The training of our pearls
The training of our horses is also very close to our hearts. We wish our Lusitanos a beautiful, fulfilled, long and healthy life, in which they are as happy as their (later) owners. We take care of this not only with an optimal breeding, but also with a careful and real training.
The Lusitanos is a horse that develops rather late. But generally speaking, no horse should be broken in at the age of 2.5 years and trained far at a young age. No matter what breed of horse, the development of the skeleton, tendons, ligaments, etc. is still in full swing and will not be completed for several more years. By stressing the horses too early, they can get irreparable damage, which will significantly shorten their overall lifespan and quality. Mentally, we also prefer to give our horses a little longer. They are allowed to grow up in the herd in a horse-friendly and wild way, to run, to play and to develop into robust and wonderful Lusitanos. We check them daily, give them everything they need and look after them with love.
In these first years we repeat once or twice a year the foal ABC, which they learned at an age of about 10 months. Otherwise they are just allowed to be a horse and enjoy life.
When they are about 3.5-4 years old, we bring them in from the pastures and gently start further training. Each horse is individually supported in the way that suits best. This means that each training step is done as fast or as slow as the horse needs it. The most important factor of the training is always trust and fun. Of course, the horses have to behave, follow rules and learn to join us. But firstly, they have learned and done nothing else in the years in the herd and secondly, we always work with them with a lot of patience, kindness and loving consistency.
So now they learn step by step how to lunge, get to know a saddle pad, later a girth and then when they are ready a saddle and a snaffle. We work very diversified with our horses. We do a lot of composure training, lunging work, equikinetics, slope training in the field, pole training, double lunge, work in hand and under saddle and we introduce them to many situations, for example also with the trailer and the truck. The Lusitano is a very versatile horse and is also very versatilely encouraged from us from the beginning.
In a further training step, the rider is then added and the training under the saddle begins. We prepare our horses very extensively from the ground, so that the actual riding is then unspectacular, because the horses trust us and it is just another step in the training.
And if a horse sometimes needs longer or even has to take a step back, we give him this time. We are convinced, and experience has confirmed this, that this time we take at the beginning and give to the horses is more than worth it and has an effect on the entire later (riding) horse life.
And the most important ingredient, no matter at what stage of training, is always the love for our wonderful Lusitanos.
"Riding is the dialogue between two bodies and two souls, which aims to create harmony between them." (Waldemar Seuning).
From the beginning, the farrier, the dentist, the osteopath, the saddler and other professionals are also available to support the horses.
The basis of the training is thus on a stable and solid foundation, on which one can build afterwards and can encourage the horses in any discipline. Whether you want to ride high dressage lessons, love free work, compete in working equitation shows, love to jump or prefer to stroll through the forest - our Lusitanos are the perfect partners for this.