You may have heard lots of talk about 'feel' in the world of horses. It's a word that's thrown about by the know alls, the know a bits and the know nothings, all of who can be similarly deadly. Few folks actually grasp all the subtleties conveyed by the word 'feel' do you?
I get the feeling even instructors and trainers who use the word in each other sentence do not really understand the word. It has become a type of trendy jargon; to say it once each 5 or 10 words is to parade your experience. In its really simplest form, 'feel' is attained when you and your pony have become perfect at contact-based communication, and you can get your pony to do what you want with cues so subtle they won't be noticed by anyone watching. Spectators will be in a position to see your pony do something, but they will be unable to see you telling your pony to do it. To every intent and purpose, the horse has acted of his own accord. That kind of coordination is total horsemanship.
Contact is the invisible live channels of communication to your horse that you are keeping open thru the reins or halter or hackamore you are holding plus your seat and legs. Feel is when you send a telegraph through those channels with the littlest motion, the most subtle shifts of weight, that causes a flood of something similar to electricity that conveys your command to the pony.
Let me explain that a little bit. Try to grasp the concept the device you are using, like the bit, is pretty much a live part of your hands.
This device is controlled by your hands, often through the reins. As your cues are conveyed to your horse, they gain in strength. Try a small experiment. Take your device your 'Hackamore or bit or whatever it may be' and hang it on top of a pole or a door knob. As it hangs loose, examine it to discover those areas that are weightier than others. Try and imagine that spread of lesser and more weights as it leads to your horse's nose or mouth. Try and evaluate if any piece of the gear is probably going to cause discomfort or agony to your pony. Take the reins in your hands and work on removing the slack till such time as there's some extraordinarily slight, almost invisible movement in the bit or bosal. If done right , the movement should be pretty near unnoticeable. You are attempting to establish contact with the bit or bosal thru the reins, using feel. You need to keep practicing until there is not any discernable movement in the bosal or bit at all, yet you know you have established contact.
The point at which you know but aren't able to see contact is where you have established feel. This is what you have to perfect while you are on your horse. Good contact and feel cannot be achieved unless your balance is ideal. Balance is accomplished in the saddle, with your seat. Perfect balance allows you to send superbly invisible cues and get perfect responses from your horse.
Endure at perfecting contact and feel. It may take you some time to completely grasp and master it all, but master it you can.
I get the feeling even instructors and trainers who use the word in each other sentence do not really understand the word. It has become a type of trendy jargon; to say it once each 5 or 10 words is to parade your experience. In its really simplest form, 'feel' is attained when you and your pony have become perfect at contact-based communication, and you can get your pony to do what you want with cues so subtle they won't be noticed by anyone watching. Spectators will be in a position to see your pony do something, but they will be unable to see you telling your pony to do it. To every intent and purpose, the horse has acted of his own accord. That kind of coordination is total horsemanship.
Contact is the invisible live channels of communication to your horse that you are keeping open thru the reins or halter or hackamore you are holding plus your seat and legs. Feel is when you send a telegraph through those channels with the littlest motion, the most subtle shifts of weight, that causes a flood of something similar to electricity that conveys your command to the pony.
Let me explain that a little bit. Try to grasp the concept the device you are using, like the bit, is pretty much a live part of your hands.
This device is controlled by your hands, often through the reins. As your cues are conveyed to your horse, they gain in strength. Try a small experiment. Take your device your 'Hackamore or bit or whatever it may be' and hang it on top of a pole or a door knob. As it hangs loose, examine it to discover those areas that are weightier than others. Try and imagine that spread of lesser and more weights as it leads to your horse's nose or mouth. Try and evaluate if any piece of the gear is probably going to cause discomfort or agony to your pony. Take the reins in your hands and work on removing the slack till such time as there's some extraordinarily slight, almost invisible movement in the bit or bosal. If done right , the movement should be pretty near unnoticeable. You are attempting to establish contact with the bit or bosal thru the reins, using feel. You need to keep practicing until there is not any discernable movement in the bosal or bit at all, yet you know you have established contact.
The point at which you know but aren't able to see contact is where you have established feel. This is what you have to perfect while you are on your horse. Good contact and feel cannot be achieved unless your balance is ideal. Balance is accomplished in the saddle, with your seat. Perfect balance allows you to send superbly invisible cues and get perfect responses from your horse.
Endure at perfecting contact and feel. It may take you some time to completely grasp and master it all, but master it you can.
About the Author:
Horses are Heather Toms
passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of
articles with other horse lovers visit http://horsehorses.net/
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