Episode 292: You are Invited: Two Invitations Horses Offer Riders

Train Your Own Horse with Stacy Westfall

In this podcast episode, Stacy Westfall introduces the concept of viewing a horse's behavior as an "invitation" that riders can choose to accept or decline. She explains that horses often present two types of invitations to riders:

- Emotional invitations: When a horse becomes anxious, jumpy, or displays a particular emotional state, it can be seen as an invitation for the rider to join that emotional state. - Training invitations: Horses may also invite riders to use certain aids or respond in specific ways during training or riding. For example, a lazy horse might invite the rider to do more work to maintain energy, while a hot horse might invite the rider to constantly apply the brakes.

Stacy encourages riders to:

- Recognize these invitations from their horses - Become aware of their default responses to these invitations - Consider choosing a different, more productive response - Look for invitations during their next 10 rides - Aim to break habitual patterns by responding intentionally to their horse's cues.