The efficacy of the Four-Step Riding Programme to facilitate learning the body language needed for rider-horse communication

Abstract

There is a scarcity in scientific research in teaching horse riding. Official methods of teaching horse riding do not include established sport science techniques of multi-modal motor learning. Riders share common rider-horse communication problems. Horses become confused when they do not understand their riders’ cues. All of these factors may be the cause of the delay in riders’ learning and horses’ understanding the body-language needed for clear rider-horse communication. A quantitative, single case intervention research design was used to authenticate the Four-Step Riding Programme’s capacity to facilitate the acquisition of the rider-horse body language needed to improve rider-horse communication. Multi-modal motor learning techniques were used to teach five riders and their horses the acquisition of the coordinated movement patterns needed for clear rider-horse communication in four one-hour riding lessons in an indoor arena. All riders in the study had had regular riding lessons for between 10 and 40 years. Rider problems included difficulty in stopping, going, turning and asking the horse to move in a round, flexion frame termed ‘contact’. Daily video footage of 29 data points was assessed by three external expert assessors using 5-point Likert scales. The participants self-assessed their pre- and post-intervention progress via 5-point Likert scales. The Alogo™ Move Pro electronic device was used to assess and analyse the horses’ gait characteristics. The improvement in the rider-horse body language was demonstrated by the improvement in the horse’s execution of nine variables assessed via 29 data points. By the conclusion of the four lessons, all five rider-horse combinations had mastered the first three elements of the international training scale, namely, rhythm and balance, suppleness, and contact in a round, flexion frame, despite having had problems with these aspects for many years. The statistical analysis of the results showed a significant difference between pre- and post-intervention scores. Consistent improvement across all participants was evident. This means that riders with rider-horse communication problems can learn the rider-horse body language for effective and safe horse control in four hours of riding lessons. Rider-horse communication problems, of speed and direction control, can be avoided by using multi-modal motor learning techniques.