So Much More Than Riding Lessons!

Yesterday, my new student, Ina came for her third lesson with the horses. She is new to horses and yet is obviously called to them. She is gentle and quiet and respectful. The horses respond to her beautifully. She told me that two lessons a week is 'not enough!'.

The horses were all sleeping, laying down for their afternoon siesta when she arrived. What to do? Go jostle them to get up? No, instead, we wandered over to where they lay to sit with them while they dozed. You can learn alot while just hanging out. For example, who feels compelled to get up and not lay there? Of course it was Ranger. Ranger feels he is the herd leader and must be in control and protect the others. Sometimes I can almost hear him say: "If you want to get something done right - you need to do it yourself!"  So even though Ranger is not the biggest or the smartest, he is the leader.

Ranger not only got up but went to greet Ina.  He is a very soft and careful horse, so I felt comfortable with Ina just waiting. Often being smaller than the horse gives them a chance to feel confident enough to be curious about you and gain confidence about your relationship.

So much respect with one another. Trust. That's what it's all about with horses, getting them to trust you and you trusting them. Walter Zettle says: "You must trust your horses!"  Imagine, they must trust us enough to let us straddle them and go where we tell them, and yet to sit still while on your knees takes courage for most.

 Such a blessing to wait, hang out and engage. A beautiful communication.

Then Rascal the curious came over and said hello. With horses on both sides, I encouraged Ina to get up quietly.

We are working on developing a 'soft feel'. Well, I don't  claim to be Tom Dorance but having a horse resond to you with the gentlest of suggestions is bliss. To be asked so gently to turn your head, with a light combing hand must feel so much better to a horse. So, Ina and Ranger worked on this.

Ranger has been very frightened about a rope over his butt, which he demostrated to Ina in a very clear way. So, I had her start with the rope at his withers and drew it back and forth across his withers ever go gently. A few inches at a time she moved the rope back towards his butt, pulling the rope from side to side. In the next few photos you can see, how it ended up around his butt and she gently pulled him in a circle away from her.

Here he is looking a bit uncertain, but Ina's quietness reassures him and gently she asks for more.

Ranger responds quietly and with confidence and turns in a circle.

Ina felt she had learned a big lesson with this exercise: that each horse, each individual has it's own rythym and if we can remain patient with their process, at their own pace they will learn and respond.

 

One of her gifts to me was saying; 'This is so much more than riding lessons! I could learn to ride anytime. I think about what I am learning here all week long."

So what do I call this? Horse lessons? Life Lessons?? The school of the Horse? You tell me!