So what exactly do you want Amber to do when you communicate with her? Is it about her physically moving towards you in the field/arena, or is it about exercising/working her in a non touching way? Is it about trust? Does the clinic give exercises to develop that trust in a deeper way?
It's about deepening understanding between us I think. One of the things I notice in myself (and in others) is the tendency to make assumptions about the reasons behind a horse's behaviour: he's throwing his toys out the pram, he does not like to work correctly as it's hard for him so he's evading, he's rushing as he's scared, he's rushing as he's excited, he's looking to the outside of the the area because he's distracted/disrespectful/not paying attention. He can't pick up left canter lead as he's unbalanced etc.
I do it CONSTANTLY. Much of the time maybe my assumptions are more or less accurate and my solutions more or less useful. But what if these assumptions are just wrong?
The things that blew my mind at my first Rashid clinic was how he would have to interrupt riders as they were explaining 'the problem' and say 'please just describe the behaviour'. So not "he avoids me mounting by swinging his bum away' but 'he moves his bum away from the mounting block when I stand on it'. Not 'he is grumpy about having his back feet picked up and snatches them away' but 'after a few seconds of holding his back feet up he pulls back suddenly and puts his foot down. Not ''he's too unbalanced to canter' ; but 'he goes disunited in canter'. (All of those horses are described elsewhere. I can no longer remember the details without finding the old threads, but essentially in those examples the horses were doing their best and the problems were of understanding).
So very often our assumption turns out to be wrong. We aren't very good at 'thinking horse' and they aren't very good at 'thinking human'. We project all sorts of stuff onto them that is just not present in their minds at all. And then we try and fix the projected (imaginary) problem. Rashid and Brannaman actually say they don't really think of that they do with horses as 'training'. It is all just communicating. Rashid talks about horses in the field moving from trot to canter and back to trot. No hesitation, no bracing, no resistance. Just an effortless, seamless shift in energy and rhythm in perfect balance. Compare that with a transition under saddle. A push on the bit, a raised head, a few faster trot strides before canter, a collapsing onto the forehand as they come down to trot again etc. That;s not a schooling issue - the horse already knows how to transition perfectly! But a communication one.
Pressure/release, energy and intent, body language and feel are all parts of horse 'language'. It's how they communicate with each other. How they interact. How they threaten or reassure or play with each other. Some trainers have a much deeper understanding of that language than others and are able to both understand what the horse is communicating and to translate a human request into an instruction a horse can follow. If you connect with horses in this way then you can also build trust - depending of course on what you communicate. The 'be the alpha' type approaches (Monty Roberts for example) also use horse 'language'. Rashid's view is that such methods do not foster respect but fear. But they DO use the language of the horse. There are alphas in herds. And the other horses will obey the alpha. But they don't like or respect alphas. So I guess it depends on what you want in a relationship. I certainly don't want my horses to fear or dislike me no matter how effective that might be in gaining compliance.
I think the clinic will a) help Amber recognise that I am trying to understand her in a way that is easier for her - so she is then more receptive to my inexpert attempts to communicate in future. And b) improve my own understanding of her by having an expert at this communication (ie Buck) translate some of her behaviours for me. I am making assumptions already - in fact I noticed 1 this morning: She always moves off once I have got into the saddle and she
does not like standing still. (I think I have even posted that she 'does not like' standing still on another thread). Well how do I know she does not like it? She is more than happy to stand still when I am faffing about with the stirrups or having a lengthy chat on the yard. She rests a leg and goes to sleep basically! So why do I assume she 'does not like' standing still once I am on her back. Simply because she won't do it! She will not stand. But there could be other reasons she won't do it! I just don;t know what they are so I jump to a conclusion that is probably wrong. Then I correct repeatedly (asking her to stand) in a way she clearly does not understand because she is not responding to that instruction. There is a missing link somewhere which seems baffling to me: I mean stand means stand, right? Well not if you think of dogs who know how to sit from standing but have no idea how to sit from lying. The instruction 'sit' does not actually mean 'take up the sit pose', it means 'lower your behind'. If you are on the ground already the instruction is meaningless. So I am guessing something like that is going on. But I have had her several
months and she has never stood still under saddle and it is only in writing this reply to you right now that it is occurring to me that she probably has no idea what i want....... Doh!
Finally in terms of practicalities - Xavier was a pony who who would not allow anyone near him in 5 years. Within 2 days he was following me around. There was no training involved. Just the ability through how I approached and retreated (pressure/release) to let him know that I meant him no harm and that he could control the distance between us. That was all he needed to totally let go of all his worry and just become soft and willing. Immediately. So I do believe in 'miracles' - in the sense that I believe that there are lots of problems that will simply evaporate completely if you can find the right key/lever. Not all, of course, but I simply don't believe that it always takes years to build up trust or understanding. These trainers can meet horses they have never met before and achieve wonderful things with them very quickly, through clear communication in ways the horses feel comfortable with.
Anyway, sorry for the essay. I have no problem with people having no interest in this and thinking it is all far too over-complicated (though to me actually it feels like a search for simplicity!) But you asked! And as you rightly said I am obsessed by this.....
