dressage question - pardon my ignorance

I have no answers and I'm sure I know less than just about anybody, but 100% agree that it's extraordinary what these horses are capable of. What I'm curious about is what is the motivator when training the horses. Is it food? Affection?

I'm completely in awe of them

It's been way too many years since I rode to actually answer your question but....

DH and I were just watching and we think that they soak the horses down before the event to try to keep them cool.  Just a thought...

Though most any horse can achieve basic dressage levels,the breeds that excell are warmbloods that have longer legs.They have the natural movement that makes them more suited to higher level manuvers.They have deep reach from the hind end and are conditioned over time to have a very rounded and supple topline. As for the foaming mouth...that's a good thing.Many riders use copper bits or special moveable "keys" in the mouth to encourage salivation.A wet mouth is more receptive to communication from the rider with the reins

Tena

It is VERY hot in Hong Kong (the horses are there not Bejing) Dressage horses require a lot of warm up to get there muscles doing what they need and to get in synch with the rider. So most were completely worked before their ride thus the wet look. Yes you want a horse continually moving there tongue "accepting" the bit, listening to the rider.

I found the comment that you thought the horses legs were skinny. I thought they looked so strong and muscular. There is not much to a horses make up below the knee, so yes they can look VERY skinny there.
 

 Thank you everyone!  Ann I was awestruck by the horse's overall musculature and just thought that most of them had 'spindly legs' - not their hindquarters or what I would call shoulder but the leg itself.  The US man had a horse that seemed particularly spindly legged.

I'm am used to this look because B has really thing legs for the rest of his body 

Very interesting about the foaming mouth - I was worried that the poor horses were too hot.  LOL I am soo ignorant.

I really enjoyed watching it even though I didn't really know what I was looking at - I LOVE horses and have a dream of owning an old one that just needs some attention as I know nothing of riding etc. 

cakana

What I'm curious about is what is the motivator when training the horses. Is it food? Affection?

Horses can be clicker trained just as dogs can and for some horses food can be a motivator.I believe most horses achieve training based on thier need  to belong to a herd.A lone horse is vulnerable to predators. A horse rarely desires to be the leader of the herd[it's a tough job] he just desires to find his place in the heirarchy.If a trainer demonstrates to the horse that he/she is a worthy leader the horse will be receptive.The role of the trainer then becomes to find ways to ask that the horse will understand and reward [with release of pressure, food, or verbal praise]at the first sign of effort.

Tena

4HAND

cakana

What I'm curious about is what is the motivator when training the horses. Is it food? Affection?

 

Horses can be clicker trained just as dogs can and for some horses food can be a motivator.I believe most horses achieve training based on thier need  to belong to a herd.A lone horse is vulnerable to predators. A horse rarely desires to be the leader of the herd[it's a tough job] he just desires to find his place in the heirarchy.If a trainer demonstrates to the horse that he/she is a worthy leader the horse will be receptive.The role of the trainer then becomes to find ways to ask that the horse will understand and reward [with release of pressure, food, or verbal praise]at the first sign of effort.

Tena

OK lets try this again. Pardon my blank post. It's Monday.

I agree with you Tena whole heartedly. I just wanted to add, MOST horses want to do "whatever". A truly good horse loves their job. You can not train "heart" into a horse. They can actually enjoy it.

I had a friend years ago whose horse had no heart. He was AWFUL to work with. He was beautiful, athletic, a fantastic mover who would break your heart every time. He was to be a hunter/equitation horse. He would school over close to 4' fences then stop and dump his rider at the trot fence in the PHA equitation class. After a show where he dumped not only his rider 4 times (3 before his first class) but the trainer almost as many. They decided he needed a new job, and got him sold as a dressage horse. I don't know if he did well there. I didn't care he was gone!

Horses who do their job well are so well cared for. That in itself can be a 'reward'. My horse was bred to be the KY derby winner, but I strongly suspect they never got him in the starting gate. He was at the track, he never raced. As a result he was not treated well. He has physical and emotional scars that will never completely go away. We had big trust issues when he first arrived at our farm 10 years ago. He is athletic and an amazing horse because of how well he is bred, but racing was not to be his thing. I am sure that did not please his owner. I had to laugh watching the the eventing cross country. Most of the eventing horses still have a lot of TB blood, at least the ones they show cased in the Olympic preview in the "Chronicle of the Horse" and "Practical Horseman" magazines. They were galloping over that gorgeous course, and I thought there is NO WAY I could get Pete to gallop that long. Good thing he is a jumper not an event horse. Galloping is not his favorite thing, he is actually quite lazy!
 

Maxs Mom

Horses who do their job well are so well cared for. That in itself can be a 'reward'.

Well cared for by human standards perhaps,but I know many a show horse that lives his life in a 12 x 14 box stall never running in a pasture with a herd or allowed to roll in the dust.My gelding would consider that pure hell!

I agree that you can't train heart into a horse but finding the right job for him,even if it's not your chosen disipline will allow him to flourish.

4HAND

I agree that you can't train heart into a horse but finding the right job for him,even if it's not your chosen disipline will allow him to flourish.

I agree with this, and have sold a horse because of this very reason.  I was ready to move from hunter to eventing, and she just didn't have the heart for what I wanted to do, so we sold her to a young girl who did very well with her in children's hunter.  I loved this horse, and she was wonderful, but she was much happier with her new "job" and I found a horse who loved eventing as much as I did.  Everyone won here...me, my new horse, my old horse, and her new owner.

Kpwlee, as far as the legs on the dressage horses, I think maybe it was more of a perspective/proportion thing given the musculature of these warmbloods is much heavier than, say, on a Thoroughbred race horse.  Plus, they are so collected and engaged while performing, their muscles are more prominent.  Like...your biceps are going to look bigger when you're lifting weights than they do when you're resting.  But, if you were to get up close to one of these horses, you'd see that they actually have pretty thick bones in their legs.  They have to be to support the weight of those big muscles!

aerial1313

4HAND

I agree that you can't train heart into a horse but finding the right job for him,even if it's not your chosen disipline will allow him to flourish.

I agree with this, and have sold a horse because of this very reason.  I was ready to move from hunter to eventing, and she just didn't have the heart for what I wanted to do, so we sold her to a young girl who did very well with her in children's hunter.  I loved this horse, and she was wonderful, but she was much happier with her new "job" and I found a horse who loved eventing as much as I did.  Everyone won here...me, my new horse, my old horse, and her new owner.

I too had one that I sold for this reason. He was my hunter. A bit too "hot" but a great mover and jumper. I tried him once at a teeny tiny event. HE LOVED IT!!! I clocked the fastest time cross country and the higher people were accusing me of having done it before. Nope! Our dressage left a bit to be desired (his riders fault) but he won the cross country and the jumper phase to win overall. When he was waiting to go in the stadium phase he kept turning around to look at the cross country course. I knew right then I needed to find him a home.