Dominique and I spent an afternoon catching up and going through topics she’s been collecting from my new book, Modern Horse Training, and the on-line clinics. In Part 1 the focus was on working both sides of your horse.

In part two we shifted topics to talk about piaffe, managing energy, cues, and base behaviors. What we're looking for in this work is we want a deep, deep feeling of all is well within the horse. You can ask for added energy and then immediately go back to calm because the horse is feeling deeply safe in his being. Base behaviors give you a middle ground to return to as you ask for different behaviors. Base behaviors give you the calm center.

This discussion brought us to the metaphor of tap root behaviors and different strategies for teaching and using base behaviors. Base behaviors help you slow everything down. They give you time to think so you can remain organized. Base behaviors help you develop for your horse the kind of consistent, reliable good manners you would be proud to share with others.