My daughter and I just spent this past weekend at Massachusetts Equine Affaire. Aside from reconnecting with many in our equine community as we moved about the grounds, we both learned new things about being better horsewomen. Here are a couple of our take aways:
“There are no free spooks” from Ryan Rose. Meaning, when your horse spooks you should put that action into some sort of work; like a continued side pass or as disengagement of the hind quarters or a back or a serpentine. Something that puts the horses feet and mind into a job.
“The horse finds comfort when they are asked to move from their body first and their head last” from Chris Erwin. Equally I felt validated to hear that one’s diagonal in posting should be in accordance with the natural bend of the horse in the moment and that bend should not be forced by cranking the head or forcing with one’s leg aids. We saw a nice lesson by Chris on helping the horse to change their bend through their body using the environment and where your horse is mentally to attain harmony.
Part of learning is to test your understanding by sharing with others. Share what you learned on our FB page https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=vermont%20horse%20council
Here’s to better and better, Jeannette Cole, VHC President