Blogging horsey friend wrote about patterns: "And the changes and the circles and the up/ down transitions DO break up the bracing and [my horse] becomes light. It is magical."
I write: The changes and the circles and the up/down transitions break up the bracing because in order for the horse to do all these things we ask, he has to let go of his own thoughts and go along with our thoughts. It's with the yielding frame of mind that we feel the yielding body. That is the magic. Whatever we can do to communicate our requests so the horse understands and wants to go along with our requests, that will bring success.
I can easily overlook what is going on and resume thinking that my actions are directly causing the horse's actions. No way! I am in no way strong enough to cause a horse to do anything, to make a horse do anything, to keep a horse doing anything, or to keep a horse from doing anything. It is his understanding and his decision to give my ideas a try that lead to his actions. Horse is in charge of horse's body. Horse does what I ask when horse believes it's in his own best interest.
And hopefully I've set things up so the horse is feeling good, not worried, as he takes care of himself with me. Horses like feeling unpressured and soft. Horses will do things when worried and tense, but for any of us who have felt the difference -- there is no going back, no settling for forcing a worried horse as a way of life.
It is so sweet when their little minds take their big bodies just where we've asked them to. Better than floating down a river on a sunny afternoon.
(Friend: if I could have accessed the Comments section on your blog this morning, these words would have been there not here.)
1 comment:
I absolutely LOVE this give and take of reading and writing and thinking about the horses. I so enjoy reading what you write about YOUR experience and how the ideas that you write end up in my own head as I ride. I was astonished to read your post on patterns a few days ago and to realize that it was exactly what I was feeling happening while I rode and that I was not even realizing what was going on through the use of the patterns.
This part: "The changes and the circles and the up/down transitions break up the bracing because in order for the horse to do all these things we ask, he has to let go of his own thoughts and go along with our thoughts. It's with the yielding frame of mind that we feel the yielding body. That is the magic." I think those words are really important for me to remember. With Will, I think he is not so much thinking for himself as much as thinking ahead, trying to GUESS what I want and those guesses set up a brace. He seems to want to go along with my thoughts but ends up against my thoughts in his very anticipation. It IS magic when he yields it all. The feeling is amazing. I am surprised that he trusts me enough.
Will you make a test comment on my blog later? I think it is working properly now.
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