It's all in the release.

When training a horse, we use many cues to aid the horse in understanding what we are asking from them.

Whether it comes from our legs, hands or seat, a cue is given, and the instant the horse begins his response, we need to release the pressure of the cue and reward the horse with non pressure or the release. It is thru the release that the horse is rewarded for responding in the correct way and it is through the release that the horse actually learns the cue.

Without the release we are not really acknowledging the horse's effort to do the correct thing. Even if the horse starts or tries to do it correctly we need to reward with the release. Each time you will get more and more until you have eventually you have what you were looking for.

For example, for a Halt command. We sit deep, our legs go slightly forward, we close our hands on the reins and let the horse move into it. When he feels the bit tight in his mouth combined with our seat in the saddle, he comes to a halt at which time you relax your rein and the horse just stands still. Or does he?

More often than not, I watch riders halt their horses and then proceed to let the horse wander about, or they halt their horse and keep the rein so tight on the horse's mouth, it is as if they are afraid the horse will take off from underneath them. Inevitably the horse then begins to move away to try and find relief from the bit.

If your horse has been given the Halt command and then will not stay halted with a relaxed rein, has the horse really halted? If a horse won't stay halted at the release, then he really doesn't know the command fully.

The release of pressure creates the easiest most relaxing place for the horse to be. When teaching a horse, the cue is given. The split second the horse responds or attempts to, the release of pressure is given. It is through this exchange that we communicate and we able to speak the language of horses.