On Apr 22, 2008, at 10:04 PM, Judy Ryder wrote: Following A Feel By Brent Graef
There's a difference between a horse who is escaping pressure versus a horse who is willingly following a feel. Thanks Judy! Beautifully put, I learned the "up the pressure" method when I started out and became increasingly unhappy with the results. Now I am trying to figure out how to really use feel and timing, and it is difficult (at least for me) and I backslide a lot. A lot of the time I come in wondering why things weren't working and then realize that I was trying to make something happen, instead of setting it up and letting it happen. A couple more great quote from Tom Dorrance: "The thing you are trying to help the horse do is to use his own mind. You are trying to present something and let him figure it out how to get there." and "Don't try to move his feet. Leave that to him." The first time I read that second quote I thought "well, of course the horse moves his own feet -- duh", a year later when I was re- reading True Unity it hit me like a ton of bricks -- I had been trying to move my horses feet, not getting to his mind and letting him figure out where his feet needed to be. Of course the realization is just the beginning. How the heck do I reach my horses mind? Still working on that part! Kat
