Soft vs. Light

Here I am working with a Mare that had a tendency to be Braced in her Mind and movement on a Mind and Body softening exercise...

Soft versus light is an interesting comparison that sometimes there is confusion about. Depending on who you talk to you will get different interpretations.

My Interpretation of Light is a horse or a response to a cue that is very sensitive or even reactive or Over-reactive. So there are degrees of lightness that can actually be too light. The horse may over react or move too quickly so the movement or action is too fast and lacks quality and flow. This is for sure desireable in some disciplines but it can cause mis-communications between horse and rider. This can be a horses natural temperament or tendency or they can be taught to be "Lighter" in their responses if they are a bit un-reactive or slow to react.

Softness to me is about Suppleness, flexibility, a calm mind and flow in the horses movement, body, and mind. There is Relaxation, Rhythm, and fluidness between horse and rider whether you are moving at speed or slow. You'll note that I said a calm mind because to me you can not have true "Whole" softness without a calm, trusting, happy, minded horse. You can not manufacture softness with gadgets, bits, and force.

Now let's talk about Light versus Soft in the Rider. A rider can be Light all the time in their communication or very heavy handed figuratively speaking. Using strong cues always "shouting" so to speak at the horse. This will cause a horse to become perhaps no longer Light where he once was. So we want to be careful of training that into a horse and thinking it's their problem not one we created. A person needs to understand the full spectrum of  "Request levels" starting with a whisper and escalating to a firmer (not louder) Conversation and everything in between.

Which leads to Softness in the person. All the same things apply here Suppleness, flexibility, a calm mind and flow in the persons movement, body, and mind. There is Relaxation, Rhythm, and fluidness between horse and person because you are able to effectively mirror the traits you are asking for from your horse. And again without the calm, happy, mind and body, you can not have true "Whole" softness in yourself.

It is always good to ask yourself as the Leader in the relationship between you and your horse, if you can do what you are are asking your horse to do whether it's be Calm, Be Fearless/Courageous, Flexible, Responsive, Energetic or Quiet. Whatever it may be, It starts with us.

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Saddle Balance

Saddle balance is as important as saddle fit to your riding position and communication with the horse. Do not assume because you saddle tree fits it is also balanced.
I recently went through a tough time fitting my horse, Mercury because he is what's called "uphill" in his conformation. Meaning his withers and back slope uphill from his hind end. He is very nicely built for natural collection, balance and dressage. This is one of the reasons I bought him. It has proved to be a fitting challenge though as my saddles fit in the tree size but all sit "down hill" on him. Meaning the back or cantle of my saddles sit low compared to the front making me feel as though I am sliding backwards. Now I am fighting for my balance against my equipment. To any rider this feels horrible! So imagine how much uneccessary muscle strain you are using consciously or unconsciously because of this. Now if you are straining, you are communicating tension to the horse as well as concentrating on balancing instead of riding and communicating with your horse. You are also possibly unbalancing your horse as well unintentionally. This can feel like the horses gaits are choppy and fast when he is out of balance. Also, our imbalance can cause a horse to be tight in the back and hold his head up in tension to compensate.

I find that western saddles often sit "down hill" on horses. Meaning the front of the saddle is low compared to the back. One reason is a lot of Quarter Horses are built and bred that way. The other is poor fitting saddles. Now you may say " my saddle looks fine it's higher in the front, but your not looking in the right place. You need to look at the spot where you sit. See if it looks level from the ground and more importantly "feels" level when you ride. Sometimes you have to sit in a few different saddles on a few different horses to note the differences in balance good or bad.
So now your thinking how can I fix it if it's off? Well IF your saddle is sitting high in front or back you have to check on a couple things first. If it is low in front it can be too wide of a tree for you horse which can be remedied by using a pad that is designed thicker toward the front then the back. These are easily purchased in western and english styles.
If you saddle is sitting high in front, you probably have too narrow of a tree which is not good. This can pinch and restrict movement, bending, willingness to go forward, cause soreness and muscle atrophy in the area. DO NOT ADD PADS the small trees! You are taking more space away and can create even more pressure points. You need to get a tree that fits.
If your tree fits and is sitting low in back (like mine), you can get a pad that is built up in the back and not in the front. My saddle I had specially made with the back built thicker in the panel so I didn't have to use a pad. I don't like using extra pads. Unfortunately, western saddles don't have any padding you can add into the saddle so you are at the mercy of just plain good fit, custom fit, or specially designed pads. If you are unsure of your eye and feel ask a qualified fitter in your area for help.

FDT

New Series: The Training Pyramid

I have wanted to talk about the Training Pyramid (or Scale) for some time as I believe if you understand it and use it, it will help you with even the most basic training of the pleasure horse. Whatever discipline you ride or train, it is a simple comprehensive guideline to successfully moving up the more advanced manuevers. What is the Training Pyramid you ask? Well it may be associated with Dressage mainly, but as a student of Horsemanship and Trainer of all disciplines, I use this system to start, train, and problem solve issues as I go. The image you see at the top is meant to be read from BOTTOM to TOP. It is a system that basically if followed carefully and understood clearly will provide you with a simple formula for training. So Rhythm is the first focus of the system. Look at Rhythm as the first grade or entry level of the scale. You start here and you get it as close to perfect as you can before you go to the next stage, which is Suppleness, and so on. I will get into what they are one at a time in each part. When you combine this with a Natural Horsemanship philosophy, it is win win. Stay tuned for the next section in the series.
FDT