Releasing Tension in the Horseback Rider

 Many times when I'm teaching a student, if a tense moment arises, I will instruct them to pat their horse. 

 This is not for the sake of being "touchy-feely," rather for the release that happens within the rider when they touch their horse. 

 Without realizing it, they will exhale the breath they'd been unintentionally holding. 

 The rider will inevitably smile; this creates an emotional relaxation, which causes them to drain the tension they had been defensively carrying between their shoulder blades, in their lower spine, in their hamstrings all the way through their heels, and a release in any gripping with their fingers on the reins. 

This simple act shifts their unintentional continuous containment of the horse due to their rigidity to offer a physical release of their aids towards the horse. 

 The softening of the rigidity in the human's muscles is usually immediately mimicked in the horse's behavior and can be seen in his sighing, chewing, dropping his head, rapid blinking, passing manure, and overall deflation in his posture. 

 The pat, smile, and release in the human, allows for them to regroup and decrease any potentially mentally overwhelming anticipation. This influences the energy used in their aids. 

 This affects the clarity and specificity in which the student can effectively communicate and can support the horse, building both his confidence and their own.