Hands
Hands. One of the more provocative topics within the equestrian world, regardless of discipline. It’s one of the first places an equestrian’s gaze is drawn to when observing horse and rider, or handler. It is where a lot opinion and mystique resides for us.
I want to offer a take on the hands, and their capacity of influence, from a less equine-coded perspective here. I want to talk about the flavor that is “the hands” rather than the recipe that goes into exact application of “the hands”. Though equitation and how exactly we are using our hands is extremely important, I think we can overemphasize the equitation over the feel. In this it is easy to forgo a subtler, yet equally important, factor that is the intention and attitude, the why and with what feeling?
We are a very handsy culture right now. A one-sided handsy culture at that. We grip steering wheels, jab keyboards, touch screen this, that, and the other. Sending a command or intention out to a device unable to respond in an organic way. It doesn’t matter how or with what energy we touch the keyboard, wheel, or screen, almost immediately our touch yields a favorable result.
The hands are one of, if not, the most important lines of communication between horse and human. Big responsibility there, in my opinion. So, with that importance understood, when I think of the type of hands I want attached to the mouth of my horse, I think to the makers and creators of the world. The artists and the craftsman working with feel and care. Spinning wool, throwing pottery, working wood, dancing with a partner. The latter are all tactile driven works that require a call and response between the hands and the craft at hand. The maker and artist’s hands engage in order to listen for the response from their medium, the response informs the next step taken.
Sometimes the wool needs more tension in the line or your dance partner needs a firmer or lighter frame, and the clay may need more time before being handled a certain way. The needs of the other are felt and then addressed by a sensitive and present hand.
Horses are the living beings that have but only their body to speak to us, so our want to receive what is being transmitted from their end of our hands is vital.
Hands ready to provide effective communication to the horse are receptive to what they feel from the horse.
The receptive hands can then choose what to do, how to respond, based on what they feel.
Which may look like,
following with soft presence, when they feel and evenness and sense of balance in the hands. When feeling weighted or pulled down; they can lift to ask for a higher and lighter frame, allowing more vision and postural integrity to the horse. When there is a lack of life ie. dullness the fingers can palpate the tongue for jaw release (the way you would strum a harp). There are many options, the hands are at liberty to be as dynamic or as still as the horse needs them to be. They are committed to continuing the conversation at hand……literally.
The relationship between hand and mouth is precious, it is of great worth. The mouth of the horse holds the key to her body. Which means the need for a receptive quality to the hands is utmost.
“Above all the hand must relax the horse in order to then bend it and therefore help to supple it” Philippe Karl
Sally Swift’s Centered Riding
So now let’s think of what qualities of the hand we want to steer clear from, for more clarity. The hands are not stagnant. They do not remain low and fixed (gripping the imaginary steering wheel, forcing a turn). The hands do not pull back, moving in opposition to the horse that is in motion. The hand does not approach contact with a tone of decidedness or punishment, it asks questions, listens for responses, and searches for resolution.
With a listening and receptive hand you can still uphold very clear boundary and mutual respect, it requires more presence and postural responsibility throughout your body. It requires more investment in an ability to closely observe the horse. It is harder in my opinion and aslo worth it.
I have been on an unlearning and re-learning path with many aspects of my horsemanship for years now and my hands have been a big growing pain for me. I think to remain good teachers and trainers we must remain willing students. Students to the art of horsemanship and to the horses themselves.
This is where I will leave you on the flavor of “the hand” as it pertains to equestrian cuisine. I think sometimes as trainers and teachers we forgo the attempt to explain the amorphous quality of “feel” we want embodied when executing precise actions, because it is difficult to put “feel” into words. But, it is important to try.
For a more didactic application of “the hand” or the recipe of “the hand” in horsemanship I have learned a tremendous amount from my mentors of past and present, trial and error, and right now I am particularly inspired and re-inspired by the mentorship and words of:
Vicky Krieps- watch her films, phenomenal at her craft. I couldn’t resist tying her in since this interview threads some relevance towards the topic of hands as we are choosing to think on them here.
