This is Spirit and our first Bitless Riding Video together and the start of his Bitless journey. It shows the very beginnings of riding for us which is our halt, what is known as a one rein stop or Lateral Flexion. This is our emergency halt and we will practise this a LOT, from a standstill, then from a walk, then from a trot/canter which will be after I’ve directed him onto a circle, into a disengage of the hindquarters and into a LF for that relaxed halt with Spirit’s neck/mind nice and soft and that goes for my body/mind too. Later on I will be doing this now and mostly stopping through our breathing, body cue connection but for now practising our emergency stop will make it easier if I have to ever use it and it won’t cause a brace as it will become a relaxation technique through learned behaviour.
- Shelley – HorseSavvy