There’s no taking the spook out of a horse. As prey animals, horses will always want to run away first. Combine this fact with modern breeding programs that produce lighter, more responsive horses and many of us may find ourselves riding with a pounding heart and sweaty palms, fearing that inevitable spook.
But a spooky horse isn’t a problem; it’s the symptom of a problem that starts with your relationship.
Josh Nichol has helped countless of riders develop healthy partnerships with their horses through his method of Relational Horsemanship™. He joins Caroline for a thought-provoking conversation about how meeting your horse's needs can forge deeper connections, encourage softness, and reduce spooking. They also cover practical and key techniques like:
- Meeting your horses’ self-preservation needs with mind, space and pressure.
- Encouraging a horse to think with pressure and softness.
- Using mindfulness to manage your reactions to your horse.
- Recognizing where a horse stores tension in their body.
- Understanding the difference between masculine and feminine energy in horse training.
- Why doing our own internal work can strengthen our partnerships