Devonshire's East Devon magazine September October 2018

Horse
Care
Whisper
by Natalie Bucklar
East Devon Riding Academy
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Natalie Bucklar
BSc (Hons), MSc (Equine Science)
adults at having a willingness to
create a partnership with ponies,
not a one way, bullying coercion
and it is the adult’s job to harness
this and not spoil it with short cuts.
More experienced riders can
also benefit from taking a
step back and reviewing their
what they meant. You could ask correctly and have the knowledge communication methods,
Natalie has owned horses for over
30 years and owns East Devon for clarification but what if they and ability to control their own honestly assessing their individual
Riding Academy near Sidmouth. ignore you or just repeat the same bodies. This takes understanding, abilities to enable practice in areas
She has previously lectured in message?
patience and strength and that require refinement. Try it- quit
Equine Science to degree level and
produced research for preparing
these attributes are gained at shouting and see what you can
Great Britains' equestrian teams Now translate these communication an individual rider’s own rate achieve with a whisper!
for the Olympics. Natalie provides scenarios to a rider and their horse through practice, learning and
consultations in horse management,
training and problem solving using or pony. The rider would like to trot for children, growing up. Luckily Happy riding!
a force-free, science based approach.Natalie
on at B, will their exact request be children are much better than
x
Learning to Whisper
Imagine a scenario, you are in a
library and you shout at a friend
‘Pass me that book’. There is a
possibility you may get passed the
correct book but the chances of
an amicable transfer would greatly
increase if you spoke quietly, nod
your head in the direction of the
book you want, you point or better
still you actually describe the book
in terms of appearance, title and
author quietly and maybe with
an additional ‘please’. Without
the additional information and
appropriate manners, how long
would it take your friend to give
you the correct book, if at all?
Your friend may be used to your
brusqueness, it may upset them
or they may choose to ignore it
but would it help a successful
friendship if you communicated
more fittingly?
Next, imagine you get a text
message from someone that
says ‘I can’t wait to see you later’.
From your past experience with
that person, this could mean
anything from ‘I really want to
see you’ to ‘I really want to see you
so I can have a go at you for not
mucking out properly’. Without
additional information you are left
guessing what the outcome will
be when you see that person and
you could waste minutes or even
hours trying to work out exactly
more successful if they prepare
and then ask appropriately and
clearly at the right time or if they
just simply flap their legs over
and over again, metaphorically
shouting? Flapping away is easier
and quicker to learn but which
method makes for a neater rider
and a happier (and therefore safer)
horse? They would like to ride a
circle, will a pull on the rein suffice
or would the horse be happier
to perform a better circle of
the correct size and shape, in a
rhythmical and balanced way if
they were asked more subtly and
with more information? Looking
forward to the future of the
individual rider, will the pull and
kick approach be sufficient and
acceptable for enabling the riding
of different ponies and horses in
many different scenarios?
The principle is the same from a
simple transition up to a complex
set of turns between jumps. Yes,
there are lots of ways to achieve
the same end result but for a
harmonious relationship with
horses and a more accurate
interpretation of the rider’s
requests, clear communication
of the appropriate intensity is
important. It takes time to train
a riders brain and body to be
able to ‘speak’ clearly, accurately
and concisely. We can’t possibly
expect a rider to suitably, kindly
and safely control a horse if they
cannot position themselves
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