(“The student nods in agreement.”)

How much capital L listening is enough? How much capital W working is enough?

So many people think their horse is doing both of the above and yet really only offering a tiny fraction of what’s acceptable to make the system work. We speak of the intimate involvement and interaction between two sentient beings. The student nods in agreement. And then proceeds to settle for the sort of intimacy that prevails with your seatmate on a transcontinental flight—a person whom you’ll sit beside for five hours and never see again for the rest of your life.

There’s nothing in itself wrong with a casual relationship with a horse. If you’re going on a one time trail ride to the beach, casual probably works just fine. If you are trying to grow the sport/art thing that we think of as technical riding, then more is required. If you’ve had that relationship before, then you know exactly what I mean and what you need to be creating with your horse. The problem lies where riders have not experienced that relationship but think they are doing it.

Late to the leg questions, contact questions, the relaxation versus demand dichotomy, how soon how much? I can offer you no formulaic answers, but I urge you to keep turning these ideas over in your mind and explore them with your instructor to get closer to the truth.