A Brief Guide to True Feel Between Horse and Human
Offering true feel means to bring your full presence, sureness and clarity to the moment with your horse. Horses are masterful readers of body language and intention – they've had to be, in order to survive as the hunted in the wild. Horses constantly “read” us, and respond in the moment to how we present ourselves. The response we get from our horse will mirror what we offer from the inside, because this is the true feel the horse operates from in his natural state.
We decide to 'own' a horse and ask him to accommodate our ideas on what we would like to be doing. It is up to us to offer our horses a meaningful connection based on respect and trust. Otherwise, why would he put energy into offering us his best?
And then there is the holy grail of lightness... Horses all have it, just look at them in the pasture. We can only expect lightness under saddle if we preserve his natural balance and 'life' - by shaping the kind of life you see when he frolics out in the field, not dulling that life. This is achieved through lightness in our riding and meaningful flow between horse and rider through feel, with variety of activity and purpose.
As we understand and build in these ingredients of true feel, we see how it touches the horse's whole being. He’s sure, he’s proud, he knows he is safe and he sees value in your partnership. In this state of mind, he is freed to offer all he has without hesitation or brace. This is the hallmark of working with true feel through just “release”, without the escalation of pressure. It is about horses performing with heart.