Feel;- the all important element in successful contact riding. What does‘feel’, feel like and how do you know if you have it or not?

When it comes to horses we all know that they are so sensitive that they can feel a fly landon them, even through all that hair. Being prey animals, their very survival dependslargely on all of their senses being extremely sensitive and perceptive to the slightestchange. Humans on the other hand, being predators high in the food-chain, tend to relymore on what they can see and do and what they can make happen. A highly tuned sense offeel is an asset but not a necessity.

To the horse – the hunted, the ultimate communication is one that is light, subtle andimperceptible; prey animals can ill afford to be attracting attention. Humans have no suchconcern, so to the horse we appear crude, loud and conspicuous. The discovery of true feelwith a horse and just how light it can be is often surprising to many people.

Before any true sense of feel can be gained, a few key points need to become a matter ofcourse. Independent seat - no longer needing the reins or hanging on with your legs forbalance; emotional fitness - our bodies go into shut down if we are fearful. Our senses dimand we become less aware of our surroundings; relaxed posture - we need to be able to feelthose feet and rhythm, we need to be able to be in time and harmonious with our horses.Once we have all of these ingredients, we are ready to explore feel.

In the normal world, feel is often over looked. All too often horses are constrained bymechanical gadgets and riders with firm hands and strong forearms. Reins are made ofleather, often with grips on them and designed for completely the opposite purpose thandeveloping feel.

True feel in contact riding is like guiding your horse by leading just the tiny whiskers onhis nose. Which would you prefer, a horse that can be guided by a piece of cotton or onethat you need to pump iron to be able to ride? How much feel and free movement can such ahorse offer the rider?

To get an idea of feel, how soft and yet unmistakable it is, try attachingyour lead ropes to your halter with a rubber band. Just a small light-weight one; size 16will do nicely. A rubber band can be quite strong. Try stretching one gradually and you’llsee it will stretch quite a long way and take the weight. But if you jerk it too quickly itwill break.

Try doing all of your groundwork with your 12’ lead rope and a rubber band. It is certainlypossible to do everything, including trot and canter and even jumping. You will discoverjust how polite you need to be, the importance of being in the right position, how much‘make’ you have been using and if you truly have achieved rapport with your horse!

Take your rein leathers off your bridle and replace them with rubber bands. This will trulyteach you to not rely on the reins, to get your independent seat happening, to ensure thatyour horse’s hindquarter is really yielding and to use your lateral movements to accomplishsoft feel.

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