ABSTRACT
From the moment that training for competition begins, most horses suffer. For the young athletic horse, competition is essentially traumatic and physiologically unnatural. During the course of obstacle jumping competitions, their cartilages and spinous processes are subjected to repeated shocks and minor traumas as they land following a jump and as a result of using artificial gaits. A young horse’s first training sessions should have a rest period every 5 minutes. From the first session the aim must be to find and work with the horse’s natural cadence. Each horse has its own tempo which must be respected; the discovery of this rhythm, at both the trot and gallop, leads to equilibrium and to sound and economical movement. The young horse should not be introduced directly to jumping; instead, during the course of a dressage session and then only if it is ready, it may be placed in front of an obstacle.
