The exercise is over.
Then come three familiar words.
“One more time.”
Before starting again, I think there is a question worth asking: what is the next attempt for?
Perhaps the preparation was late. Perhaps we want to see whether a clearer instruction changes the response. Perhaps something worked well and we want to understand how to reproduce it.
Those are useful reasons.
Being annoyed with the previous attempt tells us much less.
Working with horses makes this distinction particularly important to me. The horse cannot read the version of the exercise I had imagined. It responds to what I actually communicate, through my timing, position and aids.
If the response is different from what I expected, my intention alone does not explain what happened.
Imagine a rider practising a transition at a particular marker. The transition happens late. The rider repeats it, becomes more determined to reach the marker correctly, and arrives late again.
There are now two unsuccessful attempts. But what have we learned?
We need to look earlier.
When did the preparation begin? Was the horse balanced beforehand? Was the request clear? Did the rider allow enough time for the response?
The visible mistake happens at the marker. The useful adjustment may belong several strides before it.
That is what I want the next repetition to investigate.
Choosing one adjustment also makes the result easier to interpret. Change the approach, the timing and the intensity of the aids together, and it becomes harder to understand what made the difference.
An attempt can be imperfect and still provide valuable information. Something can improve without the whole exercise becoming what we wanted.
Recognising that matters. Otherwise, every repetition receives the same verdict—“again”—and the work becomes a search for a satisfactory feeling rather than a clearer understanding.
There are also moments to simplify, pause or finish. The horse’s welfare and the quality of the work belong inside that decision.
I love the detail involved in training: noticing a response, considering what produced it, deciding what to ask next.
Repetition gives us another opportunity.
We still have to decide how to use it.
Before “one more time,” finish this sentence:
“This time, I want to find out whether…”
Now the next attempt has a purpose.
Learning to describe what you felt gives that decision a better starting point.
Silvia
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