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My Horses, My Teachers is an excellent book on Horses and how to learn from them. Alois Podhajsky tells about his experiences with horses and how they taught him how to ride and teach them from the time that he was a small child and for most the rest of his life. I especially appreciate this book because it is so much like how I learned most all I know about horses. Someone that is having problems with their riding instructor could use this book to tell what the problem is and someone wanting to teach can pick up some dos and don " ts. The book is written in first person and told like Mr. Podhajsky is telling the reader in person about his life with horses.
He tells the story about his first horse; the rocking horse that he cared for until his brother took it apart. I appreciated this because I had a little stick horse that I loved and played with before I was aloud to ride. The first real horse he rode was his father's horse. The grooms would lift him up on the horses back and walk him around. Mr. Podhajsky said that the mare was gentle which was important because she did not make him afraid so he enjoyed his little rides.
The first horse I rode was a very gentle western gelding that knew everything and did everything he was asked willingly. I started on him when I was five because that was the youngest that anyone would give me lessons and my family was not into horses. This first horse was really good for me because he never gave me any thing to be afraid of. This was good because I am always a little fearful when I try something new. The second horse Podhajsky rode liked to pitch him off so that he learned that he had to do something to stay on and that the horse could get rid of him whenever she pleased.
The second horse I rode was under a different instructor who did not own a saddle except a western parade saddle. She only used that for special occasions and I had decided by that time, I was six, that I wanted to ride English. So I rode bareback on a somewhat spirited mare, named Nellie, for the next couple of years. I learned to jump on her and fell off of her a couple times.
I also got a lot of time on the lung line, which I really enjoyed. She taught me the value of a good seat and balance because I did not have a saddle and she liked to give a good spook every so often. Podhajsky had instructors that were encouraging and some that were threatening, in this way he learned what kind of instructor he wanted to be to the horses and to other people. I had one instructor that yelled a lot but also managed to be encouraging in spite of the fear she inflicted. A Dressage instructor I had was always critiquing and I wondered if I could ever do anything right even though I liked the hard work she put me through. The instructor I had that yelled a lot developed good relationships with her students and I thought that I would like to teach like her with out loosing my temper and yelling.
I have really appreciated all the instructors that I have had and some of them I have modeled my teaching after. When it comes to teaching the horse though I have found no better teacher then the horse himself. One horse Podhajsky rode, Juno, taught him how the rider could influence the horse with his weight (Podhajsky 31). Juno liked to buck all his riders off but Podhajsky learned how to ride out his bucks by shifting his weight back (Podhajsky 31).
Juno also taught him how important it is for the rider to be confident and eventually Juno behaved very well for him (Podhajsky 31 - 32). The young hunter / jumper horses he rode showed him the importance of building their confidence before expecting them to gallop out on a hunt. One gelding I cared for for a couple years taught me how important weight was in influencing the horse. This horse was a 30 -year-old gelding when I started working with him but he thought he was about five.
He had the energy and attitude to make people believe it he was younger. He was very clumsy though that might have had something to do with the fact that he had been neglected in a pasture for about ten years, his tall big boned build or maybe just his age but he needed help keeping his balance. He taught me how to use my weight to help him turn corners and to keep his pace steady. My own horse taught me how important my weight was in a slightly more dangerous way. When I got him, he was a rescue horse, he preferred to walk on two legs and when he was on four legs it was because he was running. (It was quite a trick to get on his back, I guess this was why he was going to slaughter. ) I had to learn to use my weight because the reins were all but useless. He taught me to turn him with my weight before he ran threw fences and to force him to rear until he was sick of it and wanted to stand still. (Whenever I tell about our first year together I always have to tell how we are best friends now.
We have been together just over seven years and he has saved my life once or twice and will do anything I ask so I have to be careful what I ask. ) Another horse I worked with was a timid hunter jumper but if you could convince him to jump he was a beautiful jumper. He taught me the importance of being confident to encourage the horse which was hard for me because I was rather timid to. He also taught me how much it helps to do a lot of little jumps before even going up to two-foot jumps to teach them that they can do well. This was one horse that I did not do so well with because I was as afraid as he was but what I learned from him has helped me with other horses like him.
Podhajsky grew in his knowledge of horses to the point that he could take a horse that everyone had given up on and train her to do dressage well enough to win at international competitions. This horse was Nora. I hope one day I will be able to train a horse to this level. Everyone had given up on my horse when I got him but I have not trained him to a high level like this. The importance of confidence in the relationship of horse and human was demonstrated in the war by the Lipizzaners.
When the air raid sirens went off and during the bombings took place in Vienna the stallions stayed calm and trusted the men that they knew (Podhajsky 190). Podhajsky said that the stallions would stand still and tremble but there was never a panic caused by one of them (Podhajsky 191). This...
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