Grand Prix rider, trainer and advanced level judge Karin Lührs on the scale of training

We try to explain and pass on the correct way of riding at our small and large-scale events. Here is an example: A participant appeared at a course with a belly bit (for information: a bit with fixed, “b”-shaped side pieces and small upper rings (upper bars) that are attached directly to the bridle). The horse felt extremely uncomfortable, resisted leaning upwards, practically screamed for help, and the rider used it because of the horse’s alleged sensitivity in her mouth. The fact was, however, that the rider was not able to ride the horse in contact at all, in a steady, soft, springy connection to the horse’s mouth. With this bit and her limited experience, she made the situation extremely worse. The bit was strapped on, the problem unraveled for the rider and the horse was immediately happier.

Judgment from the Internet?

The rider in the above example did not want to harm her horse, on the contrary. This incident just shows very clearly that googled information is no substitute for sound training. So-called self-proclaimed “experts” speak up without any riding know-how, often with very little riding experience and without any sound training. They pass judgment on things that they are not able to judge because they lack the expertise. But they have a lot of listeners, are loud and are getting louder and louder. We have to take countermeasures. That’s why Xenophon exists, that’s why we volunteer our free time for the association, because we care about the classic riding culture, because we care about the horses.

There is no alternative to the training scale

With the training scale behind us, we are always on the right path, and it takes courage to continue on this path. Courage because it is not only on social media that there is hostility towards riding in general, but also in everyday life where alleged horse people cause great harm to our beloved four-legged friends, knowingly and/or unknowingly.

These self-proclaimed horse people give tips for alternative training methods that promise supposed shortcuts and gentler alternatives to traditional training. But at some point, these training methods end in a dead end. That doesn’t mean that you can’t be successful with the wrong kind of riding. But that’s the problem: on the one hand, it’s not punished enough and on the other hand, there’s a lack of understanding because you can always force your will on the horse somehow.

But to motivate a horse to cooperate voluntarily and happily, there is no way around the training scale. For one simple reason: the horse itself has written it. Its physical and psychological requirements have dictated the steps.

Has breeding progress made the scale of training obsolete?

No. Even if breeding has made progress and is different today than it was at the beginning of the 20th century when H.Dv.12 was written – the physical laws that make a horse a riding horse have not changed that much. On the contrary. Modern breeding has made the stabilizing basic training of the riding horse according to the scale of training more necessary than ever before.

Because tact, suppleness and contact are the measure of all things when it comes to training a riding horse and making it happy.

We want to educate, “decode” the fascinating system of riding theory and pass on our specialist knowledge – for the benefit of our horses. There is still a lot to do, but we will never tire of standing up for our horses.

If you feel the same way, you are welcome to become a Xenophon member, actively or passively. In any case, you will be supporting classical training in the interests of the horses.

Info: xenophon-classical.org

Written by Karin Lührs, 2nd chairwoman of the Xenophon e.V. association, herself a successful Grand Prix judge up to advanced (S) level, trainer for riders and horses up to Grand Prix level.