Whether you’re on line or live in one of the rare clinics here, I like to ask people what they would like to get from their clinic, because I direct the learning specifically to those goals where I can.
Anyway, when I asked Sarah what she would like to get from her clinic, she held out her hands to show us. They were raw and blistered from trying to hold her horse. “I would like to get rid of these” she said.
She was a show jumper and Liberty was pulling so hard that her hands were raw and blistered.
Sarah and Liberty got what they asked for in just a few days. (I write it like that because I can only imagine that Liberty was wanting to get rid of those raw and blistered hands too! )
The photo shown here was taken on Day 3 where they were trotting around in a errr… about a 3 acre paddock. Three lousy days to make such a huge change … three days and a huge attitude shift from Sarah.
By this time, Sarah and Liberty had entered an entirely new and particularly beautiful relationship. As you can see (I’ll put the photo again here) Liberty has already got a lovely soft, rhythmic stride, he’s relaxed, with an elevated back that’s useful to carry her with strength and power and he’s in self carriage with a rein as long as it will go. In fact, by day four, this rein was too short and we had to find longer ones. And did I tell you this was in an open 3 acre paddock? 🙂
You see, a horse can only pull if we hold them. “Yeah right” I hear you thinking “and if I don’t hold him, he’ll run off and then where will we be?”
No horse is going to be pulling like Liberty was, out of choice. He wouldn’t choose to have his delicate mouth on the other end of those blistered hands. No way would he choose that kind of pain. So why was it happening? Or more to the point why does it happen to so many people, not just Sarah and Liberty?
It happens because the horse is either afraid or confused and/or the human doesn’t know how to change it. And they’ve got themselves locked in this destructive cycle because neither knows how to change it.
When you understand how to systematically work with fear and/or confusion with a horse, you can make the changes that Sarah made with Liberty too.
You can do that, step by firm step on Fast Track to Brilliant Riding. Fast Track has some spectacular on line riding lesson work that is changing the way that horse riding is taught effectively.
You’ll find those beautiful hands that all the good teachers want you to have AND you’ll have a happy horse on the end of them.
If you just want to stop your horse pulling on your hands and then go back to the same old, same old way of doing things, then I suspect that Fast Track and our beautiful community won’t be for you. This is a life changing program that comes from a deep reverence for the horse.
BUT…
If you’re up for solving your problems at the same as discovering a deeper level of the amazing being that is the horse, then we might just suit each other. 🙂 You can read all about Fast Track here.
