Christmas does not seem that long ago and now we are at the end of January. In Australia I think the warm days of December and January are now behind us. From memory I think those of you in the U.K. still have some cold weather ahead of you. Australia has had a great summer in sport capped by Australian, Ash Barty winning the women’s Australian Open tennis final. Barty’s mind set coach, Ben Crowe is more about being on purpose than on winning. Preparation to the position for the transition is a quote from Ray Hunt. It is not about the topic of the conversation it is about the quality of the conversation.
This month rather than doing a horsemanship article I have put together some of the Q & As that have come up over the last 12 months or so.
Question; How important is trust?
Answer; Trust is extremely important as is confidence. In fact you might say trust comes with confidence. With some horses that might be the thing that stops you getting bucked off or run off with. It takes time to develop that with some horses that are really sensitive and their self preservation is close to the service.
Question; My horse braces with his flexion
Answer; Flexion, regardless of your discipline is going to be play a part in your outcomes. To start this conversation look at your horses poll. If your horse is braced in the poll that brace is going to come out in many other ways, through your horses back and flexion etc. This is also going to influence your horses behaviour. ( This is not the only thing that is going to influence your horses behaviour.)
As a suggestion I would also add, it is our presentation, sometimes the way we are asking is building the brace. If we can feel when the horse is well balanced, the timing of our aids and questions will be reflected with a feel that is good to both your horse and you.
