“Riding in lightness is not a matter of taste, but a question of meeting certain criteria that are essential to keeping the horse’s body fully functional.” Sonja Weber
The 3-year trainer training for 6-8 participants is logically and didactically conceptualised, clearly structured and absolutely horse-oriented (“equicentred”). Truly tailoring the training content to each horses necessitates certain prerequisites in the development of the teaching content. The systematic development of a fixed curriculum usually entails a loss of quality, because standardising the content means to generalise and thus simplify it. To prevent this, the underlying parameters of the training such as balance, relaxation, flexibility and suppleness as well as activity, strength and resilience are developed here in a modular system. The sequence of exercises and lessons is not necessarily fixed, and they can be freely applied to the individual case and the current situation, which has a quality-assuring effect.
The trainer training is aimed exclusively at very experienced riders who are ideally already practising trainers. It is designed as further education, since a thorough knowledge of horsemanship can only result from years of daily practice, which cannot be the purpose of this programme. Of course, experienced, talented and ambitious amateurs who have little or no experience in teaching are also welcome to apply.
The individual components of the trainer training are:
For more information on costs and personal application, please send me an email at post@sonja-weber-reitkunst.de
!! Due to a lack of time, I can unfortunately no longer offer any external courses and no external lessons, nor do I take horses into training. I also do not have any school horses !!
In the future there will be a comprehensive offer through my licensed trainers, which you will find here. Thank you very much!
Methodically, I’ve decided to focus on the Franco-Iberian school of lightness, which is perfectly adapted to the physical condition of the horse and whose didactic qualities are outstanding. Lightness is a crucial factor from the very start. In this context, the controversial Frenchman François Baucher (1796–1873) plays a very important role: he was far ahead of his time and can be considered one of the founding fathers of osteopathy in the training of horses.
In the meantime, the disciplines of medicine, physiotherapy, biomechanics and science have come up with various validations of his work. His clear approach is perfectly adapted to equine behaviour. Provided that you can apply it correctly, his method is especially oriented towards the well-being of the horse.
Some of the principles of his work are:
Since 1997, proceeding from this approach has enabled me to restore the health of various horses and to keep them healthy well into old age.
“Training must only ever refine and perfect nature. If it violates nature in the slightest, she is irretrievably lost.”
Brigadier Kurt Albrecht
Lusitano Marialva, 25 years old, school gallop in work at hand
According to the principle of working in a “horse-centric” way, the needs and requirements of the horse have to be at the core of all decisions. The horse is at out mercy; we are responsible for its well-being. If an aim set by the rider or demanded by a dressage competition is harmful to the horse, this is a far cry from meaningful training. I offer to accompany riders who set great store by training and advancing their horses in positive ways.
While schooling a horse, we cannot explain to it that what we are doing in this particular moment chiefly concerns the rider. This is why I always try to adapt the training to the concerns of the horse, so that it is not disturbed by the learning situation of its rider. Of course, this does not mean that the rider does not get the space they need to learn; in the long run, the progress of the rider is essential to the well-being of both horse and rider.
Lusitano Finito, aged 4 years, at the beginning of his schooling:
His muscles are flat, and he moves in a horizontal and thrusting manner, pushing forward. This becomes apparent in how he keeps his neck as well as his ribcage quite low, pushing his body over the forehand.
Lusitano Finito at the age of 9 after 5 years of schooling:
Particularly in the areas of the neck, the withers, the back and the croup he is strongly muscled. His movements incline towards the vertical and are characterised by an upwards thrust. His entire front is raised and he no longer pushes his body over the forehand.
Getting access to Sonja’s deep and comprehensive knowledge and understanding of how to school a horse has broadened my horizon significantly, even with regard to my profession. The training methods and aims of the art of riding are intricately connected to methods of healing such as osteopathy and fascial therapy. The art of riding is not only absolutely essential to keeping our horses healthy; it also enables them to fully unfold their inherent brilliance and potential.
After 20 years, I’ve finally found a style of riding that has led me to success! Unambiguous communication and highly effective professional instruction! Absolutely oriented towards the well-being of both horses and riders!
An exceptional teacher and a horsewoman of extraordinary depth and sensibility. With her guidance, each day on horseback has turned into a thrilling challenge to become yet more finely attuned to the horse and sense what he needs.
Sonja has managed to pick us up where we were and guide us forward step by step. Working with her is incredibly intense, and so far, no one else has been able provide me with such convincing and detailed explanations. The results speak for themselves!
What fascinates me so much about working with Sonja is her incredibly comprehensive knowledge about classical dressage. With her, I can learn everything about how to keep my horse healthy through dressage training. Thank you so much!
I’ve been training with Sonja for 3 years now. For 3 years, my horse has only seen the vet to be inoculated, and each of our lessons is a highlight!