Set it up and wait...
George and I had our first hack on the Downs since a long time. It was lovely, it also reminds me of Colorado, the smell of the pine trees.....
George and I came across a stream, where I was reminded of the importance of ensuring the horse understands and is thinking about what we are asking. The horse needs to be mentally connected to us and what we are looking for. The direction the feet are going, are a good indicator of where the horse's mind is at. At the beginning George was looking at the ground a lot and his energy felt stuck and more backwards- he was not thinking or understanding what I was looking for. We can not ask for more until the horse is understanding what we are looking for, but rather reward when the horse understands and is thinking about it, this doesn't always have to mean the horse is physically doing it.
After a while George started to look across the stream and his energy felt forward, so I quit there. Rewarding his thought because he understood what I was looking for. Set it up and wait.
