In response to pressure. I have been experiementing with that too. I've worked with maybe, really 10 horses and mules in the last couple weeks. My friend has just adopted 4 mules, 2 very shy, two still can't be touched since they arrived. I haven't had time to work on it. Also another adopted rescue horse, who has some issues, and my own 5.
What are we talking about when we say "pressure"? Actual physical pressure, energy "pressure"? I think most physical pressure is too much to begin with. I am finding that horses, even ones I don't know, understand it much better when I invite them to do something. Ask them with hand movements to move their heads towards me, or move their hindquarters away, not even touching them. We have to give them a chance, they are naturally so light, I mean I am really seeing this. I am really seeing how putting physical pressure on them really makes them tense and more difficult to maneuver around after that. For instance, if you grab a horse's leg to ask them to pick it up, try to wrangle it up, it's just making the horse that way. If I just lightly touch them, not grab, they naturally tend to pick it up, maybe not to the extent I want at first, but they try. Gotta go to bed. Kim
