Why do I ride Pixie with just a neck rope or sometimes 100% at liberty. Well because it makes me a better rider. I don't do it to make her better. Sure she comes out of each ride better trained (at least I hope so, lol) , but that isn't my main goal. It challenges me way more than it challenges her. Taking away all head control forces me to ride with my whole body, not just my arms. It makes me figure out ways to communicate to her without pressure. I am forced to think outside the box! It also makes me trust in her. We had a rocky start and it took me a long time to figure out that until I trusted her she wasn't going to trust in me. I had to live in the moment, not the past.
I do liberty to make me better and riding at liberty shows me where my holes are at. It will also show me where she is at mentally. Our rides vary depending on my mood and hers. And if you know Pixie you know she can be quite moody, lol. It is the harder rides though that I get the most out of. I really have to stay soft and focused because if I push to hard she will leave me. She is very clear with how she feels.
Why is riding at liberty making me better not just her, well because unlike most people I didn't wait until she was so mechanically broke that I could ride bridle-less. I did the opposite, lol, I ditched the bridle and halter to make her and I better. (I did wait until we had a solid stop with just a breathing cue. I am crazy, but not stupid, lol) I was then challenged with how to teach her to back, turn, flex and in general listen to me without the rein aids. We spent many rides just working on one thing. Now as time has past we can practice multiple things. Some days we still work on refining a certain cue/behavior, other days we just do whatever.
The other day she seemed to have lost the ability to turn right and left. Backing that day was at 110% though. So we practiced backing, then after a few minutes, and with the help of our new target we got steering back. Her lack of steering came back on me since she was willing to give me other behaviors. She wasn't being defiant or disrespectful to me because once I took a different route we had steering. I had to change how I was asking, and that right there is the reason I ride at liberty because it requires me to work with her as a partner.
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