Hi everyone,
Thanks to all who read my last post. I hope you found it helpful and informative
and that this new post will be the same.
Today I’m going to talk about a pretty hot topic in the world of
horsemanship, the topic of softness. So
what is softness anyway? There are
different standards and definitions for softness depending on whom you
ask. My friends who compete in dressage
speak of both internal and external softness.
Natural horsemen constantly preach the importance of softness. The old California vaqueros prided themselves
on their ability to have soft hands. No matter
where you go or what you do with horses, you are going to hear about softness
and its importance and value.
Now, let me tell you something I’ve figured in my time
working with horses. This whole softness
issue can be a little more confusing and difficult than it might first seem. I’ve spent a lot of time working on softness
and I’ve learned a lot of things about it through trial and error. I will try to share with you what I consider
softness to be and some ways to achieve it.
First I will give my own definition of softness. To me, softness is my horse’s willingness to
yield any part of her body to pressure when I ask. It’s a pretty simple concept. I think most people understand this
much. What’s not as simple is how to go
about getting this softness from your horse.
It can be difficult.
Here’s a profound bit of information that everybody who
works with horses knows but far too few of us keep in mind: All horses are
different. Seriously, every horse is
unique and has its own unique needs. They
are all very similar, but they are still different in little ways that we
humans have to be able to adapt to. Because
all horses are different, no one can give one single way to make all horses be
soft and willing to yield to pressure. Some
people may try to, but trust me, it won’t always work.
What I can do is tell you the basic things that you have to
do with all horses and some of the ways that I have had to adjust these things
to fit different horses. An important
point to remember is that not all horses have the same level of inherent softness. We can’t expect them all to feel exactly the
same when we’re done. One thing I do
expect from all my horses however, is a willingness to be soft. This is where softness comes from.
The most basic way I can ask your horse for softness is to
flex her head laterally while I stand next to her. When I ask my horse to flex laterally, I expect
her to willingly turn her head. I do NOT
want to pull her head to the side. If I get
into a pulling contest with my horse I will definitely lose. I simply want to give my horse a signal to
flex her head and have her do so. The simple
way to do this is to take the slack out of my rein and wait for my horse to put
the slack back in it and keep it there. First
she’s going to fight against it by rooting at the rein, walking in a tiny
circle, backing up, turning her head the opposite way, and anything else she
thinks might work to get me to let go of the rein. During this time, I’m going to do whatever it
takes to keep the tension in the rein. Eventually,
she will try the right thing (yielding to the rein and putting slack back in
it) and I will then release. It’s very important
that I keep steady pressure while she is resisting and give consistent release
when she yields.
It’s a very simple concept and this same softness that I get
in the rein I will expect when I ask her to yield to my leg when I ride her,
lift her foot when I ask her to, back up when I’m on the ground, and literally
everything else I ever do with her that involves her yielding to pressure.
Now for what most of you are probably saying to yourselves
right now. This can all be harder than I
make it sound. Yes, it absolutely can
be, and at times will be, harder than I make it sound here. There are countless things your horse can do
to make what I described above seem almost impossible. Fortunately, there are countless ways to deal
with whatever they throw at you. There are
also many other factors that go into helping your horse soften (like yielding
to your leg, rounding her back, etc.) far too many to list here. I will discuss many of them in future posts. What is important is the basic concept I described. It is the fundamental concept that all of your
softness training should be based upon. If
you keep this simple procedure in mind, everything that your horse requires of
you will be easier for you and clearer to your horse.
Softness is simple, yet it is perhaps the most important
factor in your success in working with your horse. It isn’t magic. Soft hands aren’t something you are just
naturally gifted with at birth (although I was made to believe this for years). Soft hands and soft horses are developed over
time when riders are consistent and persistent in asking for softness with the
correct ideal in mind. Always keep an
open mind and be willing to adapt to your horse’s needs and all of the
variables will seem to fit into place.
Good luck with everything and I hope that you find this
information useful.
Ty Brazeal
P.S. Any comments you have are always appreciated.
