The American Heritage Stedman’s Medical Dictionary defines synapse as “the junction across which a nerve impulse passes from an axon terminal to a neuron, a muscle cell or a gland cell.”

“Interesting!” you might say (or might not), “but what on earth does that have to do with riding?”

“Good question!” I say.

Understanding the concept of a synapse, in structure and function, can help us understand how horses (especially green horses) process the aids.  When we understand the way in which our horses understand, we can more effectively apply our aids.

Mind the gap

When we apply an aid, there is a delay from the time we apply it to the time the horse is able to respond.  That delay — the synapse of the aids — doesn’t mean that nothing is happening.  It means only that the horse is processing our request and then coordinating his or her body to comply with that request.

Even a highly trained horse must still physically recognize our aid and translate that aid mentally into a physical reaction.  The more highly trained the horse, the smaller the synapse.  The greener the horse, the larger the synapse.

With the highly trained horse, the synapse may be so small that we don’t perceive it.  The time it takes for the impulse to travel across the synapse may be a fraction of a second.  With a green horse, it may take a second or two seconds or more.

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A couple of months ago, I talked about work at the walk for the rider in this post.  I promised I would follow up by discussing work at the walk for the horse.  

Given the delay, I’m glad you weren’t holding your breath.

Speaking of holding your breath, you’re less likely to be holding your breath at the walk than any other gait, because of the lack of stress involved, and so is your horse, for the same reason.

That is, unless you’re working on the collected walk, prematurely or incorrectly.  As I’ve said before, there are great advantages to working at the walk for riders and horses, but it is not without its perils.  Creating a pseudo-collected walk is one of those perils.  So if you feel that your horse is behind your leg or stalling beneath you at the walk, it’s time to revisit the post I linked above, which has practical advice that can help you.

We’ve been talking about the negatives of working at the walk (that’s what happens when you start speaking of perils), but let’s move on with some positives.

The Washington Redskins cheerleaders and the Wizard Dancers performing for the troops in 2002

There, that’s better!

There are so many benefits to working at the walk for your horse:

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For the wise man looks into space…and knows there are no limited dimensions.

The wise words of Lao Tzu apply not only to outer space but also to the personal space we want with our horses.  There is no absolute answer to the question of what personal space is appropriate, because, of course and as usual, it all depends on the horse.

I have to thank one of my readers, Net, for raising this interesting topic in her comment on my Relapses post, which followed on my Lovely Manners post. Here is an excerpt from her comment:

“…I now allow him to cuddle…To me, he’s still being respectful – he is not allowed to push me and knows this…Some people, though, think I’m a fool and this is bad behavior to allow.  Given he still walks properly, doesn’t shove into me, and respects my authority I tend to disagree…”

If you want to read Net’s comment in full, simply click on the comments link above the Relapses post.  In her comment, Net asked me what I thought, knowing full well, I’m sure, that I would have lots to say.  I’m not going to disappoint her.

Let’s start by throwing some briquets on the grill (it’s grilling season, after all):  I find it interesting that aside from professionals who assist horse owners with handling problems, it is often those people who choose to have little personal connection with their horses (aside from riding) — who focus on the importance of personal space.

Personal space isn’t an issue for these two New Forest Ponies. Photo by Jim Champion

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Last week, I wrote about the new horse’s lovely manners.  Specifically, I stated:

Yesterday and today (I can’t guarantee tomorrow, but I have a good feeling about it), the new horse demonstrated lovely manners.

Let’s talk about the tomorrow part.  That was the part that hadn’t arrived yet at the time I wrote my blog post.

I did have a good feeling about tomorrow, which is now several yesterdays ago.  Good feelings are good to have, of course, but they don’t determine the outcome of anything.  Nor do negative feelings, all New Age beliefs aside. Things happen.  We don’t control them.  We can influence them, but we are only one, small influence in a greater cosmos full of other influences, large and small.  If that were not the case, who’s to say that Bob in Wichita, if he’s really concentrating on a certain outcome, isn’t the one determining your tomorrow?

All that aside, the new horse had a small relapse (actually, he had two sequential relapses) in the lovely manners department.

My Yankee-Irish horsewhispering boyfriend hadn’t yet had his rotator cuff surgery, so he was helping me.  We discussed the plan in a few words, as we do when we’re training.  I would take the new horse and he would take my retired Thoroughbred.  Even though they were late going out, it would be straight out to the paddock, no grass.

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Manners used to matter.  And they still do in certain circles (halter classes and cotillions).

I like the horses I own and work with to have good manners, but I don’t expect perfect manners.  There are some horses who need to express themselves and sometimes that translates into less than perfect manners.  The same is true of people.  To be perfectly polite you must be inauthentic, and that’s not a good trade in my book, with people or horses.

Those who have been following my blog for some time know that I have a horse who is happy to express himself rather rudely and with whom pressure-release techniques or reprimands are largely ineffective. I’ve been clicker training him despite the fact that my least favorite new obligation is making sure that I have treats in my pockets.

This is especially challenging when what I’m wearing doesn’t have pockets. They don’t tell you that you’ll need a new wardrobe when you start clicker-training or that you’ll have to wear an apron all day as if you were a Cold War housewife or one of those dreadful fanny packs (I don’t know what was worse, the design or the name) that were once so popular with foreign tourists in big American cities.

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I’ve spent more time in the last week with my hands on the wheel than with my hands on the reins.  I traveled to give an an intensive, multi-day private clinic in a neighboring state…then drove east for a client who’s moved to a new barn just a little further away than I normally travel…and then drove south for a new client, who was willing to cover my extra mileage in order to have a new set of eyes on the ground.

The rewards of my travels are great, and far outweigh the monotony of sitting in a car rather than on a horse.  That’s because I love to teach.  I live for the smile on a rider’s face, the look of enlightenment on a horse’s face, the happiness that comes from a partnership that’s deepened in interest and understanding.

My rewards this week included finding the right bit for a horse that was bracing, in large part because he didn’t really love his bit.  I followed the advice in this post, and instinct, and the first bit we tried was one the horse embraced.  With flexions in hand, mobilization of the jaw came quickly and continued under saddle.

The horse clearly demonstrated that mobilization of the jaw leads to flexion of the poll leads to release of the back.  Now that the horse isn’t bracing, the suppling work will be far more effective.  With a bit that he loves, the horse can also accept more subtle actions from the rider’s hand.

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