Mind Horse and Pressure Horse

 

Last post I talked about some of the characteristics of space horses.  According to Josh Nichol’s Relational Horsemanship there are two other needs or types of horses, mind and pressure. 

Pressure horses respond to pressure primarily by running away.  They are very sensitive and easily startled.  The exercises for pressure horses revolve around bringing their focus to the rider/handler first when under pressure and then adding a soft release from the lead rope or rein.  Obviously starting without pressure and then gradually building up to harder things.  Jet is totally a pressure horse and has responded fabulously to the JN ground work.  It’s like I could hear him sigh and think-FINALLY she can speak my language.

Mind horses are always distracted and gazing in the distance.  Basically, their mind and body are separate and that causes them anxiety.  They have trouble being present.  The exercises for mind horses focus a lot on bringing their mind back to the handler/rider and to their own body.  A little video explains it HERE.

I highly recommend the NOËLLE FLOYD 7 day free trial if you’re interested in Josh Nichol’s program.  The videos cover each type of horse, are concise and show the exercises.  It’s easy to cover everything in the 7 days, probably twice.  Then if you’re hooked, I recommend Joshnichol.com and the Masterclass for much more in depth information and much more content.  Enjoy!