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Schooling a Horse
Part 3: Lateral Work as a Key to Success
""To avoid any restriction on a horse’s natural harmony and grace, but rather to encourage its suppleness and sheer pleasure in its own movements” is the ultimate aim of Rudolf Zeilinger, one of the most talented pupils of the late Willi Schultheis, and himself a trainer of Olympic and World Championship horses. Rudolf Zeilinger is well-known for the gentle and sensitive way he trains dressage horses, encouraging them to develop a relaxed, confident, and athletic way of going, combined with a happy, forward-thinking attitude in their work.
For Zeilinger, lateral work is an essential element in a horse's dressage training. In Part 3 of his Schooling a Horse series, he demonstrates lateral work with his own horses, explaining when to begin, what requirements have to be fulfilled, and how he works with his horses on an individual basis, as they all vary greatly in temperament, as well as training level. In an impressive presentation, the viewer is able to experience how Zeilinger's horses achieve constantly increasing levels of elasticity, impulsion, and suppleness as a result of lateral work.
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