Emotional, Mental and Physical Preparation

It's now been about 3 weeks since I began working with the 20 year old Palomino and already I've noticed a difference in her emotionally when we begin our groundwork. All of the years of learning to do the groundwork through repetition of "technical skills" (I can swing the rope, the stick and string and get my horse to move forward, backwards, sideways) did not prepare or explain the need to prepare the horse EMOTIONALLY. Unless the horse is calm and feels safe, she will not be able to mentally process what is asked (an absolute necessity for learning) of her physically. Even then, she may find that she is out of shape physically and finds it uncomfortable to perform physically, which makes her nervous, throwing her emotional state out of whack. It really is all interconnected. Now that I understand that, my work with horses has improved tremendously.

Imagine your first day at work on a new job. You've only been in your office or work environment once before for the interview, or maybe you were never there and this is your first experience away from a more familiar venue. All at once, you are being asked to do tasks that you've never done before and the person supervising you is impatient and frustrated that he/she has to repeat the instructions or ask you to perform the task, over and over and so becomes more aggressive, speaking even louder to you. If you weren't nervous to begin with, you are now. Your heart is racing and your mind is running faster than you can process what is being asked of you. Emotionally and mentally, you are out of your league, even though physically you are perfectly capable of completing the task at hand. It can be something as simple as filling out a form or running a piece of equipment.

Or how about when you first learned to drive? I have recently begun taking my son out to practice on quiet streets and large parking lots with his permit, in preparation for driving school, which begins next week. He is generally a quiet guy, but he keeps his emotions inside until the pressure builds and he can't think. He then begins making mistakes and quickly apologizes, but is unable to process what is being asked of him. He doesn't get angry or shout, instead he almost freezes physically, when he feels overwhelmed.

It reminds me of the horse I am currently working with. She is introverted, skeptical of anything new and tends to keep her cards close to her chest, so to speak, until she feels completely overwhelmed, freezes for a few moments and then her feet start moving. For horses, it can go either way, depending on their personality. My extroverted mare starts moving her feet immediately when she is nervous. This new horse gives a bit of a warning, raises her head, her eyes get big and she begins to tighten every muscle, right before she races off. Being a horse, their feet are their escape most of the time. I'm sure if my son was a prey animal, he'd run first and think later too.

It turns out that my experience with the horses has helped me to understand human behavior and with the recent driving experiences with my son, I know how important it is to remain quiet and calm with him, allowing him to process things before I move on to the next task. I know when he's calm-he lowers his head, licks his lips, blows out.....OOPS, that's what my horse does when she's calm. See how easy is to confuse the two??

So, next time you think about teaching your horse something new or even work on something old, but in a new environment, check to see if your horse (or human) is emotionally ready to accept and process new information or perform familiar tasks while being exposed to potentially scary surroundings. Repetition or simulation of the exercises or tasks helps to prepare your horse to respond appropriately, even when she is somewhere new. As long as you remain calm and accept that your horse may react nervously and learn to take as much pressure off at the right moment, you'll see your horse gain confidence in herself and you.

Now that the mare feels more emotionally ready, she has been able to learn more quickly and takes less time to change from one exercise to another. Her muscles are beginning to tone and strengthen, preparing her to physically perform the groundwork and under saddle patterns that I have asked of her. With time she will adapt to even more new things. It's wonderful to see, in a 20 years old horse-it's as if a whole new world has opened up for her!

I've already begun taking the mare out on the trails near the stables and she made it further this last trip than ever before, calmly, slowly and relaxed. And my son is now able to turn both directions and brake slowly while talking (a sure sign that he is relaxed). Horses aren't so different than us. They want to learn and they want to do it without worrying that their teacher will provoke feelings of inadequacy and fear, undermining their confidence.

It's all in the preparation and understanding your horse (or human)!

Never Stop Learning

A few days ago I received an email about an upcoming clinic for anyone interested in becoming a centered riding instructor. I first heard about centered riding years ago when I came across a website about Sally Swift and her first book with the same title. I read the book cover to cover and was fascinated with the amount of information about the human and horse body (I am a medical professional and so anatomy and physiology comes easy to me). She was able to explain how to become a better rider by being more aware of your position, your balance, and your body mechanics in walking, riding or any movement. What really amazed me was that she had written the book and started her centered riding movement when she was 61 years old. It proves that you are never too old to follow your passion. She had used the Alexander technique in her own life after being diagnosed with scoliosis. It changed her life.

And so, I've decided to work towards becoming a certified instructor. The organization is going to make it available starting in 2010, with courses starting this summer. In the past I've audited the CHA (Certified Horsemanship Association) course for instructors and felt I should continue my education through centered riding. I want to take the information from centered riding and use it with my students so that they will understand how their bodies can work more effectively, allowing their bodies and their horse acquire strength, tone and flexibility without inflicting pain.

So much of what we do every day that causes discomfort or even debilitating pain is because of the misuse of our body, due to lack of awareness of how it works. This applies not only to the bone, muscles, tendons and joints used to move our bodies, but also, what we put into our bodies to fuel it. It's the same for the horses. We assume that horses are physical beings that naturally run, buck, kick and play and do not need to be conditioned to do the daily activities that we ask of them. We also assume that their backs are able to hold an unlimited amount of weight, no matter what their size or age or their physical condition at the time we begin riding them. We don't take into consideration the ground that they are ridden on and how it affects their legs, feet and all the supporting structures above.

We feed, or should I say overfeed them because we heard that grain and alfalfa is what horses like and NEED. It is like saying, we need 10,000 calories a day because we read that Olympic athlete Michael Phelps eats that much and we want to be healthy and look like him. Most horses require very little to maintain their weight and overall good health and for some (like my laminitis horse), feeding too much can actually cause severe problems.

Ironically, just as I made my decision to complete the coursework for a centered riding instructor, Sally Swift, 96 years young passed away at her home in Vermont. After more than 30 years of sharing her dream with others, she now passes the tradition to those who have respected her teachings for all of these years. The organization has begun to standardize their levels of instruction and publish a handbook for all CR instructors. As stated in their website, this "should help us achieve quality instruction, recognition, and credibility as individual Centered Riding Instructors, as an international educational organization, and for the continuation of the work of Sally Swift." I feel privileged to be a part of that work and look forward to my first clinic in July. The learning continues.....