Trick Training – More than just fun!

Frankie improving his balance.

“Trick training may not seem ‘serious enough’ for ‘serious riders’ but it is the means of helping humans make more of their horses than athletes or beasts of burden – it is one of the best ways to make your horse your friend.” Philippe Karl, French riding master and founder of the Ecole de Legerete

I’ve been enthusiastic about learning more circus type work, especially trick training, for the past several months. Trick training can help to develop a more confident and respectful horse, broaden the handler’s repertoire of training techniques, add variety and creativity into one’s daily interactions with one’s horses, and can significantly reduce the boredom that may develop (in horse and human) with traditional riding and training. Trick training, when done properly, can also be used to significantly improve a horse’s flexibility and strength.

Although trick training has a bad connotation for many  people due to the harsh methods and total disregard for the horse’s biomechanics that have been associated with some trick trainers in the past, there are many people out there today who are using humane training techniques to train tricks, to help horses improve phsyically, mentally, as well as from a behavioral standpoint.

“Through trick training, you can learn how to make your horse enthusiastic about his “serious”work….In fact, is is my own heartfelt desire to convey how the most difficult of disciplines – dressage, for example – can be ‘joyfully advanced’ with the help of these exercises….trick training helps to motivate horses to be ‘achievers’ and enables them to willingly perform schooling exercises that are otherwise likely to bore them.” Bea Borelle, Trick Training for Horses

Philippe Karl’s wife Bea Borelle, and the trainers at the Art of Natural Dressage, use trick training in conjunction with classical dressage exercises. Then there is Eva Wiemers’ who has a program called “Gym Circensis” in which she uses tricks to develop strength and flexibility , not necessarily for exhibition purposes.

Cynthia Royal of the Royal Academy and Equine Psychology Center in southern California uses trick training as part of her equine psychology program to rehabilitate horses with difficult behavior. I had the great fortune to spend two days training with her last October working with both her (very well) trained personal horses as well as some untrained horses. I learned tons and it has inspired me to further integrate circus work into my own training program with both Frankie and Valentine.

I’m currently using pedestal and teeter-totter work to improve Frankie’s proprioception, straightness, and balance as well as his behavior. I began seeing improvement in all areas within a couple of sessions and he seems to just keep getting better. With that said, I see much more trick training in our future!

Shifting his weight forwards...

…and shifting his weight backwards.

Balancing in the Middle

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