The Role of Feel in Riding Horses
- Dennis Cappel
- Apr 28
- 1 min read
Clear Mental Horsemanship with Dennis Cappel
Feel is one of the most talked about parts of horsemanship and at the same time, one of the least understood.
People hear it all the time: “You’ve got to develop feel.”But very few take the time to explain what that actually means, why it matters, and how it shows up in the way we ride.
What Feel Really Is
The best way I know to describe feel is this:
It’s no different than the tone of voice we use in a conversation.
You can say the exact same words in different ways and get completely different responses depending on your tone. You can be soft and inviting, or sharp and demanding, same words, different delivery, different result.
That’s what feel is with a horse.
It’s not just what you do. It’s how you do it.
And that “how” is what the horse responds to first. Once you understand that, the next question is, Why does that matter so much?
Mindful Riding,
Dennis Cappel
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