After a long deep dive into our foundations, Tiger-Lily and I are starting to re-introduce laterals and tools back into our training and it is incredible to see and feel the change in her!
In the past, there were so many triggers that could send her reeling over the edge of her threshold including just being led out of the paddock away from the herd which would cause severe separation anxiety. Food rewards would cause over-stimulation which would lead to aggression, any sensation on her face would cause head-shaking and striking, and any activity that she found difficult to figure out would cause her to disconnect from the session and leave if she could, and if she was unable to leave due to being on a line, she would panic and start to rear and bolt.
After learning and tailoring the principles of R+ to best fit our relationship, as well as understanding nervous system regulation better, we are in a place now where her capacity has grown and we can start to hold hands again in the training. It is beautiful to have these conversations with her where we can walk calmly from the paddock to the arena and work through movements she finds challenging all while staying calm and connected throughout.
In the first video clip, we are refreshing our hindquarter draw cue. My version of this cue is a combination of my body position along with a lifted position of my inside hand. If my horse does not understand or remember the cue, I flow into a basic yield (hindquarter yield) from the outside to show them which hind leg I would like them to step under with. After a few repetitions of this, she remembers her cue and starts to give the hindquarter draw, which I couple with a bending cue on the inside shoulder to turn the movement into a haunches-in. Once this is in place at liberty, I add the cavesson and line to hold hands with her so that she can find her balance a little more easily and therefore improve the overall shape of the movement. For now, I am super happy with the unpolished version she is offering because she is in this lovely sweet spot of relaxation and motivation. The details of the biomechanics i.e. the ideal placement of the hind legs, bend, fluency, duration, etc. will come into focus over time as long as the core connection is intact.
For me personally, there is nothing more rewarding than feeling this soft, open, willing communication in the training - no matter how basic or advanced the activity happens to be or whether I am on the ground or riding. Over the years of exploring many different styles of horse training, there were many times that I thought I had let go of my expectations, of my need for my horses to do something or be something more for me. If I could just get them to do this, or we could just tick this box, then we would reach that mythical end of the rainbow where the pot of “good enough” is rumoured to be.
Each time, I looked to another method, concept, or training approach for the magic wand that would solve the problem. And if I’m honest, I am so grateful I did, because I have learned so much in the process! But in my search, I kept missing the most important point: the most vital element is not what we can do with our horses, or even what method we choose, but how the horse feels about what we are asking them to do. This is not a ground-breaking new concept or something that countless other amazing horse people have not already discovered and put into their own words. But there is a difference between hearing something, understanding it, practicing it, and living it and it feels like I am finding myself spending more and more time in the living it phase lately. If we allow them to, our horses will show us where we are in the process of moving through these phases. If we can let go of our entitled need to expect things from them and instead put their experience first, the rewards that come flooding back are worth double all the time and work we invested.