My work is all about Good Horsemanship where I emphasize the importance of having a horse mentally and emotionally in tune with the rider. The emotions of a horse comes first and the movement comes second.
My take on this is that the more horse has to search for the right answer the bigger the release and the soaking time. That way there is more distinction between "how it felt before and how it felt after the release". Then, after we and the horse become more accurate, the feel is understood and there is no more reason to release at all, other than to terminate the transition. The original feel (the one we present before we have to explain ("drive") is not hampering the horse in anyway and it keeps light because the horse understands how to follow your feel. Thanks for the platform to develop thinking!
Thanks for this! I use the words leading(directing) and explaining(driving). In my mind this ties in to the clarity of the feel I'm presenting. If I allways end up explaining the same thing over and over I'd better to look into the various parts of the whole process. Maybe use some outsider to pinpoint what I missed.
As a amateur, treet them like a dog. Go slow, let them come to you. If thay pull away leave them alone. Dont ignore the warning bite. Its a leave me alone sign. The horse i interacte with the most, argo, has taught me alot. Sometimes he runs up and nuzzles, licks and lips resting his head in my chest begging for more. And when i walk away he nannys and stomps away when i walk away. Sometimes he slowly comes takes a few jaw scratches and huffs and walk away. Like any body read there body language. And never ever approach from behind if you like living!
Good suggestions, but I have one other: if you use a real Mounting Block, it will solve that moving problem; proper Mounting Blocks don't move on their own :)
So, essentially, all we need to remember is: animals are like humans when it comes to being touched - we're ALL different. And none of us can bear being tickled or stroked until our nerve endings go numb. Quite a few years ago, I did a day as an extra (aka a supporting artist) for a TV drama. The 2nd AD briefed us all that there would be two police horses on set and that we had to remember they were working animals here to do a job and that we weren't to try to pet them. But as soon as we got on set, what happened? A bunch of people crowded round the horses and started petting them. What is it they say? You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Eye roll.
Genuine comment here....to the horse...how is this not just 'moving the feet'? Also why do you use your voice so muc? Is it or the benefit of the recording or do you think he understands your words? I'm properly interested in your answers....not trying to be clever :)
Firstly this was taken at a clinic so I do talking and verbalising what I am thinking so that people can understanding my intent, observations and thoughts. Secondly, every think I ask of the horse ends with change (or the beginning of a question) from the horse. Initially, there is a lot of driving and blocking to direct the thought of the horse. The feet are being driven but the intent is to release the pressure when the thought changes. The proof of this is at the end when you see how focused and quiet/relaxed the horse when I ask him a question. If the feet are being moved but without tapping into a change of thought nothing would be achieved and the horse would be just as animated at the end as it was at the beginning. I hope that is clear.
I know this is an older post, but I wanted to comment on another aspect. Gaining a thought and tucking it away. I walk my horse from the barn to the arena. As we turn around the barn, he always looks up hill and his thoughts leave me except for just a small portion needed to follow the lead (not much). But, he only leaves for a second. But when his thoughts come back to me, he brought a little worry about uphill. I've seen the pitcher and the water but a missing part (in my experience) is that the fuller the cup of worry, the harder it is to empty a bit. More importantly, all horses are, of course, different. Mine is a worried horse, that holds his worries very tightly. It's who he is. It's frustrating trying to manage those worries, as they are a full time job (for me at least), so much so that it's hard to teach him anything else.
I have a worried PRE that I've worked with for years trying everything under the sun. I've watch tons of videos and read many books. Most say the same thing and maybe that helps some horse, but not mine. Your comments here make good foundational sense that I never considered or encountered. One of those things that you say "duh," how could I miss that? For my horse (dressage), it's clearly an issue of distractions and desensitizing the world hasn't worked. This, at least, gives a good direction. I knew I was leaving him in the wind, but couldn't figure how to help.
Harry, I don't know if you'll ever read this, but I want you to know that the remark you made about touching our horses as an "honor," touches me to my core. Hardly a time goes by when I'm with my horses (even just going out to feed!) that I don't feel the joy and awe of being in the presence of such majestic creatures. We are indeed honored to be their partner.
Thank you Ross for discussing this subject. Feel your horse. Feel your animal, whatever animal it is. It all amounts to being gentle in my opinion, it all amounts to letting the animal know you, to letting the animal understand that it can trust you. Look into the animal's eye, fall into their gaze, touch the animal in a gentle way, and let the animal learn to trust you. Don't go past the animal's boundaries, don't attempt to control the animal, but rather learn to "lead" the animal, if this is what makes them feel secure.
This man knows what he is talking about. What animal wants to be "slapped" or "smacked" on the side of its head? It doesn't even make sense. Or what animal wants a "vigorous scrubbing", anywhere on its body? I don't know much about horses at all, but I intuitively know that they love a "gentle and loving" touch from a human.
Excellent information! I live in North Texas and all the “cowboy” trainers are trying the Old School methods and driving to excess. I’ve always thought they were comprising their relationships with the horse. I’m told I’m too soft with my mare, but I feel we have a relationship that many don’t. I will be directing my girl with as little driving as I can. Thanks for your work in sharing these videos. They are appreciated!
This was really helpful to me, I’m new to horses and our yearling (we just got her a few months ago) sometimes does this to me so I need to be firmer and let her know she has to follow my lead!
horses have sensitive skin, this allows them to twitch and get insects off them. Also they need that sensation, as their eyes do not go back wards without the movement of the neck. Thus the sensitivity are their eyes. If one watches horses as they are their grooming habits, everything you are saying is right, thank you.
Without seeing the specific you have in mind I would say the principle would be pretty consistent. But the practice would likely vary a lot. I adjust different feel and pressure for different horses and even for the same horse moment to moment.
The abruptness in the hands is something I’m really working hard on…..on the release mostly & it’s exactly as you say, it’s not all or nothing. I’m much better at the walk, but definitely need work at higher speeds when things are moving faster. Rebuilding muscle memory is tough……,🙃
Omg! You are like the queen of no hands! You’re SO good at it! I actually never went no hands yet! The closest thing I got to no hands was a pat in canter!😂
I breed Kerry ponies and keep a stallion who runs with mares. I had someone come to look at him and the first thing she did was pat him on the neck. Now we never pat our horses, and he showed the lady in no uncertain terms will he be patted. I had to explain to her that the way she patted him, which was akin to a slap and was in his view an incursion. He is the sweetest horse I have ever owned in the 40 years, but he wasn't going to have someone invade him and then slap him too!
If you ride outside the arena, you will encounter things that quickly overfill whatever worry cup you've been working on with your horse. At that point you learn whether you've built a trusting relationship with your horse or not. In his book True Unity, Tom Dorrance said the following. "Some people will ride a horse as long as the horse lives and they will never get what I try to get as early as I can, for a foundation. I don’t mean that I’m trying to get everything completed, but to get enough there to where if the horse gets troubled he will come to me; or to where I can get to him to come to me for security and cover. Without that foundation I feel very insecure with a horse." Two instances I can think of with my horses were a bear crossing the trail in front of us and a train blasting past when I was 12 and riding along some railroad tracks. Is the worry cup a useful concept in working with your horse? Absolutely. But if you ride outside the arena, that trusting relationship will save your bacon when unexpected things happen.
Aren't there any ways to make her an eye With now days technology, I am sure the eye can be made for the horse Otherwise it is a brilliant horse and very gentle, nothing like my colt
I just cringe when people slap a horse’s neck or side thinking it’s a reward… it’s not! Horses can feel a fly on their back, so those slaps from your enthusiasm are not feeling good. Scratches or rubbing their itchy spots are far more satisfying to your horse.
I would say there will be a lot of offended dressage experts in the comments! Inside leg to outside rein is one of the most overused and misinterpreted expressions used in the dressage fraternity. Imagine if you never used the inside rein, where would your horse go? Unfortunately people never questioned this and still don't.
