Getting Things Unstuck
I responded to her presentation in a way I can’t say I planned. Feel is not about that list of instructions on how to do something right, but about… well, Feel. Or rather, a little creativity within a set of clear principles.
If I had changed my presentation at all in that moment, it would have served only to confirm her confusion and lack of sureness about moving forward with my float. This might seem confusing, because we talk a good bit about adjusting our presentation to fit the horse. In this case, I adjusted to inspire her sureness by offering an unchanging feel of release – in this case, that meant I kept my tempo the same, my life the same, with a feel for her to leave the area 15ft behind her tail.
I kept walking, on a path that looked rather like she was lunging me. She continued to offer all four feet in place, rather like a cat, without traveling forward, but actively picking up each foot as she pivoted around her center to stay with my float.
I had no plan around escalating anything – just a tempo to rely on and life to tune into and follow with her feet in the direction of the feel of the float. There was a feel of release offered in the float – pulling, or even taking the slack out at all would have served only to bury her shoulders even more. I continued on around in this fashion for a circle or more, as she continued to offer her feet in a pivot without actually following. Suddenly the hesitation in her expression changed to a clear decision to follow, and she walked towards my float with some sureness.
This might seem like a ridiculous amount of time to allow a horse to not be in complete compliance with my request. But let’s consider for a moment, why did it take this much time? Because this mare needed that much time to clear the fog of uncertainty and confusion of the past few months, to gain confidence that she was not under pressure to meet a requirement, which gave way to seeing clearly again, as she began to trust in the meaning carried in the feel. That takes in quite a lot, and it is no wonder it took a short while. Then she was able to tune into the moment and its feel. And that was when, as Bill Dorrance helps us understand, she “got ready”. After that the feel just went to her feet.
Her confidence was not well rooted yet though – like someone trying something for the first time.. “I think I can”. My commitment was for her to be clear that following the feel was the job. It was obvious that her minimal confidence in her decision meant she would likely not travel very far. I adjusted after a stride or two and we blended together to a stop. That way, she experienced following a feel and being right for a second time.
I started the mare out on the other rein. She freed up into a trot with a gentle ease about her, showing how available she could be, if shaped to offer it through her body. She was light and offered to keep that amount of life going without any need to drive her forward.
I shaped her to release her into a new turn. She tried to turn, and now came to a similar stop in this direction, as she had earlier. I offered a similar presentation for her to follow my feel, as I kept the same tempo and life without escalation, and allowed the time for her to sort this out. This time it took less than a circle for her to make the decision to follow the feel of direction. Again I blended with her to a stop, as she followed my feel.