Why Horses Are Better Than Cars:
1) They greet you at the gate.
2) Their sweet breath is far better than car exhaust.
3) There's no such thing as locking your keys inside a horse (phew!).
4) Being creative and playful with your horse will not bring on blue and red flashing lights.
5) They can travel sideways with the greatest of ease (show me a car that can cross its tires with such elegance and finesse).
In the first part of this series, I compared parts of the horse's body to components of our car in order to better understand how to direct movement in the horse. Click Here to read Putting Movement Together (Part I). This week you will learn how to do some fun and fancy maneuvers with your horse.
By now you know enough theory, terminology and fundamental skills necessary to begin playing with your horse with purpose and creativity (don't panic - I will offer you some creative ideas before we are through).
Working with your horse through fundamental groundwork is really about building a respect that is mutual. We need to respect the horse and their prey animal needs and instinct, so that they may have trust in us, and we need them to allow us to influence their movement, so that we may remain safe.
Once you have the fundamentals down (and that doesn't happen overnight - it takes time and practice to earn positive feedback from your horse consistently), a whole new world opens up.
When we are able to offer our horses purpose, playfulness and creativity through our groundwork we ignite their spirit, intelligence and natural exuberance.
Any upper level maneuvers done with a horse are nothing more than the combination of some basic skills: backward and forward, move your forehand, move your hindquarters (sensitization), and stand still and relax (desensitization). While the groundwork exercises you will learn from here on out will feel more complex (we will go back to the basics for awhile once we embark on riding), I encourage you to keep an eye out for the fundamentals.
This next level of horsemanship is really about building rapport and furthering emotional trust with your horse.
As you progress, you will be asking your horse to do more challenging things, so it's important that you act like a partner so your horse can put his trust in you. If at any point in these exercises your horse appears to lose his confidence, slow down. Offer patience and kindness as your horse tries to work out what you are asking of him. This does not mean we chuck our 4 C's of Horsemanship out the window, but rather than as we practice being clear, committed, consistent and congruent, we never act like a predator. Predators are notorious for making others do things - do not make your horse do anything, rather set it up so that he wants (and is able) to do what you are asking.
Go Over, Go Between, Go Through
Goal: To have your horse confidently travel over, between, or through confining spaces.
Instructions: This exercise is identical to the Half Circles exercise from Part I just with you and your horse in reversed positions. Practice this first against a length of fence before moving onto other obstacles.
Stand facing the fence with about 10 feet between yourself and the fence (this leaves a passage for the horse). Back your horse up an adequate distance so that they leave without infringing of your space. Using the point - lift - tag sequence from last week to send your horse between yourself and the fence. Once they have passed through, ask them to disengage and allow them to come to you. Repeat this sequence until your horse is able to coolly and comfortably travel between you and the fence.
