Horse-man-ship Mentality – Horsemanship Missing Link Answers Part 3 of 3
Cappel Wisdom from the saddle,
Feel the feet.
I believe there are valuable elements to highly skilled horsemanship and they are, knowing exactly what you want your horse to do, that being your clear mental picture, followed by feel, timing, energy, and rhythm. Test your level of understanding of feeling the feet movement with the following question.
Can you feel the horse’s feet just before they leave the ground?
Why does it matter, you may think. I know this is an important element for riders to continually hone their skills to be able to do it. Nobody starts out with this capability; it is a learned skill. The reason that it is so beneficial in your horseback riding is because the exact time that the foot is coming off the ground is the easiest time to re-direct, speed up, or slow down whatever you need that foot to do. If a horse is standing fully loaded on a foot, it is almost impossible to move it. Often when they do move it, they overreact to the effort that it took to get it done. Therefore, if the light soft feel is what you desire to have when riding, you must become aware of where the feet are at, always!
How do I even begin to do this you might be asking? First, it is your awareness that it is important for great riding, then allowing your mind and body to sense the feel through your seat all the way to the ground. Note: It will not help you at all to look down at the feet because that disconnects your seat from their body and your mind from their feet.
Mindful Riding,
Dennis Cappel - Master Horseman
Cappel Training and Shoeing
D/C
Be empowered with:
Classes Coming Up:
Horse-man-ship Ranch Clinic
June 7-9th
Horse Trimming
June 29th
Weekend Horseshoeing
August 2-4th
Comments