WHAT IS FOUNDATION TRAINING? AS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF A HOME WE FIRST NEED A GOOD FOUNDATION TO BUILD ON; LIKEWISE IT IS WITH THE TRAINING OF A HORSE. IN BOTH CASES, WE FIRST NEED A PLAN BEFORE WE CAN BEGIN THE GROUND WORK. MOVING DIRT, WE CLEAR AND LEVEL THE PLACE WE’RE GOING TO BUILD ON. IN DOING THIS, WE MUST BE CAUTIOUS NOT TO DESTROY THE NATURAL BEAUTY THAT ATTRACTED US IN THE FIRST PLACE.

WITH THE HORSE, WE MUST ESTABLISH RESPECT THROUGH TRUST AND PERMISSION THROUGH RESPECT. WE ARE NOT TEACHING THE HORSE HOW TO WALK, TROT, CANTER, STOP, BACK, ETC. HE ALREADY KNOWS HOW TO DO THESE THINGS. WE ARE TEACHING THE HORSE A LANGUAGE IN ORDER FOR US TO COMMUNICATE WHAT WE WANT HIM TO DO. THIS LANGUAGE IS DIFFERENT FROM ANY LANGUAGE BETWEEN HUMAN BEINGS, BECAUSE HE CANNOT ANSWER US BACK IN THE SAME WAY. HE LETS US KNOW HE UNDERSTANDS BY HIS RESPONSE AND EXPRESSIONS. WE LET HIM KNOW THAT HE GOT IT RIGHT BY OUR RELEASE, REWARD, AND PRAISE.

NEXT, AS IN THE BUILDING OF THE FOUNDATION OF A HOME, WE NEED A FOOTING ABLE TO SUSTAIN THE WEIGHT IT HAS TO CARRY. SO DOES THE FOUNDATION OF THE HORSE NEED A FOOTING ABLE TO SUSTAIN THE WEIGHT HE HAS TO CARRY WHILE IN MOTION. THEREFORE HE MUST BE HELPED TO BECOME MORE FLEXIBLE IN HIS BODY TO BE BALANCED.

THESE ARE SOME OF THE GOALS WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO ATTAIN IN FOUNDATIONS TRAINING. LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENTS NECESSARY TO ATTAIN THESE GOALS AND NOT DESTROY THE BEAUTY OF THE HORSES NATURAL SPIRIT ARE LOVE, PATIENCE, AND COMPASSION.