Developing
Softness
by Trisha Wren
We talk a lot about how to develop softness in our
horses. The unfortunate truth is that
most ‘hardness’ you’ll find in a horse has actually been put there by
humans! Whether by actual mistreatment –
making a horse head-shy for instance (when he throws his head up, the neck
becomes ‘upside down’ and the back hollows, creating tension and bad posture) –
or unconscious (hopefully!) heavy-handedness, it’s very easy to teach a horse
to brace or be heavy, and it takes a whole lot longer to get rid of that than
it did to install it in the first place!
The bottom line is that if we want our horses to be
soft, we have to be continually offering them softness. Take leading, for example. If you pull on your horse to ask him to come
with you, most horses will simply pull back – if they don’t, they are probably
pretty well trained and you didn’t need to pull in the first place (try just
changing your position, using a vocal cue, or sliding on your lead rope
instead). If, for whatever reason, you
and your horse pull on each other, there will be tension in both your
bodies. When there is tension, neither
of you can ‘come through’.
As a rider, being out of balance will cause tension,
as you try to keep yourself secure; you will be more likely to bounce or grip. Using your body incorrectly (eg tightening
your hands on the reins, arching your lower back, pushing your heels down, even
just stopping breathing or clenching your jaw) will have a corresponding effect
on your horse. For your horse, tension
makes it very difficult for him to correctly release his topline, telescope his
head and neck, and engage his hindquarters.
Not only that, but the signals you think you are giving your horse will
be distorted by tension, making soft easy communication very difficult.
So, if we accept that softness has to start with us,
how do we achieve that? You can practise
softness throughout your day. Notice how
much tension there is when you do your everyday tasks. What causes you to tighten? Can you do that same job in a softer
way? It might be by focussing more on
your breathing, taking deep even breaths; it might be by identifying the areas
in your body that you tend to tighten, and deliberately letting them go. You can also hear softness… listen to
your footfall as you walk, is it loud and clumpy, or soft and flowing? How about your fingers working a
keyboard?
When riding, bear in mind that when you are correctly
aligned / in balance, you will be effortlessly strong and soft, and any
movements you make (eg using leg) should be relatively easy and not adversely
affect your posture and balance. You
certainly shouldn’t be sore after riding!
Participants at this year’s Peggy Cummings clinics
were enthralled with the variety of body awareness exercises they got to
practise; lying down, sitting, standing, and in the saddle. When you start to understand what correct
posture is, and how the way that you align your body affects you, and your
horse (his carriage, softness, attention, and understanding of your aids),
there is no going back!
There is a body awareness method called Feldenkrais,
which I would highly recommend to everyone who wants to understand and improve
their softness. Their ‘awareness through
movement’ exercises are small and easy, and non-habitual, giving you a much
higher awareness of what you do with your body.
Check out their NZ website at http://www.feldenkrais.org.nz/, there is a
list where you can check for a practitioner / classes in your area.
©Trisha Wren May
2008
as printed in: NZ Natural Equine magazine (June 2008)