Dominique and I spent a very hot June afternoon recording this three part conversation. In the previous episode we talked about the weather because when it’s over a hundred degrees, it’s hard to think about anything else. We shared what we do to keep our horses comfortable in this extreme heat.

We also talked about neck ropes. I described what you can use them for and how you introduce neck ropes to your horse. We ended with the neck rope evolving into a trailer loading lesson and then into ground driving.

At the start of this lesson Dominique is asking about the difference between handlers who are absent versus handlers who are light. This leads to a discussion of riding on a release versus riding on contact. We talk about the difference between describing what an experienced riding is doing to influence her horse versus describing the process that got her to the result you’re admiring.

We also talk about mounting blocks and how to teach your horse to line himself up next to the mounting block.