Lesson 5: Proprioception
5. Part i: Understanding Proprioception & How it underlines What is Happening
Proprioception definition
The perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body
Every animal has it. It helps us to balance; to touch our face with our eyes closed. It helps us to be aware of what our body parts are doing and how they move to coordinate an action.
What I have noticed is that horses that aren’t in a good mindset, have poor proprioception. Once I have helped them access a different mindset, their proprioception improves significantly.
Summary:
- Frozen or shut out horses don’t have very good proprioception
- Signs of poor proprioception include: dull, leaning, lethargy, heavy, slow, rushy horses
- They also might not pick up their feet properly, they might clamber in a trailer
Changing a horse’s mindset can open up their proprioception
which in turn gives them more confidence + ability
5. Part ii: Example
Key Takeaways:
- It’s not good enough to notice what your horse can’t do. Understand that they are struggling. If you can help them to have a different mindset, you can open them up – mentally to learn and physically to move better.
Part iii: Watch a shut down horse start to open up
Key takeaways
- A horse that is shutting out or is shut down will be quite frozen
- In this video I start to open him up so that he starts to look, sniff, and soften
- Previous to this, he was upright, stiff and rigid
- Towards the end you can see that he is much looser – especially in the base of his neck
- Once a horse is more open, they are able to take on new thoughts more easily
- Pressure should be seen as an opportunity
You’ve almost finished this mini-course!
