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“FUNctional Movement”
"Develop the gait you want to ride"
Rhett has been, and continues to be, the ultimate of mentors and teachers of all things horse!
As my toolbox expands, my knowledge and experience grows.
In my program and teachings, I share the science behind the brain pathways, the emotional systems, and their effect on why behaviors occur, and how horses learn and retain information.
It was through this science and Rhett’s teachings, I truly discovered how to best guide horses into ‘FUNctional’ movement.
Horses are born to move, their lives depend on movement.
When a horse's brain doesn't allow them to move in their body in an effective way (because of their emotions), we need to step in and guide the horse into and through their 'emotional movements' and into ‘self control’.
"Self Control : the ability to control oneself, in particular one's emotions and desires or the expression of them in one's behavior, especially in difficult situations."
In my program, I use reward-based training to keep the horse in a dopamine 'seeking, positive state of mind' and the emotional 'seeking' system, while breaking down the movements or exercises into small, attainable steps.
In the beginning of Rhett's guided liberty 'self controlled' movements, his tendency…. if his emotions and mind 'ran away' and because his movement is big….was to have more 'space' between us. He would end up farther away, surging forward unbalanced and falling into a ‘run’.
This lack of 'self control' caused Rhett to continue in an unrhythmic fashion at a quicker tempo in trot and a disunited canter to the other end of the arena in a panic over his unhealthy movement.
The brain and emotional systems coincided and released different chemical cocktails creating the body's movements.
This 'lack of self control' looks physical, but it comes from the changes to the brain pathways as the emotional systems and their chemicals produce specific actions.
It's the brain pathways, along with the emotional systems and their corresponding chemicals, that produce the actions, movements and behaviors....good and bad!
Being the experimenters we are and as Rhett’s ‘self control’ has developed, we have been playing with drawing closer to me with space, energy and bubble conversations and intention.
This closeness means he needs to have 'self control' over the space and energy of his pace and movement.
This ‘FUNctional movement’ at liberty, without my ‘shaping’ him into compliance, allows Rhett to find his own balance, posture, coordination, strength, and stability…physically and emotionally.
With autonomy, choice and voice… without force.
He gets to practice his own 'self control' through his movements. His emotional systems allow him to stay in the seeking/emotional system and positive brain pathway for longer and longer periods.
His owned movements are something he wants to repeat because it feels good. That makes it intrinsically motivating.
The more we play with FUNctional movements, the more confidence and power Rhett has developed.
As his confidence and motivation grows, his brain's ‘parking brakes' for movement will slowly release and his true, agile, proud movement will flow forth.
With autonomy, choice and voice….without force.
This recent 2 min video is where we are now in our movement journey.
Experimenting with and experiencing 'self controlled' ‘FUNctional movement’ play at liberty.
Watch as I allow him to move as he needs to move at distance and close in the beginning. As I think about what I’d like to ride, I begin to ‘micro shape’ his body with targeting and positive reinforcement into a posture that is capable of bearing weight in movement. And be fun.
‘FUNctional Movement’
With autonomy, choice and voice….without force.
Sept 2022 Click link below or any image.
https://youtu.be/iuNXC_LG5BQ
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