I often hear the following:

”The groundwork is going really well, but when I get on, that’s when we’re having problems”.

We can then often think ”Okay, then maybe the groundwork isn’t good.”

Changing the 'language' in the saddle

But what it can sometimes simply be, is that we change the ‘language’ once we’re in the saddle. We change the meaning of our aids once we get on.

Understanding the system: The TRT Method

So when you’re working your horse from the ground, you have an order in which you ask things. At least, that’s what I teach people with TRT method. You’re first thinking about the sensation of something, the thought of something, followed by our body language, then our voice, and then the practical example.

And your horse learns to understand that system, to understand that ‘language’.

Why we forget the basics in the saddle

But a lot of riders tend to ‘forget’ this system once they get in the saddle. Maybe it’s because we’re sitting so close to the horse and maybe because we’re having some habits in the technical way of riding. But it becomes sometimes easy to come straight away with the practical example, for example, that being our leg.

The consequences of mixed signals

And instead of having the sensation, the body language, the voice, and then the leg if we need it, we’re sitting so close and we just put our leg on to go and walk. Of course, the conversation then changes.

We’re no longer using the systematic process in order to guide our horse or to ask our horse to do something.

All of a sudden we get in the saddle and then we’re telling our horse to do something and he feels like he’s being made to do something. And then, of course, maybe his feeling, his sensation, his emotion attached to that, becomes a little bit negative or he gets a little bit insecure. Or a little bit confused or maybe even a little bit angry at us.

And then the behavior changes. We start to get reactions in the saddle that we don’t have on the ground.

Maintaining consistency: ground to saddle

But the important thing to remember is that we keep the same process and the same language in the saddle as we do on the ground.

Key Takeaways: Keep the Language Consistent

I hope that helps!