"But I'm doing the same thing you just did?!"
Often when I am giving lessons a student follows my instructions, but doesn't get the same results. This used to frustrate me, because I want my students to be successful, but over the years I have learned to accept, and sometimes even appreciate, that general instructions don't typically get the desired result- this is why riding and horse handling can be so difficult. Often the horse reads our body language on a much deeper level than we are aware of. If we are walking backwards, trying to invite our horse to us, there may still be a lot of energy or intension focused towards our horse- enough that the horse feels pressure and leaves instead of feeling invited to us because we backed up. Students are often confused how one time I might walk towards a horse and yield his hindquarters, but another time go to him and rub on him, and the horse knows the difference and acts accordingly. It is all in my intention and body language. Sometimes students will say, "but I was smiling so he should have known I wasn't trying to move him", but the horse often reads our torso more than our limbs or face. That isn't to say those parts don't mean anything- some people do not realize how offensive they can be with their hands. But often we completely forget about the language coming off our shoulders and hips, which to a horse is critical. If a horse is really focused on you in a positive way he will point his ribs away from you, or to explain in another way, he will wrap his ribs around you. This horse will be very easy to yield over. If the horse is focused on something out in the distance, or being defiant, he will push his ribs into your space. His shoulder will be in your way if you are doing things up close and his weight will be towards you, so yielding the horse over becomes difficult. If I want to yield my horse over I will point my ribs towards the horse and thus ask him to point his away and step over. When inviting a horse in I try to collapse one hip or shoulder or maybe pull in my belly away from the horse. Withdrawing your energy is often much harder and more vague than using it to push, but with some dominant type horses, people may have trouble bringing up enough energy and intent to get the horse to move at all. Sometimes it is best to practice first without the horse to make sure your body language matches your intent. If you can practice in front of a large mirror, that is even better.
Expectedly, during a lesson a student is having trouble, so I will play with their horse, and of course the horse shows none of the same resistances. Often this is because the horse has a history with this person and has learned a habitual way to respond (or more often, not respond) to the person. Call it lack of respect, or a bad habit, but sometimes the owner has the hardest time with the horse and it doesn't always relate directly to the skill level of that person. Many times though, when I take the horse, I do so many corrections subconsciously, that the horse doesn't have a chance to fall into old habits. When yielding the shoulders over, the horse can give many wrong answers, and the two most common are going forward or backwards. I use both the hand on the halter and the hand on the shoulder to direct energy the opposite direction the horse wants to go- and if that means using the hand on the halter to pull the horse forward to keep him from backing up, than that is what I do, but often without even realizing I'm doing it. I also may face my torso more towards the horses head or hindquarters depending on which correction that horse needs. Owners often find it frustrating that I can do what needs done without hardly thinking about it. Obviously that comes from experience, but I've seen people who have struggled for years on a simple movement with no improvement, so just time alone isn't going to fix the problem. You need to consciously decide, "What are the horse's evasions, and what can I do to prevent them or correct them?" Great horseman often have difficulty knowing what it is exactly that they are doing that the student is not. Occasionally I have students watch me and teach me what I am doing differently, or in addition to what they were doing, so that together we can diagnose what specific correction, body language, or technique they need to learn to be effective. And of course, that helps me with the next student as well.
-Danee Rudy