Remember this picture and the words on it? Have you been FEELing it?
This is a lesson that I originally learned from the phenomenally talented Philip Nye. To his wisdom, I have added our “Feel” work and the concept of deep, ridden connection versus over-riding.
I had planned to bring this lesson to you in Oliver’s Diary but Steve never took to this technique in this form (and everything happens for a reason), so if we ever do film this, I expect it will be of someone else. 😀
This is MY version of the first part of Philip’s Confidence in Motion exercise.
On the buckle of the long, completely LOOSE rein, you allow the horse to go wherever they want – if you’ve ever done it, it’s a tiny bit like the Parelli passenger game only it’s more for the horse. The idea is that they do whatever gait it is that you decide – i.e. you start off with walk and only walk and the only correction that you make is to ask them to move if they stop or come back to a walk if they trot.
They may start to create a pattern of movement and find a comfort zone in that pattern. They’ll go around the same tree in the same way, they’ll ride along the fence in the same way and circle off the fence at the same spot – they’ll literally move over exactly the same ground in the same way, over and over again.
This has elements of the mirror game in it
It’s your job to just sit there and find a comfort zone in that pattern with them, flowing with their movement whatever that is. This is about YOU feeling THEM and going with THEIR movement before you start asking for them to go with your movement – it’s about you and your horse getting a deeper ridden connection at the walk before you even think about asking anything else.
After a few rides when that pattern and the comfort zone in it has been established, then you can slide your hand down one rein to pick it up and use your whole body turning just a tiny fraction, to look fractionally into a new direction (that’s the “all eyes” that I talk about in the Fast Track ridden lessons. You’re turning just a little, looking for a small change in your horse and seeing if they can flow with you.
Don’t over-ride it!
Don’t over ride it – don’t turn your body more than your horse goes with you really easily – you want to keep your connection together as the PRIORITY vastly bigger than anything else – then drop the rein as you look forward and allow them to go back to their pattern.
It doesn’t matter if they don’t come with your turn – drop the rein and the ask after a few seconds of asking, even if they haven’t turned. That’s OK, they’ll get it. The big key to success here is not to over-ride it – not to turn more than your horse can come with you willingly and in a lovely physical connection together. You just ride the horse’s pattern and every now and again, pick up the rein and use your whole body to ask for a tiny turn. At some point they will get the idea, they will realize what it is that you are asking with such beautiful softness.
When you are asking for a turn like this, you are BEING the change that you want your horse to be – you are staying connected and not compromising the softness that comes from that connection. You are showing your horse what you are looking for, but you are not MAKING it happen, you are waiting for them to understand and be willing and even more importantly – able – to move ion the same direction as you, so softly and so together.
After those tiny turns are in your comfort zone together, then you can start asking for more of a turn and eventually you can ask for the half circle of a serpentine and then a circle here and there.
And because this is comfort zone work, this will help your horse to be and stay in self carriage, with their back lifted up lovely and strong underneath you with grace and strength.
Keep in mind the RELEASE, RE-LEARN and RE-PROGRAM stages that we talk about in Fast Track. Even if a horse has been yanked around by the reins and has developed a lot of resistance over the years, you can RELEASE this and help them RE-LEARN and RE-PROGRAM. Pretty soon you will have a horse moving softly with you as you turn your body, going wherever you want happily together.
And don’t forget to stop and do lots of soaking an appreciating of every step forwards while you are in Inner Awareness, because THAT is what anchors the progress and makes it a FAST Track!
AND
This is the same foundation that you can use for bridle-less riding.
After your slow down and stop is happening reliably before you have to activate the reins…
Instead of “pick a rein up and use your whole body turning just a tiny fraction to look into a new direction” you can leave the reins alone and turn all your eyes into a gentle turn:
- At first you might reward and say “YES!” if they look into the direction that you’re asking.
- You might reward and say “YES what stars we are!” if you’ve moved one step of a turn together.