LFS on a circle
Listen to your horse…. Our groundwork together has been progressing well, Charlie is an amazing partner as we take this journey together. We have been working mainly in the indoor arena, it is a safe environment for us to experiment with both our liberty work and Straightness Training, and as we have been working over the winter months it also means the weather has not been a concern. But some days ago Charlie’s behaviour changed.
It all started with Charlie not wanting to enter the indoor arena, up until then he would walk in turn and wait for me to close the door, I would then give him liberty while I sorted my things out allowing him to relax in the environment. Once ready I would call him and we would meet up and begin our work. He began walking away to the back of the arena and just stopping..
Things escalated to where as I approached, he would walk away until he got back to the door, where he would hang his head over the frame to see outside. Our basic warm up was not progressing in fact it was as if he did not know what I was asking even though we had been perfecting these moves! And back came the pushing. So what was he trying to tell me? Everything he was demonstrating with, were things he knows perfectly well how to do with softness and grace! I tried to stay calm and not show frustration, they know when you are “faking it”. I had to stop, so I did, I had to listen and then I heard, he wanted OUT! He was bored with being inside… So if we were to continue our journey we had to move to the outdoor arena, fingers crossed I had heard correctly.
A very tentative Haunches In
As we entered the outdoor arena, Charlie was animated, not overpowering, just excited to be in the fresh air. Beginning our work, he was soft and gentle, The LFS was the longest and lowest ever and he stopped on every slightest cue, a breath… We even tried the allusive haunches in and managed 1 step in both directions..
So my lesson, listen always, don’t compartmentalize, your lab. It is where ever you and your horse want it to be, where ever you and your horse need it to be, where ever you and your horse are.
My teacher Charlie, I looked into his big brown eyes filled with emotion, his look of “you got it”, my gift…
