More on "This Side" of Resistance
In my last post I talked about a different way to use pressure that causes the horse to stay in follower or partner mode rather than going into a dominance or submissive mode.
First, I need to clarify my explanation of how to apply this concept. In the last post I said,
By using pressure in the way I am describing, it keeps the horse mentally in the community realm, which is where the partnership and cooperation behavior resides. And this is the area where that magical connection that we are seeking resides.
If instead, we use pressure in a way where we meet the pressure and wait for the horse to give before we release the pressure, then the horse became submissive to us in that moment. But that means that the horse and your relationship will now be mentally operating in the dominance realm, which includes the spectrum between dominance and submission. When a horse is mentally in the dominance realm, he is wired to always be looking to gain the upper hand and/or checking to see that the dominant horse (or human) is still truly dominant. This is not conducive to a long-term, cooperative, horse-human relationship!
To be clear, I am not talking about just "letting the horse have his way". The reason this is not about letting the horse have his way is that we only float with the horse to the spot where they quit pushing against the pressure because there is no longer any pressure there. We then immediately ask again. So you still get the response you are looking for but you get it in a way that is cooperative and feather light rather than confrontational, heavy, or dull.
First, I need to clarify my explanation of how to apply this concept. In the last post I said,
To be more clear about how long to yield in the direction of the resistance, you go with the horse until they quit pushing (or pulling) against the pressure that was there. So you float with them until they reach the end of that motion and then you continue with your request."Whenever you make a request of your horse, pay attention to the beginning of the slightest bit of resistance (brace, heaviness, or tension). At that point, soften your pressure or yield in the direction of the resistance for a moment. This gives the horse a chance to stop resisting because there is nothing to resist in that moment. Then immediately continue with your request. Sometimes it may take two or three cycles of this request-yield-request before the horse responds willingly."
By using pressure in the way I am describing, it keeps the horse mentally in the community realm, which is where the partnership and cooperation behavior resides. And this is the area where that magical connection that we are seeking resides.
If instead, we use pressure in a way where we meet the pressure and wait for the horse to give before we release the pressure, then the horse became submissive to us in that moment. But that means that the horse and your relationship will now be mentally operating in the dominance realm, which includes the spectrum between dominance and submission. When a horse is mentally in the dominance realm, he is wired to always be looking to gain the upper hand and/or checking to see that the dominant horse (or human) is still truly dominant. This is not conducive to a long-term, cooperative, horse-human relationship!
To be clear, I am not talking about just "letting the horse have his way". The reason this is not about letting the horse have his way is that we only float with the horse to the spot where they quit pushing against the pressure because there is no longer any pressure there. We then immediately ask again. So you still get the response you are looking for but you get it in a way that is cooperative and feather light rather than confrontational, heavy, or dull.
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