In Hand Groundwork – The Beginnings
It is like learning how to walk all over again, with the focus on body awareness and position for both horse and rider- the images below tell the story as a little picture book.
Why do we look at very slow and gentle movements and think – how can these possibly do anything?
Isn’t harder and faster better than slower and softer?
No..Why?
Because if you want to make your movements more efficient, you have to be aware when you are working too hard.
If you slow down and thereby increase your chances to sense differences in the horse’s muscular effort level, you increase your ability to sense and correct any potential excess and unnecessary effort eg Overloading the front leg, using it for balance, not engaging the core and leaving their hind legs behind.
We move on with the work:
I hope this helps you to see the changes in the horse’s outline after this work… Happier and healthier horses… and happier riders!