The cordeo
can be an elegant, beautiful tool, but it
can also be a tool of force and domination.
One can use the cordeo with pressure or one
can use it with feel. It is all too easy to
forget that the cordeo is primarily to be
used once the horse and trainer already
understand the cues. To quote my friend,
Karen, "One has to have the relationship and
willingness and full cooperation of the
horse in place first, before one uses the
cordeo." I think this is very true.
One also has to be fully in control of
oneself before asking the horse to listen to
those quiet, soft signals. As humans, it is
"natural" for us to want to dominate or
force a horse to do something. With cordeo
training, you must ask, rather than demand,
and your horse must be willing to comply.
Otherwise, it is simply a game of tug of
war, not elegance in motion.
In using a cordeo, I have found that it is a
simple matter to stray from the principles
of lightness that I began with. One can pull
and tug with force on a cordeo, defeating
the purpose of the delicate tool. The cordeo
is a tool to be used once you don't need.
This has been harder for me to comprehend
and accept. You must first have a
relationship with your horse at liberty.
Liberty and lightness never come from the
horse, but from our minds. It is never the
horse that pulls hard, but, rather, it is
us.
So, to sum up:
Always use the cordeo lightly,
as a snowflake settles on the ground
Liberty and trust must come
first
If you
make a mistake, don't worry, just do
better next time
