent an easy progression to jumping, (2) complicated aid systems which do not work for the higher levels or for efficient communication, and (3) and a mechanical approach which may lead to quicker initial progress but also quickly leads to a dead end in terms of partnership, and at worst may put the rider's life at risk.<br/> <br/> As Steinbrecht said <i>"...all [training exercises] follow one another in such a way that the preceding exercise always constitutes a secure basis for the next one. Violations of this rule will always exert payment later on; not only by a triple loss of time but very frequently by resistances, which for a long time if not forever interfere with the relationship between horse and rider."</i><br/> <br/> BEWARE GIFTS OF SAND<br/> <br/> So beware those bearing gifts of gold when their education and experience is limited to one discipline and does not include exposure to high level work and exposure to greatness, otherwise their gold may prove to be sand. This is why Master trainers and coaches with both depth and breath of training are so important, why mentoring schemes are so fruitful, and why a good idea must give way to a better idea.<br/> <br/> Now I am well aware this is all ‘a big ask’ and a huge challenge for coaches, but it is also a huge opportunity that is just waiting to be grasped and turned into contented riders and horses. Happy days. William<br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">www.WilliamMicklem.com</a><br/> <br/> NEXT TIME......<b>LOVE IS THE ANSWER</b>.</p>Best of William Micklem - 7 - RIDE LIKE AN INTERNATIONAL RIDER - TODAYtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-01-22:1773158:BlogPost:1883742010-01-22T09:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p><br></br> This is my ten year old son on his 24 year old 11.2 pony - both of whom need to be carefully minded. They are jumping a fairly substantial fence. Quite a challenge and quite a risk many would say, but the two of them can do this time and time again with little risk. In fact my son can ride down to this fence like an international rider, in terms of getting his balance right and presenting his pony at exactly the right take off point, despite…</p>
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<p><br/> This is my ten year old son on his 24 year old 11.2 pony - both of whom need to be carefully minded. They are jumping a fairly substantial fence. Quite a challenge and quite a risk many would say, but the two of them can do this time and time again with little risk. In fact my son can ride down to this fence like an international rider, in terms of getting his balance right and presenting his pony at exactly the right take off point, despite only being a novice rider. This is an explanation of both how I do this and why I do this:<br/> <br/> WHY I DO THIS<br/> <br/> I believe there is a very real problem with many riders of false modesty…or probably better described as low expectations. This is a problem that leads to all sorts of difficulties for our horses, and a vicious circle of deteriorating standards as low quality work leads to lower quality work and greater discomfort for both rider and horse. What we need is the opposite, a virtuous circle of better quality work leading to an improved way of going and more comfort for horse and rider, leading in turn to even better quality work. A dream? No, it’s a very real option, even for a novice rider. Here are two great examples of this for both Dressage and Jumping riders:<br/> <br/> AVOID THE BUMPS<br/> <br/> Many riders face the conundrum about whether they should use the rising or sitting trot. Let me answer straight away by saying that if you want to ride like an international rider most of us should choose the………………………………………….……………………….................................................................... ………………………...........................................………….............rising trot (posting trot).<br/> To convince yourself of this simply consider what the horse does if he has an even slightly uncomfortable load on his back. He tightens and then probably drops his back to protect himself and all hope of a connection from ‘back to front’ is lost. So a rider that struggles and bumps in sitting trot is a rider that does little to help a horse improve.<br/> <br/> However with a good rising trot the door is opened to the horse using his back. A good rising trot is one where the rider stays in a consistent balance with the majority of their weight through the legs, and the seat just ‘kisses’ the saddle before rising again. To do this the upper body has to be angled slightly forward and the seat moves forward and upwards towards the front arch of the saddle. Therefore there is very little movement with the rider’s shoulders as the seat swings forward and then back under the shoulders.<br/> <br/> A ‘LIGHT BULB’ MOMENT<br/> <br/> To test this balance change the diagonal several times by staying out of the saddle for the extra beat, rather than on the saddle. If your balance is good this should be easy and require no change of angle of the upper body or extra gripping of the leg. For many this is a ‘light bulb’ moment as they discover how unbalanced they are and how much their weight is changing during the rising trot. Changing this for the better will open the door to huge improvements.<br/> <br/> With a well fitting saddle the weight is spread throughout the bearing surface on the back, so your weight will still be spread evenly on the horse’s back as in sitting trot, and you can be in as much harmony as a top rider….and the really brilliant thing is that as the horse begins to use and ‘come through’ in the back they become much easier to sit to. You can start to do very small periods of sitting trot. Job done!<br/> <br/> SEEING STRIDES LIKE A CHAMPION<br/> <br/> The other great advantage of a balanced rising trot is that this is the same balance that is ideal for coping with a horse that is a little fresh and the same balance required for jumping. So if you can do a good balanced rising trot you can start jumping…..and if you can start jumping you can also immediately start seeing or feeling strides as you canter to a fence. This is my second example of instantly riding like an international:<br/> <br/> A top jumper is able to consistently present their horse at the fence in a way that enables them to take off using the perfect or near perfect take off point. They do this by seeing or feeling the stride from some way out – usually up to five strides, although some will boast they can see many more – and making the smallest change possible to the length of the stride to hit this take off point. This helps not only to develop a good jump technique and regular bascule but also builds confidence in both horse and rider.<br/> <br/> DOING IT WELL FROM THE START<br/> <br/> With the help of your coach it is possible to use a small ‘placing’ fence (approached in trot and with a placing plank in front of this to make the take off point consistent) in front of a second fence with initially say two or three canter strides in between. Then you can consistently come to the second fence and arrive at a good take off point. You also learn what size of canter stride is required for the show jumping round as you find the speed of canter and length of canter stride that perfectly fits the distance between the two fences.<br/> <br/> As you keep repeating this exercise, and others like it with more strides in between the two fences, you always ride good quality approaches to the fence and develop your eye and feel for a stride. Then as you gain in confidence the vast majority of riders will find that they are increasingly aware of where their take off point will be and how they can best help their horse without making big changes. Result...happy riders and horses.<br/></p>
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<p><br/> WHY USE A PLACING FENCE RATHER THAN A PLACING POLE<br/> <br/> It is better to do this initially with a small placing fence rather than a canter pole on the ground, which is more commonly used. This is because when a mistake is made with the ideal take off point, when using a canter pole on the ground, the effect on the distance is the opposite of using two normal related fences:<br/> <br/> If they get close to the pole on the ground on the approach a horse will complete the next stride further in than the normal landing point for a jump…which makes the distance to the following fence shorter than intended.<br/> <br/> If they are far away from the pole on the ground on approach they will complete the next stride closer than the normal landing point for a jump….which makes the distance to the following fence longer than intended.<br/> <br/> In addition when using a lead in fence there also tends to be less variation as many horses makes some adjustment to the stride themselves if required.<br/> <br/> If you find all this difficult to visualise read this section again, with a pencil on your table to represent the pole on the ground, a glass to represent the fence and a fixed distance between your thumb and first finger to represent the length of canter stride. Then do this during dinner and everyone will think you need treatment!<br/> <br/> QUALITY, QUALITY, QUALITY<br/> <br/> It is much better for you and your horse to do the quality of work of top riders even for very small segments of exercises. It avoids establishing bad habits and it opens the door to all sorts of new higher-level options. It is possible in these two examples and it is possible in hundreds of other examples. If you have the right progression and the right quality of work then extraordinary progress is possible and retraining is not required as you move up the levels. You will probably also find your horse happier in the stable and happier to see you in the stable or field. So avoid the false modesty…you can do this! Truly Happy Days. William<br/> <br/> <b>(NB Many of you will know of my fifth leg training crusade and may think the above contradicts what I have been saying. Not at all. I use both strategies of jump training in an <i>integrated</i> programme. Using a placing fence and gradually bigger fences and grids to develop technique and confidence for both rider and horse, and in parallel doing fifth leg training exercises over smaller, more solid, fences on odd lines and using all distances between fences. One strategy will help the other.)<br/></b> <br/> <a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">www.WilliamMicklem.com</a><br/> <br/> NEXT TIME......The most dangerous words in equestrian coaching.</p>Best of William Micklem - 6 - THE YOUNG WILL JUDGE THE OLDtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-01-15:1773158:BlogPost:1861802010-01-15T09:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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<p><br></br> I remember the occasion well. It was the Fourburrow Pony Club camp in Cornwall, in the south west of England. I was 12 and a typical thin gangly kid. As you can see in the photograph above I was six foot tall on stick legs and all curled up on a 14.2 pony....my brilliant mare Charlie's Aunt. So what did my coach do? She took away my irons and made me ride and jump all morning with no stirrup irons, just like so many coaches have done before…</p>
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<p><br/> I remember the occasion well. It was the Fourburrow Pony Club camp in Cornwall, in the south west of England. I was 12 and a typical thin gangly kid. As you can see in the photograph above I was six foot tall on stick legs and all curled up on a 14.2 pony....my brilliant mare Charlie's Aunt. So what did my coach do? She took away my irons and made me ride and jump all morning with no stirrup irons, just like so many coaches have done before and since. She was especially confident about doing this because she had also taught my elder brother Charlie, who was able to ride the most slippery horses bareback with great ease.<br/> <br/> BAREBACK DAYS<br/> <br/> My Father also spent his first lessons bareback. He was taught to ride as a boy by the founder of the Pony Club movement Major Harry Faudel-Phillips. No one was allowed to use a saddle until they first became established riding bareback, sitting on a sack secured by a sursingle. The question is how many of you are nodding your heads in agreement as you read it, and bemoaning the modern restrictions of health and safety? However there is more to this story.<br/> <br/> I was in agony that evening in Pony Club camp, and the next day, with strained groin muscles…and now over 40 years later I continue to suffer on an almost daily basis with my right leg. Yes I should have had these injuries better treated over the years, but equally the coach in question should never have taken my stirrup irons away in the first place.<br/> <br/> It is a good idea to ride without irons if you are ready for it and you are riding a pony or horse that performs consistently in an established, steady, way. But it is not a good idea if you need to use strength rather than balance to stay on board and if you have to cope with the unexpected movements and challenges of a young pony. It is not a good idea if you have had no gradual progression and preparation for riding without irons, with short periods in walk for example. It is not a good idea if you are lacking in confidence, natural balance and co-ordination, as I was when I was 12. It is not a good idea for most riders at a novice level, especially when jumping….full stop!<br/> <br/> RESPONSIBILITIES OF COACHES<br/> <br/> It was also not a good idea for my coach to assume something because of previous contact with my brother. Early on I learn that the word ‘ASSUME’ itself contains a very important message…break it up a little and you will see that if you assume things as a coach it will make an ASS of U and ME!<br/> <br/> The young are generally wonderfully enthusiastic and willing to do what their coaches ask of them, but they will also remember those early days as clearly as any that follow and in time judge their early coaches. We won’t get everything right but this is why all coaches have a responsibility to keep studying and have the humility to ‘let a good idea give way to a better idea’. In particular we have a responsibility to progress ‘step by step’ through the beautiful progression of exercises that have been tried and tested and will lead to higher level riding, if the student has the opportunity and desire to do this….and all good coaches know that if confidence is in short supply, or there are other learning difficulties, it may have to be not just ‘step by step’ but instead ‘toe by toe’.<br/> <br/> THROUGH THE EYES OF A HORSE<br/> <br/> So do our horses also judge us? The answer I believe is a resounding YES. Yes, from the moment they have their first contact with human beings. As prey animals they have to learn quickly and they are genetically hard wired to learn all their early experiences very well. Of course the downside of this is that retraining or changing their initial ideas about humans is not easy and certainly time consuming.<br/> <br/> This is why the early work with young horses is both so very rewarding and so very important to do well. Training a young horse is a supreme pleasure as they quickly work out what is required in this mixed human/horse herd and build in confidence and levels of communication. However a young horse that learns to be submissive, or worst frightened, or a young horse that learns to be a bad team player, or worst aggressive, are largely the sad result of poor training.<br/> <br/> THE RIGHT SUPPORTS IN PLACE<br/> <br/> They will either continue to suffer, as they fail to fit in, or, if they are lucky, they just might just meet humans with the special skills and patience to dull their initial memories and judgements and give them a chance to lead useful working lives. Humans who don’t assume things, but treat each student as an individual with their own strengths, weaknesses and history. Humans prepared to progress toe by toe. Of course as well as horses there are damaged humans who also need this approach, and with this approach - and with their stirrup irons - extraordinary change and progress is possible. Happy days. William<br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">www.WilliamMicklem.com</a><br/> <br/> NEXT TIME - Best of William Micklem - 7 - RIDE LIKE AN INTERNATIONAL RIDER...TODAY! The blog post that stayed in the 'most popular' list for a record number of weeks.</p>Best of William Micklem - 5 - FOUR GREAT REASONS TO JUMP YOUR DRESSAGE HORSEtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-01-08:1773158:BlogPost:1843332010-01-08T11:30:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
<p>I see no difficulty in bringing together good dressage, jump and cross country training. Indeed I believe it produces a better, more efficient and humane training programme....a point also made by Dressage legend Reiner Klimke who also evented and show jumped to a high level as a young man. I believe the dressage helps the jumping which in turn helps the dressage. It is all about having the flexibility to choose from the fullest range of exercises to benefit each rider and horse…</p>
<p>I see no difficulty in bringing together good dressage, jump and cross country training. Indeed I believe it produces a better, more efficient and humane training programme....a point also made by Dressage legend Reiner Klimke who also evented and show jumped to a high level as a young man. I believe the dressage helps the jumping which in turn helps the dressage. It is all about having the flexibility to choose from the fullest range of exercises to benefit each rider and horse combination.<br/> <br/> So 'dressage coaches should also study jumping'. I believe for example that instead of doing poor dressage tests, for example when you are learning the sport or have training 'challenges', you can often do good jumping exercises instead. These jumping exercises can be an important part of the process to achieving quality dressage work. There are four main reasons why I say this.<br/> <br/> 1 – GREAT TO IMPROVE THE USE OF THE HORSES' BACK.<br/> <br/> Using the back, also called ‘coming through in the back’, is essential for dressage…but is often missing. The back is the suspension bridge between the back and front legs and it needs to lift and be mobile despite the weight of the rider. It is a fundamental requirement if a horse is to come ‘between the aids’, be ‘connected’, and to accept the rein contact. In other words the way a horse accepts the rein is directly related to how they 'come through' from behind and use the back.<br/> <br/> It is very difficult to reproduce the athletic movement of a jump, and the encouragement this gives to use the back, in any other way. In addition, with the rider having a light seat, keeping a consistent balance, and not coming against the horse, as with so much poor dressage riding, the horse is also allowed to use the back.<br/> <br/> NB A first prerequisite to jump your horse is the ability to be balanced in the rising/posting trot, with no need to grip and just kissing the saddle as you lower the seat before rising again. You should be able to easily keep your balance with the seat out of the saddle for say 1mn 30 sec to confirm your fitness for a show jumping round.<br/> <br/> 2 – GREAT TO CREATE A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE FOR THE HORSE<br/> <br/> ‘Forward’ riding and forwardness is essential for dressage dressage…but is often missing. When jumping a forward, positive, canter is encouraged, and most horses enjoy jumping, as is shown by their keenness before the jump and squeals of delight afterwards.<br/> <br/> As ever the mental preparation of your horse is integral to a good physical preparation so this can yield very real gains, especially if you have been restricted to riding in a small area because of winter weather or a lack of outside riding. Once a horse 'switches off' mentally it is something that severely restricts the quality and potential of the performance. Even though you may correct this by good mental training it will then be something that can quickly rear it's head again when things get slightly testing in the future.<br/> <br/> Most horses love riding in company and trotting and cantering outside...and they will discover they love jumping if the exercises are well presented and well within their ability.<br/> <br/> 3 – GREAT FOR LESS RELIANCE ON THE REIN CONTACT.<br/> <br/> An 'allowing' hand is essential for dressage…but once again is often missing. It is required if the horse is to accept the rein contact and be allowed to develop a natural outline. Instead a fixed hand and forced unnatural outline is often seen. When jumping it is possible to put the horse between the leg and the fence, instead of between the leg and hand, and release the rein contact more. As the horse uses the neck and top line over a fence a rider gets more use to using an allowing hand.<br/> <br/> Particularly in training it is useful to jump grids with no rein contact, and allow the horse to find an improved self carriage, balance and use of themselves with no interference from the rider. As these exercises are done you will often find that your horse is going better between fences, with more athleticism and impulsion, than in the previous session on the flat.<br/> <br/> 4 – GREAT FOR DRESSAGE MOVEMENTS PREPARATION<br/> <br/> A well-designed jumping course is like a wonderful flowing dressage test in canter. The patterns and shapes are great for horses and a logical preparation for a dressage test. Remembering the course, including the jump off, is also good preparation for the rider remembering dressage tests.<br/> <br/> In addition there is one more 'golden key' benefit. In a jumping round you do not ride off the markers on the outside of the dressage arena. This is a major reason for crookedness in a horse...with the outside shoulder of the horse being locked against the outside track and the letters. This does not happen nearly as much with jumping riders who follow the line of the course instead of riding letter to letter. Interestingly, riders who are lucky enough to ride in fields rather than an arena, tend to naturally imagine an inside rather than outside line. As these riders imagine their circle line on the INSIDE, it means they automatically ride with the shoulders in a very slight position to the inside...just like a top dressage rider. MAGIC!<br/> <br/> So in the arena put cones on the ground on the inside and ride around these cones and you will feel the benefit almost instantly. Then get in the habit of always imagining cones to the inside of your bend. This, without doubt, is one of the most simple but most effective things you can do as a rider to improve straightness and harness impulsion....but....don't force it. Instead just keep trying to follow that inside line.<br/> <br/> So enjoy your jumping with the help of your wise coach, who will both ensure you are jumping with safe distances between fences and teach you how to build fences and what distances to use between fences. Happy days and a feeling of flight. What more could a rider wish for. Onwards!. William<br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">www.WilliamMicklem.com</a></p>DRESSAGE & JUMPING - INACCURATE INTERPRETATIONtag:www.barnmice.com,2010-01-08:1773158:BlogPost:1843312010-01-08T10:30:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
<p>I am very disappointed to hear that a number of people have inaccurately interpreted the messages in my last blog to the extent that I am being portrayed as anti-dressage.<br></br> <br></br> I LOVE DRESSAGE<br></br> <br></br> Let me make it 100% clear that I love good dressage at any level, and I am in love with seeing a rider and horse working in harmony and with real quality...to me each moment is then something of great beauty and still gives me enormous pleasure on a daily basis. Good dressage training…</p>
<p>I am very disappointed to hear that a number of people have inaccurately interpreted the messages in my last blog to the extent that I am being portrayed as anti-dressage.<br/> <br/> I LOVE DRESSAGE<br/> <br/> Let me make it 100% clear that I love good dressage at any level, and I am in love with seeing a rider and horse working in harmony and with real quality...to me each moment is then something of great beauty and still gives me enormous pleasure on a daily basis. Good dressage training is vital for event horses and is the core of the jumping training. Everything I have ever written endorses this opinion and I still spend far too many hours of my life selling the crucial importance of dressage. In addition unlike many event trainers I also find no difficulty with Prix St George training, as long as it is good quality unforced work and it is part of an integrated programme. I said exactly this in my article:<br/> <br/> <i>"The ‘higher level’ of dressage referred to by some as a potential danger is Prix St Georges, the introductory level for international dressage. Lucinda Green quotes Jack Le Goff as saying that doing dressage at this level is detrimental to a cross country horse….and certainly anything said by Jack le Goff should be listened to because he was an outstanding coach. However in itself I cannot see that this level of dressage is harmful IF the training is done with good steady progression and real partnership, and IF it is part of an overall strategy and programme that allows sufficient time for all aspects of an integrated training programme."</i><br/> <br/> IT'S NOT EITHER/OR, IT'S INTEGRATED TRAINING<br/> <br/> It is also totally inaccurate to suggest that I say it is 'an either/or' situation. I see good Event training as being 'integrated'....which is the point I mention in the quote above and the point I mention several other times in the article, with the connected suggestion that what is required is coaches who understand the demands of all three phases or coaches who teach all three phases. I see no difficulty in bringing together good dressage, jump and cross country training. Indeed I believe it produces a better, more efficient and humane training programme....a point also made by Reiner Klimke.<br/> <br/> The article was not primarily about fifth leg training but once again to make it clear......yes it is not a new concept and yes many suggest a conflict here with dressage but I don't see it that way. Anyone who has read my articles on this subject will bear me out. Equally people forget fifth leg training and I will keep mentioning it until it is included in all major show jumping and cross country syllabi/curriculums....which at the moment it is not. (NB It is a vital part of winning against the clock show jumping.)<br/> <br/> As far as I am concerned I make 'fifth leg' training part of every normal session for the horse even in dressage, in as far as self carriage is fifth leg training and working on varied terrain is very helpful, (in the same way that I make 'Feel' part of every session for the rider). So the dressage helps the jumping which in turn helps the dressage. I say this time and time again and my Barnmice blog 'Four Great Reasons to Jump Your Dressage Horse' was read by over 12,000 people last year and was discussed at length on all the major equestrian forums including the Horse and Hound and The Chronicle of the Horse. I am going to post this blog again later today. Once again it is all about an integrated programme and having the flexibility to choose from the fullest range of exercises to benefit each rider and horse combination.<br/> <br/> This is my message. So I hope that further inaccuracies do not hinder communication and the important points in our joint efforts to inch towards a safer sport. William<br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">www.WilliamMicklem.com</a></p>William Micklem says WILL WE FACE FACTS REGARDING DRESSAGE AND JUMPING?tag:www.barnmice.com,2010-01-01:1773158:BlogPost:1822902010-01-01T09:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
<p>On February 8th Hartpury College in the UK are hosting an International Eventing Conference entitled ‘Training for Safety’. An admirable aim without doubt and some great sessions are scheduled for the day, so the organisers are to be congratulated. However the description of one of the presentations worries me greatly. The title is Dressage – the relationship with Jumping. The description explains that Pammy Hutton FBHS <i>will dispel the ‘myth’ that the higher level of dressage can be…</i></p>
<p>On February 8th Hartpury College in the UK are hosting an International Eventing Conference entitled ‘Training for Safety’. An admirable aim without doubt and some great sessions are scheduled for the day, so the organisers are to be congratulated. However the description of one of the presentations worries me greatly. The title is Dressage – the relationship with Jumping. The description explains that Pammy Hutton FBHS <i>will dispel the ‘myth’ that the higher level of dressage can be detrimental to Jumping.</i> I hasten to add that Pammy Hutton did not choose this description herself.<br/> <br/> EVERYTHING IS FINE AND DANDY<br/> <br/> So does this mean that we can take it as read that everything is fine and dandy with regard to dressage training in relationship to jumping? It certainly suggests there is not going to be much objective analysis and debate about both sides of this argument. It also suggests that some ignore the central truth that everything has both advantages and disadvantages. An awareness of both the advantages and disadvantages obviously allows us to make better use of the advantages and avoid the disadvantages as far as possible. Being blind to the disadvantages makes us less effective and often less safe. The phrase ‘if you keep doing the same you’ll keep getting the same result’ also comes to mind.<br/> <br/> It is just beyond logic and flies in the face of the evidence to believe that we cannot do better with our dressage in relationship to jumping, especially cross-country jumping. I believe that the negative side of bad dressage is too often glossed over and that this is not just an occasional problem but a significant challenge facing our sport. We should not run away from the fact that some types of dressage training are without doubt dangerous for horse and rider….what ever level the training is at. Let me give an example:<br/> <br/> AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN<br/> <br/> There was a very talented, forward thinking but safe cross country horse at CCI *** that was bought to be ridden by an experienced advanced rider. The one main task in order to fulfil this horse’s potential was to ‘fix the dressage’, so an international Grand Prix rider and trainer was engaged to fix the dressage.<br/> <br/> Unfortunately the result was rows and resistance. After a short period of time the horse learnt to fight the forced shape he was being put in, thrusting his head up and running blind towards the corner of the school. Not long after this, when going across country, the rider asked the horse to slow down in front of a fence. The horse switched straight away to his head in the air running blind mode, and literally ran into the next fence. He fell on top of the rider who was killed on impact.<br/> <br/> ACCEPTANCE NOT SUBMISSION<br/> <br/> Yes this was lousy dressage training but it goes on, and it goes on at all levels from novice to international. In both pure dressage and show jumping flat work a “very strong style of riding” is considered acceptable by a number of trainers. So at the very least the seed could be sown for all people reading the blurb for this conference that aggressive dressage training is potentially dangerous. This is not splitting hairs and who can argue against the fact that a life may be saved because a particular rider and horse worked in harmony instead of fighting each other in front of a fence.<br/> <br/> This is a dual challenge…because we both have to work with not against our horses, seeking acceptance not submission, and we also have to proceed a step at a time. It all comes back to that famous quotation of Gustav Steinbrecht <i>“...all [training exercises] follow one another in such a way that the preceding exercise always constitutes a secure basis for the next one. Violations of this rule will always exert payment later on; not only by a triple loss of time but very frequently by resistances, which for a long time, if not forever, interfere with the relationship between horse and rider.”</i> The second sentence of this quote is of the greatest importance in relation to safe jumping.<br/> <br/> We need joyful, easy dressage with an absence of forced, over regimented, mechanical work. Good behaviour has to be achieved by acceptance and understanding....not by treating horses as foot soldiers in the two world wars, which destroys trust and partnership. Sadly the type of training given to some riders makes it virtually impossible for them to do nothing even when things are going well, particularly in front of a fence, and this over riding and over complication of method at best distracts the horse and at worst takes away from them the responsibility of taking ‘ownership’ of the jumping effort. This is the opposite of fifth leg training and contributes to too many accidents.<br/> <br/> A TEAM OF TRAINERS<br/> <br/> We also have the challenge within horse trials of training holistically with an integrated programme for all three phases rather than separating the training into three separate boxes with three separate coaches. Sounds ridiculous I know but this is exactly what happens so often. I don’t mind the use of specialist trainers, especially for advanced riders, but at the very least the trainers involved should communicate with each other and fully assess and agree the priority needs and overall strategy for each rider and horse combination. Therefore each coach needs to really understand the demands of all three disciplines in horse trials.<br/> <br/> A team of trainers is fine as long as they are a team, not a group of individuals with individual agendas. In rugby and football, for example, it is now common to have a team of different specialist trainers, but they work to a common agenda and agreed priorities, and they usually work at the same location that allows ongoing communication and reassessment. This is difficult to arrange with event training and makes the value of a genuine horse trials coach even greater. Unfortunately the true all round horse trials coach is becoming a thing of the past as both coaches and riders follow the modern trend of specialisation.<br/> <br/> IF THE STUDENT WAS YOUR CHILD WHAT WOULD YOU DO?<br/> <br/> As both a parent and coach concerned for the safety of my children I would specifically forbid them to train with several well known dressage trainers because their methods do not allow for what I would describe as cross country essentials and/or they do not take into account the training for all the phases of eventing as a whole.<br/> <br/> Sadly once again I can give a specific example of a fatality for which this was a contributory factor. The rider in question was an amateur, with a suitable horse who in the past was successful across country, taking care of the rider and having a good fifth leg. The rider had ambitions to compete at CCI ** level and took the preparation seriously. To this end a series of lessons were taken with two international coaches…one from dressage and one from show jumping…but without any communication between coaches. The dressage coach concentrated on submission and the show jumping coach concentrated on grids, related distances and even stride patterns, and the rider became more dominant and did less cross country work. This substantially reduced the horse’s freedom to respond to bad distances and be proactive in front of a fence.<br/> <br/> The cross country rounds gradually deteriorated as the horse jumped with decreasing confidence and involvement as the rider made mistakes. In consequence the rider started riding more strongly because of the lack of confidence. It was a vicious circle that culminated with the horse falling, when half stopping and half not caring when on a bad stride, and landing on the rider. I have little doubt that this type of training senario has been a contributory factor in other serious accidents. So this is not something to be taken lightly.<br/> <br/> PRIX ST GEORGE<br/> <br/> The ‘higher level’ of dressage referred to by some as a potential danger is Prix St Georges, the introductory level for international dressage. Lucinda Green quotes Jack Le Goff as saying that doing dressage at this level is detrimental to a cross country horse….and certainly anything said by Jack le Goff should be listened to because he was an outstanding coach.<br/> <br/> However in itself I cannot see that this level of dressage is harmful IF the training is done with good steady progression and real partnership, and IF it is part of an overall strategy and programme that allows sufficient time for all aspects of an integrated training programme. Therefore (1) if the training to a Prix St Georges level is of the domineering type it is no myth that it will be detrimental to the jumping. Therefore (2) if training to a Prix St Georges level prevents a well-rounded education for the horse then it is no myth that it will be detrimental to the jumping. In other words, with regard to this second point, there is always an 'opportunity cost' of preparing a horse to do this this level of dressage....if you spend time preparing them for Prix St Georges you cannot spend time on something else that may be more important in the preparation of a particular event horse.<br/> <br/> SPEAK UP OR SHUT UP<br/> <br/> My own personal moral conundrum is to decide what degree of responsibility I have for riders in the sport. Increasingly I feel that I should speak out more, as we only have to stand by the warm up arenas of international competitions for a short time to witness some well known riders/coaches at best training mechanically and at worst being brutal in their quest for submission. I have heard no logical argument that this makes cross country riding safer.<br/> <br/> If we dismiss this without a mention we discourage a search for better ways and we may well be increasing the risks and reducing the room for error for a number of riders. In addition it will only be a matter of time before some more film of this type of dressage riding will be put up on U Tube and further damage our wonderful sport. A sport that I believe does more for raising stable management and riding standards than any of the other major disciplines. A sport that is full of humane and skilful trainers and riders and wonderful people. Let’s use riders such William Fox Pitt, Philip Dutton, Mark Todd (his famous Charisma competed at Prix St George level), Tina Cook and Ruth Edge as role models and show that overall we can do better.<br/> <br/> MISLEADING<br/> <br/> So I am concerned that the description of Pammy Hutton’s talk will be seen by hundreds and will potentially mislead some of them to just keep repeating what they have always done. I believe the description should be rephrased A) in a more objective way B) relate to all dressage and C) specifically refer to cross country jumping. Certainly those coaches who go to the conference have a duty to ensure that the potential dangers of dressage training are raised, otherwise it would suggest that they are blind to the evidence. I cannot believe that this is the case...so as I said, let's do better...ONWARDS!<br/> <br/> William<br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">www.WilliamMicklem.com</a><br/> <br/> NEXT TIME....Four great reasons to jump your dressage horse.</p>HAPPY CHRISTMAS WINNER!tag:www.barnmice.com,2009-12-25:1773158:BlogPost:1811882009-12-25T09:00:00.000ZWilliam Micklemhttp://www.barnmice.com/profile/williammicklem
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So what are you going to do next year to win a rosette....we cannot all win gold medals but we can all produce a new personal best, a new PB, in some area of our lives..... and it is not being conceited or over confident to aim high. As Nelson Mandela said.... <i>"We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented,and fabulous - actually who are you not to be? As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to…</i>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img width="176" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2203043463?profile=RESIZE_180x180" alt="" width="176" height="300"/></p>
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So what are you going to do next year to win a rosette....we cannot all win gold medals but we can all produce a new personal best, a new PB, in some area of our lives..... and it is not being conceited or over confident to aim high. As Nelson Mandela said.... <i>"We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented,and fabulous - actually who are you not to be? As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”</i> So carry other people with you and open doors for others by making the most of each day and aiming high. It is very true to say that we all tend to regret not the things that we have done but the things we haven't done....so the message is clear Have a <i>GO!</i><br />
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Once again Nelson Mandela has the right words..... <i>“There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”</i> We need to aim for excellence. This ‘can do’ spirit also protects us from the paralysing, and thus self-defeating, pessimism that is all too characteristic of anxiety and depression. ONWARDS! William<br />
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<a href="http://www.WilliamMicklem.com">www.WilliamMicklem.com</a><br />
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NEXT TIME...back to the serious stuff...are some coaches and officials part of the problem as we seek safer cross country riding?