W orking with horses is all about pressure and release. If you want the horse to move left you apply pressure to the right. The horse moves left to escape the pressure. When he does so you release the pressure. This way the horse learns to get what he wants — release – by giving the rider what he wants. Once you understand the concept the rest is a matter of learning techniques how to apply it.
I wanted to master those techniques. I wanted to have a horse at the ready so whenever the mood struck me I could ride if not into the sunset then at least toward the orchard the mountaintop the pond…. So I’d enrolled in Retorno’s Western Riding Course to become an instructor. Then I could ride when I wanted bring my kids along for the ride and work with people both in and out of Retorno.
The course was tough. I was spending hours every week engaging muscles I didn’t know I had and using them in opposing ways — simultaneously. My brain was working overtime processing detailed instructions in Hebrew at a rapid clip while the beast beneath me had ideas of its own.
At the same time my trail rides continued and one day I joined a group of teenagers. They’d been riding for a few months so I knew we’d be jogging. A jog is basically a slow trot; if you sit correctly you don’t bounce but if you tense up you’ll know it then and your body will remind you the next day. At Yoram’s instruction we jogged for most of the 45-minute trail ride.
