Hi, at Leslie’s request, I am posting quotes from True horsemanship Through Feel chapter 9, “Meanings”. We are hoping to stimulate some useful discussion.
"From THTF: Page 297: Chapter 9 “Meanings”
“ACTUAL FACTS: This is the main thing we’re interested in, the actual facts where horses are concerned. There’s a lot that’s spoken about all right, but people seem to want something to read. Those horses need the handler or rider to focus on things that can help the horse, through feel. And this book is to help people understand how to help those horses through feel so they can understand what’s expected of them — which could be most anything. Without the actual facts figuring in there pretty heavy, well, that understanding part isn’t going to be in there either. This is why it’s my main goal, as an instructor, to explain about the importance of feel to the horse and how a person would go about getting it applied.
If the person doesn’t know about feel and how to apply it, the horse would only have fear and guesswork to fall back on. That fear a horse has of some things he doesn’t understand is tied right to his self-preservation. Of course, the person would be operating with some fear and guesswork, too, unless they understood the actual facts that the horse needs them to be working with.
On the start, it might take awhile for the person to understand the right feel to use so he could fit a particular horse. But when they figure it out those horses sure understand. That’s why there’s such a great need for people to learn about feel and how to apply it. That way we can get together with our horses, for the better results.”