I'm investigating the possibilities of getting William Farber from Art2Ride to Denmark to do a clinic in the summer 2019.

If we get problems when training our horses or the horse get lameness issues, you can not help thinking that something might be wrong with the way you ride and train your horse. Or, at least, I think about it. And in fact, in most cases there is something wrong.

How do you know if you train your horse correctly?

There are some areas on the horse where it is very clear to see if the training is in order. 

The area behind the shoulders

One of the places is the area just behind the shoulders. What you typically will see with the riding horses are depressions/holes, actually right where the front pillows of the saddle rest. For many, it has become quite normal that horses have these holes just behind their shoulders.

The other thing we often see is the barrel-shaped horses without wither and without any grooves anywhere. This is most often seen on young horses, overweight horses or the heavier breeds and some ponies. Typically, these horses are not worked very much.

It is, for example, that if the horse is working correctly, the wither will grow up between the shoulders so that the horse starts to look higher in front. This does not mean, however, that the wither is beginning to be narrow. The wither should appear strong and wide.

Noller is one of the horses that develops slowly. Think it's due to his confirmation and temperament. Where he has developed the most is the area behind the shoulders. There he used to have holes.

Art2Ride has gained many more followers over the recent years, which is amazing. Several people have realized the benefits with this way of training their horses. Unfortunately, more followers also mean that more critics are beginning to keep an eye on us. 

I've seen pictures comparing a horse that stretches all the way to the ground with a horse that is being ridden in roll kur, under the heading "why go from one evil to another". 

In my world one can not force a horse to be in a deep position with the head in front of the vertical. If the horse work in a long, low, forward frame, the reins will have to be very long. The horse will therefor at any time be able to lift its head before the rider can react with the reins. With roll kur, the horse is ridden behind the vertical with a short rein. That is, if it tries to lift its head, it will meet resistance from the reins. I can not see the comparison.