Magazine

Volume 6

A Tube of Toothpaste

 

We have the story that to advance with your horse to make him do what you want him to, you need to close every single door, but one - leaving only one open that he has to step through. This narrative taken up by many just because it sounds so logical.

In effect, you give him no choice, blocking him from every direction but one, by applying your aids a certain way and he has to do what you say. It's almost like we're trying to squirt them out in this one particular spot to make him do what we want.

As if he is a tube of toothpaste.

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*Closing Every Door But One"

 

We have the story that to advance with your horse to make him do what you want him to, you need to close every single door, but one - leaving only one open that he has to step through. This narrative taken up by many just because it sounds so logical.

In effect, you give him no choice, blocking him from every direction but one, by applying your aids a certain way and he has to do what you say. It's almost like we're trying to squirt them out in this one particular spot to make him do what we want.

As if he is a tube of toothpaste.

You would think the logic of this should surprise us.

Because to advance to do better, shouldn't the answer be that there are more possibilities, not less? Let alone just one!

And yet, so many follow this, try to implement it and then begin to share it with others. Start teaching it thinking that this is the way to work with their horses. We quote the concept in conversations. We talk about the truth of this as a training method, sharing that we have to give our horses only one choice. Not realizing that by giving him  only that one choice, we are giving him no choices instead. 

So our horses end up having no choice and has to accommodate us.

And yes, there is probably some truth that this will work. That by closing many doors and leaving only one open your horse will try to squirm and push and twist himself into a shape that comes out of that tube of toothpaste.

But you've closed doors, you haven't opened them and is that the principle that you want to define your work with your horse.  
The concept of training with opening doors is something to think about and think about the difference that could make. 

Because if you think about it that in all likelihood what you have shut down or blocked is something he needed to take along as well.

Imagine for a moment the opposite and the possibilities that brings.

The something special that is true that when what you create comes from opening up the horse, he finds within himself beautiful movement and an access to power all because we have opened him up, not closed him down.

Perhaps unless you have seen this in action or experienced it yourself, this may not make any sense. Nor how vast the difference can be.

It is the difference between saying yes and saying no.

It is the difference between blocking and opening a door.

It is the difference to working with the whole and shutting most of him down.

It is the difference between...

It is understanding that empowering the horse and telling him to bring everything along creates a cohesion and health within the horse that is not only delightfully but a necessity.

It is understanding how collection is allowing ALL possibilities to exist in this moment.

It is understanding how balance is holding onto multiple possibilities in one frozen perfect moment, and with access to all of them, it is easy to allow just the one to unfold.  

 

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