Keep the Top on the Carrot: Slowing down your Hands

Richard Shrake’s Resistance Free Teaching Picture

Many times I will have a student in my Resistance Free graduate courses that has hands that are just too fast. Especially at the point of contact to the horse’s mouth, causing the horse to over react. This may be caused by fear of losing control of their horse or just plain never developing a feel to their horses’ mouth.

The teaching picture that has really helped me is to tell a student to just imagine that when you’re picking up your reins to feel your horse’s mouth, first imagine that you are pulling a carrot out of the ground. If you pull too quickly, the top pops off and the carrot stays in the ground.

Always exhale, make your pull slower and your hose will say thanks by becoming softer and learning to trust your hands.

Richard Shrake is an internationally known horseman from Sun River, Oregon. He holds Resistance Free riding seminars on an international level. For a schedule of seminars see his website at: http://www.richardshrake.com/

Illustrations by Suzanne Gysin, a Swiss born illustrator with a strong background in eventing and dressage. You can contact her at: http://suzannegysin.blogspot.com/