Aufnahme vom 25.05.2024
Isabella kommentiert das Training von Lusitano Hengst Liberal unter Manuel Jorge de Oliveira.
– Weil das ursprüngliche Video sehr verwackelt war, wurde es in einem Programm stabilisiert – dadurch sind Reiter und Pferd nicht immer im Bild oder manchmal sehr nah. Dennoch besser als ein wackelndes Bild und wir hoffen, Sie können dennoch einen Mehrwert daraus für sich mitnehmen, vor allem durch die erklärende Begleitung von Isabella Sonntag
– Because the original video was very shaky, it was stabilized in a program – as a result, the rider and horse are not always in the picture or sometimes very close. Still better than a shaky picture and we hope you can still get some added value from it!
MJO & Lusitano stallion Liberal – Isabella Sonntag explains (EN)
Today, we see Manuel Jorge de Oliveira with Lusitano stallion Liberal. Liberal is breeded by Lusitano breeder Manuel Jorge de Olilveira himself. He is not a typical horse from Manuel, as his breeding still has bullfighting as a big focus. Liberal owns a lot of spanish blood in his lines, which is not prefered for pure bullfighting horses. It might be, you do not have a lot of insights into bullfighting breeding, but Isabella mentions, that there are quite no horses with spanish blood in bullfighting. Spanish horses were bred for the king and the court, for carriages and as status symbols. They were not bred to save the rider’s life in emergency situations. Lusitanos were bred as bullfighting horses, so Liberal isn’t a typical Lusitano horse from Manuel.
Manuel has been riding the horse here for 2 months on behalf of the owner. It is not a horse that he has trained for the last 7 years. The horse grew up there in Cartaxo and was also broken in. But he was sold relatively quickly and he did not ride him permanently. Manuel has been training the 9-year-old stallion for 2 months now. What is Manuel doing here? Manuel puts the horses together „like a puzzle“. He notices tension, notices a lack of balance and corrects it, makes the horses as flexible as possible. This should be the aim of every rider, but we rarely see it at this level. Manuel places great importance on better coordinating the forehand with the hindquarters (min 3:55), because that had fallen apart a bit. That’s not a bad thing, certain horses are difficult to coordinate. Manuel now places importance on this, because otherwise the rest of the structure of the lessons doesn’t make sense.
Here you might say that the nose is sometimes behind the vertical. If you want to judge exactly whether that is correct or not, you have to look at the whole picture. How is the horse built, how flexible is the rider’s hand, how strong are the legs and seat. How short are the moments? Because it can happen that we tolerate the horse being behind the vertical for a short time or even ask it to do so, but then this has to be done by a professional. It is called Ramener Outré, which has a different meaning and can only be used for a very short time. Please do not simply copy what you see here, but ask yourself whether you can really do it and whether you know why you are using it. Something like this should not be „tried out“ on the horse. Only a master can do it. With Manuel we always see that the horses are supple and soft after training. The reins are always giving way. Manuel corrects the horse’s asymmetries with the correct use of the reins. We want a straight, flexible horse that responds easily to the aids. It has to be straight and fine. Manuel works on this every day. The Feira is in a month and lasts 6 days, and Liberal is to be Manuel’s horse. Manuel is looking forward to presenting the owner’s horse and also showing his own breeding.
From minute 8:20 you can see how flexibility and smooth transitions from piaffe passage, trot passage, passage, etc. slowly develop. Manuel works the horse in collecting lessons with different levels of difficulty. In a real piaffe the horse is no longer allowed to go forwards but stays in place. There is no such thing as a backward piaffe in this sense, that would be a backward trot. However, the piaffe is not a trot on the spot. Manuel starts with the canter work (min 9:10) with work on the pirouette. The 3-beat is maintained. Manuel can change direction at any time and work in large and small turns.
Lateral movements and changes of direction are added, of course not yet perfect after two months. Half-passes, renvers canter and canter changes are added. Manuel also works him straight and flexes his neck, all of this is part of the gymnastics. Riding this is very difficult, it is not a show and perfect, but a training. That is why the horse is not completely styled, that is not a focus in daily training. The horse connects with the rider, the ears are attentive to him. The loose clatter of the bit is not due to stress. The horse is not worried, but listens diligently. The horse comes into its individual passage (13:20). Do not compare an Iberian with a warmblood or an Icelandic horse, but leave the mechanics as they are innate to the horse. This is the way to keep a healthy horse. Despite the 20 minutes of training, the horse shows no sweat, which speaks for condition and good, stress-free training without tension. Manuel designs the sequence of lessons according to what the horse wants and needs. Every day looks a little different. We are grateful as long as we have Manuel here and can learn from him, that is a great blessing.
SSN
