Clinic: Day Two
On the second day, Piper entered the pen in a good spot. My goal for the rest of the clinic was to get her further along under saddle, while still keeping her checked in and feeling soft. In my experiences training at home, I mostly get problem horses, or colts that need to be started under saddle. A few years ago I began to learn about helping a horse to give laterally into what is known as a "soft feel." The most challenging part of obtaining this, is getting a horse into self carriage, meaning that the reins connect through the entire body instead of just the head and neck. After more time and experience going back to the basics of horsemanship, I was ready to feel how every step along the way translates to helping a horse to carry themselves better in-between the reins.
I decided to ask Harry to ride Piper in order to visualize the next level of our understanding. Whenever I have a personal horse with ongoing progressions, it can be challenging to think outside the box in order to sort through the spots where the horse is feeling braced or not responding with an effort. Needless to say, Harry is able to step things up a notch in every way. He communicates effectively through his seat, legs and hands to guide the horse into putting out an effort while staying soft and ready to go in any direction.
Within a short amount of time he addressed her willingness to stay in the conversation by asking her different questions. Getting a horse to connect through to the hindquarters with the feel of the reins is essential for them to be able to rebalance with the feel going forward. When a horse is asked to stop or take his thought back in motion or from a stand still, it tells you a lot about the degree of hardness or softness he carries going forward. A horse can appear to be in a frame, while still pushing mentally and physically on the aids.
The most essential thing that Harry did was address her thoughts and focus about following the feel of the aids. He firms up, not to impose a reaction, but rather to block the thought to push forward, or disconnect. The horse learns quickly because his timing and feel presents it in a way where the horse runs into their own pressure, and it releases as soon as the thought dissipates. When there is a change of thought, everything becomes much softer because you are no longer carrying your horses resistance every step of the way.
