It has been drummed into most of us that when we apply a feel to teach a task, our horse learns the meaning of the feel by the timing of our release. We know this. We all learn it and we all apply it to some degree. It is a mantra that a horse learns from the release of pressure, not the application of pressure.
Solly Figures Out Western Saddles
This is from the most recent clinic I finished yesterday. The horse is Solly who is a 3 1/2 year old. This is the second clinic in 5 weeks that I worked with Solly. Originally it was intended that I would get him started under saddle for Lorena Russell. However, on the first day Lorena and I agreed he would benefit greatly from another 6 to 12 months of maturing - physically, mentally and emotionally - before he becomes a riding horse.
Emotional Memory
I believe emotional memory is very real for horses and very potent. If you accept this theory as plausible, it’s logical that we should always ask a horse to change its idea to one we would like it to have before being fastidious about what the feet are doing. It’s our best chance of keeping the ‘try’ in our horse and building a working partnership.