If you are passionate about the horse world, it is essential that you know the history of Indian dressage as well as its principles and characteristics to consider when putting this beautiful technique into practice. Indian dressage respects the horse as a living being, it does not attempt to tame it through subjugation or fear. We know that horses, like people, are individual beings and we cannot treat them all in the same way, some will need more time than others to trust us.
In this article on our site we will tell you about the Indian Dressage techniques so you can start applying it to your horses, they will appreciate it. At first we recommend strictly following the days so that later, with practice and experience, we can choose the best path for each animal.
History and Origin of Indian dressage in Argentina
The horse arrived in Argentina from Spain at the hands of Pedro de Mendoza y Luján in 1535, of Andalusian origin. Initially it had a great size but it was adapting to the new customs of the time. It was rapidly proliferating in herds from the humid Pampas to the driest areas of Argentina. It was widely used by the Indians who inhabited the South American continent, but the form of domestication varied over the years and nationalities.
The Indians of the Argentine Pampas learn of the arrival of the Spanish horses and seek to develop a system to tame them so that they can use them for various tasks in their settlements. This is how the history and origin of Indian Dressage begins in Argentina. There are countless books and proverbs of the horse with the Indian.
One of the most beautiful is "Los Indios Pampas", by Rómulo Muñiz, who says:
(…) the freedom and the very existence of the Indian depended on the horse and no one like him was capable of appreciating the value of the animal and making the most of its qualities. They did not have or breed special breeds, but thanks to the careful education they were given, the horses acquired a resistance, lightness and agility, superior to those of peasants (…).
With more than 300 years of war between the Indians and the Spanish, the former managed to optimize the performance of the horse in different environments: water, desert and heights. All this was due to the fact that they respected and knew how to take advantage of the nature of the horse, which is neither more nor less, everything that the horse is.
Knowing their nature we will understand certain behaviors of these beautiful animals. In their wild state they are prey, so they live in herds and have a nurse mare who is in charge of giving notice of any threat. In conclusion, that this animal is fearful, attentive or vigilant, it sounds more than logical.
This fear of the puma, tiger or man, is what kept him alive for thousands of years. Very important point if we want to achieve a correct approach to an untamed or chucaro horse, since in the face of the unknown, in this case ourselves, it will seek to escape, if we corner it, it will attack, but basically because it has been carried in its genes through generations.. Knowing their nature is essential to avoid acting negligently like the hunters and end up accepting our rules out of fear and not out of love.
Equine characteristics to consider as tamers
Before delving into the techniques of Indian dressage for horses, we show you some basic points that every tamer should know and take into account:
- They live in groups, herds or herds, with a social organization to reduce the risk of attacks.
- They are herbivorous animals.
- They have excellent side vision, so we only have two poor vision spots, which are right in front of their eyes and behind their tail. This is very important to carry out a correct approach towards them and not cause them fear of surprise.
- They have acute hearing and can move their ears to orient them towards sounds.
- The sense of smell is highly developed. It is common to hear people say that the horse smells fear, it would be the adrenaline that we emit when we fear it, just like a cougar before an attack.
- Touch is also highly developed throughout his skin so we must "remove the tickles" which would be equivalent to skin hypersensitivity. Very important during dressage so that when we want to put a blanket or a saddle on it, it does not run away in fear.
- The upper lip is mobile and very sensitive, something that allows it to choose the grasses to eat.
- He sleeps a few hours a day and for short periods of time because if he lies on the ground he can be eaten by a predator.
- You have a great memory.
- Has a good sense of direction and balance.
Day 1
We will begin our first day taking the foal (unbroken horse) to the corral, where we will start breaking it in keeping in mind its own nature. They are surly and distrustful animals in the face of our strange presence. We must also consider that we are taking him to a smaller place than he is used to and that he can undertake different reactions such as trying to run, jump, etc.
We will be inside the corral too, just watching and waiting for him to calm down, mainly to get used to our presence. Once the first step has been achieved, we will try to make it go through the sleeve (the path between fences that leads to the box), with patience since we understand that horses are afraid of very closed sites. Once achieved, we close it and wait for it to get used to it, something that can take from 20 to 30 minutes, something that will depend on each animal.
After this time, when we notice him calm, we approach him speaking in a soft tone to reassure him. Let's caress the haunch or the rump (not pat) which will cause tension. It can tremble or try to descend so that we do not keep touching it. We will continue talking and petting him until he accepts us. Then we will continue through the back, shoulder, neck and, finally, the head. We must not be in a hurry to touch the head, it may take more time.
This first contact is called untingling and it is one of the most important parts of the Indian Dressage techniques, where the foal will be able to notice that we are not hunters and will begin to trust us. It may take hours but I assure you that the result will be perfect.
We will go on to place the muzzle (open and without bit, not basket type) with a rope of no less than 5 meters, we'll let him out of the chute, but not out of the corral, so he can start walking and stepping on the rope. The long rope or h alter fulfills several functions: it will take away the tickling of your hands since the rope will pass through there several times, stepping on it as it is tied to the muzzle it will learn to brake by itselfand depending on which hand you step on it with, you'll learn to flex your neck. We will let him spend the night in the pen with his muzzle, water and grass.
Day 2
The second day should be more relaxed and we will work with the clock no more than 50 minutes since day 1 is usually too heavy for untamed horses.
We approach the corral with grass in hand and whistle to get him used to approaching us. It's important that when it gets close, we ignore it for a bit before trying to catch it. We'll grab the rope to get closer to the foal and continue with the tingling Today we'll touch hands and legs, belly and everything not caressed the day before. It is very important that we do not leave anything without caressing as they will be future dangers in their adult life. We can take short breaks so that the foal does not get bored.
Later we will start pulling the rope so that he learns to walk and with it, everything that can disturb him like jumping around him, pass your hand near the eyes, a bag that flies in the pen, etc. We can give you 2 minute breaks when you get through each of the stages. It will be enough for the day and we will leave it in the pen just like yesterday.
Day 3
We will go to the corral in the same way as on day 2, with grass and whistles (or calling it by name). Probably on the third day he will show more interest than the previous one in approaching us and in a few minutes we will review what we have done so far.
By grabbing the rope and making it turn, move forward, backward, etc, we are teaching him rein, which will serve for any training and discipline in the future. We must start with the simplest and move on to the most complicated, always rewarding him for each progress with at least one minute of rest.
Now that we're gaining confidence would be the ideal time to try riding him sideways, putting his belly on his back and watching his response in all times. At first, after the exercise and the beginning of our relationship, the horse could stay calm, but sometimes it can take longer to achieve this goal. If the horse accepts that you climb on top of it, try to sit on it and get down quickly. Prepare for a possible rejection but try to appear calm and confident, without forcing the animal.
Exercise on day 3 must not exceed 40 minutes. After this time, congratulate him, offer him water and food and spend some time with him without doing any exercise.
Day 4
We started the day the same way we had been doing it, with the grass and a review of all the above, always in an orderly manner and without exceeding 10 minutes.
Today we will work on top of our colt We ride with the h alter or rope in our hands to go asking him to turn, move forward and/or back. Here we must have a lot of patience and know how to reward him, with a break, even if he has only rudimentarily collaborated and we still haven't achieved what we were looking for.
Before we go we'll introduce you to the saddle so you can smell it and recognize it, then we'll saddle you up and adjust the girth very little to slowly increase the tension. We leave him 20 minutes to eat, drink water and move with it. We'll take it away so you can rest for your last day.
Day 5
Day 5 should start like the previous ones, following the same procedure used until now. When we finish, we put the saddle on him and mount him If we see that he wants to get rid of us or buck, we get out and make him go around the corral 2 times, one at each sense, a form of distraction to start again. Each session should not exceed 10 minutes of riding and we will give 30 minutes of rest.
Regarding the embouchure I always advise starting to get him used to it from day 5 orwait between 10 and 15 days , as this is quite a traumatic element for the horses and we don't want to ruin all the work done so far. It's about trusting us and not being afraid.
These are some of the tips that we propose, but remember that we must follow the rhythm according to the attitude of our foal. We must be patient if the horse requires it, without forcing it or damaging the trust that we have created. Gradually your horse will willingly accept all the exercises you propose with him if you are respectful and careful.
