Over the years and over many lessons, I've noticed one clear thing. Some position corrections stick quickly, others linger for YEARS despite conscious practice. Plus, I've noticed what seems to be a clear cause and effect as to what sticks and what doesn't.
Worst case scenario is that make a correction and I feel that nothing changes in the horse. Either I've blocked out the horse totally by focusing too hard on what that change feels like to me internally, or nothing really did change in how the horse goes. No reward, no punishment, no improvement, a correction that just floats in a sea of nothingness. The correction is not going to stick.
What could be somewhat better, is that I make the correction and I "feel" that things get worse. A punishment. Not so good would be pain in my body (rode my @ss off, AGAIN.) or too much the feeling of discomfort that can come with a physical change. Better though, it could also mean that technically speaking I'm headed in the right direction, but that something else also needs to change. As in, I close those fingers, use an appropriate rein length, and all of a sudden I can actually feel how heavy the horse is in that rein, rather than having abandoned the rein altogether. BUT, as a temporary quick fix, instead of addressing the hindquarters of the horse, my brain lets my fingers open and the rein slides. Until I can diligently focus and process the various things that need fixing, my fingers are consistently going to slip and slide right off that rein as their own personal evasion.
Best case scenario, there are the corrections that I make where I am able to feel a positive change in the horse. Reward! These corrections are the most likely to stick, and almost become less of a personal correction and more of a tool. It still takes time to practice this and let it sink into subconscious competence, but the process is a lot faster. Horse nose push/shoulders back to soften.
Given the worst case scenario of no feel, for a long time I've felt that other than practice, it's very important to open up one's peripheral feel to include what's going on in the horse when making those position corrections. To make that mental link of "Horse nose push/shouders to soften, rather than "I need to remind myself every other stride to put my shoulders back." I think it sounds simple, but the reality of it for me is that I can easily turn that intense focus on and block that horse right out. (yes, this does relate to http://terragarcia.blogspot.com/2014/01/ride-like-pro.html)
What got me even more excited was that while doing some reading about skill learning and automaticity, I found a study that I feel backs up my experiences in the saddle.
http://www.castonline.ilstu.edu/smith/257/pdf/ws%2009%20paper.pdf
"In these studies, the effectiveness of directing the learners attention to their body movements (internal focus of attention) was compared to that of learners directed to focus their attention on the effects of their movements on the apparatus or implement- that is the environment (external focus of attention) Even though the actual differences in the loci which attention was directed were sometimes very small, an external attentional focus consistently resulted in learning benefits (as measured by performance in retention), relative to an internal attentional focus."
So there you go. Some food for thought.
Happy riding.
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