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Direction and Engine
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As steering and stopping is what we as a partnership with our horses are going to be doing for the rest of our time together, building a firm sense of direction with light touch and creating a solid stop is crucial before moving on.
Our horse is now comfortable being near us and we have established a partnership with less fear, I can now begin to sensitize and stimulate the horse’s brain by moving the feet. Horses respond to body language and to pressure, when you watch horses in the field you will notice that if they want another horse to move they will either position their body in a manner that drives the other horse away, in a sense chasing it with direct eye contact and a square body.
Or they will physically move them by biting them or using their own body to push the other horse away. Converting this natural body language and communication of the horse to our partnership I can begin to implement pressure and release.
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When I add pressure and the horse responds I release that pressure which acts as a reward. Take for example, if I want the horse to back up I will apply light pressure on the lead rope and as soon as the horse gives me one step I release the lead rope signaling to the horse that he made the right response to the pressure.
From this I will continue to ask more of the horse, holding the pressure a little loner to get a longer response. Using this process I will begin to ask the horse to yield the forequarter, back up, yield the hindquarters and eventually to side pass.
I want the horse to move either direction in response to my body language freely and willingly.
It is important that I can control all areas of the horse especially the hind end which I consider the engine of the horse. If I am only able to control the direction of the horse and not the engine it would be like a run away car with no brakes, which would be dangerous to not only me but others around me as well as the horse. |
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