Episode 378 The Very Best Behavior Part 2 Still, Calm, Relaxed - For Longer

This is part 2 of a conversation that’s on one subject - the foundation lesson that I call the grown-ups are talking, please don’t interrupt. In several recent podcasts Dominique has said this is her favorite behavior. That’s a strong statement to make, so we both thought we should have a conversation where she gets to explain why she likes grown-ups so very much. It turns out we both have a lot to say about grown-ups. In Part 1 I got us started by describing the behavior I’m referring that I call the grown-ups are talking, please don’t interrupt. We ended that episode by saying that we aren’t just looking for a particular head orientation, but we are looking for the whole expression of the horse because we want to build calmness and a deep all-is-well relaxation into the behavior. In Part 2 we describe how you go about creating not just a horse who stands still when asked, but one who is relaxed, confident and at ease when doing so. We include some handling tips for building duration. Building duration helps expand the base behavior of grown-ups. It transforms basic grown-ups into ground tying, meaning your horse remains in stillness while you move around him and perform tasks such as grooming, foot care, saddling, etc. We explain what it means for grown-ups to be an off switch for other behaviors. And we end with the way grown-ups can be used to teach great balance. We can use grown-ups to normalize the feel of standing in balance.