#9 Hvad er hestevelfærd for dig? @fromjumpingtodressage

WHAT DOES HORSE WELFARE MEAN YOU? (SCROLL DOWN FOR ENGLISH VERSION)

For nogen uger siden ville jeg have svaret noget om at for mig er det at hesten har mad og vand, en god boks og får lov til at være rigelig på fold. Men efter at have tænkt mere på temaet, nok lidt påvirket av at have blidt med i PEEK konkurrencen, tror jeg mit svar i dag vil være noget mere uddybende. Og i dette indlægget tænkte jeg dele nogen konkrete eksempler som har ført til at jeg nu lægger lidt mere i begrebet end jeg gjorde tidligere.

Når jeg fik Sambuca var jeg nok ikke klar over hvor meget som skal til for at ride en god hest. Jeg var ydmyg i forhold til at jeg godt var klar over at jeg havde behov for hjælp, men jeg var nok lidt der at jeg kan jo at ride, nå skal jeg bare lære at ride dressur. Noget naivt vil nok mange si, men jeg var på ingen måde klar over hvor stor forskellen var fra en rideskolehest til en dressurhest. Nå er Sambuca nok også lidt mere sensitiv en mange heste, og heller ikke en lærehest i den traditionelle forstand. Så jeg gjorde det jo ikke nemt for mig selv, men jeg kan godt lige at vælge lidt anderledes vejer. Men hvad har så dette med heste velfærd tænker du nå, men hæng med lidt til så skal jeg komme til det.

Siden jeg fik Sambuca har det stort sett gået fint fremover, selvfølgelig med lidt op og ned undervejs. Til at starte med var jeg ikke god nok til at holde støtte på tøjlen i overgangene, så det er noget vi havde meget fokus på. Men så snart det kom på plads, gik det som nævnt meget bedre. De dagene jeg ikke har tid til at ride selv (som desværre er alt for ofte), rider min træner Sambuca, og hun har den sidste tiden bemærket at Sambuca lægger sig lidt på bidet. Og det er som regel ikke bedre efter at jeg har rid hinde… Så for cirka to uger siden havde min træner tydeligvis tænkt på dette, og spurte om jeg spændte hænderne mine når jeg red. Jeg syntes jo ikke rigtig jeg gjorde det, da jeg følte jeg bare fokuserede på at holde støtten. Min træner var så ikke helt overbevist, og med frasen “tryk avler modtryk” bad hun mig forsøge at slappe av i hænderne, og bare se hvordan det gik. Og det ændrede alt! Sambuca blev næsten umiddelbart helt anderledes at ride, hun slappet av og ble løs og ledig, og det hele ble bare nemt (eller i hvert fald nemmere). Tidligere når vi har redet LA programmene har det været lidt stresset, og jeg har følt jeg ikke har havet tid til at ride øvelserne skikkelig. Pludselig var der overskud til det hele, samtidig som Sambuca’s gangarter kom endnu bedre frem. Dette hændte så kun en uge eller to før stævnet, og var en total game changer for mig. Og nok også en av de vigtigste årsagerne til at jeg tidvis følte mig lidt overskudsagtig på stævnedagen, jeg følte jo jeg allerede havde vundet siden jeg nå havde denne helt nye forståelsen for det hele.

Men hvad om jeg ikke havde rid for en træner…. Da ville jeg i god tro fortsat ha været for anspændt, Sambuca ville ha gået mere og mere imod, og det hele ville nok ha udviklet sig i gal retning. Og ville det ha været god hestevelfærd? Mit svar er så nej. Så derfor vælger jeg at lægge til en ekstra sætning i min definition. God hestevelfærd er også å sikre at man har kyndig hjælp (det være sig fra en træner eller andre), sådan at man rider sin hest rigtig. Det at jeg har nogen på sidelinjen til at vejlede mig når jeg laver fejl gør i hvert fald en rigtig stor forskel for mig, og jeg tror forskellen betyder endnu mere for Sambuca.

I næste indlæg vil jeg fortsætte lidt i samme spor, og fortælle mere om vår træningsplan og mål fremadrettet.

 

Følg os gerne på Instagram @fromjumpingtodressage

 

Bedste hilser fra

Hanne

 

Tidligere indlæg:

#1 Get to know us

#2 Finding Sambuca

#3 Out in the field

#4 My trainer

#5 MatchyMatchy

#6 First show

#7 Competition preparations

#8 Competition update

 

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What does horse welfare mean to you?

If someone had asked me that question a couple of weeks ago, i would probably have said something about food, water, shelter and being allowed out in field. But after having thought some more on the topic, probably influenced a little by attending the PEEK competition, I think my answer today would be more elaborate. And in this post I would like to give you a specific example of an event that made me put a little more into the term than I did previously.

When I got Sambuca I don’t think I was aware of how much it takes to ride a good horse. I was humble in the sense that I knew I need help along the way, but I was a little of the belief that I know how to ride, I just need to learn how to do dressage. A bit naive some might say, but I had no idea how much of a difference there is between a riding school horse and a dressage horse. Sambuca might be a little more sensitive than some horses, and not a school master in the traditional sense. So I did not make it easy for myself, but I like to chose a little bit different path. But what does this have to do with horse welfare… Stay with me, and I promise I will get to the point.

Since I got Sambuca, things have mostly been progressing well, of course with some ups and downs along  the way. To begin with I did not have enough support on the rein during transitions, so that is something I focused a lot on. But as soon as I learned that, things went a lot better. The days when I don’t have time to ride myself (which unfortunately is to often), my trainer rides Sambuca. And recently she has commented that Sambuca has been a bit heavy on the rein, and it is not any better after I have ridden her…. So for about tow weeks ago my trainer had obviously been thinking about this, and asked if I was tense holding in the rein. I didn’t think I was that, after all I was just focusing on keeping enough support. My trainer was not convinced and asked me to try and relax, and just see what happened. And it changed everything! Sambuca almost immediately became totally different to ride, and everything was suddenly just easy (or alt least a lot easier). Previously when we have ridden the LA program it has been rushed, and I have felt that there just isn’t enough time to ride the exercises properly. Suddenly I had time for it all, in addition to Sambucas gaits looking even better. This happened around a week or two before the show, and it was a total game changer for me. And probably the biggest reason for me feeling a little bit on top of it all at competition day, as I felt I had already won by getting this whole new understanding!

But what if I hadn’t ridden for a trainer…. Then I would still be riding tense, with the best of intentions. And Sambuca would have gone more and more against me, and everything would have spiralled off in the wrong direction. And would that have been good horse welfare? My answer is no. So that is why I chose to add another sentence to my definition. Good horse welfare is also making sure that you have sufficient help (be it from a trainer or others), so that you learn to ride your horse the correct way. Having someone on the sideline correct my mistakes have made a huge difference to me, and I believe it has meant even more for Sambuca.

I my next post I will continue in the same line, and tell you more about our training plan and goals going forward.

 

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Best regards,

Hanne