The video: Andy came to me because he was having behavioural and soundness issues with Leo, see below for more information. Depending on your broadband connection it my take a short while for the video to start

WHY CHOOSE JONI BENTLEY TRAINING? Her training is unique; Joni has developed her own rider/horse training system, much like F.M. Alexander developed his humans training.

Her training shows you how to:

1. Make your training free of obstructive barriers by schooling the rider first.
2. Stop banging away at training that doesn't get results.
3. Make training classically correct, kind, safe and successful for riders of all levels.
4. Make your training more organic and less panic and manic?
5. She teaches riders and horses to flow rather than be fixed into an, "outline."
7. She brings out the rider in you with her logical anatomical approach to training.
8. She shows you the benefits of power versus force.

Both F.M. Alexander and the great classical masters and Dr Gerd Heuschmann agreed that self carriage in both horse and rider depends on the neck being free to balance the body. Only then can the head, neck and back work unimpeded as an integrated whole.

 

 F.M. Alexander discovered that for good locomotion in humans, the neck must be free to allow the head to move forwards up and out of the shoulders. Only then can the back lengthen, widen, and the lower body  suspend down onto the ground in an opposing direction. Horses and human body are slung in a web of musculature from the head, rather like a suspension system. We are both vertebrae, the only difference is that we are on a vertical plane and horses on a horizontal plane. When the head leads the movement in a forward and upward direction it literally draws upwards on the bones to which the muscles are attached. This drawing upwards is balanced by muscles releasing downwards in an opposing direction.

The main reason horses are resistant to going on the bit is because they are crooked behind. When these horses are them forced into “an outline,” by pulling them in and kicking on, or even worse using draw reins.  With the neck contracted the hind quarters can't lower or step under.

         

Bad use of the horse's body: Head in; quarters out.                                         
Although this rider is not pulling the horse in, his previous training has taught him to contract his body under saddle. His neck is stiff and too short, he is behind the vertical, his croup is high and his quarters are trailing. When  a horse is locked down onto the forehand it is very damaging to their body. They lose the use of their head and neck as their balancing mechanism. The crookedness in the quarters is left unresolved. The horse never learns to seek the bit and lengthening and widen their back. This inhibits efficient breathing, and easier, fuller lateral bending. You also make the horse claustrophobic, contracted and a slave rather than a friend.                        

Better use of the body: Quarters down; forehand up.
This horse's posture is working to its optimum power for his level of training; novice. He is engaged behind and as a natural consequence the forehand is up and light. At this stage the rider has to carry his hands higher to prevent the horse from going back to his old habits of over bending due to being ridden in draw reins. He is happily listening to his rider.

Working with osteopath Timothy Marris, I made a study of the effects of draw reins on horses. Marris and I arrived at these conclusions after examining a horse before, during and after the use of draw reins. According to Marris, the pull of the draw rein creates excessive flexion to the vertebra of the poll and upper neck area. The resulting pressure on the brain could give the horse a headache and worsen any existing weakness throughout the spine. This strain is passed back along the neck and spine to the pelvis, causing restriction of breathing, tightening of the lower ribs and tension in the back muscles. Marris says the disturbance of the nerve supply to the front legs would easily cause lameness in the front limbs. The most saddening and disappointing effects of these gadgets, including tight side reins, is that they make it more difficult for the horse to raise and round his back. The hind legs struggle to step under leaving the spine with no support. And what effects does this constant pain and restraint have on the horse's spirit and well-being?

For more information see my articles with Dr Gerd Heuschmann.