WHAT IS RIDING ?

Very simple;- Communication and Balance.

When you get on a horses back there has to be communication between the two of you, if there is no communication there is no fun only confusion and frustration.

The most commonly used form of communication with horses is the whip, rein and spurs. This form of communication is very primitive and simple and lets be honest not a very successful way to communicate. Another way to communicate is through feel. Children learn to ride so easily as they still have their natural ability of feel, balance and use and understand body language.

It’s not that we lose our are ability to feel, balance and use body language as we get older, it’s that we are steered away from using it in our false goal setting world. So as adults we have to unlearn a lot of what we have been taught.

You will re-discover;-
1 Feeling for your own body
2 Sense balance, rhythm and tempo / cadence
3 Your own self worth
4 Your own self confidence
5 Your own self determination
6 Your own self preservation
7 You will learn to communicate though feel and mind, rather than through vocal.

To rule a horse with WHIP or LOVE ?
If you use a whip and beat a horse the horse will obey you to a point but he will not trust or respect you.

If you love a horse “to bits” with lots of treats, new rugs, lots of cuddles etc the horse will reward that owner with bruised toes and being crushed against walls etc.

Trust or Obedience !
Which one do you want?
To work with a horse we need both.
I have heard it and seen it happen many times and in my early days of going to riding schools to be taught “how to ride” the words “ HIT HIM”!!

To my shame I have done it but not as much as my instructor would have me do, as I would get a verbal beating from my instructor and go home crying, feeling so bad that I HAD HIT MY PONY. I was only 8yrs old at the time but at that young age I knew it was wrong and there had to be another way, after all, the problem was my pony and I having a communication malfunction, hitting the pony with a stick was not going to solve it.

This, is when I started to think there has to be another way, I started to listen and study both the horses and the humans.

Just think about it for a moment, it is so easy to hit a horse with a stick when we are frustrated because though are own stupidity and arrogance we cannot communicate with a horse. If I gave you a puppy or a child and said to you to get obedience from them you must hit them with a stick every time they did not understand or did not do what you wanted ...would you?
What would you think of me as a teacher?

Horses do not howl or cry when you hit them, just flinch and patiently take the abuse (until sometimes it becomes to much), so is it the horses fault for being so stupid? Or are we the stupid ones?

Dominance and trust.
For a horse to trust and learn from you he needs and wants a human that will increase and build his self-confidence, he needs to have confidence in you. So someone who uses a little force to dominate and by using the right body language, the horse will become submissive, he will not have to give up his pride and free will to live. If you want to know how to achieve mind and body communication with your horse book a one on one session with me or come on one of my courses.

Written by Pip Unwin.
14th February 2008