Yesterday I enjoyed a nice day with LB and RW exploring with two of LB's horses (Bo and Sophia). I, of course, could only be an observer because of my shoulder issues. As RW and I waiting for LB to get the horses ready we soaked up the sun and the abnormal warm temperature of 60 degrees in January. I observed some very interesting behavior from a turkey hen who seemed to be either grooming a male or picking on him - I couldn't quite tell and I don't know enough about turkeys to have guessed. I also observed the bright florescent blue feathers on the neck of two of the peacocks in the pen. The horses all seemed to be enjoying the sun as well. Casey offered to come out and play but, apparently, her timing was off and Lasell had already picked two. Anyhow, we brought the horses to the arena to play. LB asked for thoughts on her posture and body language when working with Bo, a cute little pony who has apparently come a long way since he arrived on her farm. He didn't appear to want to play unless he was close to Sophia. I was sorry that I couldn't offer any thoughts regarding her posture because she seemed to be equally distributing weight and pressure from both sides. Then RW played for a bit, starting at the beginning, which seemed to be more comfortable for Bo. Then Sophia's turn. Being part Canadian, I picked up on something right away. I have found working with my own Canadian, that I have to be very observant and time my releases carefully. I need to acknowledge the smallest, slightest try from him. If I neglect to boost his confidence and acknowledge these trys then he seems to give up. For instance, Sophia's feet seemed to get stuck at one point. RW would ask her to come forward and, if she didn't respond to his request, he would go back to her head and ask again using the knot as support. My suggestion was to hesitate a little before asking again if she was actually making the effort, even in her mind, or thinking about moving. There were a couple of times that Sophia was in the process of digesting the request and was starting to try but wasn't able to finish her try before she was being asking again. I have learned a lot of patience with my guy because he would become very intolerant of me asking without giving him sufficient time to properly digest the request and then give it his best effort. He would be insulted and would give up trying. It was nice to spend some time with horsie friends, even though I couldn't physically participate. Bo is a cute little thing and seems to be a pretty willing and eager dance partner. Sophia reminds me so much of Herki sometimes.
While driving home I began thinking about the pressure/release concept. I tried to explain to DA what I was thinking later on but, as he is unfamiliar with the technique, he thought I was overanalysing the situation. Perhaps.... I was traveling at the speed limit and came across a car going 5 miles per hour under the speed limit. There were several cars behind me. I stayed the expected 2 seconds behind him for a while. Then I began putting some pressure on the person in front of me by getting a little closer. That driver responded by going slower - hum..... resistance to my suggestion and pressure. Now I must say that I wish I could have thanked the driver of the car for putting up with my shenanigans and helping me working through my thought, which really had nothing to do with him. anyhow, seeing how he reacted, I backed off and the driver returned to the 5 miles per hour under the speed limit - maybe in response to my release of pressure? I tried it again and again the driver slowed down in response to my pressure, noticably irritated by the amount of pressure I was putting on him/her. hum again...... So, I decided to try something a litle different - I backed way off the other driver giving him more like 4 second between us, inviting him/her to drive the speed they desired. In response to my BIG release of pressure the driver sped up to the speed limit and we travelled the rest of the way home going the speed limit. Now, the drivers behind me were a little put off with this experiment but I felt it was worth it. I wonder how this relates to the pressure/release concept when working with horses? For some horses too much pressure may create resistance - like in the case of the driver. No action or pressure may create no response and/or change. A big release and an invitation may have been what that driver needed and perhaps some horses respond this way as well. hum.... Something to think about.
