Level 2: Twice the challenge, Four times the savvy
Now that you’ve passed Level 1, there’s no turning back… to normal that is!
If you’ve tasted the sweet feeling of having a horse join with you and act more like a partner than a prey animal, it’s hard not to want to go on and see how much more you can do with him now he is willing.
Level 2 is twice as challenging as Level 1. This is not meant to discourage you, but to give you a perspective on how much more is available to you, to advance both you and your horse’s skills.
Something I am becoming more and more insistent about is developing a “well rounded” approach to becoming a Horseman. I want you to become more than just a rider, more than just a handler, to become someone who is truly effective with horses both on the ground and on their back… naturally.
There are “four savvy” when it comes to horses, two on the ground and two on the horse’s back. If you are good at only on thing with horses, like competition riding, colt starting, problem solving… there’s three other huge areas that are missing. It’s like sitting on a stool that has 3 uneven or missing legs. You will have gaps in you knowledge and/or ability with horses. Horses need you to be savvy. They deserve it. Level 2 therefore starts to really expand the study of this.
The Four Savvys
There are Four Savvys in natural horsemanship, two on the ground and two on the horse’s back:
ON THE GROUND
- On line
- Liberty
ON THE HORSE’S BACK
- Free Style
- Finesse
In becoming a horseman, you need to be strong in all four Savvys. its easy to be good at just one, maybe even two. But all four takes well rounded knowledge and a great deal of horse savvy. We develop this over three levels of this program.
In Level 1 there was very little Liberty, a lot of On Line, a lot of Free Style and very little Finesse.
Level 2 now gives you more Liberty, more On Line (with longer lines), more challenging FreeStyle takes, and introduces the 4th Savvy, Finesse.
As you progress through the Levels, the two most challenging areas are usually Liberty and Finesse because of the attitude, focus, feel, timing, balance, savvy and experience they require to do it well.
Become more than a rider, become a natural horseman.
In the normal world 99% of what people do with horses takes some form of concentrated riding. They use short reins and are very focused, sometimes over-focused. they do next to nothing on the ground and their communication is little more than a series of kicks and pulls until the horse does what they want. And most often, they don’t. There’s a lot of resistance around and a lot of good horses ruined, sold or destroyed because they can’t put up with the force and lack of understanding they are subjected to through lack of savvy. We need to become good enough to help horses reach their potential too.
80% of what you need to know about horses is on the ground. If you are not working on yourself and your horse in this area you are making things much harder for both of you. Take a lesson from the Spanish Riding School. They devote years of training on the ground. Horses need to have a trusting relationship with you, a communication system and no fear or resistance in order to understand what you want before you ever get on their back. If not you’ll be dealing with control, resistance and safety issues there rest of your riding life.
I encourage you to keep working on yourself mentally, emotionally and physically. It’s not what level you ultimately achieve that’s important. It’s that you are developing as a natural horseman in all four areas of savvy…equally. And that you keep progressing in some way. I know I’ll be doing that for you, to constantly find better ways to teach you.
Summary
If you’ve tasted that sweet feeling of having a horse join with you as a partner, its fun to go on and see how much more you can do!
Level 2 is twice as challenging.
I am becoming more and more insistent about a well rounded approach to becoming a Horseman.
There are Four Savvys. If you are short in any, it’s like uneven legs on a stool.
The Four Savvys: Two on the ground – On Line, Liberty. Two on the horse’s back – FreeStyle, Finesse.
A horseman is strong in all Four Savvys. We develop this over three levels of this program.
Each level builds the Savvys: Level 2 Introduces Liberty and Finesse.
They really develop your focus, feel, timing, balance, savvy and experience.
In the normal world, most riding is concentrated form.
There’s a lot of resistance and many horses are ruined, sold or destroyed through lack of understanding.
Become good enough to help horses reach their potential.
80% of what you need to know about horses is on the ground.
Ground skills help overcome control, resistance and safety issues when riding.
Work on yourself mentally, emotionally and physically.
Keep making progress.
