The Academy

Welcome to The Academy @ Sabots Libres

Weak or strong?

The horse is a strange animal. It is seen as symbolising power and might; but at the same time, it is oft seen for its weaknesses.

It is very true that the horse is powerful; weighing in at, on average, five to six times that of man; capable of speeds up to 88km/h (55mph), twice that of man; capable of carrying a burden long distances… For these reasons, the horse was of such interest to man, giving him a mobility and power over those without horses, allowing him to increase his territories and subjugate others. Even to this day the horse, in the form of the police horse, still works as a subjugate animal exerting power over crowds either passively by its presence or actively by intervention.

On the other hand, we see the horse as a weak and costly animal. They are flighty and can scare easily – usually for little or no reason. Certain breeds are said to be susceptible to specific problems (Thoroughbreds always have weak hoofs!, ponies always get laminitis…add your favourite here…). Buying a horse submerges the owner in huge veterinary bills for – among other things – colic, laminitis, navicular syndrome, Cushing’s Disease and injuries; costs for stabling; costs for feed and supplements; costs for blankets that get ripped at every opportunity; costs for the farrier. These observations are often true and yet, given the right circumstances, the horse need not be weak and costly.

By keeping the horse in a situation more appropriate to its own needs rather than our own (perceptions), the horse’s weaknesses can reduced to an absolute minimum along with its costs. Obviously there is never a 100% guarantee for the health of any animal. There are congenital disorders that show themselves later in life; there are digestive disorders that arise from a chance eating of something bad or inappropriate…accidents can happen even to the ‘best cared-for’ of horses. We must be prepared for these situations and not dismiss the costs of medical intervention completely but at the same time, we should not be overprotective of our steed because this too is detrimental to his health and risks those veterinary bills we would like to avoid.

Tradition

There is little that is more divisive than breaking with tradition.
And there is little that is so deeply rooted in tradition than the horse world.

That so many of our equestrian habits are rooted in tradition, specifically military tradition, becomes evident when we consider the many rules and routines surrounding the horse:

• We are told always to lead the horse from its left
• We are instructed to mount from the left
• We always place the saddle on the horse from its left
• We always attach and detach the cinch on the left side - despite the right being identical

These four points are a result of the riders (soldiers) wearing a sword which almost invariably hung to the rider’s left. Leading and mounting from the right is seriously compromised by a sword hanging to the left… Nowadays, horses are seldom mounted by sword-carrying riders so the horse could not care less which side he is mounted.

Because we lead and mount from the left, we thus always place and cinch the saddle from that side too. But in reality, we can save a bit of time, and walking, but placing the saddle from the opposite side from where we cinch. And the horse could not care less.

• The horse has a ‘cannon’ bone, and in French, the fetlock also carries the military style name boulet or ‘cannonball’…
• Dressage is a discipline of military origin and, like the military, demands a uniform
• Keeping horses stabled in boxes is rooted in the military need to be ready at an instant
• Shoeing horses has its origins in stabling, which causes degenerated feet from standing in urine and faecal matter
  • a subsequent military advantage is that the horse no longer feels its feet thus taking away one of its senses of survival. This applied also to the stagecoaches that plied their ways across the country constrained for the first time by timetables.
• Feeding horses grain derives from the inability to transport sufficient hay or the guarantee of good grass during a military campaign

The last three points are simply not of our time. We no longer need to be ready in an instant to go into battle; without the confines of a stable, the horse’s feet will not degenerate; we are not going into battle or travelling long distances in such a way that is detrimental to the horse and be damned; we are not campaigning our horses and correct food is thus always at hand.