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Paddles, Magnets, and Carrots

I've always been a fan of the horse wanting to do things and lately as I've been playing with connecting myself and my horses to the eighth and ninth chakras, I've been wondering how this would translate into lessons.

Back in the real world ...

One of the gifts Centered Riding has given to the riding world is the concept of using our minds to initiate responses in our bodies which we then pay attention to to find out whether or not what happened was what we wanted to have happen.

mind ==>  influences body ==>  body responds ==> mind observes ==> is it what we wanted?

modify if need be.

repeat.

So the real world in Centered Riding involves what goes on in our heads.  What we're thinking and what we're aware of.

In this case, there are three concepts that can help you get your horse somewhere:

• Paddles/Bush Brooms
• Magnets
• Carrots

In a second I'll explain these more.  As a preview, what you'll do in your ride while you're learning to use these ideas is to use one of these concepts for a little bit - like 8 strides or the short wall or half the long wall or whatever, and then you'll do something else, either another concept or what you usually do, for like 8 strides, and then you'll switch back and forth paying attention to what changes in you and your horse.   

After you've worked with these concepts for a while, you'll have a working knowledge of how they are effective, and that will guide you in knowing when to use them.  During 'regular riding' you may find you have a preference and use that a lot.  After a while, you may find that spending a day or two playing with the different images provides even more options or perhaps creates quicker and bigger responses.

If you want to discover for yourself the difference between the images, simply go play with them now!  

Example Exercise:

• imagine a paddle behind you, sweeping up your horse, for 8 strides.  you can get creative.  like does the paddle alternate sides in sync with the horse's hind legs?  is it times with the footfalls?  is it constant?  what if you move it to the side?
• notice how your horse moves
• imagine a magnet in front of you, drawing your horse along, for 8 strides.  is the magnet drawing on the head?  the head and neck?  the shoulders?
• notice how your horse moves - has it changed energy levels?  has it changed where its attention goes?
• imagine a paddle behind you, sweeping up your horse, for 8 strides.
• notice how your horse moves - did anything change?  different energy?  different attention?  did the weight in the reins change?  does the amount of 'leg' change?
• imagine a magnet in front of you, drawing your horse along, for 8 strides.
• notice how your horse moves
• etc.
• after a bit relax and summarize what you've noticed.  each image gets you something different and that something different can be useful at different times.

Paddles 

For this concept, I think of either ping pong paddles or shuffle board brooms.  Or even those big brooms you use on the floor!  The idea is that something is pushing the mass of the horse.  (Kind of like how they push each other around.) 

While riding, if I have my paddle behind the horse, (that is to say, I picture/pretend there is a 'paddle' behind the horse patting it to get it to move) it pushes the horse forward.  Or some variation of forward.  If the paddle is behind to the side, I might end up going forward to the other side.  Basically, the horse goes away from the paddle.

The paddle can come into play with sweeping motions or continuous motions.  It can encompass the whole behind or alternate from cheek to cheek.  Sometimes it helps to 'get under' the horse a little bit.

Using a paddle to push the horse forward may or may not affect the shape of the horse, and if it does affect the shape of the horse, it may or may not be beneficial.  (yeah.... that's a teaser!) 

Magnets

Magnets sit out in front of the horse and pull the horse forward.    I think of it as one of those industrial sized magnets.  BIG.  

When I'm not doing lateral work, I imagine the magnet two to four feet in front of the horse.  For leg yield and lateral work I place the magnet in different places depending upon what I want.

Similar to the paddles, the magnet does not affect the shape of the horse; however, because it is drawing the horse forward, there are options for the horse un-kinking its spine.

Carrots 

Carrots also sit out in front of the horse's head.  I really enjoy thinking about having a fishing pole with the carrot attached!  

Carrots are very similar to magnets with the added advantage that the horse is now motivated to get to where the carrot is!  Because of this, the horse will often organize itself well.

Chakras

OK - since I mentioned them, here's a little tidbit.  When I use the chakras, I become aware of how much of the horse is reaching up into the chakra.  If some part of the horse is pushing into the chakra instead of reaching up into the chakra, the horse will be kinked.  You can unkink the horse by being aware of the energy reaching up into the chakra.  (this is a lot harder to draw, so you'll notice I didn't include a picture there!)

So give it a go!  Try out the different concepts and see how your horse responds to them.  Some might make more sense than others.  Some might be more effective.  Some might work in certain situations.  The thing is, after you've experimented with how these thoughts affect your horse, you will have more options about how to communicate with your horse that you want it move.

'til next time,

L

Books: Amazon Assoc. / Old Favs

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"The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities." 

~ James Allen