Mind to Motion: The 3rd Key Element the Sweet Spot

Dennis Cappel
16 minutes ago
2 min read

Clear Mental Horsemanship with Dennis Cappel

This is the third element needed for your horsemanship success. The previous elements discussed were having a Clear Mental Picture and Recognizing the horse’s Slightest Try. Now we come to the final element: The Sweet Spot.

The sweet spot is when the horse is completely inside your picture, mentally, physically, and emotionally. It is the place between clear boundaries where the horse experiences total freedom from any pressure that is coming from your aids, such as hands, reins, legs etc.

That freedom between boundaries produces:

Confidence
Relaxation
A good mental frame
A desire to stay connected.

This sweet spot is far more powerful than any treat. It is the horse’s greatest reward in peace, where they do not feel any pressure from any aids.

The Key to Horsemanship

The goal is simple:

Arrange your mental picture so clearly that the horse sees and feels exactly what you want from them. At the very moment, the horse gives you the slightest try of what you are asking for, they then receive what they want, to feel the absence of any pressure from your aids.

Can you see how valuable you knowing exactly what you want the horse to do is? It is everything as I mention repeatedly. Without you having a “Clear Mental Picture, you and the horse are just guessing with no clear direction or goal.

True Horsemanship lies here.

The slightest try from the horse, which is acknowledged by the handler, allowing the horse to feel complete release, is where true horsemanship exists. It is where the back-and-forth communication between horses and humans is most effective.

When the horse realizes that they have a say in their freedom from any pressure that is causing them to search for a more comfortable place, the horse will acknowledge your suggestion sooner than later by searching for a more comfortable place to be in, the sweet spot!

As this takes place, we now have the horse and human working together in unison to overcome the thing that neither horse nor human wants, and that is “resistance.”

That resistance dies in the agreement.

Mindful Riding,

Dennis Cappel - Master Horseman

www.cappeltrainingandshoeng.com