Day 3 #Equi-Quality Challenge with Alternative Horsemanship™

 #Equi-Quality Challenge

Day 3

Balance in your Stance

Without realizing it, often when the horse responds in a way that we didn't ask for or expect, we attempt to "fix it" by leaning towards or "driving" the horse with our upper body energy and movement.

When interacting with the horse from the ground, often there is unintentional drifting in humans to "follow" the horse to be spatially closer, with the belief that he will be more responsive.

When working in a round pen or asking the horse to make a circle on the rope, people often a.) Walk AT the horse, b.) "Cross" their feet rather than keep them parallel, and c.) Are leaning and sending their energy towards the horse's hindquarters.

If constant, excessive movement feels needed to get the horse to listen, not drift, to move forward, or influence his energy, etc. foundational pieces need to be revisited in the equine's interpretation of what physical and spatial mean to him and how he responds.

"Doing more" with your body doesn't address the horse's undesired responses. If the root cause triggering unwanted behavior is not recognized and worked through, it'll continue taking more effort and getting less response from the horse.

Think about when you are with your horse. What are some of the scenarios that you react to with "unbalanced" or upper body movement directed at him, and what could you do to interrupt your own patterned responses?