Horsemen et woman

The European Western horsemen (and woman) - Maud Burnier, Nicolas Doucet and Luc Giordano - are giving demonstrations of desensitisation, breaking-in, ethology and horsemanship every day in the Western Riding Area at the Equita Lyon Show. They introduce the audience to this method of training (horsemanship)? which comes directly from the United States, and which involves creating a relationship with the horse using as little coercion as possible.

In order to prepare a horse for cattle work, the first step is to desensitise the horse to make it easier to break-in and establish a relationship based on the rider's aids. This is followed by a series of "tracking" exercises in which the horse is asked to follow an object, which prepares it for cattle work. By focusing its attention on its new toy and listening to the rider, the horse becomes independent and learns to make autonomous decisions that will enable it to perform well with a herd of cattle. The presentation rounds off with a situation involving a calf. The work of the young horses presented at the show will be gradually developed throughout the show.