> > Yes, I do remember that, but I don't think I > looked straight down, but > > just lowered my line of sight to be just past his > head instead of way > > out in front of him. When he knocked a cone down > and I looked straight > > down at the cone he stopped. > > verrry interesting!
This is one of the exercises that we do to get a good stop on a horse without pulling on the reins. Say you're in the arena, maybe you might have some particular stones on the ground that you can focus on, or if not, put some stuff, small stuff like a pen, a quarter, half of a 3 x 5 card, a baby-food jar lid, on the ground in different places. Walk around on a casual (loose) rein, then start to focus on a spot. The spot might be to your left, or maybe to your right, or possibly straight ahead. No matter where, focus on it, and get your horse to stop at your focus point. It should happen naturally, without the use of the reins. When you get good, you should be able to pick one of your horse's feet, to stop on that spot. Judy
