August/Septemer 2026 Issue

back whose tree and flocking can take a rollover. This step takes time. Introducing the girthed saddle is a multi-step process. Start without stirrups attached. Graduate to stirrups with the billets run up on each side. Then longe line work with the stirrups dropped to accustom each side to (eventually) a rider’s legs. 2. Weight and the Saddle: No, don’t throw that right leg over yet. After accepting the saddle and girth, and your standing on the block, just lean on the saddle. Keep your weight over the center and your legs on the block so, in case your horse is surprised and moves sideways, you can jump clear. 3. Weight and the Stirrups: Nope, no legs yet. Drop each stirrup, on the near and then off side, give the billet a good tug from the ground and go through the motions of sliding your foot in and out. In 1998 the Ger- man Equestrian Federation found correlation between equine spinal torque and mounting with/without a block, so don’t pull the stirrup/ saddle too hard toward you. 4. Your Right Leg: You’ve tugged stir- rups, snapped billets, played with girths, and introduced your weight and presence in all sorts of ways around the mount block. So while your horse is now convinced their favorite cookies source is quite daft, quietly slide that right leg over like an afterthought and lower your weight into the saddle. Praise “Offer tons of ‘good boys’ and say a lit- tle prayer,” the pragmatic veteran of clinics throughout Belgium, Czech Republic, Den- mark, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland suggests. He’s only half-joking about the “good boys.” Talking to young horses is important. “It’s not the words. It’s the tone. It goes in the ears and through the body.” Voice works to a trainer’s advantage when introducing a canter. “It’s natural to pick up a canter on a hill. Cue your ask to its rhythm, ‘can- ter,’ ‘can-ter.’ Have an ‘up’ tone and a ‘down’ tone to use when asking for transitions. Every horse understands this.” The working title for his 2021 autobiogra- phy, My Horses Have Something To Say, was ‘Conversations with My Horse’ for a reason: “Working with a horse should be a two-way con- versation and it’s up to us to make the conversa- tion interesting. If you speak in a monotone no one is going to listen. Imagine speaking to your horse as if you are reading a story to a child.” “Intonation commands attention.” Rewards Rewards can mean a soft touch or voice, or organic baby carrots and horse cookies. “When Heroico was introduced to a bit, he couldn’t figure out how to take carrots but did cookies! So you must discern the treat that will work for the horse. Florentin lives for food. He’s a stallion with a pony brain. I wish I’d introduced carrots sooner in his training it would have made negotiating with a stallion easier!” David uses lunging when first introducing voice commands but values more intimate, one-on-one groundwork. “I don’t need to ‘tire a horse out’ or chase it in a circle. I love walk- ing next to a horse and using my voice to work on the same transitions as under saddle, like a ‘walk on’ or a long exhale to ask for a whoa.” Communication begins with little steps. Tacking up at the barn. Entering the pen after opening and closing the gate. Earning cook- ies before reins are touched. Treats become a “built-in safety feature” to encourage young horses to associate mounting blocks and train- ing rings with positive experiences. Because the best rewards we can offer are patience, understanding and compassion. “Horses,” David reminds us, “just want to give their best, and to be trained calmly and with understanding.” See more videos of David starting young and green horses on IG and his YouTube chan- nel, @DavidDewispelaere. Photos – courtesy David De Wispelaere. Continued from page 41 Training With: David De Wispelaere