"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear" - Buddhist ProverbWe had another lesson with both Napalm and the other trainer I was trying out this week. While I had decided on Napalm last week, I had already made the appointment with the 2nd trainer, and I wanted to try her again just to make sure I was ok with my decision. I'm amazed at how 2 different trainers with "good on paper" backgrounds can approach the same problem (La Resistance) with such opposing methods. Napalm requires more contact on the horse, and asks the horse to relax into the contact. The 2nd trainer rides the horse in a longer rein, and, to me, takes the "Koombaya" approach to horse training. Next thing you know, we'll be coppin' a squat in the Buddha Hut meditating on our metatarsals.
I can't say which training method is better overall; I am not an expert, just a very opinionated bystander. However, our desired path is that of Enlightenment and not perpetual reincarnation in the Training-level-sense. Working with Napalm's methods, Nic does a better job, and is more relaxed after. Since one Buddhist philosophy is that Enlightenment, in part, comes from doing one's best at the task at hand, regardless of how meaningless and small the task may appear to be, applying that ideal in the Dressage sense can only promote Enlightenment in the mare.
In my opinion, because Napalm keeps the horse working, and engages the mind, the horse doesn't have time to think about anything except the rider and the task at hand. The 2nd trainer, in the interest of relaxation, lets the horse determine their own pace. While that method works with other horses, for Nic, who requires constant stimulation, it is just an opportunity for her to place her attention elsewhere. Nic needs to be required to pay attention at all times.
Trainer used to believe that I was too harsh on Nic, and that I expected too much. This 2nd trainer echoed his thoughts. Only once Trainer started to ride Nic, did he realize I was correct; the horse uses spooking as an evasion. Needless to say, I was frustrated after the lesson with this 2nd trainer because the horse can do much more than the woman was allowing her to do.
With "relaxation" and "strength" being the Dharma of Dressage, and upon which everything you see in the tests is based, one must realize that no single method works for each horse. One horse's relaxing ride is another horse's tension builder. I know when I sit and do nothing, I am more tense than when I am busy. Nic is the same way; she can't sit in her stall and do nothing. She needs hay, something to look at, etc.
This 2nd trainer suggested that my ambitions are too high and that I am putting undue stress on my horse; Napalm sees things my way. She stated that Nic’s spooking is disobedience. Even if the horse is truly scared, she believes the horse should still be focused on the rider. I can work with that perspective.
I tend to be very demanding on myself, and, I suppose, on Nic. However, I believe my demand is within acceptable limitations; I just expect the horse to be round, pay attention, attempt relaxation (because the horse is on a constant caffeine high, that's not always achieved), and to make progress at an acceptable pace, and not infinitesimally slow pace, as the 2nd trainer believes she should. I get that some days the horse is a little muscle sore from the day before, especially if she has worked hard, but inattentiveness just isn't going to cut it. From discipline, comes Enlightenment.
Napalm said that our canter departs were looking better this week, and that Nic actually wanted to start coming round in the canter. The horse was holding herself up better this week; I think it speaks volumes that after 2 lessons with Napalm the horse is doing much better. Napalm isn't for the faint of heart; she is demanding, but I think our test scores at our last show prove that there is something there, and Nic's positive response to her instruction shows that Napalm's methods produce effective results. The bottom line is this: I am more proud of my horse after working using Napalm's methods than I have been of her in a while, and I think that is all the endorsement I need for right now.
