She found that only one aid should be applied to make the horse understand what was asked in order to make the horse connect that aid to the desired response. This was an eye-opener for Esther, and when training more young horses and even some “problematic” horses, she often needed different ways of explaining to all kinds of horses what a rider meant with and with which aids. Training a young horse meant installing those buttons yourself and thinking about how to do that to get the desired result. The blank canvas the youngsters presented did not respond to usual tricks or pre-installed buttons a rider just had to press. When she started to work with young horses, she needed these questions answered more than ever. The other part was wanting to know the reason behind everything because she was always curious. As she did not have the best motor skills, part of asking why was to understand what she should be changing and how.

When learning to ride as a child and being told to put her heels down or her shoulders back, Esther often challenged the reason for this. Some people always question the motives behind rules. Esther finds it incredibly useful to be able to really show riders how using their body in different ways directly influences the horse, so preparing the rider better for riding their own horse. Learning some of these skills off the horse on a simulator allows assessment and experimentation without risk to the horse, to be able to explain the whys and wherefores of the subtle art of aiding. It’s not easy to fully understand and control our bodies in order to correctly influence the horse, and to make sure our requests are specific and clearly understood by the horse. Ultimately many riders ask for too many things at the same time or think they are asking one thing without realising that the way they are using their body is asking for something else entirely. Some riders experience discomfort due to asymmetry in how they use their body, others are afraid of developing their skills in case it causes their horse confusion or discomfort while they are riding. All riders experience hiccups in their journey with their horse, feeling stuck in some way or that communication between horse and rider isn’t working as well as it could.

Riding simulator horse