Intention
The missing link in training, and why your horse reads it before you've done anything.
Live only, there's no recording.
Your horse will never be lighter than the first aid you give him
Most riders start with their legs. Trot? Leg, leg, leg. In the way I build an aid, that is already phase two or three.
Before the leg there is the ask, before the ask there is the suggestion, and before all of that there is intention. That first layer is where every aid starts, and almost nobody begins there. So the horse never learns to pick it up. Horses are perfectly capable of reading intention, they do it with each other all day, but if every aid you give starts at phase three, your horse learns that the first two layers mean nothing and he stops listening for them. Not because he can't feel it, because nobody ever asked him to.
That's why intention has such an essential place in my method, in how I build my aids and in how I apply learning theory. If you ask me it is the missing link for a horse that is super light and almost invisible on the aids. Everyone wants that horse. Very few people train the layer that makes it possible.
What is your horse actually reading?
Your breath, your body tension, where your attention goes, and whether all of that agrees with what you're asking. When it does, the aids shrink. When it doesn't, you need more and more, and eventually you blame the horse.
What we'll do
Where intention sits in the aid
I'll show you where intention sits in the way I build an aid, before the suggestion, the ask and the tell, and why that first layer decides how big the rest of the aid has to be.
What the research says
This isn't a feeling I have, it's been measured. We'll look at what your horse actually reads in your breath, your body and your attention, and at the studies that show how precisely he does it.
Teaching your horse to listen for it
Why a horse that has only ever been asked at phase three stops listening for the first two layers, how that fits with learning theory, and how you build it back up. You'll leave with one thing to try on your own horse this week.
I want to be honest about what one hour can and can't do. Your horse won't read your mind on Wednesday because you watched me talk on Tuesday. What will change is that you'll see this layer, in yourself and in him, and everything you build afterwards starts there.
Who you'll be listening to
I'm Kelly de Geus, and I've had over a thousand horses in my hands. I train in hand, and I don't teach piaffe as a goal anymore, because a good piaffe is a consequence of a strong foundation.
A lot of my work looks basic on purpose. What I care about is whether a horse can organise himself, in his body and in his head, for what I'm asking. And whether the person asking is actually asking one thing.
The details
Tuesday October 20, 5pm Amsterdam time. That's 4pm in the UK, 11am in New York, 8am in Los Angeles, and 2am Wednesday in Sydney.
Zoom. You'll get the link by email right after you sign up.
About 75 minutes, including time for questions.
Free.
There isn't one. This happens live, once.
Is there a replay?
No, this is live only. I'd rather have a room full of people who are actually there than a recording that sits in someone's inbox, and if you can't make it there'll be another one next month.
Is this energy work or something spiritual?
No. Intention is a trainable part of communication, and the way horses read it has been measured in research. Whether you ride, train in hand or both, you'll be able to use everything you see.
Will you be selling something?
At the end I'll tell you where this goes next and what I offer, because "how do I actually build this" has a real answer and it takes real work. The webinar stands on its own though.
Tuesday October 20, 5pm
One hour, live, and then it's gone. Bring the horse you'd love to ride with less leg and less hand.
