The ultimate goal of our ride is to have our horses maintain soft head carriages, with their backs round. The term is coined as "collected," "round," or "in a frame." We ask our horses to carry themselves like this so they carry more of their weight on the hind end. This concept goes against the horse's natural body carriage - normally the horse carries 60% of weight on the front end and 40% on the hind.

However, we teach the horse to carry their bodies in this fashion so they learn to keep themselves balanced without the help of the rider. In turn, this allows the horse to move at a cleaner, prettier, optimum level and will also enable the animal to bury its hind end in the sliding stop. If the Back is not round going into the stop, the horse will stop its velocity with the front end causing jarring on the joints and a short, abrupt stop.

We begin to teach softening by breaking the idea down into steps. On a circle, first ask your horse to bend to the outside by drawing up on the outside rein and bounce lightly with the outside leg, (where your leg would naturally fall at the Cinch.) You don't need to ask by bouncing behind the Girth, or by "half halting" (squeezing the rein) with your Hand. Just draw straight up with your outside hand and maintain. Bounce and hold the rein until your horse figures out what to do, and then reward him by dropping your hand and stopping your leg. Then ask him to bend to the inside of your circle in the same manner. Once this is accomplished, draw up with both hands and bounce with both legs until your horse lowers his head.

Visualize the concept in this manner; You are holding a hockey stick with both hands above your head. Someone pokes you in the ribcage. What is your reaction? Your first instinct will likely be to bring your arms back down to your sides. This analogy is a representation of the horse holding a Bit in his mouth. When you bounce your legs against his sides, your horse brings his head back down.

Remember, even the slightest amount of "try" must be rewarded in order to keep your horse willing. The animal will become frustrated, as any creature would if he is not shown some positive reinforcement - although it is equally as important not to quit asking until the desired result is achieved. Practice at the Walk and then advance to the Trot, Canter etc. Eventually you can put the horse into one hand and by bouncing both legs, he should drop his head and raise his back. The idea is, bouncing your legs against the horse's sides has more show appeal than constant "checking" of your horse's mouth. When using your hands, don't bang the horse in the mouth - just take a hold (take slack out) and "nudge" as if to say "get off my hands." The horse must be soft for everything including turns. If not soft all the way through a turn, use legs to soften and encourage. Bottom line is, softness is achieved through the timing of soft hands and leg aids plus consistency. There is NO NEED to bang your horse in the mouth or hit it's sides with your spurs until the animal bleeds - this method definitely has NO show appeal.