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It's About The Horse
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PasoBaby_CarolU
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Joined: 31 Jan 2009
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 Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 1:52 pm Post subject: Technical riding with Contact |
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I thought I'd start a separate thread to talk about riding with contact. The other thread really was to talk about riding with loose reins.
The discussion of Linda's "Contact Game" belongs here.
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Carol Nudell
Corazon de Oro Paso Finos
"The path to your horse's heart lies through your own."
Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots. - Words of Wisdom - Mhar
"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss activities; Small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt |
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PasoBaby_CarolU
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Joined: 31 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 2:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Aussie girl wrote: | From what I gathered from Lindas talk with us at the course and from the follow up riding session with Kathy Baar (Parelli instructor), the contact Linda is talking about is what I would classify as more typical dressage, not the upper level stuff, we are talking training level which is contact but not really collection. I kind of think of it as an elastic type of feel between horse and rider, not one pulling, but a definite contact with the mouth. Some horses do seem to prefer a bit more contact, like a firmer elastic, but still a give and take feel to it. And some horses like a lot less. Lindas game of contact is to have the reins with some contact in it and as the horse pushes into the contact a bit with some forward impulsion then you reward by a total release of letting go of the reins like they are on fire.
If I was to do this exercise with my horse, he would wonder where the heck I had gone and lose any collection, or more importantly connection, we may have had and fall on the forehand. He is used to the give and take as I have been taught. One of the important maneuvers in training level is a walk on a long rein where the horse is seeking the bit and teaching them this is all about the give a little and as the horse reaches for the bit, give a little more, but never just throwing the reins away.
I really do like Dr. Deb's articles she has had recently in Eclectic Horseman on "How Horses Work", and she explains contact/collection/connection really well. Her articles are well worth reading several times....I am on my second time through them and more of it is making sense and clicking with me now. |
I think I have learned contact several different ways from different clinicians. I wouldn't say any are wrong, just different, and in practice, I apply each at different times with different horses for different reasons. As an example, I have an RBI mare who prefers (except when trail riding) fairly constant light contact and to be directed ALL the time. She likes to know what she is doing is right. She doesn't like guessing. She is doing well with dressage lessons and moving well, and definitely prefers it to freestyle riding. I also have an LBE who doesn't like steady contact and looks for - and expects a total release. She will get upset if there is no release.
I'm not sure that I saw the reins 'thrown away' in the video anywhere. I did see NO reins at the beginning with the sorrel horse. I 'think' what I saw at the end of the video was the horses given slack - no contact - once they were doing as asked, at the end. The rider would be back in contact with a very slight movement of the wrist or hand. Is this a correct interpretation of the Contact Game?
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Carol Nudell
Corazon de Oro Paso Finos
"The path to your horse's heart lies through your own."
Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots. - Words of Wisdom - Mhar
"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss activities; Small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt |
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Aussie girl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2009
Posts: 161
Location: Minnesota
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| Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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"I'm not sure that I saw the reins 'thrown away' in the video anywhere."
Carol, you are absolutely right, in that video I did not see the game of contact as Linda described it nor how we worked with it in the course session after Linda's talk. It would be very interesting to see video and or comments from someone who actually goes to Linda's clinic.
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