Soft and Light

Soft and Light.
Hmm. What to say.
Here we go; got it.
I'll start with the definition of soft and light.
Soft and light is when a horse is ready and willing to do what you ask. This could be looked at from different perspectives. For some people it means that the horse can do complicated maneuvers with ease, grace, and willingness.
You could say soft and light is when a horse tucks his nose and responds to you reins, seat, voice, and legs. I think that is a huge part of it, but not necessarily all of it.
When I think of soft and light I think of another side to it. Another perspective. I think of the side where the horse tries for you. That could mean that you could have a green colt, that doesn't know a lick of anything, but he tries so hard to do what you ask. It's all about the willingness. If I could get a horse that was extremely well trained and had that willingness, I would never let him go. If I had to choose between a horse that tries, but has poor training, and a horse that has very good training, but doesn't care, I would choose the first.
Now I definitely do like it when my horses respond to my cues. If your horse is willing he is responding to your cues. Doesn't mean he does them perfectly though. They can be separated the other way though. You can have a horse that responds to your cues, but doesn't care. Which means the maneuver is left half completed. Half tried. You feel like you could have done it so much better. My barrel horse gives me that attitude all the time. He does what I ask, just not whole heartedly.
Here is what soft and light doesn't mean.
It doesn't mean that your horse's head and neck is detached from the rest of his body.
You do want your horse to be able to move every part of his body individually, but not so extreme that he evades you.
How to get it:
That's a little harder. A good rule to go by is, "Your horse will only ever be as soft as you are."
If the first cue you give your horse to go is a smack, that's as light as your horse will get is a smack. If, on the other hand, the first cue you use to get your horse to go is a thought, eventually, with practice, and consistency, he will go with a thought. Another good rule is to be consistent. Being consistent will help your horse to learn his boundaries, and help both of you to trust each other. If you are light handed one day, and heavy handed the next your horse will start to avoid you. Be consistent with your cues too. If you are asking your horse to back up you will use your lightest cue first, and gradually get harder. Don't stop because your horse won't back up. He will. Eventually. I was teaching Flicka to back up and it took five minutes of me smacking her chest to get her to take one step back. The moment she did though I quit. Also with the be consistent is punishment. Punishment should be swift and short. Punish immediately. Your horse will not understand why you are hitting him if you wait even ten seconds after he did something bad.
I can't tell you set things to work on, because it's not something you will gain from doing a maneuver over and over again. It is something that needs to be in every part of your handling of horses. It's not so much about your horse as it is about you. If you are soft your horse will be soft.

Be soft,
Lydia Johnson