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 Its about you and your horse and the relationship that you shape and develop between you both, on a daily basis and with a longer term view stretched out before you.
Play is the long lost skill and intuition is the highest form of intelligence where you move according to what is happening in the moment, in the here and now, according to what presents itself. You may go out to your horse with a particular idea in mind but the horse has had a different kind of day and is a different mood to the one than would be conducive to your ideas. The trick is to have a playful attitude and no immoveably solid goals (unless out of sheer necessity) in the short term.
Perhaps you want to go for a walk, do some concentrated practise on a particular exercise that you have been working on or you want to sit and be still with your horse. There is no wrong or right when you are taking both your sensibilities into account but an ability to be free to change your mind and respond to 'what is' is paramount to good healthy development when wanting to work in this way.
If you have clear enough long term goals which consist of a number of approaches you can pick and choose what is the most appropriate lesson for today. Balance requires that too much of one idea will need an equal compliment to the overall equation. |
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Developing ourselves with our horses. |
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 When I initially stripped myself of old ways of doing things I was laid bare and had no idea how I might motivate my horse to even want to be with me, let alone for us to walk down the road together.
For the first year I did not use treats in the way that I do now and I am incrediby glad for it. I spent many months hanging out with the same group of horses, watching them interact with each other and interacting with them when they wanted to interact with me. I was at a regular loss when I wanted them to do something that I wanted them to do but without diminishing their right of free choice.
I was a purist at that time and have since softened my approach. During 'training' it remains free choice: The horse can completely decide whether they want to train with me or not, and how they want to train. Sometimes the horse offers the suggestion and sometimes I do. But there is an agreement that there is no force, no compliance, no pressure but rather a question of how to motivate an interaction that has value to our overall goal. Where pressure becomes involved I try to keep very clear about how I am motivating the horse and whether it will damage my long-term future goals if I insist on certain things.
At lilberty and with free choice, I want the horse to confidently free lead at walk, trot and canter, to come to call, to manipulate the fore and hind end into turns on the forehand or haunches, to back up and to free play. I would like to explore all of the classical dressage movements as both an exploration into the joy of body movement, almost akin to equine yoga, and out of a desire to help the horse to develop the musculature and mind in becoming a full, radiating, expressive, strong being. |
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