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Here is the short answer to your question...
I ride my horses at different times in
different ways and they figure it out.
I thought Mae's kite analogy was useful as a
starting place to understand the kind of connection. I have
flown a lot of kites in the last few years and I can tell
you that if the wind is right, it does have a nice give and
take to the feel of the string.
But try to fly a kite if there is not enough wind and you
get nothing. Try to fly a kite on a really windy day and you
will feel like your arms are going to get pulled off. I
would also add that the kite analogy does not allow for any
release. Even if I am riding Rosie on what I would call a
"contact" there is a release after any momentary
adjustment. I want to have a horse feel like they COULD
take my hand forward and go somewhere but I don't want them
to feel like they ARE taking me somewhere. I guess it is a
subtle distinction but I actually don't want my horse to
feel like they are pulling. I will allow a slight increase
in feel for the last few strides before a jump or as a horse
goes into an extension but I can't think of anywhere else.
++++++++++++++++
At this point, I was using the release as a
motivator, something to encourage her to listen to the bit
and learn to give body parts. Over time, I started clicking
and treating some of the better gives, but for the other
ones, I would just release. I thought of this as adding
duration and getting her to work longer before the click. I
thought of the release as a substitute for the click and
buying me time so I didn't have to keep stopping.
At some point, I realized that the release was becoming more
than that. It was becoming really important information to
her. I'm not sure one has to be aware of this in order for
it to happen, as it is just a natural by-product of the
process. But I do think one should try to notice when it
has happened. Because at this point something changes, and
instead of the release just being a reward or a predictor
that the horse is on the track to get a click and food
reward, the release becomes vital information and the horse
really needs it.
++++++++++++++++
It turns out I was much better riding her on
a shorter rein where I could make minute adjustments as she
had questions. She did not interpret this as feeling
trapped or stuck in one position, but seemed to get more
confident with the continued conversation. Otherwise she
would get lost and I would lose her focus. I want to point
out that in my mind, and hers (I hope), I was still riding
her on a release. It was just the difference between a big
release and a softening and mini-release of the rein.
++++++++++++++++++
The important thing here is that in all these
cases I am using the same "toolbox" to get a horse traveling
in different ways. I have been riding long enough to have
lots of different tools in my toolbox. Over the course of a
ride, I will use different ones at different times. My main
tools when I am teaching a horse balance and to adjust to my
feel are the release, the "ask," and the "following hand" or
"following seat.
Once the horse adjusts I release, and then go
back to following with a soft feel. I might argue that this
is a true following hand because the following has to go
both ways. The rider has to follow and allow the horse's
natural movement and the horse has to follow the riders feel
without resistance. Maybe some of you already define it this
way, but I have always seen it taught as the rider's job to
follow the horse.
Riders who ride around constantly playing
with the reins can keep a horse soft and light, but the
horse is never going to learn to be completely steady
because the horse is not given any chance to find and
connect with the rider's hand.
+++++++++++++++++++
I can't help get rid of this nagging feeling
that you are looking for an "all-purpose works in every
situation" way to ride. I don't mean that as a criticism and
I would love to find one too <grin>. I'm just not sure that
is the way riding works. Even if you limited yourself to
only riding the same horse in the ring and doing the same
thing, some days your horse is going to be different or the
wind is going to be blowing, etc...
++++++++++++++++++++++
I have come to think of riding as just
assembling tools and skills. That sounds so mechanical but
it is really just about having enough options in your
toolbox that you can find one that works on any given day in
any situation. I have found that with the SRR tools and a
few others, I can usually work through training goals and
issues. If I get stuck, I go looking for something else to
try. Sometimes it works and I add it to my tool box.
Sometimes it shows me the issue is something else and I go
back and fix it with my other tools. Sometimes I just play
with the tools I have to see what new stuff might pop out.
Ok...going back to your specific questions...
You asked what happens if you pick up the rein and Skylark
stops because of the rein pressure, but you wanted him to
keep going because you just wanted a walk with more energy
and more connection. Well, this is just a learning process.
You pick up the rein to ask for something (jaw, hip etc..),
he gives it but slows down so you release and send him
forward. You pick up a little more gently next time OR you
get him going more forward before you pick up the rein. You
play with the amount of forward and how you use the rein
until you get a rein pickup where he adds energy and keeps
going while softening. This is HARD, but it is also just a
matter of fine tuning the timing of the rein pickup,
release, and use of seat and legs so that he realizes he can
soften and go at the same time.
I see this a lot in starting green horses. I am starting my
husband's horse and it took him a few days to really figure
out that he could trot and turn at the same time. He had to
walk to make the turn. I allowed it, but kept encouraging
the trot and if he walked, I just asked for the trot again
after the turn. He figured it out. In the beginning, it is
nice if the rein means "stop" and I allow that. It just
means that you are ready for the next step.
As far as getting good stops, I think the
horse has to learn to read the rest of your body. Most
horses are pretty good at picking up on when you want a stop
if you ride the stop with the whole body. If your horse is
confusing stop with lateral bend, then the best way to do
this is to just experiment. Work on stops for a while and
then work on bend. Go back and forth until the horse starts
to pick up on the differences in your position and intent
when you ask for one vs. the other. At some point the
horse will seem totally confused and it is easy to think you
are not making progress but you just keep going back and
trying to clarify and it will sort itself out.
+++++++++++++++++++++
As far as using rein and leg at the same
time, my experience is that most people cheat (have done it
myself....sigh..) and try to use rein and leg at the same
time. Everyone says "don't do it" but people do it because
many horses deal with the conflicting signals by becoming
tense enough that they keep going despite the rein
pressure. You think you have gotten what you want. It sort
of looks like the horse is stepping up into the rein and
maybe it is, but it is working in tension and compression.
There is no softness
and acceptance of the bit.
But at some point, I am going to want to show
my horse that I don't really want him to slow down, I want
him to rebalance when I pick up the rein. This might start
as just asking the horse to rock back, and releasing for
that weight shift. Then at some point I have to tell the
horse that I want to take that energy of the coiled hind end
and use it. This means he needs to rock back and then come
forward up into the bridle. This is releasing forward into
the bridle.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
One traditional approach is to teach a horse
to go forward into the contact by adding tons of energy and
keeping your hand steady. You can get the horse to soften
into the bridle and keep going. I think this takes a lot of
work, good timing and I'm not sure that you end up ahead of
the game because at some point the horse still has to learn
to rock back and sit a little. This is a different style of
training and while I have done it in the past, I find myself
more and more reluctant to just keep sending a horse forward
hoping he will eventually figure it out himself.
Ok. I've gotten slightly sidetracked, but the
point is that you don't want to squash the horse between
hand and leg, you want to channel the energy and allow it to
flow in the direction you want. Otherwise it all ends up as
tension.
KB/tctt
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