Horse Communication Skills

 Hjalmar learning to "follow a feel."

 For years I mindlessly caught the horse, led the horse, and tacked the horse. No one ever taught to put any value or connection between recognising the horse's mental, emotional, and physical state on that particular day and how it would influence the upcoming ride.

As my perspectives evolved over the decades I started realising how early every single moment influenced the next. So even if the intention was to ride, the quality of the Conversation during the catching and the leading influenced how the saddling, mounting, and ride went.

So many horses that arrive for re-education are here because they have massive holes in what should have been part of the foundation in their initial education. 

The number one problem most horses have? 

They are defensive towards pressure. It could be physical or spatial pressure, most horses are defensive and looking to pull against it, run over it, or flee from it.

And how do we humans primarily communicate with the horse? Through pressure. And yet it is the least addressed topic on anybody's training agenda.

Since Hjalmar was a horse who used to bolt when he had a strong thought, my priority in working with him is helping him learn how to soften and follow the feel of pressure, rather than get defensive towards it.