What is ‘Connection’?
by Trisha Wren
Connection: the linking or joining of two or more parts,
things, or people.
Do you have a
connection with your horse? A good
relationship, mental rapport, harmony and unity? Call it what you will; most of us want a bond
with our horses, a mutual trust and understanding, and synergy of
movement. As a pre-requisite to handling
a horse, whether on the ground, riding, problem solving or teaching them a new
skill, establishing a connection helps to ensure that the horse can stay calm,
think clearly, learn effectively, and perform well. If you just want your horse to do what he’s
told, and don’t care how he feels about it as long as he gets it done, fine;
I’d prefer him to do it softly and willingly, maintain a ‘connection’ with me,
and understand every step. Think about
it; at school, did you feel any connection with the teacher who was mean,
impatient, or just didn’t like you?
Could you learn effectively and understand what they were teaching, or
did you just do what you knew they wanted, without fully understanding, because
it was easier and they would leave you alone quicker? Didn’t you learn better from, and work harder
for, the teacher you felt a connection with, the one who took the time to find
a way to explain things so that you understood?
What is dis-connection??
We all have days
when we don’t feel at one with our horse.
Nothing is going right, he’s doing the opposite of what you asked, and
you just don’t seem to understand one another – you are disconnected. Anything that results in tension, mentally or
physically, is a possible cause of disconnection. Sometimes that disconnection is triggered by
an external event; say a plastic bag blowing in your path. Often, we cause the disconnection, through
lack of consistency, lack of attention / not being in the moment, pulling,
being unbalanced in the saddle, or pushing for more than the horse is capable
of. If you cause your horse to mentally
shut down, he has disconnected from you.
Visible signs that your horse is disconnecting might be: lack of engagement
/ collection; head in the air; hollow back; nose out; stiffness, tension or
worry; lack of attention; breaking out in a sweat; unresponsiveness.
Achieving
Connection
Our connection with our horse begins on the
ground. Through everything you do, it’s
important to stay soft, mentally and physically; no pulling or jerking. Remember your horse can feel a fly land on
him; he can certainly feel when you tense up, and if you yank on the leadrope
you are more likely to cause him to tighten and raise his head than to stay
soft, willing and connected. If you push
your horse too hard or too long their ability to process or understand what you
are asking can be lost; better to go twice as slow, breaking any task into small
steps, maintaining a connection and trust, and have a calm horse at the end,
than to push for more and end up with a sweaty distressed horse that
understands nothing. Connected
Groundwork exercises establish a physical connection with your horse; a hands-on
connection that teaches him awareness of his body and of you. If he can feel physically connected to
himself, instead of uncoordinated and inattentive, it’s easier for him to stay
connected to you. The exercises work
with the natural movement / biomechanics of the horse, showing him easier more
efficient ways of moving and carrying himself, and releasing tension and any
bracing patterns.
The connection you have with your horse
when riding is also important. If you
aren’t sitting correctly your horse will probably not be getting the signals
you think he is. For the clearest 2-way
communication, you both have to be in balance – individually, and
together. Here’s an easy way to check
whether you are sitting correctly or not.
Reach down and wrap a piece of mane around your forefinger, just in
front of the saddle, then take the contact.
If you are sitting in a balanced and secure way, you’ll either feel
nothing or just that you are being plugged even deeper into the saddle. If you feel your body being pulled forwards,
and like you are pulling your horse’s mane out by the roots, your position
needs attention! Next, the way you use your body in the saddle
matters. If you are pulling your right
rein for your horse to turn right, but the rest of your body is rigid or
unbalanced, he is getting mixed messages.
Connected Riding techniques not only teach you how to maintain your
balance while mounted, but constructive and easy ways to maintain your
connection through clear communication with your horse.
If you can spot when your horse starts to
disconnect from you, then you have an opportunity to do something different to
enable him to stay with you. So, to
maintain our connection we need to stay ‘in the moment’, aware of ourselves,
our horse, and our surroundings; stay soft in our body and our mind, working
with not against our horse; and if things aren’t going to plan, find another
way to help him understand what you want.
It’s much easier – and quicker in the long run – to maintain a good
connection, than to lose it and have to start all over again.
Trisha Wren
©Trisha Wren
November 06
as printed in: The Organic Equine magazine (Dec 2006)