Help with the feel through the reins

Mark Rashid helps any of us with anything we ask for, assuming his assessment is that we (horse and human) are ready for that lesson, that at least some of our foundation pieces are in place.

I've watched him do hands-on demos with the reins to help people develop better hands. I asked him to do this with me.

This picture is when he was helping me feel the difference between the outer part of the reins and the inner part.



Never knew there is an outer and inner part to our reins? Me neither. But I learned there can be. I felt the difference when Mark was on the reins and I was in the role of the horse, then I asked to try it so he could give me feedback if I was able to communicate to him what I could feel him communicating to me. It took a couple of tries, then I could send a message offering softness through the reins without releasing the amount of pressure.

He helped me with the visualization of the reins like a hollow pipe, with the outer part stiff and the inner part fluid. Through the inner fluid part we can send our intention. And to send that message from my core. And keep breathing.

What is amazing about this is that when I was in the role of the horse, I could feel the pressure of the contact, then even though his hand position did not change at all, it felt like I was melting into the contact, that the pressure had changed. But I watched while we did this (with me and at other times with other riders) and there is no discernible change!