I will start off this blog by quoting one of the greatest horsemen to live ‘Ray Hunt’ – “Go as slow as you can and then go slower”
These words can inspire humans to try and slow down enough to give a horse the best chance possible to learn from us, but in order to follow through on them consistently over time we need to become a lot more aware of ourselves to actually slow ourselves down.
When you take all the different personality types with the innate behaviours attached to each one, then add in a whole load of conditioning, the result is a very different mix of human beings. What may seem slow enough to one individual, will seem painfully slow to another, and on the other hand, may seem too fast to somebody else. When you add a horse into the mix, again depending on that horses innateness and conditioning, the combination can be quite complex. It still amazes me that horses will fill in so much for us humans when our feel, timing and balance are out of synchronisation with our horses. And if we are being honest with ourselves, this is more times than not.
I have been practising slowing down as much as I can for a while now. The philosophy I practice and teach goes in this order. Energy, Intention, Focus = Feel. There is a small gap in between each of these ingredients to allow the horse to try and synch to each phase. Once Energy intention and focus has been established, I then add the physical feel required to achieve whatever it is I have set up to help the horse find. It’s important that I am in the correct position and that I can adjust my position accordingly as the horse consistently changes the picture in front of me. If I am too late to adjust accordingly to set something positive up for the horse, I just reset and start again.
By breaking the ingredients down a little further, it might give a bit more clarity.
Energy – Awareness of breath. The life and energy running through your body. (Separate from your mind.)
Intention – The mental picture of what you would like to achieve
Focus – A strong will to follow through on the above 2 ingredients without getting distracted (Out-focused)
Feel- I can obviously not describe this in great detail as it is different for each individual and has a lot of variables, but in this context, it’s a combination of the above ingredients that will help you become more aware and synchronise with your horse. Practised consistently, it will help you smooth out the physical or ‘direct’ feel that may be required if you have a physical attachment to the horse. (halter, bridle, saddle, human). The same principle applies for an’ indirect’ feel. (Liberty).
In summary, no matter what personality type you are, or what innate characteristics your horse has, practising with the above awareness will help you. Finding the perfect’ match’ is not that common, so working hard to slow down will be of great benefit to you and your horse.
These words can inspire humans to try and slow down enough to give a horse the best chance possible to learn from us, but in order to follow through on them consistently over time we need to become a lot more aware of ourselves to actually slow ourselves down.
When you take all the different personality types with the innate behaviours attached to each one, then add in a whole load of conditioning, the result is a very different mix of human beings. What may seem slow enough to one individual, will seem painfully slow to another, and on the other hand, may seem too fast to somebody else. When you add a horse into the mix, again depending on that horses innateness and conditioning, the combination can be quite complex. It still amazes me that horses will fill in so much for us humans when our feel, timing and balance are out of synchronisation with our horses. And if we are being honest with ourselves, this is more times than not.
I have been practising slowing down as much as I can for a while now. The philosophy I practice and teach goes in this order. Energy, Intention, Focus = Feel. There is a small gap in between each of these ingredients to allow the horse to try and synch to each phase. Once Energy intention and focus has been established, I then add the physical feel required to achieve whatever it is I have set up to help the horse find. It’s important that I am in the correct position and that I can adjust my position accordingly as the horse consistently changes the picture in front of me. If I am too late to adjust accordingly to set something positive up for the horse, I just reset and start again.
By breaking the ingredients down a little further, it might give a bit more clarity.
Energy – Awareness of breath. The life and energy running through your body. (Separate from your mind.)
Intention – The mental picture of what you would like to achieve
Focus – A strong will to follow through on the above 2 ingredients without getting distracted (Out-focused)
Feel- I can obviously not describe this in great detail as it is different for each individual and has a lot of variables, but in this context, it’s a combination of the above ingredients that will help you become more aware and synchronise with your horse. Practised consistently, it will help you smooth out the physical or ‘direct’ feel that may be required if you have a physical attachment to the horse. (halter, bridle, saddle, human). The same principle applies for an’ indirect’ feel. (Liberty).
In summary, no matter what personality type you are, or what innate characteristics your horse has, practising with the above awareness will help you. Finding the perfect’ match’ is not that common, so working hard to slow down will be of great benefit to you and your horse.
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