Merging Boundaries
Forward movement is known to be the foundation of correct dressage training. As such it has become a condition and we expect it from the horses we work with. So we no longer ask horses to go forward, we make them.
When you force a horse in this way, the horse will have no choice but to become defensive. And as a result of this your horse’s body stiffens up in ways that can be very subtle, and yet they are profound.
My definition of forward movement is that it is willingly offered. It comes naturally out of a partnership where limitations are supported, acknowledged and allowed to release. Yet without expectation of release.
When your horse offers you such free forward movement as a result of mutual engagement, it will be free of tension. The freedom infuses the horse’s paces with an energy that is multidimensional. In my experience even the most ordinary horse can transform, and they feel empowered and even enter states of bliss. This is genuinely correct dressage.
Going forward now, in this present moment, is embracing everything about horses. It acknowledges how they express themselves and what they choose. And within that, discovering my own own ability to perceive and engage and join in. This last swing of the spiral has dug deeper than ever into the stubborn conditioning that limits my mind. What an unwinding this is!