The first picture you see below is how Penny and I started our lesson on Wednesday. As you can see, her neck, poll and jaw are very stiff and straight. She is not supple or stretching over her back. In the second photo you can see how we ended our lesson. A very different story. Notice how relaxed she is across her topline, her lovely neck is gently arched and relaxed. Her jaw is soft and supple, her ears alert but relaxed, she is chewing the bit comfortably. She is bent all through the back. She looks like a very different horse.
What Joe has taught me to do is to give, give, give, softer with the hands, always giving and never taking. I work to encourage her to want to stretch forward. I bend her gently, not just in the head, but encouraging her to bend from the base of her neck. It works.
When we got to the place we were in Photo 2, Joe said, “I think we’ll leave her by that.” And, just as he predicted, the next time I got on her, that is how I found her, soft and yielding, ready to stretch and chew. Thank you Joe, from both of us! (And thank you Don and Judy for the pictures I didn’t know you were taking.)
What Joe has taught me to do is to give, give, give, softer with the hands, always giving and never taking. I work to encourage her to want to stretch forward. I bend her gently, not just in the head, but encouraging her to bend from the base of her neck. It works.
When we got to the place we were in Photo 2, Joe said, “I think we’ll leave her by that.” And, just as he predicted, the next time I got on her, that is how I found her, soft and yielding, ready to stretch and chew. Thank you Joe, from both of us! (And thank you Don and Judy for the pictures I didn’t know you were taking.)