> Beautifully put, I learned the "up the pressure" method when I > started out and became increasingly unhappy with the results. Now I > am trying to figure out how to really use feel and timing, and it is > difficult (at least for me) and I backslide a lot. A lot of the time > I come in wondering why things weren't working and then realize that > I was trying to make something happen, instead of setting it up and > letting it happen.
Yes, I think it's a hard thing to describe (how to follow a feel), like trying to describe what love is. > "Don't try to move his feet. Leave that to him." > > The first time I read that second quote I thought "well, of course > the horse moves his own feet -- duh", a year later when I was re- > reading True Unity it hit me like a ton of bricks -- I had been > trying to move my horses feet, not getting to his mind and letting > him figure out where his feet needed to be. It's interesting how, in reading that book over and over, you take something different away from it each time. Sometimes the statements mean nothing, and sometimes they mean everything, and the light goes on! >>Of course the realization is just the beginning. But maybe that is the most important part? >>>How the heck do I reach my horses mind? I think this is the ultimate part to work on... maybe lots of down time spent together, maybe lots of groundwork, not in running the horse in a round pen, but the little things, like seeing if you can ask him to put his foot in a certain spot, or on a quarter tossed in the arena... seeing if you can get the two-way communication going... understanding how the horse's body works, and what you have to do to get him to respond correctly... It's a lot to think about. Judy http://iceryder.net http://clickryder.com
