Silver's First Mirroring Session

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In the video below, I do a 15-minute session with Silver where I mirror his movement with the intention of getting him to connect and eventually draw into me. 

I have done this session in the paddock rather than a round yard as it is where he is currently the most comfortable. When he is out of sight of other horses or he is in an unfamiliar environment he becomes very stressy and loses his ability to concentrate. Once I can get him to connect with me and relax in his paddock I would hope to achieve this technique in other environments but until then I will continue to work within his mental limitations. 

When I am training, more often than not, I am teaching my horse how to think as much as I am teaching them a cue, so I do not feel that added pressure (ie chasing him around the paddock to draw in) would be beneficial to him as he is already in the reactive part of his brain. In order for Silver to use the thinking part of his brain and process what I am asking of him in a relaxed manner, he needs to first switch out of the reactive part which can only happen if he feels safe enough to do so. I don't use this technique with every horse as most horses are very comfortable around humans and connect easily, but for him, I feel it is a necessary step before going on work on more complicated and high-pressure questions.