We Are Damaging Our Horses

We Are Damaging Our Horses  Dr Gerd Heuschmann is on a mission to change how dressage horses are trained. A turncoat? Perhaps. A politician? "No thanks," he says. A brave man? Certainly. It takes daring and conviction to change a powerful system from within. But vet and trainer Dr Gerd Heuschmann has struck at the heart of modern dressage, publicly arguing that the sport has gone badly wrong. He was once a lone voice in the wilderness, but his persuasive arguments have gained currency in the dressage world. "The way we train young horses, its as if were planning to eat them" was one out burst at the 2002 Global Dressage Forum.

It set the scene for what has followed. Not for Heuschmann the rarefied existence of a private yard, muttering to trusted acolytes about the shocking decline of horsemanship.

Instead, from his clinic nestling between Germanys national training centre and the German Olympic Committee headquarters in Warendorf, Heuschmann has carved a niche as an outspoken yet well-regarded critic of the way horses are being trained. He is an irritant to parts of the establishment. Even colleagues sometimes attempt to press the mute button.

"There are some people who want to kill me and others who want to marry me - but most people are somewhere in between," he laughs.

Far from being a left field critic, he is the product of the system hes desperate to change. A Bavarian farmers son he trained as a Bereiter (a high-level riding qualification) at Warendorf, and then a vet in Munich. He is also the former head of the breeding department at the German Federation.

So what has got the establishment rattled?

"Good riding means having a confident horse. He will have suppleness without tension. But now we try to produce spectacular paces from the beginning." he says.

"I call them monkeys with their unnatural, high steps and staccato rhythms" He lifts his arms high, joints at exaggerated angles to demonstrate.

"But it should be impossible to present monkeys - one of the main goals of good riding is that all three natural gaits improve.

You cant create the monkey way of going without a tense back. This leads to all the problems we now see in vet clinics - joint problems, sore backs and tendon and ligament damage.

Think of an eight-year-old girl starting gymnastics - she lacks suppleness and tone, perhaps shes a little overweight, but the trainer forces her to do exercises, causing pain and damage.

You couldnt get away with training a gymnast like this," points out Heuschmann. "if she had two years of good, progressive training, her body would develop and she would be able to do the exercises easily.

But we put a three-year-old horse in draw reins and hold him in front while pushing from behind. It makes a spectacular trot, but all thats really being created is tension and problems for the future."

Heuschmann believes changes need to be made throughout the whole system. At grand prix, he wants the tests to refocus marks to reward correct basic gaits and halts. As for the judges, he reports that many people believe there cannot be real change until a new generation comes through.

"Our judges would be in trouble if they started marking differently now - theyve gone so far up the hill that they can hardly turn round and come back. Judges are changing, but it wont happen overnight." he says.

And what of the public, which loves the "wow" movement of the modern dressage horse? Wont testing basic gaits rather than spectacular highlights make dressage boring?

"The World Championships at Aachen this year will be interesting. The public will not tolerate a very bad picture anymore. I believe we are close to a point when spectators will shout out, even in a grand prix."

While there are still changes to be made at the sharp end, Heuschmann believes progress has been made with young horses. Still, he feels dressage should consider ending the showing of three-year-olds and that there should be a limit to the number of times young horses start per year. He also believes a field might be a more appropriate place to judge youngsters rather than an arena.

Dr Heuschmann believes the "show trot" problem began with breeding associations.

"It started about 25 years ago when the top breeding associations began holding stallion shows. Everyone was excited by the show trot."

Like a virus, the show trot hopped from stallion shows to young horse classes and up the levels to grand prix.

"The judges and spectators all got used to it." says Heuschmann.

"Even I think: wow when I see the first moments of a show trot." he admits. "It looks good to the eye. But you have to engage the brain and see whats really going on."

Heuschmann suggests breed societies and auctioneers should encourage bidders to consider horses which do not demonstrate extravagant movement as youngsters, by pointing out they are still likely grand prix material-and cheaper to boot.

"We also need to work on our professionals. We all go in to the horse world because we love horses and we start out with a high moral code, but before long pros recognise they have to earn money." explains Heuschman.

"But its hard to make a good business out of young horses ridden on a loose rein who have unspectacular gaits. Its impossible to change things overnight. Change has to come from many points."

Heuschmann believes the German Federation is being pushed in two directions.

"It wants to retain its riding and training traditions, but it can only get medals with a way of training that is not correlated to a classical system."

Ah yes, "classical" training. Ask 100 people and youll get 100 different explanations. So what does Heuschmann mean when he uses the "c" word?

"Traditional riding instruction comes from different influences. The book that encapsulates it best is a 1921 training manual for German soldiers Heeres Dienst Vervidunung 12 [HDV 12].

"In HDV 12, the riding instruction maps the mental and physical necessities of the horses development - and thats what training should all be about."

This system, where the concern is the horses development, accepts different ways of training for dressage and show jumping to that used for Western and pleasure horses.

"If the horse is supple, then an animal used purely for pleasure - hacking through countryside and forest - can be considered classical." explains Heuschmann.

This is a doctrine he will continue to spread, sharing the stage with top riders, trainers, judges and scientists. It is a problem that besets the whole dressage world.

"People try to make me into a politician - Im not one. Some want to turn this into a fight between the Dutch and the Germans - but the Germans are just as responsible. I content myself that with each horse who has a better chance to develop, there is a little victory."

How Should Dressage Change? Heuschmanns Suggestions;

YOUNG HORSE CLASSES

1. Reconsider whether three-year-olds should be competed at all.

2. Look at limiting the number of competition starts for youngsters.

3. Youngsters should be shown in an event saddle with no sitting trot

4. The young horse should not be judged on whether he looks like a "dressage" horse.

GRAND PRIX CLASSES

1. In the grand prix, more weight should be given to the basic gaits - currently, they are marked for only short periods.

2. The Importance (and marks awarded) of the halts at the beginning and end should be increased.

3. Perhaps introduce a pre-test at grand prix, where the basic gaits are marked, before the main test is performed.

4. We should have the same tests worldwide for young horses up tp grand prix.

AUCTIONS

1.The auction system has to change and people should be encouraged to stop paying 300 to 400 thousand euros for a spectacular four-year-old who is never seen again.

2. Breeders need to stop hoping to produce the top lot, and the auctioneers should behave responsibly when recommending horses.

Dr Gerd Heuschmann has co-founded a think-tank Xenophon with Ingrid Klimke and Klaus Balkenhol, among others to combat what he believes are serious mistakes being made in equestrian sport. He will publish a book outlining his method of educational training in the summer. It is provisionally entitled Finger in the Wound.

This article was sent to us by one of our VFH members. Written by Seamour Rathore and has been reproduced by kind permission from Horse and Hound Magazine (4th May 2006)

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