The habit of a liberty mindset.
So much of what we do with horses is from habit, and mostly they are unconscious habits. Just like we roll out of bed, brush our teeth, make coffee then grab our phones, we often don’t realise we are doing it.
This is what I see all the time with humans, horses and the use of tools. Lead ropes get grabbed into a tight hand, the human marches off without even noticing if the horse has seen we are leaving. Eyes forward we see nothing of what the horse sees. We bump onto the end of the line when a horse has stopped to watch a far-off movement (something they do to stay alive), and we keep on pulling. All of this might give us the illusion of power and control but what is does is far more sinister. It shuts the horses down; self-expression dies as does the need to pay attention and learn about the world around them. Left in its place is an obedient (or not) shell of the former horse.
Be present, pay attention, try and keep some float in your rope and use your body language to action a response from your horse before you engage the rope.
You might find that the connection you can achieve will astound you. Your horse is just waiting for you to pay attention!
