April
2009 ~ Rider Horsemanship Newsletter
This
Month’s Topic of Interest:
“Over Coming Confidence
and Fear Issues”
Riding horses
should be an incredibly joyful, and
safe, experience and one that includes
moments of connection, togetherness
and harmony between horses and humans.
So, why is it that so many of us have
fear when around and/or riding horses?
Well, let’s look at a few obvious areas
about the horse, specifically their
natural state of self-preservation.
While these natural attributes of the
horse are reasons to be careful, and
pay close attention to for safety sake,
we should not allow ourselves to become
paralyzed with fear and trepidation,
unable to move forward, participating
daily with our equine partners.
Most of us who study Natural Horsemanship
are aware of a horse’s natural inclination
to react first and think later. This
is how a horse is hard-wired as a prey
animal and is what keeps them alive
when they perceive life-threatening
situations – their flight or fight mechanism.
This is what also makes them highly
sensitized to their surroundings, “spooking”
at most everything and acting very cautious
towards new and stimulating situations.
While we can’t change their nature,
we can change (control) the way in which
we handle ourselves – our thoughts and
actions.
While I promote safety through awareness,
I am also here to empower you with knowledge
and skill sets. Being free with horses,
both emotionally and physically, is
empowering! This empowerment can be
achieved through knowledge and is one
of the keys to mastering yourself, your
fears and constant trepidations. There
are two specific areas I’d like to address
that can enlighten, thus empower you,
to be the person you want to be and
the leader your horse needs:
-
Through practice and awareness, we
can change our way of thinking about,
and dealing with, intimidating situations.
This is about becoming present, observant
and aware when with our horses. See,
horses are always present. In order
to survive, they have to be on high
alert, sensitive and aware of their
surroundings. This state of awareness
can also be very positive for both
horse and human, allowing us to experience
incredible togetherness and connection
through thought and movement. When
we are “in the moment” with them in
thought and movement, we experience
heightened states of euphoria – and,
this is when nothing else exists,
especially negative and nagging thoughts.
Becoming present happens when we are
aware and conscious of our horse’s
actions, such as; listening to their
breathing, footfall (rhythm) and movement;
how do they feel underneath us, shifting
our weight, or beside us, matching
our rhythm. It is equally important
to pay attention to our bodies and
where we feel soft and/or tense. All
of these awarenesses “call us back”
to “the moment” and allow us to remain
centered (focused and aware) within
and connected to our horses.
-
We
can help our horse’s behavior by becoming
the “exemplary leader” they accept
and trust. Exemplary leadership (or
passive leadership) is not about dominating
or being alpha either. It is about
visualizing and embodying the type
of leadership you need and your horse
needs. This means that if you know
your horse is going to be worried
about something, first ask yourself;
“What can I do to help soften (minimize)
the situation before it happens?”
This is the same as “setting yourself
up for success” by knowing, not anticipating,
what happens before it happens.
Anticipating can lead to stress within
and actually cause a situation to
happen. Where knowing you, your horse,
allows you time to prepare properly
so that you are both ready to deal/cope
with what ever comes. This type of
leadership is what I refer to as exemplary
leadership. Exemplary leadership is
when you first visualize, then model
(act), or illustrate how you want
to behave. And, in the horse world,
this is truly how they interact and
influence each other. It is only when
the lead mare acts alert, picking
her head up from grazing, that calls
the others to follow. It’s never through
dominance or aggression, but rather
through action. Her actions have proven
over time that she can be trusted.
To learn more about
“This Month’s
Topic,” and Caroline’s training
approach for both horses and humans, visit
her Tao of Horsemanship™ Training DVD’s:
http://www.riderhorsemanship.com/dvds.htm
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