Ed Dabney’s way
Ed Dabney e le sei chiavi dell'armonia
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- Hits: 1985
Introduction to the "Six Keys of Harmony" of Ed Dabney.
In our riding center we teach to all our horses the "Six Keys of Harmony" developed by the american trainer Ed Dabney to establish with the horse our gentle but solid leadership and a "bridge" of comunication to have with him a relationship of harmony, respect and trust. Learning this method allow to train the horse with lightness and gentleness to build the foundations to practise at best showjumping, reining, dressage, endurance, trekking and any other equestrian activity.
Who is Ed Dabney.
His curriculum is impressive: His family breeds and train horses by five generations. he lived in Wyoming for many years breedeing and training working horses for a famous ranch. he guided many horseback trips in the Rocky Mountains, he worked in the movie industry to train horses for western movies. he worked in many movies as riding actor (last The Patriot). Then he moved to Georgia to dedicate himself only to train horses with his method of the "Six Keys of Harmony" for his clients e to spread around the world it with clinics. In 2007 he won the "Traniner's challenge of East Coast" (as to win the Champion league oh horses' trainers). He does clinics all over the USA, in Scandinavia, Finland, France and Italy.

There is a big difference between to be just a good rider and to became also a good horseman o Horsewoman. Too often, infact, there are huge unbalances in relationships between horses and men. There are very many good riders able to win ribbons and medals in the various disciplines of equestrian sports or that are doing long horseback trips but when they go down the saddle and want to lead their horses thay have a lots of problems: the horse pull from one side to the other, try to overtake the rider, stops to eat some grass, if the rider stops he continue to walk. May be the horse refuses to go up on the trailer or he moves when the rider want to mount. If he want to bridle it the head of the horse goes high up or on the side to try to avoid the bridle and so many other unrespectful behaviours. Many riders often accept these unrespectful behaviours as inevitable, as part of the character of the horse or because they think that is a behaviour that "belongs" to that breed of horses, their sex or age. In other hands they try to avoid these unrespectfull behaviours using violence and force. All of that is wrong.

We all love our horses and we would like to have a good relationship always, in every occasion. To have it need two things:
Comunication and Leadership. If an horse found in his rider a leader in which he has trust, that is respected, will be more at peace and quite with you and with himself. If you will be able to became the kind of leader that your horse can respect and trust, will be ready to learn what you want to teach him to do. How is possible to became that kind of leader? The answer is: with the costant application of the "Six Keys of Harmony" that we are teaching to all of our horses, the horses of our clients and the riders that are partecipating in hour trips (in 1 hour we teach them the most important ques).
The horse is a gregarious animal, is a follower, is a prey animal (by other wild predators and by men) and in each herd there is always and only one horse leader that get all important decisions: directions to follow to reach water and food, speed to use for these movements or to escape from dangers. It is always the leader that look for safety of the herd. This leader is not, as most people think, the stallion: it is always an old mare. She decide every time "where to go" and at "what speed". She looks around for predatros while the rest of the herd is grazing and if she decide that is time to run away from a danger she just run away and all the herd will follow. If we will be able, using the "Six Keys of Harmony" , to became the leader of that tiny herd formed by a man and a horse that we want to mount, he will think: "OH, there is the leader that I'm looking for, he will decide speed and direction, he will take care of my food and water and safety". If the horse will recogninize in us a reilable and sure leader, all is done, the horse submit to us. With the application of the "Six Keys of Harmony" we will have a method to establish our leadership, to be able to comunicate him what we want that he learn, eliminate the wrong and unrespectful behavours that a horse can develope with wrong training.
These concepts are for all horses, indipendently from age, sex, breed. It is possible to obtaine splendid results also with horses that had very bud experiences with man, trained with violence or that looks to be not trainable. Need only knowledge of the "Six Keys of Harmony" , to be patient, costant, calm, emotionally flat and stable.
The method consist in six main exercises that are teach first wth the rider on the ground and then on the saddle. They are:
2 Control of the hind quarters
2 A Look and Point
2 B Thumb
2 C Lateral flexion
2 D Disengangement of the hind quarter
3 Shoulder yeldi
4 Sending
5 Twist
6 Side pass..

It is the most important exercise: we teach the horse to go backward with a very light movement of the rope of the halter from the ground first and then from the saddle using reins. Backing will be our signal to tell to the horse: "go back" when we need for any reasons but also to tell him: "What you are doing is wrong".

Is divided in 4 sections:







Teaching the side pass the horse learns how to move his ribs left and right.