For me, as for many horseriders, the Spanish Riding School (SRS) in Vienna has long held a godly mystique. Earlier this year I visited the riding school, and had the privilege of watching these elite trainers working with their horses.

It was with mild disappointment that I realised part way through the two hours of training we watched, that the techniques these riders were using didn't seem amazingly enlightened. The riders wore upturned spurs, and used them as they saw appropriate. Some riders looked as though they were being quite rough with their hands, particularly the younger riders. There were horses napping, bucking, and one was constantly grinding it's teeth. Grinding teeth is thought to be a symptom of a horse being in chronic discomfort (see Dr. Paul McGreevy's book 'Why Does My Horse ...').

One thing that I did find encouraging however, was the use of food rewards. Near the end of the training session, the rider would ask the horse to perform a specific movement, and if the exercise went well the rider finished the session, dismounted, and gave the horse a lump of sugar.

The use of rewards was encouraged by the previous Director of the SRS in Vienna, Colonel Alois Podhajsky in his book 'The Complete Training of Horse and Rider'. In this, he confesses that in most books on riding, punishments are discussed in much more detail than rewards.

He finishes the training section with '... From the manner in which rewards and punishments are administered, interesting conclusions can be drawn as to the character and mind of the rider.'

Discussion: How many of you use rewards (food treats, scratches etc) as an integral part of your training?

Second question: Would you consider it appropriate for the removal of leg or rein pressure to be termed a 'reward' in the context of horse training?

    Dictionary definition of REWARD:
  • Something given or received in recompense for worthy behavior or in retribution for evil acts.
  • Money offered or given for some special service, such as the return of a lost article or the capture of a criminal.
  • A satisfying return or result; profit.
  • Psychology. The return for performance of a desired behavior; positive reinforcement.


The SRS would be in a great position to lead the way in incorporating reward-based training to mainstream dressage training, as the current system they have is so well thought out, and well structured, with relatively slow training progression and clearly set out incremental training steps. The SRS riders are extremely skilled in their application of aversion-based training techniques, and I have no doubts that they could very easily switch to predominantly reward based training.