With the continued leading exercises you refine your body language and speed up the reactions of the horse. You transfer your own relaxation and softness to the horse. You start dancing together.
Once the basic leading exercises work reasonable well you can start with the continuation exercises. Here you begin to refine your body language and speed up the horse’s reactions. When you stop, you add tilting of your pelvis “pull the tail between your legs”, to prepare the horse for collection.
You and the horse can start “rocking” together. While in a halt, move the weight of both you and the horse forward and backward, so that you slowly start swinging front, rear, front, back.
Start playing with speed. Is possible to increase the pace a bit so that it will be really nice long stride? Is it possible to reduce the speed? Do this only through your body language and variations of your energy level.
…through your body language and variations of your energy level.
Start playing with the horse, walk slowly a couple of steps, stop, go forward a step, stop, back up five steps, stop etc. How attentive you can be towards other?
When the leading exercises work in walk then try in trot.
Can you ask the horse to bend around you? For the horse, this is easier if you walk on a circle. You go on the inside and the horse goes outside of you. If you want the horse to bend then you must also bend your body. How much you can relax yourself? You can transfer this to your horse? Relax and turn slightly towards the middle of the circle, to find the right bending. Can you find a small stelling in your own neck? Can you transfer this stelling to the horse’s neck? Perhaps a small impulse is needed in the rein hand?
You melt together even more in your joint energy bubble.
Can you and the horse to start walking in the same pace? Your left leg is equivalent to the horse’s left hind leg and your right leg is equivalent to the horse’s right hind leg. How big or small steps do you need to do? You melt together even more in your joint energy bubble. How soft can you be in your body, and can your relaxation get the horse to relax? Is the horse following your body, your bending and your stelling?
Remember
- Collect by “pulling the tail between your legs” in your own body.
- Rock together, forwards and backwards.
- Vary the speed, even in trot.
- Bend the horse around yourself by finding bending in your own body.