Communicating with Horses Building a Foundation in your Horsemanship

Penny Lane's Foundation

She went from running over people, double barrel kicking, imposing herself spatially, no concept of softening, following, or yielding to either physical or spatial pressure, and now has been learning how to:

*Acknowledge the human 

*Check-In with the human 

*Search for what was being asking of her

*Try new things in a physically reasonable manner

*Pause

*Process Mentally

*"Ask" vs. Dictates what happens next

She's two years old and mentally available to learn. Without defensiveness, she can retain what is being offered in the Conversations with the human.

But almost every single horse that arrives here, irrelevant of their background, training, or age, do not have a clue as to any of the above.

Without a solid foundation, what can be built with QUALITY in the equine partnership?

If you're experiencing challenges with your horse, when was the last time you assessed the basics?

In our society we fixate on accomplishment. But without a way to communicate clearly with a willing equine partner, we're just going through the motions.

More is being asked of the horse with him gaining less confidence. 

This is what I frequently get told:

He is "fine" until he isn’t... He does everythingI ask until "all of a sudden..." Yes, he rushes a little, doesn't always stand soft and relaxed, can be overly "helpful" in imposing himself, takes two, three or four times before he responds, but MOST of the time he's fine...

That is a majority of all riders.

The problem? No foundation.

If not now, what will it take to prioritize filling the holes, fixing the cracks, or rebuilding it?

It is Thursday. Three different people contacted me between Monday and Thursday regarding massive, dramatic accident(s) with their horses.

All of the horses gave indications as to what was to come. No one was listening. And then they got hurt. And then they ask for help.

Please don't let it reach that point with your horse.