The Fear of Unlearning

Imagine how challenging it is for the horse to *unlearn* what it has learned to trust....

At each level of the education, the horse reacts first protecting familiar locomotor patterns or muscle imbalance. If properly guided by the rider, the horse's brain explores a new reflex combination. It is scary first from the horse''s point of view but also intriguing as the reflex combination renders the move or the gait, less uncomfortable or even easier.

The brain is simultaneously scared and interested. The brain is interested because of the physical comfort that the reflex combination provides. Basal nuclei, olivary nuclei, cerebellum, which are components of the brain monitoring the body situation, have registered the physical comfort associated with the move. The brain is simultaneously scared because the sensation is not familiar. At this point, the rider easily encourages or destroys the horse mental involvement. If the rider thinks in terms of submission, leadership, obedience to the aids, the rider annihilates the horse mental development. At the contrary, if the rider respects the horse’s mental processing and gives to the horse some processing time, let the horse explore errors and use the horse’s errors to reformulate the question, the rider develops the horse’s intelligence.

by Jean Luc Cornille

Couple that thought with this story about Serena Williams and her *unlearning* approach to tennis.

https://goo.gl/4pdJuZ