I am having an extraordinary encounter with a Friesian gelding and his owner. Although he is lucky to have his current owner who is patient and loyal and concerned about his development, for some reason, life has not allowed his innermost nature to flourish and express his innermost joys. For some reason, the opposite has occurred– he had become tense, with all four limbs bracing independently, with an exaggerated tenseness in his neck; he had become frustrated and hard to reach, and although he clings to his owner for protection, his eradic behaviors — bracing, bolting, and jumping into her lap — had made him dangerous to her. He had been “pshychologized” as both fearful and dominant, and the truth is he did make one feel like he was trying to react with both fight and flight responses at the same time, which increased the incredible tension in him. Now that I know him better, overall there is a sense of complete lack of confidence. He does, however, have a good solid heart, and a tremendous strive to improve– although he lacks a sense of what direction “improvement” lies. Therefore, it is important, as will all horses, to build on his assets, rather than “attack” his defects directly. His assets are his heart, his will, and his general clinging to people he trusts.
This Friesian types in Klaus’ work as The Dancer.
Of The Dancer‘s nature, Klaus writes:
As a rule this type of horse is highly intelligent and cery creative, which means that he is not a beginner’s horse. This horse has a very friendly and sensitive nature. He is clinging, uncomplicated and loveable in his approach to human beings. Generally, the Dancer is curious, loves to move, and is very willing to work. Despite his appearance and the name I have given him, this horse often has problems with his gaits because of the weakness of his back. Naturally his gaits are far more expressive than those of other types. However, the truly relaxed, rhythmic, powerful, gracefull expressions in movement, which you associate with a dancer, are usually lacking.
Like Klaus’ Dancer, this Friesian has difficulty making strides that come from impusion through the back. This is probably the basic misunderstanding that has lead to this horse’s downfall– the unwillingness of trainers to design practices that accomodate the central conformational aspect of his nature. His naturally expressive and artistic gaits have given people the impression that he is something he is not, and to ignore the true assets on which this horse’s training should evolve– his inner nature. As with all horses, his training should always stem forth from true understanding and relationship.
The Dancer thus presents a challenge to conventional trainers. As Klaus writes:
The greatest weakenss of this beautiful and charming horse is his back. The horse … [can] seem to be hanging from two threads, namely, one at the croup and the other between the ears, and it is for this reason that the horse has his lightness, the expression of a dancer. Altogether, though, this horse has a weak constitution. In conformity with the line of his back, he tends to trail the hindquarters out behind, make himself ‘long’ and lets the delicate back sink down. Training this type of horse to become a riding horse presents a great challenge to the ability and experience of a person.
The Friesian I am working with, types perfectly with Klaus’ descriptions:
* the horse sometimes has difficulty getting along well with the herd… getting along better with humans
* it is especially with the tougher horse characters that this fine and thoughtful horse has problems, since because of his body weakness and his thereby undermined self-confidence, he does not assert himself as he should
* The other horses do not take him too seriuosly, and that can cause a Dancer to break down
* The horse … would bond bery closely with a pretty pony and protect him in a tender, motherly way.
* The croup of the Dancer is high, the neck is set on high, and the entire bearing is therefore upright and proud.
Which Person suits the Dancer?
A fine-spirited person with an inwardly sensitive and flexible nature, and an artistic talent and interest, would make a good partner for the Dancer. This horse does not need a consistent, continuous training schedule: as long as he feels understood and approved of, and feels the inner connection to people, he will have a happy and easy life’s path.
The Freisan in this case is fortunate to have found such an onwer!
Of the Freisian’s unofrtunate past, Klaus’s words sound emphatic and prophetic:
[Trainers] of a Dancer should never imagine that he can [reach the highest] High School levels. [Trainers] may easily make this mistake because the horse’s appearance indicates that he has greater ability and potential than is, in fact, there. The weak back and the weakness of the entire top line will prove to be a real problem. The horse will becomes stiff and tense up, he will withdraw into himself and lose all his charming playfulness, and only with great effort will he be drawn out of, and freed from, his not necessarily visible suffering.
Regarding the Path for the Dancer to becoming a Riding Horse, Klaus makes several crucial comments that pertain to this Freisian:
The main problem with the Dancer is that it is easy to overestimate him physically and underestimate his sensitivity.
Session should be kept short. He needs only the correct motivation in order to, in time, ‘dance’ his way into the qualities of a riding horse.
The Dancer is extraordinarily dependent upon praise. If this horse has done anything at all, even if it is only to have completed a little exercise correctly, you must acknowledge that with, at the very least, a kind word [since] his self-confidence is not very well established.
With moderate impulsion that should not be increased, the horse is guided through subtle aids into the correct bend. In this type of horse the forehand, back, loins and croup are often held in contraction– they do not swing loosely…
Under no circumstances should this horse be checked or restarined by the reins or our incorrect body positioning during the work, because then he hill fall even further onto the forehand, he will become even more contracted, and the too-high croup will become an insurmountable obstacle on the path to a happy riding horse.
It is particularly important that the Dancer has a ot of space in front of him so that he canexpress and balance himself while moving forward, without the owner doing much or pressuring him.
I think the Freisian has come to the right place, the right moment, since, as Klaus concludes:
People with friendly, light natures are well suited for this task and can help support this orse. Over the years he will come to move lightly and pwerfully, and with continuous attention will build a very close relationship with his owner. He will then be a very impressive horse that, when healthy and well ridden, will draw attention and admiration to himself.
Follow us on his adventure down this Path in future posts….
I would like to introduce the horse character ‘The Minister’ as described in Klaus Hempfling’s book What Horses Reveal — as it applies perfectly to me. First you must know that Klaus has assigned the character groups not only based on their inner natures, but also based on the insight that our outer form and conformation “conforms” to the basic being we are on the inside– nature and form, form and nature, are merely two aspects of the same being. Of course, this insight requires a skillful eye — the basic form of a horse cannot be derived from the pieces and parts alone, but there is also a kind of overall “gestalt” to the horse’s formal features and conformations that “reveal” themselves to the perceptive person. This is so true of so many horses that it can be uncanny, once you start to do some investigation. Take me, for example. I am the quintessential ‘Minister’, according to Klaus’ description (even if I say so myself). Here is what Klaus says of this type:
Klaus goes on to describe the right kind of person for a horse like me. He writes:
You can see how unsure of myself I look as a 4 year old. But just one year later I had grown to be athletic and confident as you can see in this second photo.
Here we are together just one year after meeting up. We were a very tenacious pair, galloping through the fields and mountains. Those were fantastic days. But my real nature as a Minister unfolded gradually. Due to my early years and problems with my feet, I did not hold up well under competition. I happily retired to a large farm for many years where I got to see my horse herd grow into the 8-member family we are today. Here is a photo of my best years on the farm at Spring Hill.
It is important for humans to be able to know us on a deeper level if they want to cultivate joy with us. It is necessary to understand what joy is, what does joy feel like, and what does it look like in different horses. When a horse is allowed to express her true nature, there is joy. It is like the ducks we have at the farm. Every day they enjoy their ducky nature, which is diving into the pond and eating mud. That certainly would not be joyful for a horse! Neither do we like a lot of human -centric activities, or even human type comforts. We want, foremost, to enjoy our equine natures. Beyond that, different types of horses — the different horse characters — express joy in different ways. Humans cannot expect us to be joyful, when what you are asking us to do is against our most authentic nature! Take me, for instance, I’m Gypsie, the one up front in this photo. I type as the” Prince”. I like to set clear rules. I like to lead. Jhana (in the background) types as the Sargeant. She likes to follow clear rules. That makes us a perfect pair. It is no coincidence that we run the ring the way we do, me on the inside focused on the trainer, while Jhana shadows me like a loyal companion.
The Horses at Alderlore Present 