 Hi, I'm Karen Rolf, and this video demonstrates how I empower students to become more confident in their riding and to be clearer communicators for their horses. Especially in dressage, so many students feel lost without an instructor there to tell them if they're doing it right. You'll see how I help this student gain clarity and learn how to trust her feel, and you'll be able to use what you see in this video to develop your own confidence and clarity with your horse. Just ride, and all we want to do is observe. It's not about right, wrong, good, bad, it's about what is. And it's really important to be able to look at what is without judgment. That's another second little life tip for today that has nothing to do with horses. Can we just see what is, and not say whether it's good, bad, right, or wrong? Everything comes from in returns to relaxation. So let's have him stand right there, pick a piece of real estate, and just drop their reins. And if he, and rub on and be an imposter of we're parked here, and if he walks off, just turn him around, get him back to that piece of real estate, and drop their reins again. And see if you can do that without losing connection with me. Okay, so just sit there, and he might just be perfect. You're going to move around, and I want you to experiment with some different energy levels, some different balances. And I don't want you to think shoulder and haunches, and I want you to think slosh, swoosh, swoosh. Move this over here, move this over there. But with the intention of trying to find a place where you even think he feels like he releases through his back, and he might like ask to, like, if you give the reins he would stretch, okay? So with a connection, and I want you to investigate. So try different energy levels. So you might go a little bit faster, and just check. And like, we might find things like, oh, when I ask for more energy, my horse doesn't answer me, or something like that. So check a little higher energy. A little more energy. Yeah, just ask for higher energy. So did your horse respond the way you wanted? He gave me a little more. Okay. So what energy level do you have now on a scale from one to ten? Just top of your head. I would have said five or six. Okay. Your horse is asking you what energy you're asking for, and you're going, eh, a five or a six. So when we go again, you could add into that of I'd like to feel a little more seeing if I can have the reins short enough that he can move into that contact and he can find me there. I mean, I think he, does he feel like he's closer to our goal of the adjectives you were looking for? Yeah. Okay. So we're heading in the right direction. So when we go again and notice when you're 100% in your work, it's easier to do 100% relax. It's because it's satisfying. You didn't build tension in that because you found the moment of peace. Like there was peace in that because you were confirming to him all the time. There's a big difference between your horse going, what should I be doing, mom? And you're going, well, a five or six. And he goes, well, how's this? And you go, it's okay. Because imagine if I taught you like that or if Bruno, you know, Bruno, how's this look? Eh, it's pretty good for you. All right. So can you describe the adjectives that you would add on to what you were just finding there to give you the picture of like, there, this is the trot that I'd be ready to really collect from and do more stuff from. So I mean, you said about the connection. So I just want you to say the adjectives out loud because you're the one that needs to feel them. So we had Lucer in the back and then what other, well, he needs to be, he needs to feel supple underneath me through the back and at least balanced enough. So I feel like I can have him kind of shift back a little bit. So why don't we, and I'd like to take all of that and try to find the simplest sentence that my horse could understand and that I can understand and that I can think about while I'm going. So would this feel like it resonates, that we add on the supple back and where you can feel his back feet under your butt, each one. You can feel each hind foot under your butt. Like that's, because when they engage, that's what I feel. I feel the little push of their hind feet under my butt. So let's go again to exactly where you're doing. Think about the energy, think about the shoulders and then maybe shorten your reins and think, how can I do what I was doing before and add on to that. I wonder where his back feet are and can I do some things that will cause me to feel his back feet under my butt and there's going to be a magic moment. There's going to be little thank yous of like, move your shoulder, thank you. Energy, thank you. And then there's going to be a big yes where you're like, oh my God, he suppled through the back, matching my energy, balancing his shoulders and I feel his hind feet and that's going to be a yes, yes, yes moment. Okay, so let's go searching for that.