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Two
international classical teachers and 12 classical
schoolmasters –
I'm absolutely overwhelmed with that experience,
Every
schoolmaster unfailingly gave you *something* in response to
your requests.
These
"professors" (and they were treated with deference
and the utmost respect and as the "final authority")
always told you exactly what you were doing,
if you paid attention.
Did you ask
for a straight line and the horse gave you travers (haunches
in)?
Did you ask for a circle and get a death spiral?
A canter and get piaffe?
The horse was never wrong –
you received exactly what your aids asked.
One woman began the week (and tried to cling to) "reasons"
and "excuses" why the
horse was not giving her the movement she THOUGHT she requested.
These basically were excuses why the horse wouldn't or
couldn't do what was asked
- "there's a shadow on the ground", or "he doesn't want to".
Baloney.
And she was told - "it's not the horse. Fix yourself."
Now, consider
this please - what level of humility must you have to
truly follow this in every interaction with a horse?
The horse takes a measure of information from each and every
moment and
responds in the way that makes sense to him. The horse is
always right.
If the results are not as we planned, we fix ourselves, not
the horse.
"Trained" horse or no "trained" horse, our responsibility is
exactly the same.
The horse
will ALWAYS give you whatever makes the most sense to him.
The idea that
the "horse doesn't want to" is an excuse.
How can he know what you want if you can't form a question
that makes any sense?
We perhaps should be down on our knees thanking our lucky
stars
every time things don't go as we ask.
We aren't creating
perfection in the horse –
he's creating perfection in us.
J-A CR
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