🐴 Partnership Is Built in the “Ordinary” General Skills...

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…so far in this community and with absolute pleasure - we have discussed the very important points about nose control and guidance and a relaxed neck.

Those things do matter, very much.

But partnership goes further than that.

It doesn’t stop at a soft neck or a lowered head.

👉 It begins in how we move their body.

To undo stiffness (mental and psychical),

To release built-up tension.

To teach the feet to move when you ask (not 2 minutes later 😉)

To back-up 8-10 steps with lightness (not just 2 or 4).

To ask the forehand and hindquarters to move over (to our actual touch not just finger pointing or stick driving pressure).

To also send them out and around you with purpose (this is where shoulder control is learned).

This is also where you learn where to place your feet, your body, your arms.

This should all be stablished before the cool stuff.

In the beginning at GGWH, we spend quite a bit of time keeping the horse out of our space.

Remember boundaries create safety and as you can see the majority of people always have this issue.

That's really okay and is what people like myself are here for! 🥰

Then, and when the time is right (not before) we begin to invite them into our space.

Through intentional communication.

Exercises like reversing the hindquarters and forehand away now to towards.

Sideways towards.

Using that natural draw to canter to you.

And so forth...

But please, not too soon because this is where people often get into trouble wanting the impressive things before the foundations are steady.

If I am not busy teaching people how to advance, I am teaching them how to unlearn and start over. Mostly because we now have a horse that learned a lot of the wrong things too soon.

To me personally this is not impressive - it is actually a shame for the horse. But that's really just my opinion.

However and what I do find VERY impressive are things like being able to ask a horse to move out and around with softness and understanding, come back and stand relaxed.

And when the basics are practiced enough, when they become consistent, only then does the “why” and the “how” start to feel more apparent to us.

Partnership isn’t built in tricks, it’s built in daily, general skills done well.

And once those are solid the door opens super wide where I will be right there waiting to support you, should you wish. 🐴✨🫶

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