training
May 21, 2013
Rhythm versus Relaxation
Long time readers will know that I have discussed the German Training Scale (sometimes known as the training pyramid) before. In previous posts I have talked about the GTS in terms of its relevance to what I class as the three elements of training – focus, clarity and softness.
But today I want to pick up on something that is specific to the GTS and how it is taught.
For those not familiar with the GTS it is considered by many to be the foundation of training in the dressage world. The elements of the GTS are rhythm, relaxation, contact, impulsion, straightness and collection. It is based on the French system from Master de la Gueriniere's instructions from more than 200 years ago. It formed the basis of classical dressage training and later became formalized and adopted for the competition world.
Those that follow the GTS not only emphasize the importance of each of the elements, but also the order in which the elements are taught. For example, according to the GTS a good level of rhythm is required before training a good level of relaxation. And good contact cannot be achieved without good relaxation and so on. So not only is each element important, but the order in which they are trained is also important.
However, I struggle with the notion that in the GTS system of training rhythm is placed before relaxation. Some people interchange the concept of relaxation with suppleness and perhaps that’s where the confusion lies. But the idea that relaxation comes from achieving a good rhythm is a little like the cart pushing the donkey to me.
A steady rhythm is a physical manifestation of a relaxed horse. In my view it is the relaxed state of mind of a horse that produces a nice rhythm. But the GTS would have us believe that the rhythm determines the state of relaxation of the horse.
It is possible to impose a steady rhythm on a horse without him feeling relaxed. But this does not come from inside the horse willingly offering the rhythm, but from outside of the horse that is being ridden him in “a box.” This can induce obedience and submission, but not a mental state of relaxation.
I have had this conversation with very experienced dressage riders and they tell me there is a distinction between mental and physical relaxation. It has been suggested to me that in the GTS system relaxation actually refers to suppleness and athleticism of the horse and not mental relaxation. In other words relaxation relates to how physically ready a horse is to perform (German trans: losgelassenheit). But I don’t understand how it is possible to separate physical relaxation from emotional relaxation. To me they seem intimately intertwined.
I do believe that if a horse is mentally and emotionally relaxed (what I call a quiet mind) he will be physically relaxed and much more capable of offering a good rhythm. I also believe that a good rhythm in a horse is not necessarily indicative a quiet mind. It can be, but does not have to be.
When I am made emperor of the universe and able to re-work the GTS I would swap the positions of rhythm and relaxation in the scale to emphasize the fundamental need to have a horse mentally and emotionally relaxed in order to achieve a good rhythm.
Long time readers will know that I have discussed the German Training Scale (sometimes known as the training pyramid) before. In previous posts I have talked about the GTS in terms of its relevance to what I class as the three elements of training – focus, clarity and softness.
But today I want to pick up on something that is specific to the GTS and how it is taught.
Those that follow the GTS not only emphasize the importance of each of the elements, but also the order in which the elements are taught. For example, according to the GTS a good level of rhythm is required before training a good level of relaxation. And good contact cannot be achieved without good relaxation and so on. So not only is each element important, but the order in which they are trained is also important.
However, I struggle with the notion that in the GTS system of training rhythm is placed before relaxation. Some people interchange the concept of relaxation with suppleness and perhaps that’s where the confusion lies. But the idea that relaxation comes from achieving a good rhythm is a little like the cart pushing the donkey to me.
A steady rhythm is a physical manifestation of a relaxed horse. In my view it is the relaxed state of mind of a horse that produces a nice rhythm. But the GTS would have us believe that the rhythm determines the state of relaxation of the horse.
It is possible to impose a steady rhythm on a horse without him feeling relaxed. But this does not come from inside the horse willingly offering the rhythm, but from outside of the horse that is being ridden him in “a box.” This can induce obedience and submission, but not a mental state of relaxation.
I have had this conversation with very experienced dressage riders and they tell me there is a distinction between mental and physical relaxation. It has been suggested to me that in the GTS system relaxation actually refers to suppleness and athleticism of the horse and not mental relaxation. In other words relaxation relates to how physically ready a horse is to perform (German trans: losgelassenheit). But I don’t understand how it is possible to separate physical relaxation from emotional relaxation. To me they seem intimately intertwined.
I do believe that if a horse is mentally and emotionally relaxed (what I call a quiet mind) he will be physically relaxed and much more capable of offering a good rhythm. I also believe that a good rhythm in a horse is not necessarily indicative a quiet mind. It can be, but does not have to be.
When I am made emperor of the universe and able to re-work the GTS I would swap the positions of rhythm and relaxation in the scale to emphasize the fundamental need to have a horse mentally and emotionally relaxed in order to achieve a good rhythm.
Comments
Picking Up Back Legs
Hi Ross
We have had problems with Lass's Blackfeet from the day we get her. I believe the problem arose from her last owners because the lady had had a bad accident with a horse and had great fear. Because if the wife's fear she would hold Lass's hind foot very low on the ground and he would cut around that. When I ask Lass to pick her foot up higher she reefs it out if my hand. She is so quick that I don't have a chance to hold on. If I put my hand from the inside of the foot if you get what I mean I have more control and can hang on she tries to pull it out can't do that so she collapses as if she is going to lie down its crazy. So I then work in her to get her soft and then start the process again. It is very tiring and at a point u thought there was something wrong and she may be sore in the back so I had her looked at and was told all was good.
This weekend I thought I would try something different. I put a rope around pastern so that I could lift her leg and hold it there without her reefing it away. I first out the rope around but still asked with my hand for her to lift her foot. When her foot was slightly up I would then ask her to bring it up enough for it to be comfortable enough to clean if she went to pull away I would grab the rope and of course could pull it back to the ground. I would then wait for her to steady and ask her to gently put her foot down. I found this worked a lot better because the progression was a lot further than having to work on her being mentally soft and then starting again.
What I am asking is, am I making her feel ok with having her feet picked up or is she just giving in? I feel like I am holding onto the pressure. I am not pulling at her just holding a steady pressure till she stops fussing then release on the rope. I have not done it again as u would like to hear your thoughts. Happy if you like to do a video lesson.
Oh also on the conversation of horses and trust. I have found myself still thinking about it. I don't know if trust is the right word. Do horses trust one another when they run from danger or is it instinct to run in a group as it is easier to be prey if you are on your own. I don't think that they have conversations along the lines of "don’t worry about that shelter, there’s nothing bad in there. Look i can stand in it and nothing happens to me. I think they see the others doing it and figure they'll also give it ago but maybe if one of the horses had a friend who was a lion the others might not think it such a good idea. I trust that Trevor will have the fire going when I get home because it is cold and I trust that he would not sell our children to slavery (primarily because he wants to exploit them himself) but if he asked me to jump from a cliff in a hang glider no matter how much I trust that he would not do anything to hurt me I still have self preservation going on and don't think any amount of softening would work. So as much as I would love to say my horse trust me I think most of the time they are completing a job. Hopefully one they feel ok about. The time that I treasure the most is when I'm in the paddock for nothing more than to just watch them and they mosey on down to say hey. There's nothing asked of them they just purely come over to share some time together.
Anyway enough of the babble. Take care Irena
First the trust issue. Trust is never all or nothing and always has its limits. If you can catch a horse (even with food treats) your horse trusts you to some extent. But there is a line where you will lose their trust. The job of training is to extend that line further and further as the days, months and years go on.
With regard to Lass' back legs, it sounds like you are on the right track. The rope is a good idea. Keep releasing when you feel Lass give over to the idea of softening the back legs. At first release when she stops trying to put her leg down or kick out. But when that becomes better, don't release until she holds her legs with almost no weight in them. You can help her with that by moving the leg around while it is in your hand. Touch the ground with the toes and lift it again or rotate the leg in a circle. When you feel her soft in your hand, you know she has had a change of thought and not simply giving up the fight. It may start out trying to get her to stop fighting you, but by waiting until she softens in your hand you are moving the goal posts to getting a change in the way she feels. If you want to send me a video, I'd be happy to look at it.
Hi Ross
We have had problems with Lass's Blackfeet from the day we get her. I believe the problem arose from her last owners because the lady had had a bad accident with a horse and had great fear. Because if the wife's fear she would hold Lass's hind foot very low on the ground and he would cut around that. When I ask Lass to pick her foot up higher she reefs it out if my hand. She is so quick that I don't have a chance to hold on. If I put my hand from the inside of the foot if you get what I mean I have more control and can hang on she tries to pull it out can't do that so she collapses as if she is going to lie down its crazy. So I then work in her to get her soft and then start the process again. It is very tiring and at a point u thought there was something wrong and she may be sore in the back so I had her looked at and was told all was good.
This weekend I thought I would try something different. I put a rope around pastern so that I could lift her leg and hold it there without her reefing it away. I first out the rope around but still asked with my hand for her to lift her foot. When her foot was slightly up I would then ask her to bring it up enough for it to be comfortable enough to clean if she went to pull away I would grab the rope and of course could pull it back to the ground. I would then wait for her to steady and ask her to gently put her foot down. I found this worked a lot better because the progression was a lot further than having to work on her being mentally soft and then starting again.
What I am asking is, am I making her feel ok with having her feet picked up or is she just giving in? I feel like I am holding onto the pressure. I am not pulling at her just holding a steady pressure till she stops fussing then release on the rope. I have not done it again as u would like to hear your thoughts. Happy if you like to do a video lesson.
Oh also on the conversation of horses and trust. I have found myself still thinking about it. I don't know if trust is the right word. Do horses trust one another when they run from danger or is it instinct to run in a group as it is easier to be prey if you are on your own. I don't think that they have conversations along the lines of "don’t worry about that shelter, there’s nothing bad in there. Look i can stand in it and nothing happens to me. I think they see the others doing it and figure they'll also give it ago but maybe if one of the horses had a friend who was a lion the others might not think it such a good idea. I trust that Trevor will have the fire going when I get home because it is cold and I trust that he would not sell our children to slavery (primarily because he wants to exploit them himself) but if he asked me to jump from a cliff in a hang glider no matter how much I trust that he would not do anything to hurt me I still have self preservation going on and don't think any amount of softening would work. So as much as I would love to say my horse trust me I think most of the time they are completing a job. Hopefully one they feel ok about. The time that I treasure the most is when I'm in the paddock for nothing more than to just watch them and they mosey on down to say hey. There's nothing asked of them they just purely come over to share some time together.
Anyway enough of the babble. Take care Irena
First the trust issue. Trust is never all or nothing and always has its limits. If you can catch a horse (even with food treats) your horse trusts you to some extent. But there is a line where you will lose their trust. The job of training is to extend that line further and further as the days, months and years go on.
With regard to Lass' back legs, it sounds like you are on the right track. The rope is a good idea. Keep releasing when you feel Lass give over to the idea of softening the back legs. At first release when she stops trying to put her leg down or kick out. But when that becomes better, don't release until she holds her legs with almost no weight in them. You can help her with that by moving the leg around while it is in your hand. Touch the ground with the toes and lift it again or rotate the leg in a circle. When you feel her soft in your hand, you know she has had a change of thought and not simply giving up the fight. It may start out trying to get her to stop fighting you, but by waiting until she softens in your hand you are moving the goal posts to getting a change in the way she feels. If you want to send me a video, I'd be happy to look at it.
Clicker Training – The Way Of The Future?
Do you agree with Georgia’s opinion about the benefits of clicker training?
Do you agree with Georgia’s opinion about the benefits of clicker training?
Just a Lot of Noise
During the week I worked a lot with our visitors in our arena. The arena we built is not really a built arena. It’s a large rectangular area in a 20 acre paddock that I ran the slasher over, followed by a ride on mower. It’s a pretty big area with no fencing and grass surface with a gentle slope to the north end.
After a couple of days working in our homemade arena, I found my voice was getting a little scratchy because I had to yell so loud to be heard when either Ben or Sari were riding at the other end. I decided to drag out my public address system and use that to preserve my voice.
I set the PA in the corner of one end of the arena while Ben and Sari were leading the horses from where they had been saddled. Riley has some experience with PA systems from his old racing days, but to my knowledge a loud speaker was a very new experience for Birch.
As soon as the PA system was turned on and my voice came booming out of the speaker, Birch lost the plot. She was convinced the devil was speaking to her from inside the little black box. At first Riley wasn’t too bothered, but when Birch went off like a firecracker he also became a little worried.
I noticed that the visitors were not too sure what to do about the situation. It seemed the strategy was to try to maintain some semblance of control and walk Birch around in a quiet and calming manner. But this approach was not going to work. She was in no state to listen to a motherly voice.
I took the lead rope and insisted that Birch pay attention to me (the pic shows a horse I was working in England last year - it’s not Birch). I was pretty insistent about this a few times despite Birch’s desperate need to flee as far as possible from the box. She tried several times to bolt backwards, push me out of the way with her shoulder and swing her hindquarters towards me. None of this was Birch being bad or disrespectful or wrong. She was just trying to do the best she could to save her life. I worked hard at trying to be more important than the loud box, but always allowing her to express her fear. I measured how firm I was with the lead rope by how worried she was. Her worry was my gauge as to how big to become. I also was mindful of how much pressure Birch could manage. I tried not to insist she do too much or move any closer to the box than I estimated she could manage. It’s one thing to take a horse close to the edge, but a very different thing to push her over the edge.
It took maybe 10 minutes to get a significant change in Birch. Her desperation to flee had subsided and her ability to listen to me when I was quiet had made a big improvement.
I was a little surprised at Birch’s reaction to the speaker because she is normally such a calm and level headed horse. But I had seen her behave like this once before the first time Michele had asked her to cross water. There was a similar response. But that was many years ago and she is long past her worry about flowing water.
I tried to impress on our visitors the importance of not just letting a horse work through the worry without help. It’s important that the rider or handler intervene at some level to try to change how the horse feels when it becomes highly stressed. It’s part of teaching a horse to stay connected even when trouble strikes and that they can rely on us to help them through the difficulties.
I could have put Birch in a yard or stable or small paddock and set up the PA system to play loud music nearby. It’s true that eventually she would calm down and get use to the noise from the speaker. But this approach would do nothing towards Birch learning to be with me in times of trouble. I would be relying on desensitization to the speaker to calm her down when I really want to teach her that listening to me is a very effective way of handling the stress. The next time we struck a stressful situation we would be back at square one.
A lot of people don’t know what to do when their horse has a melt down. In desperation they try to keep a lid on their horse’s behaviour with soothing words and gentle touches. It’s rare that this has a positive effect and any change occurs because the horse eventually gets use to the stress in his own time (desensitizes). Other people will drive their horse’s feet in a hurry to attempt to get control of the situation. They send them one way then another way and then another until either the horse gets tired or shuts down. I prefer to apply enough pressure to induce the horse to check in with me and then I might quietly ask him to move just a little. No doubt his worry will only allow him a moment or two of distraction from the scary thing to check in with me. But this is a chance to insist on his attention again and once again ask quietly for him to yield to a small pressure. I might have to repeat this a hundred times or more before I get a change. But in the end I hope to have a horse that is with me and his worry is only a fraction of how it was at the beginning.
The purpose of the story is to illustrate the need to make yourself important to your horse in both the quiet moments and the hair raising ones. Horses don’t get reassurance and confidence from leadership that is wishy-washy. They need to us either know what we are doing or pretend that we know.
During the week I worked a lot with our visitors in our arena. The arena we built is not really a built arena. It’s a large rectangular area in a 20 acre paddock that I ran the slasher over, followed by a ride on mower. It’s a pretty big area with no fencing and grass surface with a gentle slope to the north end.
After a couple of days working in our homemade arena, I found my voice was getting a little scratchy because I had to yell so loud to be heard when either Ben or Sari were riding at the other end. I decided to drag out my public address system and use that to preserve my voice.
I set the PA in the corner of one end of the arena while Ben and Sari were leading the horses from where they had been saddled. Riley has some experience with PA systems from his old racing days, but to my knowledge a loud speaker was a very new experience for Birch.
As soon as the PA system was turned on and my voice came booming out of the speaker, Birch lost the plot. She was convinced the devil was speaking to her from inside the little black box. At first Riley wasn’t too bothered, but when Birch went off like a firecracker he also became a little worried.
I noticed that the visitors were not too sure what to do about the situation. It seemed the strategy was to try to maintain some semblance of control and walk Birch around in a quiet and calming manner. But this approach was not going to work. She was in no state to listen to a motherly voice.
It took maybe 10 minutes to get a significant change in Birch. Her desperation to flee had subsided and her ability to listen to me when I was quiet had made a big improvement.
I was a little surprised at Birch’s reaction to the speaker because she is normally such a calm and level headed horse. But I had seen her behave like this once before the first time Michele had asked her to cross water. There was a similar response. But that was many years ago and she is long past her worry about flowing water.
I tried to impress on our visitors the importance of not just letting a horse work through the worry without help. It’s important that the rider or handler intervene at some level to try to change how the horse feels when it becomes highly stressed. It’s part of teaching a horse to stay connected even when trouble strikes and that they can rely on us to help them through the difficulties.
I could have put Birch in a yard or stable or small paddock and set up the PA system to play loud music nearby. It’s true that eventually she would calm down and get use to the noise from the speaker. But this approach would do nothing towards Birch learning to be with me in times of trouble. I would be relying on desensitization to the speaker to calm her down when I really want to teach her that listening to me is a very effective way of handling the stress. The next time we struck a stressful situation we would be back at square one.
A lot of people don’t know what to do when their horse has a melt down. In desperation they try to keep a lid on their horse’s behaviour with soothing words and gentle touches. It’s rare that this has a positive effect and any change occurs because the horse eventually gets use to the stress in his own time (desensitizes). Other people will drive their horse’s feet in a hurry to attempt to get control of the situation. They send them one way then another way and then another until either the horse gets tired or shuts down. I prefer to apply enough pressure to induce the horse to check in with me and then I might quietly ask him to move just a little. No doubt his worry will only allow him a moment or two of distraction from the scary thing to check in with me. But this is a chance to insist on his attention again and once again ask quietly for him to yield to a small pressure. I might have to repeat this a hundred times or more before I get a change. But in the end I hope to have a horse that is with me and his worry is only a fraction of how it was at the beginning.
The purpose of the story is to illustrate the need to make yourself important to your horse in both the quiet moments and the hair raising ones. Horses don’t get reassurance and confidence from leadership that is wishy-washy. They need to us either know what we are doing or pretend that we know.
Trust vs Obedience
Many people talk about the importance of gaining a horse’s trust. I’ve talked about it in the past too. But more recently I’ve come to realize I don’t really know what it means. I know what ‘trust’ means from a human perspective, but I’m not sure I know what it means from a horse’s view point.
Do horses really understand the concept of ‘trust’ in the same way we understand it?
I think trust comes from a horse’s confidence that going along with our idea is going to keep the safe and comfortable. This is a process that begins with their first experience of humans and ends with their last. It is an evolving process that can go forward and backward. We can prove to a horse that we can be trusted to keep him safe and comfortable and in the next second prove that we can’t.
People say their horse trusts them, but how do they know this? How can we differentiate the difference between trust and obedience? I think obedience plays a big part in what we perceive to be ‘trust’.
Let me give you an example that highlights to me how hard it is to be able to distinguish between trust and obedience.
A few years ago I was attending a clinic run by Harry Whitney. During a discussion the subject of trailer loading came up and one of the participants volunteered her horse for a demonstration. Her horse was well known to be really easy and reliable to load into a trailer. He had been travelled a lot in his life and the owner felt it never bothered him.
The horse was put in the round yard at liberty. The trailer was backed into the gateway of the yard and the owner was asked to sit in a chair in the middle of the yard. She was given a flag that she was suppose to flap when she felt the horse had stopped trying to figure out the job. But she couldn’t use the flag to direct him into the trailer – just flap it to get his mind back on the job when it wandered to other things like the horses in the paddock.
Within the first 10 mins the horse figured out that he was suppose to go into the trailer. He would go around the yard, stop at the entrance to the trailer, look in and wait. His thought was not strong enough to carry his feet into the trailer, but it was strong enough for him to realize that he was meant to be at the trailer. It took another 4 hrs for the horse to attempt to go into the trailer at which time he ran inside, turned around and ran out again. During the 4hrs it took him to choose to go into the trailer of his own accord, he ran madly around the pen, he tried to climb over the top of the fence, he bucked and spun etc. His emotions went crazy in the process of deciding to go into the trailer. He was in a terrible sweat and emotional upheaval while he figured out whether to actually step into the trailer or not.
To me this example showed how amazing horses are that they do things politely and calmly when we ask, but when it comes to them making the decision themselves it can put them through an emotional hell. When the owner directed her horse into the trailer he never objected or hesitated. You’d have thought he almost enjoyed it. But when he had to make the decision himself, it was extremely difficult for him to take the step to enter the trailer. It took 4hrs of an emotional roller coaster before he could make himself do it.
So my question is: did the horse go into the trailer when the owner asked because he trusted her or because he was obedient and knew it was his job? And how do you know? When we talk about partnership and trust with our horses this is an important question to ask ourselves.
The photo is of Michele training a young horse to wear a rug. How can you be sure that your are training trust or obedience in a horse?
Many people talk about the importance of gaining a horse’s trust. I’ve talked about it in the past too. But more recently I’ve come to realize I don’t really know what it means. I know what ‘trust’ means from a human perspective, but I’m not sure I know what it means from a horse’s view point.
Do horses really understand the concept of ‘trust’ in the same way we understand it?
I think trust comes from a horse’s confidence that going along with our idea is going to keep the safe and comfortable. This is a process that begins with their first experience of humans and ends with their last. It is an evolving process that can go forward and backward. We can prove to a horse that we can be trusted to keep him safe and comfortable and in the next second prove that we can’t.
People say their horse trusts them, but how do they know this? How can we differentiate the difference between trust and obedience? I think obedience plays a big part in what we perceive to be ‘trust’.
Let me give you an example that highlights to me how hard it is to be able to distinguish between trust and obedience.
A few years ago I was attending a clinic run by Harry Whitney. During a discussion the subject of trailer loading came up and one of the participants volunteered her horse for a demonstration. Her horse was well known to be really easy and reliable to load into a trailer. He had been travelled a lot in his life and the owner felt it never bothered him.
The horse was put in the round yard at liberty. The trailer was backed into the gateway of the yard and the owner was asked to sit in a chair in the middle of the yard. She was given a flag that she was suppose to flap when she felt the horse had stopped trying to figure out the job. But she couldn’t use the flag to direct him into the trailer – just flap it to get his mind back on the job when it wandered to other things like the horses in the paddock.
Within the first 10 mins the horse figured out that he was suppose to go into the trailer. He would go around the yard, stop at the entrance to the trailer, look in and wait. His thought was not strong enough to carry his feet into the trailer, but it was strong enough for him to realize that he was meant to be at the trailer. It took another 4 hrs for the horse to attempt to go into the trailer at which time he ran inside, turned around and ran out again. During the 4hrs it took him to choose to go into the trailer of his own accord, he ran madly around the pen, he tried to climb over the top of the fence, he bucked and spun etc. His emotions went crazy in the process of deciding to go into the trailer. He was in a terrible sweat and emotional upheaval while he figured out whether to actually step into the trailer or not.
So my question is: did the horse go into the trailer when the owner asked because he trusted her or because he was obedient and knew it was his job? And how do you know? When we talk about partnership and trust with our horses this is an important question to ask ourselves.
The photo is of Michele training a young horse to wear a rug. How can you be sure that your are training trust or obedience in a horse?
Straightness
Hi Ross,
Lass and me are having some trouble with being in the same place at the same time. When I'm in saddle and ask he of something, for example to go down the centre line of an arena she starts to look in another direction, so it puts us off and we get really of track, so I would do a few exercises to get her thinking, then i would go down the centre line again and she would be going great then she would go and look out in a different direction. I would just like to know if you have any exercises or tips on how I could get lass to be with me when we ride and be ok with looking in.
Kind regards Charlotte
I don't have any exercises for you that might help. The answer to your problem is not in the exercise, but how you do any exercise. Instead of thinking of which exercise to do, think about how to do the one you are doing better. When Lass starts to look elsewhere and drifts from the line, don't let him. If you have to, stop him and get softness in the halt. Then put him back on the line and keep going as if nothing happened. Every single time you feel him start to drift away mentally or physically, get him back the line. You don't have to stop him, but you have to do as much as you need in order to get him back on the line. When he is on the line, leave him alone and don't interfere until he starts to drift again. The earlier you at catching him before he leaves the line you are riding the easier it will be and the quicker he will improve. Good luck.
Hi Ross,
Lass and me are having some trouble with being in the same place at the same time. When I'm in saddle and ask he of something, for example to go down the centre line of an arena she starts to look in another direction, so it puts us off and we get really of track, so I would do a few exercises to get her thinking, then i would go down the centre line again and she would be going great then she would go and look out in a different direction. I would just like to know if you have any exercises or tips on how I could get lass to be with me when we ride and be ok with looking in.
Kind regards Charlotte
I don't have any exercises for you that might help. The answer to your problem is not in the exercise, but how you do any exercise. Instead of thinking of which exercise to do, think about how to do the one you are doing better. When Lass starts to look elsewhere and drifts from the line, don't let him. If you have to, stop him and get softness in the halt. Then put him back on the line and keep going as if nothing happened. Every single time you feel him start to drift away mentally or physically, get him back the line. You don't have to stop him, but you have to do as much as you need in order to get him back on the line. When he is on the line, leave him alone and don't interfere until he starts to drift again. The earlier you at catching him before he leaves the line you are riding the easier it will be and the quicker he will improve. Good luck.
Feel
I like to watch people working horses. I particularly like to watch people working young horses. I am interested in watching what they offer a horse rather than what they can make a horse do. Some people have better feel than others. Other people are very effective at getting a horse to do stuff, but don’t offer too much feel to the horse.
The people with good feel are good at reading what a horse is thinking and feeling and figuring out the reasons a horse does what he is doing. They know the limits and boundaries. But what makes them particularly good horse people is they know how knowing this information can help them present an idea to a horse that best fits the horse.
It’s not enough that you know your horse is feeling something. You need to learn how to offer a horse a feel, so that he can offer a feel back to you. It’s a communication thing that goes two ways. If you are not feeling what your horse is presenting, you have nothing to offer him back that he can follow or take an interest in.
I think part of the reason so many people have problems with their horse’s focus is that they don’t offer a feel to a horse that has meaning to him. When you don’t present an idea to a horse in a way that does not take into account what he is thinking and feeling, a horse has no reason to take an interest and be attentive. Over time this can become a habit. When a horse has developed the habit of not being attentive you can say goodbye to your dreams of being a horse whisperer because they only thing that will get his attention now is a lot of shouting, screaming and dramatic movements.
A feel that has meaning can be something large or small or inbetween. It’s not defined by the magnitude of what is being felt. A feel that has meaning to a horse is a feel that causes him to want to listen and try to figure out what is being said. Again we are talking about communication that runs both ways.
When you offer a feel that has meaning to a horse he will offer a feel back. A horse can shut us out and refuse to communicate. But when he is offering a feel back to us we are in a conversation with our horse. You may have heard the expression “getting with your horse.” But when you get with your horse, you are also trying to get your horse to be with you. It’s the same as offering your horse a feel and receiving a feel back from your horse. It becomes a two way communication that is heading in the direction of a partnership.
When a person if learning to offer a horse I feel I think it is often best to start with small things. Things like picking up a horse’s feet or lining along-side a fence or moving one foot are good exercises for people to work on offering a horse a feel. In the photo there is a lot of information and feel passing back forth between me and this young horse as he learns to perform a hindquarter disengagement from the ground. You can do these things without feel too and just try to make them happen. But if you take your time and focus on the little things, it won’t be long before you and your horse are having a secret conversation that only the both of you know is happening. This becomes the foundation for building a true partnership based on offering each other a feel.
I like to watch people working horses. I particularly like to watch people working young horses. I am interested in watching what they offer a horse rather than what they can make a horse do. Some people have better feel than others. Other people are very effective at getting a horse to do stuff, but don’t offer too much feel to the horse.
The people with good feel are good at reading what a horse is thinking and feeling and figuring out the reasons a horse does what he is doing. They know the limits and boundaries. But what makes them particularly good horse people is they know how knowing this information can help them present an idea to a horse that best fits the horse.
It’s not enough that you know your horse is feeling something. You need to learn how to offer a horse a feel, so that he can offer a feel back to you. It’s a communication thing that goes two ways. If you are not feeling what your horse is presenting, you have nothing to offer him back that he can follow or take an interest in.
I think part of the reason so many people have problems with their horse’s focus is that they don’t offer a feel to a horse that has meaning to him. When you don’t present an idea to a horse in a way that does not take into account what he is thinking and feeling, a horse has no reason to take an interest and be attentive. Over time this can become a habit. When a horse has developed the habit of not being attentive you can say goodbye to your dreams of being a horse whisperer because they only thing that will get his attention now is a lot of shouting, screaming and dramatic movements.
A feel that has meaning can be something large or small or inbetween. It’s not defined by the magnitude of what is being felt. A feel that has meaning to a horse is a feel that causes him to want to listen and try to figure out what is being said. Again we are talking about communication that runs both ways.
When you offer a feel that has meaning to a horse he will offer a feel back. A horse can shut us out and refuse to communicate. But when he is offering a feel back to us we are in a conversation with our horse. You may have heard the expression “getting with your horse.” But when you get with your horse, you are also trying to get your horse to be with you. It’s the same as offering your horse a feel and receiving a feel back from your horse. It becomes a two way communication that is heading in the direction of a partnership.
Straightness
Hi Ross,
Wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your recent post on straightness! In that regard I've attached a couple of pictures for you that you'll get a kick out of.
By way of explanation, I have four horses. Our home and outbuildings -- including the barn -- are up on a hill, and the arena, round pen and trail obstacles are all on a bottom area of our property near the river that runs through our place. On this particular day, I had just completed grooming the arena, so the sand was nice and smooth.
I'd taken two of my horses down to the arena and turned them out, and then hiked back up the hill to get the next two. One of the horses that was down in the arena, Sunshine, was running around "expressing herself" about the other horses not being there quite yet. What was truly fascinating to me is that she was running "circles."
As I headed down the hill, I couldn't believe my eyes, so stopped and took a picture with my cellphone. There in the sand of the arena was the impression of her "perfect circles." (You'll have to look closely, but it's there.) Obviously, her mind had been going in circles and her feet were following the thoughts, right!!! I'd call that "straightness."
Amazing!!!
Take care,
Linda Davenport
Idaho, USA
P.S. My friend Jan and I are very excited because we've made arrangements to spectate at your August Montana clinic at Alex Mufson's. We're so looking forward to meeting you. We met Alex this year in February at Harry's in AZ.
Hi Ross,
Wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your recent post on straightness! In that regard I've attached a couple of pictures for you that you'll get a kick out of.
By way of explanation, I have four horses. Our home and outbuildings -- including the barn -- are up on a hill, and the arena, round pen and trail obstacles are all on a bottom area of our property near the river that runs through our place. On this particular day, I had just completed grooming the arena, so the sand was nice and smooth.
I'd taken two of my horses down to the arena and turned them out, and then hiked back up the hill to get the next two. One of the horses that was down in the arena, Sunshine, was running around "expressing herself" about the other horses not being there quite yet. What was truly fascinating to me is that she was running "circles."
As I headed down the hill, I couldn't believe my eyes, so stopped and took a picture with my cellphone. There in the sand of the arena was the impression of her "perfect circles." (You'll have to look closely, but it's there.) Obviously, her mind had been going in circles and her feet were following the thoughts, right!!! I'd call that "straightness."
Amazing!!!
Take care,
Linda Davenport
Idaho, USA
P.S. My friend Jan and I are very excited because we've made arrangements to spectate at your August Montana clinic at Alex Mufson's. We're so looking forward to meeting you. We met Alex this year in February at Harry's in AZ.
That’s brilliant Linda. I can see the circles in the sand. Now my question is can you get him to do that when you ride him?