A sense for touch develops perception

We often say that humans have five senses: hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch. I have found some interesting facts about touch in the book "The Senses of Animal and Men" by L and M Milne.

In the book, they point out that the experience of touch differs between touching and being touched. Touching that is caused by us as we move is barely noticed by us. If you have long hair, for instanse, and put on a jersey your hair will be pulled on by the jersey but that doesn't bother you. If someone puts something on your hair you will react right away.

We can by a gentle stroke with the fingertips determine the material of a surface with our eyes closed. By touch we can feel the quality of fabric, paper structures, detect thinthin engraved or etched lines in metal or glass, sense temperature and viscosity of a fluid. But to keep our attention awake the touch has to be in motion, or else we cease to recognise the feeling.

The book describes the importance of vibrations as when someone lies on his stomach and an apple core falles down on his back he'll notice tha landing (a vibration) but because the apple core lays still he'll forget or ignore it. If it landes a fly on the back and it takes a step or two the skin has vibrated a bit more and we get an irresistible urge to scratch.

The feeling and sensation of touch is something that is of great importance to us who ride and who want to develop our equestrian sense. If we hold your hand on the reins with a certain amount of force and then keep the hands perfectly still, we cease to feel the force with which we hold the reins and we lose the ability to receive signals from the horse. It is the moving of the hand on the reins and the horse's movement of the bit and bridle that keeps our sensibility alert.

The same goes for the horse. If we take the reins and then just keep holding the rein our touch ceases to be a signal and becomes "something" that the horse eighter ignores or tries to get away from. To keep the horse's sense of touch alert, we need to create movement.

The rein aids in classical riding, has a built-in circular motion in each direction of the aid, induces motion of the horse's mouth and corner of the mouth. If you find yourself with a unresilient contact in the reins, vibrate the reins to awake both your own and the horse's sense of touch. The circular movement can be as large as or as small as the rider and horse needs according to their level of training. The circle is a stimuli to keep the riders fingers and arms moving and thereby helps preventing the rider from becoming rigid.

The sought for quiet equestrian hand and the quiet horse mouth is possible where movement is allowed and desired. Any other stillnes is quiet struggle and cramp.

"Learning the art of riding is difficult, that is why it is so fun."

Gehnäll Persson