The Fine Art of Listening

River and I had a great lesson yesterday.  The weather has been so unusually rainy for Spring in Florida (we're talking tropical storm-type rain), that we hadn't had a chance to do any riding for a week, but yesterday was a beautiful cool, sunny day.  We both enjoyed the chance to be out and about. 

Now, to continue with my story, I need to give you a little terminology lesson.  The horse has a piece of equipment called a bridle that is fitted on the head that is used to guide the horse.  The bridle consists of a headpiece, bit, and reins.  The bit, which is usually made of metal,  rests on the bars of the horse's mouth, an area which has no teeth.  The goal is to find a bit that is not hard on the horse's mouth and fits well.  My horse loves her snaffle bit and likes to hold it in her mouth even after I have taken the bridle off!

My instructor had me working on getting River "on the bit" at a trot.  "On the bit" means that the horse is accepting the bit, lowering her head and raising her back -- the first steps in the ultimate dressage goal of "collection".  River has a tendency to raise her head high at the trot and hollow her back.   We were trotting in a circle and River was looking beautiful -- until she hit one spot in the circle, where she popped her head up and tried to stop.  Each time we rounded the circle, she did it at the same spot, showing her displeasure by putting her ears back.  Part of the issue was her strong preference not to do the work -- but a major part of the issue was that I was not releasing the pressure on her mouth when she got on the bit.  In other words, I was talking (asking her to get on the bit), but not listening to her (releasing when she did what I asked her).  As soon as my instructor pointed out my communication error, River was much more cooperative, and my ride was much easier!

Another prime example of the importance of listening as a key part of communication.  Have you ever been so busy trying to make your point in a conversation that you focus too much on your message and not listen to the message being given TO you?  Sometimes the answer is there, if you just stop to listen.