WEEK ONE – of the Six Week course.
CONNECTING and FUNDAMENTAL FEEL was this weeks course title.
It’s a BIG subject. Here are just a few of the main concepts or philosophies I presented this week. Hopefully it will serve as good reminder to jolt your memory If you have done courses with me and if you have not yet done courses with me it will get you thinking about the principles and philosophy required to create great partnerships with horses.
HORSEMANSHIP IS MORE about a WAY of BEING than what we DO (aka techniques).
CENTERING, GROUNDING, BREATHING, MIND & BODY SCANNING
PRESENCE and AWARENESS
INTUITIVE SENSING & ENERGETIC FEELING
FEELING your horse on the INSIDE
WHO are they and HOW are they?
CARING MORE about how the horse FEELS about what we are asking them to do than getting the task done.
CREATING CONNECTION AND DEVELOPING A RELATIONSHIP
Discerning the EMOTION UNDERLYING the BEHAVIOUR
SOFT and SMOOTH, RHYTHM and FLOW
CENTERED TOUCH, UNIFIED BODY, LEADING ALL MOVEMENT FROM YOUR CENTER
ENERGETIC AWARENESS & COMMUNICAITON
ENERGY LEADS AND PRECEDES ALL BODY LANGUAGE
LEADERSHIP WITH LOVE
HOW TO USE ENERGY – WITH YOUR MIND, IMAGINATION AND FOCUS
WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF YOUR CONVERSATION – what are the words in your head, including the tone of voice and attitude.
HOW CAN WE TALK THEM INTO IT, NOT FORCE THEM INTO IT
THE HORSES MIND CAN BE LIKEND TO THE MIND OF A 2- 5 YEAR OLD CHILD. How would we need to interact with a child to teach them and influence their behaviour ?
THE POWER OF PAUSE ……..and THEN……..
HOW GOOD COULD EVERYTHING FEEL TO THE HORSE ? Even when we have to give the horse a correction. How good could we make that correction feel to them ? Avoid causing them to feel “bad” (aka uncomfortable).
USING BODY YIELDS AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL to FIND AND RELEASE EMOTIONS that are trapped and locking up the body.
BRINGING THE HORSES INTO DEEP RELAXATION through OUR OWN DEPTH OF RELAXATION and by guiding them into POSTURES THAT GET THEM TO SWITCH OVER TO THE PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM.
TEACHING AND EMPOWERING HORSES through EMOTIONAL SELF-REGULATION :-
- Whenever they are unsure or not happy about something allowing, encouraging and reinforcing them for CHOOSING STOPPING. They never get in trouble for stopping.
- Teaching them that CALM, THINKING STATES, SIGNS OF RELAXATION, OR APPROACHING WHAT THEY ARE AFRAID OF causes scary stimulus to go away. THAT THEY CAN CONTROL SCARY SITUATIONS BY CONTROLLING THEMSELVES. WHEN THEY CONTROL THEMSELVES THE SCARY THINGS STOP SCARING THEM.