Mystic Ranch

Mystic Ranch We offer a natural horsemansip heaven for horse and human. We board horses in stalls and partially covered paddocks with daily herd turnouts.

Mystic Ranch was a horse - human paradise where people learned to read the horse, bond and ride with body language from 2002 until 2019 when we sold it and moved to Prescott Valley, Arizona. We give riding lessons ba****ck and without bits. Childrens lessons are $25 an hour; adult lessons are $50 an hour. Learn to understand the horse's point of view, communicate with body language and earn its tr

ust and respect. We train horses using the same techniques. Check out our web site for more information at www.mystic-ranch.com Watch videos of horses and people doing this style of horsemanship on youtube.com by searching mysticpasos or clicking on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChfrbtOVy9IM8idqC3bcpZg?

Testimonial for Duplo Composite Glue on ShoesMy mare Kami foundered 7 years ago and has been lame and reluctant to move ...
07/07/2025

Testimonial for Duplo Composite Glue on Shoes

My mare Kami foundered 7 years ago and has been lame and reluctant to move since then. I had been struggling with whether I should put her down since she was in such chronic pain. Laszlo Vandracsek came out, trimmed her hooves and glued on custom fitted Duplo Composite shoes to her front feet.

This video was taken the day after her trim and shoeing and the change in Kami is dramatic. She is moving more freely, even gaiting some and volunteered to do liberty on horseback with Mystic. I am excited with the progress made the day after her trim and shoeing and looking forward to watching her improve even more as she grows more healthy hooves.

Thank you Laszlo and Equine Hoof Solutions for helping my beloved mare with your shoes, compassion and expertise.

Testimonial for Duplo Composite Glue on ShoesMy mare Kami foundered 7 years ago and has been lame and reluctant to move since then. I had been struggling wi...

Duplo Glue On Composite Shoes Help Foundered MareKami foundered 7 years ago, 7 percent rotation on her right fore, 4 per...
06/07/2025

Duplo Glue On Composite Shoes Help Foundered Mare

Kami foundered 7 years ago, 7 percent rotation on her right fore, 4 percent on the left fore. She has been reluctant to move since then and got to the point where she refused to lift a hoof for a trimmer.

Laszlo looked at her and suggested he trim her hooves, short enough to make a difference to her movement, then shoe her with a Duplo Glue on Composite shoe with both pads and a composite material between hoof and shoe to give her a cushion of protection when she moved.

He started out by giving her a 2 inch soft pad to stand on with her tender front hooves. The mare who would not pick up a hoof to be trimmed started to lift her hoof when he reached for it and leaving it in his hands longer and longer as the trim progressed. He took all the time she needed to let her rest when she asked and her trust in him grew. I was so proud of her try and appreciative of his consideration for her comfort.

It was a good sign that when he finished, she stood square on all four hooves, rather than shifting her weight around to relieve her pain.The real question after the trim and shoeing job was done was “How would she move?” She walked off easily, did a tight turn that would have stopped her or had her stumbling before, then stepped up onto my pedestal and offered to do step ups with her front hooves. These had been a favorite trick prior to foundering, but impossible since then because stepping up one fore hoof put all the weight on the other sore front hoof. Her first try on step up was small, but she started to lift her front hooves higher as she realized that they did NOT HURT!

I recommend Laszlo Vandracsek for his expertise, patience, skill and compassion with horses and their hoof care and his Duplo Glue on Composite shoes for a horse who needs protection without the rubbing of boots. I look forward to seeing Kami’s progression under his care. You can reach Laszlo at 928-308-9809.

Duplo Glue On Composite Shoes Help Foundered MareKami foundered 7 years ago, 7 percent rotation on her right fore, 4 percent on the left fore. She has been ...

Sara’s Equine ReunionSara was my Italian exchange student in 2021-2022, with Mystic as her equine companion.  She and he...
30/06/2025

Sara’s Equine Reunion

Sara was my Italian exchange student in 2021-2022, with Mystic as her equine companion. She and her family returned for a visit and went out to visit the horses. Mystic recognized her but initially ignored her, punishing her for being absent for so long.

We did sharing territory and intimacy bucket with the herd and Antares and Amadeo quickly decided to focus on Sara.

Antares is leery of saddle blankets and fly masks, but Kami reached down grabbing first the blanket and then the fly mask, and giving them big shakes in his face, proving to him that he had nothing to fear. You can see his expression changing as he watched her play with them, ending up with him starting to reach down, grabbing his empty feed bowl and the fly mask and giving them to Sara. Between intimacy bucket and grabbing and giving things to Sara, they became friends. She stood up and asked him to flexion left and right and accept a full face hug from her.

Silvia and Fabio joined in these games with the horses and their bond visibly grew. Sara lay down on the pedestal, Mystic came over to inspect her, then stepped up on the pedestal and gave her kisses, finally forgiving her. Sara scratched Antares and learned to notice when he stopped leaning into her touch (his signal to pause please), while he considered whether he wanted more of her scratches or to play grab fly mask with Silvia. You can see that decision making process clearly in this video clip, with him first choosing Sara and then, after some more scratches, choosing to play with Silvia.

We started to play “Go and Come” with Amadeo. One of us would ask Amadeo to “Go” and the other would back up asking him to “Come” and he would race between us. A perfect game for my playful c**t. It even got Allegra (the grey mare next door) asking to play. Next up, Sara played tag with Amadeo, running back up and down the fence line. Lastly she had him step up and pivot on the pedestal.

Mystic decided to invite Sara onto his back and they remembered their time together and flowed as one. She then started doing liberty on horseback with Antares, leading him from behind until he chose to be with her.

All in all, it was a great equine reunion between old friends and a good start on making new friends!

Sara’s Equine ReunionSara was my Italian exchange student in 2021-2022, with Mystic as her equine companion. She and her family returned for a visit and wen...

Introducing Fly Boots to AmadeoThe summer heat is making the flies brutal so I introduced fly boots to Amadeo.  He stood...
29/06/2025

Introducing Fly Boots to Amadeo

The summer heat is making the flies brutal so I introduced fly boots to Amadeo. He stood quietly as I put them on all four legs, only noticing their weirdness when I asked him to move. The hinds were more strange than the fores, but he never panicked, keeping his mind intact as he tried to figure them out. He very quickly learned that he could walk with them, and then synced up with me and then with Mystic. By the time we turned him loose in Rocky’s paddock, he had decided he could cope with them, thank you very much, though he did not know why he was wearing them. It might take him longer to realize that the flies no longer torment his lower legs and he no longer needs to stomp his hooves to dislodge those pesky flies. I am so impressed by how well this c**t processes new experiences.

Introducing Fly Boots to AmadeoThe summer heat is making the flies brutal so I introduced fly boots to Amadeo. He stood quietly as I put them on all four le...

Antares Fly Mask, Blanket and One StepJanet and I played with Antares, helping him overcome his fear of fly masks and sa...
28/06/2025

Antares Fly Mask, Blanket and One Step

Janet and I played with Antares, helping him overcome his fear of fly masks and saddle blankets, then walking calmly through the gate to his turnout.

Antares loves to grab things and give them to us so we asked if he could grab the fly mask that he considered dangerous. At first he just touched it, then nibbled, but soon started to grab it and, following Kami’s example yesterday, shook it in the air. It is hard to be terrified of something you can grab and shake! In between grabs, Janet would “touch Antares” with the fly mask, scratching his face and ears and draping it over his head. He became over stimulated and spooked so we stopped asking him for anything and he returned to us and took up grabbing and shaking the fly mask again.

We switched to the saddle blanket. Again, Antares left, certain that blankets ate horses. I draped it over my and Janet’s legs (to keep us warm during the Arizona heat) and put a few cookies on top of it. Antares worked his way up to it, touched it, stared longingly at the cookies and told me that taking them off the blanket was more than he could manage. I rewarded his try and tossed a few more cookies on top of the blanket. He became more confident, touching the blanket and eating cookies off of it, ending up by grabbing the end of the blanket and giving it a little shake. A perfect ending to our session.

I then called Kami over and we did one step, one cookie through the pedestrian gate to their turnout with Rocky. Both horses were rock stars.

Antares Fly Mask, Blanket and One StepJanet and I played with Antares, helping him overcome his fear of fly masks and saddle blankets, then walking calmly th...

WHY LIBERTY SHOULD COME FIRST WHEN STARTING YOUR HORSEMost people start training their horse by putting a halter on them...
26/05/2025

WHY LIBERTY SHOULD COME FIRST WHEN STARTING YOUR HORSE

Most people start training their horse by putting a halter on them and teaching them to yield to physical touch or driving pressure. The horse learns that he must yield to the human because he cannot escape the touch or pressure. Trying to escape just increases the pressure, causing fear and sometimes pain. As the horse becomes obedient, they may take off the halter and ask the horse to stay with them at “liberty,” a liberty of conditioned responses.

I have come to believe that starting the human-horse relationship and basic schooling at true liberty is a safer, less stressful approach for horse and human. By true liberty, I mean allowing the horse to choose to stay away from us, or leave us without an adverse consequence, while rewarding their choice to come to us and stay with us with praise, delight and reward. The horse learns that humans are the source of comfort, safety, fun and rewards and learning each other’s boundaries and body language together replaces most “training.”

Taking this path is not only safer and less stressful, it allows horse and human to learn more about who we and they are as our trust in each other deepens. Trust, freely given, is priceless and the joy of jointly enjoyed play beats any ribbons or trophies.

In November of 2023, I acquired two feral Paso Fino c**ts (Amadeo and Antares). While both were wild, Amadeo is playful and yearns for connection. Antares, at age 3, had stepped up to becoming herd stallion when the adult stallion was removed from his herd. He is responsible to his core, sure of who he is. Protecting the herd is what matters to him and he could not see the value in a human, other than the hay we delivered. Since both would scoot away from my approach or touch, I got to test my theory on how to build a relationship with these two horses.

Sharing Territory To Develop Bond and Trust

Since I could not approach them, I first had to earn their trust so they would approach me. I did that by putting a small amount of alfalfa in a small trough in front of a chair that I sat in on the opposite side of their paddock trough of Bermuda hay. Alfalfa was more appealing to the c**ts than Bermuda so they fairly quickly came over to my trough, at first ducking in and out to grab a bite, then realizing I wasn’t trying to trap them, staying long enough to eat the alfalfa. Next, I let my hand drape on the edge of the trough with the alfalfa piled near it so, as they ate, they ended up grazing my hand, which did not try to trap them. As they relaxed, I let my hand gently graze their head, trying to leave faster than they could retreat from my touch. As they realized my hand did not hurt or threaten them, they allowed me to scratch gently and discovered that their ears were itchy and my scratch felt good. I did this for a month, by which time, I could approach them standing and they would allow me to rub and scratch their heads and upper neck, still leaving if I tried to approach behind their withers.

CASE STUDY 1: AMADEO

Mirroring and the Code of Conduct to Ask for Movement

After a month of sharing territory with Amadeo, and with him as yet unwilling for me to approach or touch him behind his withers, I asked him to follow me in the Mirroring Video that follows: https://youtu.be/AhRi33B8ptw?si=1Vxs5SlAXQlWuZx1. There is no “training” that has occurred prior to this clip. Following, mirroring and matching steps are innate behaviors he practiced from birth in his wild herd.

Carolyn Resnick has identified behaviors that are innate with horses: the tendency to follow any safe individual who is leaving a horse (learned from birth when the dam leaves and her foal follows) and to move away from someone who is approaching. How a horse responds to someone approaching is a function of intent. Her equine Code of Conduct posits that 1 - if you approach a horse with an intent to be in their space, that horse has the right to accept or reject you sharing their space, but 2 - if you approach a horse with the intent that the other horse moves, that horse must move out of your path.

Amadeo following me when I invited him is an example of a horse following someone he felt was fairly safe when I left him. You can see an example of part two of the Code of Conduct about 2 minutes after he started following me, when I walk toward Amadeo’s hind quarters and he steps his hind end away from me. Then I walk toward his head, and he steps his shoulders around. Humans call it teaching the horse to disengage his hindquarters and yield his forehand, but I think Carolyn has it right. This is innate behavior, not training and he organizes his body and movements to keep himself in balance without my interference.

Everything you see in this video is an innate behavior. All I did was to invite him to follow me, do short, slow movements, praise and reward Amadeo as he tried to imitate me, gave him time to think about it, then did a bit more. He went from following me, to starting to mirror me within minutes, from easy forward motion and turns to stopping, backing and going sideways with me in a few minutes more, ending with me showing him how to touch objects with his nose (by touching them, then pointing to them with my hand). You can see how closely he observes my body language and how he tries to approximate it.

The advantage to this approach is that if Amadeo did not understand what I was doing (as in my stepping my feet sideways or pointing my hand at objects), he simply watched and followed me. Since I put no pressure on him to do the thing he did not understand, he thought it over as we walked together and the next time he saw me do that movement, he experimented with trying something. In response to my crossing my feet, he gave me a single cross over of his hooves. I stopped, praised and rewarded that effort and went back to easy following. You can see him realize that I am asking him to mirror my foot movement about 4 minutes into the video as he starts to cross his feet with mine. You can see a similar progression of observation, consideration and try as I demonstrated “touching” objects with my hand, suggesting that he touch them with his nose by placing a carrot coin on them.

I used physical pressure just once in this session, touching his cheek as I walked toward him, asking him to yield for the first time to physical pressure. Since I was also walking toward him, he understood the light pressure and stepped his front hooves over and I praised and rewarded that one or two steps. Nothing in this session frightened the c**t and at no time did I insist that he do something he did not understand. This kept him engaged and curious, trying to figure me out and accomplishing it brilliantly!

We did 2 months of this kind of liberty, during which he became comfortable with my touch all over his body and fluid at walking, turning, stopping, backing and going sideways with me, matching steps with me, following my body language at liberty. Playing with scratching his itchy face, I discovered that his front two baby teeth were stuck and his adult teeth could not grow in so he needed dental work ASAP. That meant he needed to tolerate a halter and being led. That led to me presenting the halter to him, sliding it on and asking him to follow me on line.

Adding Halter and Lead Line and Using it Without Physical Pressure

I presented the halter by asking him to “touch” it, something he had learned at liberty and was happy to do. I followed that by asking him for “halter please,” sticking his nose into the nose piece of the halter. He had no concerns or hesitation about doing so. Knowing that pulling on the horse’s head will trigger resistance, my goal was to never take the slack out of the lead line. I wanted Amadeo to follow my feel, the same feel I had used at liberty. If you want softness in your horse, you must offer softness. Here is a video of the first time I haltered and led him with a lead line. You can see the results. I was frankly astonished at how easily he accepted the halter and followed the lead line but it is logical. From his perspective, nothing had changed. The lead line connected us, but did not coerce or confine him. https://youtu.be/bQtLzKkY2vI?si=KN_XR64tcX1l-gFS

CASE STUDY 2: ANTARES

Trust Must be Earned BEFORE Any of this Works

Antares was far more skeptical about my safety and value than Amadeo. In that first video, you can see him approach us as I played with Amadeo, curious as to what we are doing, partially mirroring us, and you can also see that if I approached him, he left. It has taken Antares 6 months to discover that he can start to trust me. Why did it take so long?

I Needed to Understand His Body Language and Consent

I started out being oblivious about how Antares felt about my approach and touch. I used alfalfa and then supplements as a draw to entice the c**ts to tolerate my approach, touch and grooming at liberty, on the theory that they would leave if I was doing too much, too quickly. Amadeo quickly decided he loved my attention so that was fine. Antares was conflicted: he was drawn by the food, but found my approach and touch aversive. He stayed for the food, but did not trust me. Lucinda Baker texted me and asked why I was not using “Horse Speak” with the c**ts and I took first a couple of her webinars and then had her out to give us a clinic on it.

Horse Speak Consenting to or Blocking Approach

Horses tell other horses if their approach is welcome or not by the placement of the front hoof nearest the one approaching. If that front hoof is back, the approach is welcome. If that front hoof is put forward, the approach is blocked. Although I have had horses for over 60 years, I vaguely assumed that hoof placement was random, rather than a specific request to approach or stay away. I was wrong. Antares had been telling me to give him space and I had been ignoring him. He would tolerate it as long as he could, then leave. We were stuck in that pattern until Horse Speak was explained to me. Once I recognized his request to not approach, I stood quietly, averted my core and focus and breathed in place. The first time it took 5 minutes before Antares blew out, looked at me, stepped that near fore back and toward me, putting his body within range of my hand. I had found the key to being able to approach him with his consent.

Consent is Moment to Moment

The next breakthrough with Antares came with my recognition that if Antares felt good about my touch, he leaned into it. I would start scratching him, he would lean into me and all would be well and then he would leave. It dawned on me that before he left, Antares had stopped leaning into my scratch. When he stopped leaning into my scratch, I would remove my fingers by an inch and pause, waiting for him to decide what he wanted. Increasingly, after at first a minute or two, then seconds, he would generally lean back into my touch, no longer needing to leave. This was a huge realization for me and the breakthrough that Antares needed to trust me and other humans. Within a few sessions, he started coming to me when I arrived, following me and asking to play and leaving off his herd mates during pasture turnouts to hang out with us.

Activities Must be Something the Horse Understands and Enjoys

While Antares now wants to be with me, he has far stronger views on what is interesting than Amadeo. If I want to do something with Amadeo, he is all in, just for the sheer joy of my attention. One game I used to develop balanced drive and draw is “Go and Come.” In this game, one person asks the horse “Are you Ready?,” then moves toward the horse, asking the horse to Go, while the second person backs away and asks the horse to Come. Amadeo loves this game, especially when the people are widely separated and he can toss his head, buck and canter from one person to the next.

Antares does not appreciate Go and Come. Draw is fine, drive is…. Unsuitable? He is inclined to think if a person asks him to leave, he should certainly leave, and then disconnect from playing with you. The last time we played this game with him, he did one round at perhaps a 15 foot separation, then left us for 5 minutes before he returned. We switched games to companion walking, with stopping and rewarding frequently and he was happy again.

“Halter please” became a fun game during Imtimacy Bucket because he got to steadily eat alfalfa after putting his nose into the nose piece of the halter and letting me tie it, only having to lift his nose for me to remove the halter, or put his nose back in when I asked for “halter please.” Mind you, I have yet to try to hold or lead him with that halter. His trust is not yet that deep.

After he had finished his alfalfa, he grabbed the feed bucket in his teeth to tell us it was empty and I promptly told him “good grab bowl” and gave him a cookie. That instantly made grabbing things a favorite trick. As he became animated, he started tossing the bucket and I arranged to take it from him and said “good give me bowl” and gave him another cookie. As I alternated the requests with another person, he quickly understood he was to grab the bowl or give it to the person who asked for it. This was the first time that it occurred to Antares that humans could be a source of play and fun. His eyes became bright and he would have played that game forever. That too, was another breakthrough moment in our relationship, a slender string of connection that, together with others, will build into an unbreakable bond.

Conclusion

Why should true Liberty come first when starting your c**t? Because only through free choice at liberty can you discover who and what your horse truly is, what interests him, and what he needs from you to blossom rather than be crushed. In the process, you will grow, learning to see deeper, not just into your horse, but into yourself, to feel for each other at a level you cannot achieve by “training” your horse. Both you and your horse will discover things about yourselves and each other in liberty that you did not think possible before and you will both grow closer in the process. And if all that “woo” does not speak to you, once you start your “training,” you will discover you have a willing partner who trusts and understands you and picks things up faster than you could ever have imagined.

I just discovered that Amadeo’s baby teeth have not dropped out so he needs some dental work. The vet is coming March 4 so I needed to halter train my c**t f...

Body Language With HorsesMy last post focused on building bond and trust with your horse and I recommended using consist...
24/05/2025

Body Language With Horses

My last post focused on building bond and trust with your horse and I recommended using consistent body language to communicate your requests, doing in your own body what you wanted the horse to do in his. I received a number of requests to amplify what I mean by body language and explain why horses intuitively respond so well to it.

I recently read Lucy Rees fascinating book “Horses in Company”, which details her studies of wild horse behavior. She identified 3 core equine behaviors: cohesion (sticking together), synchrony (mirroring behaviors) and collision avoidance (keeping a meter apart). In her conclusion, she gave examples of how the horses’ innate trait of synchrony lends itself to using body language to ask the horse to mirror our behavior.

I was thrilled to read her conclusion because my horses have long told me that their preferred way for me to communicate with them is using consistent body language, to do in my body what I want them to do in theirs.

Here is my essay on Body Language Basics, along with a link to a video with people and horses syncing up that illustrates what I am talking about.

BODY LANGUAGE BASICS

Is it your dream to have a true partnership with your horse? I can think of no better way than building a consensual bond with your horse, syncing up with him and using body language to communicate with each other. Horses love liberty play, done this way!

In this essay, I am going to describe key elements of body language, why body language makes sense to horses, and how I communicate common requests on the ground. I also explain why you might encounter problems with a horse when you first start learning this practice and how to overcome those problems.

In the accompanying video (found at https://youtu.be/X_iYqWd6UZE) I demonstrate body language requests, on the ground by myself, then with individual horses, not only doing known behaviors, but mirroring body language to learn new behaviors. The delight the horses feel in this approach is demonstrated by showing two horses leaving off grazing on their pasture to play with us at liberty, and by horses asking to do liberty with me when I am riding another horse.

WHY BODY LANGUAGE MAKES SENSE TO THE HORSE

Horses learn through observation and mimicry of their herd mates’ behavior and they communicate their desires using body language. Body language is the horse’s native language. While human body language is different from the horse’s, horses naturally mirror the behaviors of trusted friends. Although I can teach a horse a physical or verbal “cue” for a given action as it is performed, it is easier for the horse to figure out what I want if I consistently do in my own body what I want him to do in his body. Once your horse knows that you will use your body language to communicate with him, you will find that body language is the easiest way to teach new skills as well.

WHAT IS BODY LANGUAGE?

There are two main elements of body language you should master: constructive and intentional energy, and preparatory movements of the body toward the desired movement.

ENERGY: Horses are very sensitive to human energy, three types that are very helpful and a number that will get you into trouble.

If your horse is tense, worried or frightened, relaxing your own mind and body helps the horse to relax. The flip side of that is that your tension will create tension in your horse.

If your horse is bored or disinterested in expending energy on an activity, bringing up your own energy and enthusiasm will help your horse become more energetic. By the same token, if you find an exercise boring, do not be surprised if your horse also finds it boring.

Your intention is what you expect to happen or, perhaps, not happen. A phrase that captures intention is “Whether you think you can, or you think you cannot, you are probably right.” When you ask the horse to do something but doubt that it will work, it generally will not work. If you are using clear, calm body language to ask for something the horse can safely do, and you believe he will do it, he probably will, if you give the horse enough time to evaluate your request and respond in his own time. Do you intend to drive the horse, send him somewhere or to draw the horse to you? The intention and energy associated with drive and draw feel very different to the horse.

Tension, irritation, frustration, criticism, anger, lack of confidence and fear are forms of energy that are toxic in the human - horse relationship and are often at the root of the horse failing to do what the human wants. Your best bet if they arise is to stop what you are doing and breath until they pass. Nothing useful will be accomplished until they are gone.

PREPARATORY MOVEMENTS: When your brain decides to do something, it sends signals down to the nerves and muscles to prepare them to take that action. In horsemanship you often hear the phrase: “Prepare to a position for the transition.” Essentially, before asking the horse to do something, put your own body in the right position to ask the horse for that action. Horses are so sensitive to our small preparatory body movements that they will often respond to your preparatory movements as your request for the transition. It has the added benefit of increasing your stability, as you are unlikely to be thrown off balance by a transition you both requested and were prepared to experience.

EFFECTS OF OUR EMOTIONS ON THE HORSE

Each of us, horse and human, have our own emotions, independent of the emotions of others around us. That said, the emotions of one can influence the emotions of another. This influence tends to spiral - up or down. If the horse is nervous and we become nervous in turn, that increases the nervousness of the horse, which increases our nervousness in turn. The flip side is that if our horse is nervous and we sigh and relax, c**k a hip and knee, look where our horse is gazing and remain relaxed, and perhaps put a hand on their withers, our very relaxation is reassuring to the horse. There is a difference, however between tension and relaxation. Tension increases faster between horse and human than relaxation does, which means, to be effective, you must remain relaxed longer in the face of your horse’s tension. Body language mirroring works when you and your horse are both calm and trusting in each other. If that isn’t currently true, abort whatever you were doing and breath until it is true.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN YOUR BODY?

When learning to use your body language, you might want to exaggerate your energy states and preparatory moves until they become second nature. Your horse is highly sensitive and as he realizes you are using your body language to talk with him, your body language should become more subtle, invisible to the outsider, but clear to your horse.

So, how would I ask a horse to do different actions using body language?

If I want relaxation, I breath deeply and soften my eyes and body, (and on the ground I would c**k a hip or knee).

If I want energy, I inhale, lifting my body and thinking about energy and enthusiasm.

If I want a horse to come toward me, I soften my chest, backing up, inviting him to join me with a drawing hand and soft eye.

If I want him to stop coming toward me, I rock my pelvis forward, lifting a hand and projecting energy to block his forward motion.

If I want him to back away, my energy, eyes and chest press forward and, with a cupping gesture, I move my legs or hands to request that he pick up and move each of his legs in a back up.

If I want forward motion, I lift my pelvis up and forward, point where I want to go and bring up my energy, preparatory to taking a step forward, which I only take in time with my horse’s hoof starting to leave the ground.

If I want a turn, I rotate my pelvis, torso, and hand in the desired direction.

If I want a stop, I inhale, lift one hand, sigh and sink down, ceasing movement.

If I want a back up, I shift my pelvis up and back and think about my hips walking backwards in time to his hooves.

BODY LANGUAGE MIRRORING IS UNIVERSAL, BUT ….

Body language mirroring is universally understood between two beings that are in harmony. If you were walking and chatting with a friend and they made any of these gestures, you would instinctively respond appropriately, to maintain the harmony that you were experiencing. If they stopped, you would stop, if they turned to look at something, you would turn with them and look where they are looking. Mirroring is not as likely to happen if you are with someone you dislike or distrust.

While understanding body language is innate to us all, we do not always realize what our body language is saying to the horse. Most humans do not communicate consistently with their horse this way, relying on lead lines, leg, rein and bit pressure, whips, and spurs to “cue’ the horse, and those cues are often in conflict with the human’s body language.

Take, for example, a horse whose approach intimidates the human. Fear will have that person backing up with the body language of an intimidated victim, a body language that literally invites the horse to come forward into his space. Afraid of the approaching horse, the human might get angry at the horse, wave hands, might even strike the horse, creating confusion and distrust between the horse and human. Another common incongruity is to ask the horse to go forward while impeding forward motion with your reins, or asking him to do something that frightens you. If your body language has been inconsistent, your horse may take a while before he listens to your body language simply because it has been too inconsistent to be helpful to understanding what you want.

HOW DO YOU START TO USE BODY LANGUAGE?

While body language works both on the ground (with a lead line or at liberty) and on the horse’s back, I find it is best to start this at liberty on the ground without a stick or whip. If you have a line on the horse, the tendency is to pull on it. If you have a stick in hand, you will lift it to drive or block the horse. At liberty, all you have is body language, so it is easier to learn what your body language is saying to the horse and modify your body language as necessary to get the desired response from the horse.

Try walking with your horse at his shoulder, mirroring his movements in your own, completely at peace with him leading the dance. Your feet move in sync with his and you focus where he does; even your breathing and heartbeats start to synchronize. By following his lead at the beginning, you create the harmony that will cause him to follow your body language. At some point, he will flick an eye and ear at you asking for your opinion. If, in that moment, you change your body language to suggest a turn or a stop, the chances are very good that your horse will follow you into that transition. The key is that you must mirror your horse long enough that the horse recognizes that you are syncing up with him and asks you a question by flicking an eye and ear at you. If your change in body language is clear and answers his question, your horse will mirror you.

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IN PRACTICE?

If you want a visual of what this type of body language communication looks like when playing with horses, check out the related video at https://youtu.be/X_iYqWd6UZE.

Understand that none of this is training, per se. All you are doing is creating bond and harmony with the horse, following his lead until he asks your opinion and then doing in your body what you want the horse to do in his. The result is that you dance together in harmony.

WHY MIGHT YOUR HORSE NOT MIRROR YOU?

Your horse might not mirror you because he does not have a strong enough bond with you, or trust that you will only ask him to do things he can safely do. Your body might be stiff, or you might not be moving with confident relaxation. When you are stiff or unconfident, you have not harmonized with the horse, and there will be no harmony for the horse to maintain. Your timing might be off, either asking for a change before the horse asks you a question, or too long after the horse has asked you a question. Answering a question that was never asked or was asked too long ago creates confusion. You might lack confidence about whether the horse will mirror you, which causes the horse to mirror your lack of confidence. You might expect too much, too quickly, sapping the harmony needed for it all to work. Slow down, don’t move too fast, wait on the try, believe in the process.

Since mirroring is innate to the horse and all creatures in harmony with each other, if the horse is not mirroring your body language, work on your bond, trust and relaxation, then, after syncing up with your horse, following his lead until he asks you a question, try again with a simple request - for a turn or halt, then praise the horse’s try. As your horse relaxes and trusts you more and realizes you are communicating with him, his try will become stronger and the two of you will flow together in harmony.

How to Start Learning This with a Friend

It can help accelerate learning these gestures if you first practice on the ground with another person. Here is a short video in which I had Val and Kim practice their body language for go, turn, stop and back with each other before trying them on Mystic. https://youtu.be/3vho809WHfY?si=PbdERkGJblBhHlV9

After that lesson on the ground, here is another clip showing Val riding Mystic for the first time using the same body language. https://youtu.be/ZSOSLcdvTC4?si=Ee9QPWGQflA0z86J

This video highlights how energy, intention and preparatory movements are key elements of body language used to communicate with horses, why horses respond s...

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