I can’t remember where or on what account I found the following. Just a random screen shot I found scrolling my photos. Facebook I think, but I couldn’t find the attribution.
Stop trying to calm your horse, instead let your horse train you to become calm.
Every time your horse offers a try, a soften, or a willing response, that is your cue. Not to ask for more. Not to correct. Not to push on.
It is your cue to regulate yourself.
You breathe out.
You drop your shoulders.
You let your body soften.
In that moment your horse is teaching you how to settle your own nervous system.
Over time, your horse learns that when he offers calm, a calm nervous system comes back to him. That feedback matters as much as pressure or reward.
It becomes a loop.
Your horse offers calm.
You respond by settling.
That settling feeds back to him.
Round and round it goes like a wonderful infinity loop.
I’ve been playing with this. It’s harder than it seems but the results are kind of amazing.
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