Picadero
Work in a picadero differs in many ways from ordinary lunge work as it is highly concentrated and meaningful. It has nothing to do with letting the horse move around a bit.
It furthers the trust/respect balance in the relationship, builds concentration, strength and improves reaction time. It aids in the gymnastisizing of the horse, develops his lateral bending and horizontal flexion. It sets the stage for a readiness to work/interact with us and, finally it is possible for the horse to retain his sense of joy and fun throughout the work.
The horse, through the work at liberty, can adapt to the stresses of movement in his own way, but nevertheless remains within our sphere of influence. It teaches both the human and horse to communicate with one another through the use of the finest, most subtle body language. We can naturally only expect the degree of sensitivity that we show him and we can only expect the degree of concentration from him that we ourselves demonstrate.
For me, the work with horses starts here, with myself. A horse tells the truth, mercilessly.
There is no direct translation of the Spanish word Picadero, but the closest seems to be "Riding School". As far as I understand, a picadero is actually an old term for a stable yard, not a riding school or an arena. Some of the older high school people may use it as an understood implied reference to the school area within a yard, but it is not a term that would mean a 'small' school. It is generally an 11m square work space with good footing. The Picadero at Xenophon Equus Centre is a 14m square.
