Anuario Raza Polo Argentino Anuario2018 | Page 225

available, both through literature and in practice, at
the aforementioned Spanish Riding School.
And the truth is that not only polo, but also jum-
ping; pato; dressage; working with cattle; leisure
riding and all other equine activities may benefit
equally from the principles that propose a tame
horse, that responds to assistance; is gathered
together to a certain degree; is flexible; that goes
in a straight line; allows permanent contact with
its mouth and has the correct balance. Naturally,
the horse tamed according to these principles will
then require special training and education for whi-
chever activity it is to perform, but the foundation
is the same for all of them. For example in polo, the
taming process must end by being able to mana-
ge it with one hand and with a horse that is more
stretched out; less flexed than what is expected in
a dressage horse. But the foundation is the same
for all disciplines.
One Common Language
Horse and rider should be able to communicate
in a common language. And that language is no
other than the pressure imparted by the rider and
as a result of which the horse must give way in the
degree required of it.
The rider may exert pressure with the reins both on
the horse’s mouth or neck, or with his/her legs, on
one side or another; over the billet strap or behind
it. He/she may also do so with his/her weight, pla-
cing it further forward or further back.
The horse should respond to each indication by
the rider with the part of its body required to do
so: shoulder blades; hind legs; nape of neck; neck;
back, with the degree of independence or connec-
tion that the action requires.
If we don’t have this control over the horse, and
this common language after break-in, it is certain
that break-in has not been complete and must be
continued during the training stage, which idea-
lly should be the specialization into the activity of
each horse.
The Means by which Learning is Achieved
Classical break-in emphasizes exercise and re-
jects violence as a short cut. Xenophon, in 400 BC
maintained that “what is taken by force is never
beautiful”. It is through exercise, on the other hand,
that the horse goes memorizing the language, and
it becomes engraved without fear or distrust of its
rider.
Every time a horse gives in to pressure, it must be
recompensed and that pressure alleviated. And
by repeating this sequence, learning is achieved
without violence. Additionally, the exercises go
preparing the muscles and balance that will allow
the horse to carry the added weight of the rider
and perform the actions that the rider demands
lightly and loosely.
Speed in Polo
Watching a dressage horse tamed in the classic
style, many may think that this method is no use
for polo ponies. But this is a hasty conclusion. It
is true that a dressage horse is more gathered to-
gether, with a firmer mouth contact, and carries
out very powerful movements at low speed. The
polo pony, on the other hand, goes forward with
a very different balance and its permanent mouth
contact is much softer in relation to the rider’s
hand.
But the foundation in the Polo pony’s education is
the same as that of a dressage horse, or a horse
for jumping, work or leisure. They receive the same
help and the same expected answers, but for di-
fferent activities and sometimes with completely
opposite speeds. That is why the end product may
be misleading unless we go back to the basics.
Being Able to Choose and to Discard
If break-in does not produce a horse that is tame;
straight; flexible; that permits mouth contact; that
understands and responds with sensitivity to the
rider’s pressure; that is fairly gathered together;
connected in its different parts; balanced in a way
that the rider may be able to handle it easily and
lightly, then it is not a good break-in, whatever its
origin. And the opposite is equally true.
This is why it is enriching to be able to learn and
know more about the different taming methods,
but it is always necessary to remember classic
break-in as the standard; the rod that measures all
the rest and so that we are not lost in trendy and
novel practices.
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