All riders know WHAT they do. A number of riders know HOW they do it. Fewer riders know WHY they do what they do.
Outside-in communication
Riders who start with WHAT will communicate like this: “Horse, I have here this exercise we are going to do! It looks nice and fancy, a lot of other horses can do it too and if we can master it we can show it to other people. You just have to bring your shoulders in. Shall we try?” Most riders communicate with their horse from the outside in, from the clearest thing (what) to the fuzziest thing (why). But the inspired riders all act and communicate with the horse from the inside out and they start with WHY.
Inside-out communication
Riders who start with WHY will communicate like this: “Horse, I have a dream and that is to keep you fit as a riding horse until old age. I strongly believe this is possible, however you are not naturally built to carry weight. Therefore we need to prepare you to carry me properly and making your body and hind legs supple and strong. The way to achieve this is using this exercise and I know how.Shall we take the first step?”
Reverse the order of the information
"It doesn't matter WHAT you do, it matters WHY you do it." - Simon Sinek
- Why does an exercise like shoulder-in exists?
- What is the purpose of this exercise?
- What is the cause of this exercise?
- Do you believe in this exercise?
Don’t ride just a ‘shoulder-in’, because then you will end up riding the "name" and you will only move the shoulders of the horse in, without awareness of what the rest of the body and the inside hind leg are doing. Don't start with WHAT but reverse the order of information and start with WHY: 1. You have to know WHY you do it, why the exercise exists, what the purpose of the exercise is: to make the hind legs more supple and strong and to enlighten the fragile front legs. 2. The next step is knowing exactly HOW to guide the horse with mental, energetic and physical aids. 3. And as a result, you will end up with the WHAT: a correct shoulder-in. If you only ride 'the names' of the exercises (the WHAT), you will lose the essence (the WHY), therefore you don't exactly know HOW to do it and you will end up with a "look-alike" which doesn't help the horse in a gymnastic way.
Start with why
If you do not know WHY you do WHAT you do, how would your horse know? If you strongly believe in WHY you are doing things, your horse will feel your clear energy towards a clear goal and horses always resonate on clarity. Those riders who start with WHY have the ability to really inspire their horse and to work with the right essences. Straightness training always starts with WHY. Because without a clear WHY the end result will always be uncertain.
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