Equinox is a time of transition, from summer to autumn, from spring to summer, from long days to dark nights, and vice versa. I live in the Northern Hemisphere so for me today it is the autumn Equinox , when we experience a tangible change in the balance of the hours of light which govern our seasons, and our animals adapt, by changing their coats, or preparing their lairs for winter. However, the day of the equinox itself is a day of equipoise, when day and night are equal, when light and dark are balanced, when summer and autumn co-exist.
Magic exists in the moment of change. Why is this? I believe it is because in the moment of change we exist in a suspended state between two realities. We are glimmering between two possibilities, flickering from one to the other, vibrating on a continuum where either outcome is possible. To exist in two places at once, that is true magic. Poised on a knife edge, where a short hop or a skip can transport us to a whole new world.
The beauty of transitional states is in the omnipotence of equilibrium, anything is possible, and in fact when two states co-exist simultaneously, everything is possible. The magic is in the balance of two equally potential futures, oscillating around a point of equipoise.
When training horses, we often hear the platitude that the magic is in the transition. We need to ride lots of transitions and our horses will improve. But why is this? And how do we ensure that we are riding helpful transitions? What even is a helpful transition? How do you know your horse is getting better? What do you mean by better?
Do you start to see now why dressage (with a small d which is just the same as training in my book) is such an addictive and maddening way to learn how to be with horses? Question everything- but remember the horse always has the casting vote.
The magic of schooling transitions occurs precisely because of that metaphysical and physical balance. To execute a transition, the body must exist in two states at once; let us use the walk state and the trot state as an example.
The first aid is always the rider’s mind. There is no doubt in my head that horses are first sentient and that they hear our thoughts first. Some horses are quicker than others to comply; depending on their balance and the degree of physical availability they bring to the moment, but they hear / feel our thoughts. So, we must be truly clear in our mentation. I don’t want a faster walk; I want a clear change to trot. From 4 beats to 2, from the 4 beats of walk (LH< LF< RH<RF) to the 2 beats of trot (LH RF< RH LF). The horse will always answer the thought promptly.
The quality of the response however will vary. And the outcome of that response, for us outcome focused humans, will directly reflect our horse’s state of readiness. For the horse to respond with the desired outcome, his mind must be receptive, his brain must be calm, his body must feel balanced, and he must be able to access his body, then he will answer the thought promptly and “correctly.”
N.B. I assume here that all horses love to please and do their best to please, when not hampered by pain or anxiety. If you don’t share that assumption there are other useful blog posts you might care to read first…
If the horse is tense, rushing, anxious, falling forwards, or slow, tentative, wobbling, in pain, then there will still be a clear response to your thought request, it just will not be the clean easy transition you were hoping for! It might be a toss of the head, or a brace of the forehand, or a jumble of legs, to get from one gait to the next. The qualities of a “good” transition are when the change in gait (or bend) goes through with no resistance, no brace, no loss of balance, no increase in speed or energy, simply an offered change in the organisation of the horse’s body in response to a suggestion by the rider.
In biomechanical terms, the possibility of the transition exists because there is a point in the phases of walk where there is a diagonal pair of legs on the ground, and at this point the horse can switch effortlessly to alternating diagonal pairs and choose trot.
Do we have to know exactly when this phase of stride occurs to aid a great transition? I don’t believe we do, but we do have to understand that this overlapping phase exists and ask for the transition and then allow the horse to work it out for himself. If we then continue to ask and allow and feel, our timing will get better, and we will automatically know how long we need to allow between asking for the change and for the transition to occur in the horse’s body.
We riders all feel timings differently, some might feel the hind foot landing, another might feel the swing of the rib cage more loudly, another the tiny brace on the bit before executing the request. Until we have eliminated all resistances in both our bodies, there will always be a preferred tell, and a delay. The trick is in learning our own feel.
And the philosophy of our training will dictate how close we get to magic. What do you want from your horse? Do you seek obedience, compliance or co-operation? Are you willing to hear the NO to allow the YES to be even sweeter and more precious? Are you hoping to have your horse say YES PLEASE when you invite them to dance with you?
Think of Sliding Doors, or a Wrinkle in Time, or even the Matrix, constructs where two universes co-exist simultaneously, and the choice of future rests within a millisecond of vibrational possibility, a confused moment, a closed door, a missed turning, a misheard word.
Perhaps the key to all magic is merely to create the possibility of a new path, to open the door, to crack the horizon. To pause the clock so that we can step into a new stream of consciousness that has just opened. Maybe we just need to ask the question- what degree of horse/ human telepathy is possible?
Do you remember reading Ursula le Guin, that all magic started with knowing a creature’s true name? And Ged studied the old texts and tamed the mighty dragon because he used history to guess who the dragon was. And the dragon was bound to do his will because Ged spoke his true name. It’s a start for sure. But if you want to dance with that creature rather than just bind them to your bidding, then you need to create a space to indulge their wishes. And the bigger the dragon, the bigger the space! So you do need to know their name, and their history, and their mechanics, but you also need to know how to invite them to dance. Understanding the details of the two possibilities is like reading the weather, the magic is in how you ride the wind.
When two states co-exist in a wrinkle in time, there remains only choice. Do I stay the same or do I cross the void and move onto the next vibration? Do I jump from one atom to the next? Do I step through the door? Do I allow myself to be danced off into the distance?
My answer has always been yes but…
I step off but stay in control. I ask and listen but then evaluate and judge. I am awkward, and shy, clumsy. I bring my old reservations to my new reality. Am I good enough, skilled enough, have I read enough, studied enough? I have stepped through with my old construct rather than acquiring a new avatar. I have not given myself entirely to the new moment.
True magic requires us to let go, to flow, to breath, to dance and to simply be. True magic requires us to trust and to believe. Rocky’s real name is Royal Magic. And I am finally beginning to understand his lesson for me….
