Romy
Quote:
Isn't it nice how different the approaches can be? With my horses it seems that ONLY a focus on the front part (as in rearing or leg lifting) let them realize in the first place that they can lower their haunches instead of only leaning back. Once they got the idea, it was possible for me to ignore the front part and focus on the hindquarters, but for us it only worked in that order.
Of course you are right! It can be done this way obviously because the lovely Pia has shown the way.
When I was teaching Tam to sit on the haybale (something I have not done since, because I thought he looked so undignified sitting on that bale) I asked slightly back on the cordeo at his chest, and let him figure it out from there, but the haybale was right behind him, the wall was on one side, and I was on the other...so it was limiting his choices on how to figure out the puzzle.
I think that at times during this process, I asked UP and back with the cordeo too. They were all small adjustments though.
I do think that one has to observe the indivdual horse and see how they respond. If you ask them to lift a foreleg as the first thing, do they lean back slightly to lift the leg? If so, you have your starting point there. If you ask them to rear up, do they load the hind legs and bend them to lift up into the rear? If so, you have a starting point there. I think if Pia did not bend her hind legs to bounce up with the front end, would you have possibly tried something else?
I have a friend with a little paint mare who will pop up into something of rear while lowering the base of her neck and keeping her hind legs straight without bending them, so she will likely not be able to use the same method that worked so well with Pia.
I think we all will look for the little starting places that will change from horse to horse.
Mostly with Jocelyn, I was thinking of the approach where one is asking the horse to sit down (or nearly sit down) in which case, like Tam, my hands can make little adjustments to the front end, but my focus is on his haunches (waiting for little muscle tightness clues that he was thinking of lowering the haunch).
It IS different for every horse.