A common complaint I hear from owners is that their horse is heavy on the reins, doesn’t respond to the rider’s leg, drags on the lead rope, or ignores the crop. In other words, many people despair that their horse is dull to pressure.
In my experience, if a horse is dull to one form of pressure there is a good chance they will be dull to most other forms of pressure. Some horses start this way and others learn to be dull to pressure over time.
Although the problem seems to frustrate many people, the cause of the problem can be seen everywhere. If only folks could see what they see.
Dullness to pressure is rooted in how people use pressure. It doesn’t matter what form the pressure takes. The principle is the same whether in the way you apply a feel to the reins, a flag, or a touch on the neck with your hand.
It is my opinion that the single biggest issue is how people apply a feel/pressure the first time they ask a new question.
If pressure is on a scale of P0 to P10, then the amount of pressure we use the first time we ask a question becomes our default pressure of P1. If your P1 is the weight of a hydrogen atom and my P1 is the weight of an elephant, then your horse will always be more responsive than mine. I will always have to use a lot more pressure to engage with my horse than you will need to work with your horse.
Watch the video.
It shows two different levels of pressure for Guy to move on the circle. In both instances, I apply P1 because in both instances it is the least amount of pressure, whether a feel on the rope (weight of a hydrogen atom) or swinging the tail end of the rope (weight of an elephant). They are different levels of pressure but they are both P1 because they are the first application and the minimum amount of pressure I use. But the feel on the rope P1 will encourage Guy to follow my feel and be light to the feel. The second time, when P1 is a swinging rope, will create a horse that is much more bothered. You can see this in the video.
P1 should always be the smallest amount of feel that a horse can tell it is being asked a question. Even if you know your horse will not listen to your P1, you must present it first. If you don’t present it, your horse will never learn to listen to it. Then if P1 has no meaning or clarity to your horse, increase the pressure to a level that will have meaning. That might be a slightly stronger feel or it might be a lot more pressure. It will depend on your horse’s mental engagement and your clarity.
However, it is vital to understand that increasing pressure to P2, P5, or P10 is never to frighten your horse into obedience. The role of the P2 or P5 is to give clarity and importance to P1. That’s the only purpose of increasing the pressure. Every time you ask a question ALWAYS start with the smallest perceptible amount of pressure possible. ALWAYS. It could be a slight shift in your weight or a feel of your pinky finger on the rein or whatever. It only needs to be the bare minimum amount of feel that your horse detects something in you is changing.
If you need to increase the pressure/feel to give clarity to your question, do so and get the change of thought you are seeking. But then ask the same question again using the slightest P1. Repeat this again and again until your horse can hear and understand the meaning of P1. When your horse has its “light bulb” moment, move on. Then come back and try it again a few minutes later to reinforce the lesson.
Anytime, we need to use more than the barely perceptible amount of feel for our P1, we should repeat this lesson. Don’t move past it. I don’t care if you are in the middle of an Olympic dressage test. Don’t let your horse be confused and bothered. Help it to stay with you so that is exactly where it wants to be.
It is so important to understand that the amount of pressure/feel you use the first time you ask a question is the lightest your horse will ever respond to. This is where dullness is created. If you consistently pull hard on the reins or apply a firm feel with your legs as your P1, then your horse will learn to always be heavy on the reins and resistant to your legs compared to what it could be.