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Train Your Own Horse with Stacy Westfall


Apr 6, 2022

A listener asks a question about the different levels of contact between dressage and reining. On the surface this seems like a question about a horse accepting the change between the two…but I took the answer much deeper than that. 
I explain how the rider's opinion of contact changes the horse's experience, and two specific reasons I think riders feel challenged around contact. I give many examples of how horses can report their experience of contact, and I share the specific order that I train my horses in that allows them to view contact as support…not correction. 
I also touch on bridleless riding and the idea of self carriage and the feeling of riding a fully adjustable horse.