Re: Circling, doubling, and sitting the horse

["S. Brown" <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

>But instead of riding with the horse you will be riding against him,
>thereby encouraging him to walk again and ride with you. 
>
>And I agree with the person who posted that every horse is different and
>responds differently. That is why it is a good idea to different
>approaches to a particular situation. Horses have to be treated as
>individuals. Because about the time your have a method or feeding
>program that works with every horse you have ever owned and you think it
>is fool proof. Along will come a horse that will make a liar out of you. 
>
>Lynette

This is very true and similar to the type of differences you encounter in
humans -- body build, temperament, confidence, learning style, natural
abilities, and so on.  What remains true for all like critters of each
specie is the general, over-all anatomy and physiology.  The muscle and
nerve function will normally reflexively be the same.  Press on a certain
nerve, stimulate a reflex (eg the nerve along the horse's side that
stimulates them to bring that back leg up under them or the seat bone
pressing on the "back strap" muscle) and they'll react to that stimulus.
These are factors that are the foundation for classical training (along
with the horse's thinking processes) and why this type of horse training
has remained true since the time of Xenophon.

It's actually quite interesting when you look at it from a biomechanical
point of view.  Don't be afraid to experiment a bit to find the exact
location of the nerves on each horse or their individual sensitivity to
your stimuli.

Sue 


sbrown@wamedes.com
Tyee Farm
Marysville, Wa.