LynnG
07-13-2006, 07:42 PM
Jean-Marc Imbert and Nikito
In France and in Europe, Jean-Marc Imbert and Nikito, a 16 year-old Criollo gelding, present a show rich in emotions: The Indian.
It is the occasion to appreciate a different kind of horsemanship, without any constraint, based on communication with the horse. Jean-Marc and Nikito seem to communicate by telepathy. In fact, Jean-Marc rides without bridle or saddle! He manages to control the horse without his hands, thanks to his posture, his legs and his voice.
A whisperer in his way.......
Of course, Jean-Marc heard about the new masters, Pat Parelli, Klaus-Ferdinand Hempfling or Linda Tellington-Jones, who try to initiate a new, natural way of riding.
However, he doesn't pretend to be part of that circle and found his methods alone. He explains his exceptional complicity with horses...
I'm very rigorous in my work and I always want the horse to give me what I want of its own free will. I refuse to extract it and reach my goals by force.
If Jean-Marc Imbert is not one of these new masters we talk so much about, his method certainly deserves our admiration.
Nikito's weak point ..........
With Nikito, everything went well from the beginning. Of course, it hasn't always been easy, because his highness didn't always want to work... But Nikito has a little weakness that always makes him easy: gluttony !
He only thinks about eating. At night when the horses come in from the paddock to go to their box, they are usually calm. Except him; he is in such a hurry to eat that he would probably step on me if I didn't watch out! He would do anything for a carot... I use that to make him work while I'm on foot; because in that moment, I don't have any power over him and he can do whatever he wants to. So, I must appeal to more traditional training methods than usual !
A perfect complicity
At first sight, it seems impossible. Nevertheless...
A horse that has a bit in his mouth only worries about the metal bar that bothers him. If we take it off, he's more attentive to the rider's legs. And when we only have the legs to control, we learn to give much more subtle orders. Each contact has a meaning...
For instance, to make Nikito start, I squeeze my legs relaxing the pressure from time to time in small movements. Whereas, to stop him, I press my legs constantly. And to make him go forward, I use a new, stronger pressure.
Now, we are no longer surprised when we see Jean-Marc riding backwards...
However, it's a lot of work. The aids are inverted, the legs are not exactly in the same position any more... Once more, you have to learn everything. But there's no secret, you have to work.
Every day, Jean-Marc and his horses practice for almost two hours.
In the beginning, I thought I was very lucky to have found a horse that accepted being ridden without a bridle. Later, I was able to do the same things I had achived with Nikito with other horses. I understood then that I had invented a new way of communicating with them.
Jean-Marc, a bit of a dreamer, adds : Everyday I learn something new, and at the same time I realize how much I still have to learn and how many possibilities exist with this way of horse riding. It gives me many ideas for my shows.
his photos at expositions are at
http://www.justacriollo.com/pages_en/decouvertes_en/Jmimbert2_en.htm
artilce with some photos at.......
http://www.justacriollo.com/pages_en/decouvertes_en/Jmimbert_en.htm
so who is going to follow in his steps riding a paso fino?
now if only my body could handle this? hey Cowboy ED??????? how bout you?!!!
In France and in Europe, Jean-Marc Imbert and Nikito, a 16 year-old Criollo gelding, present a show rich in emotions: The Indian.
It is the occasion to appreciate a different kind of horsemanship, without any constraint, based on communication with the horse. Jean-Marc and Nikito seem to communicate by telepathy. In fact, Jean-Marc rides without bridle or saddle! He manages to control the horse without his hands, thanks to his posture, his legs and his voice.
A whisperer in his way.......
Of course, Jean-Marc heard about the new masters, Pat Parelli, Klaus-Ferdinand Hempfling or Linda Tellington-Jones, who try to initiate a new, natural way of riding.
However, he doesn't pretend to be part of that circle and found his methods alone. He explains his exceptional complicity with horses...
I'm very rigorous in my work and I always want the horse to give me what I want of its own free will. I refuse to extract it and reach my goals by force.
If Jean-Marc Imbert is not one of these new masters we talk so much about, his method certainly deserves our admiration.
Nikito's weak point ..........
With Nikito, everything went well from the beginning. Of course, it hasn't always been easy, because his highness didn't always want to work... But Nikito has a little weakness that always makes him easy: gluttony !
He only thinks about eating. At night when the horses come in from the paddock to go to their box, they are usually calm. Except him; he is in such a hurry to eat that he would probably step on me if I didn't watch out! He would do anything for a carot... I use that to make him work while I'm on foot; because in that moment, I don't have any power over him and he can do whatever he wants to. So, I must appeal to more traditional training methods than usual !
A perfect complicity
At first sight, it seems impossible. Nevertheless...
A horse that has a bit in his mouth only worries about the metal bar that bothers him. If we take it off, he's more attentive to the rider's legs. And when we only have the legs to control, we learn to give much more subtle orders. Each contact has a meaning...
For instance, to make Nikito start, I squeeze my legs relaxing the pressure from time to time in small movements. Whereas, to stop him, I press my legs constantly. And to make him go forward, I use a new, stronger pressure.
Now, we are no longer surprised when we see Jean-Marc riding backwards...
However, it's a lot of work. The aids are inverted, the legs are not exactly in the same position any more... Once more, you have to learn everything. But there's no secret, you have to work.
Every day, Jean-Marc and his horses practice for almost two hours.
In the beginning, I thought I was very lucky to have found a horse that accepted being ridden without a bridle. Later, I was able to do the same things I had achived with Nikito with other horses. I understood then that I had invented a new way of communicating with them.
Jean-Marc, a bit of a dreamer, adds : Everyday I learn something new, and at the same time I realize how much I still have to learn and how many possibilities exist with this way of horse riding. It gives me many ideas for my shows.
his photos at expositions are at
http://www.justacriollo.com/pages_en/decouvertes_en/Jmimbert2_en.htm
artilce with some photos at.......
http://www.justacriollo.com/pages_en/decouvertes_en/Jmimbert_en.htm
so who is going to follow in his steps riding a paso fino?
now if only my body could handle this? hey Cowboy ED??????? how bout you?!!!