oldie48
Well-Known Member
Yesterday I went to the Midway Championship Gala evening. There was a demo by Carl Cupyers, who is the Becholsteimer's resident trainer, with a 6 year old and an older horse competing with Lara Butler at GP. I thought I'd share his philosophy which was, listen to the horse, (that was his first comment and was repeated several times) get to know your horse eg do they tire mentally or physically first? Don't let them get tired. What conformation do they have which might help or hinder their training? Give lots of breaks, change the neck position frequently so they can relax and take the rein forward and out, up and down. Watch the neck muscles to ensure they are using them correctly (that's my interpretation!). They back their horses as three year olds then turn away for the summer in a field, bring them back into work as four year olds but they get turned away again for the summer in the field. Proper training starts when they are five year olds but is dictated by their physical and mental maturity. I saw two beautiful relaxed soft horses, that were clearly very happy in their work. I couldn't have ridden one side of them but I could dream!
