Road Thoughts, Continued

Last week I listened to Think Harmony with Horses over a two day road trip.  I'd read the book before, but hadn't listened to the narrated version, done so incredibly well by the wonderful horseman John Saint Ryan.  I listened to it going and again coming back, and it blew my mind all over again.  Once I got home I got the book off my shelf and so far I'm on page 8.  It's a tiny little tome, 87 pages in all, but rich with such jewels that at the rate I'm going (I did the math) it's going to take me about two years to hit the end.  Sharing some thoughts that stood out from that road trip, and yes, to this point is only to page 7.  Maybe I should bump that reading/soaking time up to three years, or possibly forever. At the rate I'm going, probably forever.

Ray Hunt talks about a learning frame of mind. I found that a lot to chew on.

He writes “So, it has to come from the rider to the horse. The rider has to make a lot of adjustments so that the horse can understand. In the boldest print of all, remember the word THINK. Be aware, and alert, and visualize what you want. Realize you’re working with a mind……We expect immediate learning from a horse. We expect him to go from kindergarten to the eighth grade, to high school and to college without enough time, preparation, or consideration for his thoughts and feelings.”

His words remind me once again that it is all about learning.  A constant, ever-evolving, forever kind of process. My own, and how I present my intentions to my horse.  

It's easy to fall into the expectations of what we want to do with a horse. As a result, our desire to be with horses can too easily be driven by how it makes us feel rather than how our horse is feeling.  We expect immediate learning. Even if we're not presenting it that way.  Instead...THINK. Be aware. Alert. Visualize.  Am I presenting my requests as learning opportunities every time we're together? That's my job.  I think back to my years teaching biology at community college.  It was easy for some students, really hard for others, but I went into that classroom each time ready to meet each student wherever they were.  I did whatever it took.  When it got confusing we stopped and tried something new.  We did lots of crazy things from doing the wave to acting out mitosis using each other as chromosomes.  It worked.  I need to bring that same sense of committment to learning and humor and joy to my horsemanship.  

Mr. Hunt goes on to say...”We often don’t even get him in a learning frame of mind before we begin to train him. We don’t even have him relaxed and confident, where he can sit down in class and just listen.”

Let that soak in. I am. My Cliff notes: Cultivate a learning frame of mind as the guiding star, the true north, of any time spent with your horse. Is what we're doing resulting in a relaxed, confident horse who's involved in the process, or are we just jamming stuff in because it's what we want to see happen.  A learning frame of mind is my responsibility.  If it's not there, anything else I'm doing is just splashing around in shallow water.

He goes on to finish by saying "We skip all that preparation because we are so superior, or neglectful, or lazy. Because we haven't prepared ourselves to recognize the horse's feelings.........So again you must learn to realize the slightest change, the smallest try a horse makes. You know and he knows you know......Don't make the horse do all the work. He shouldn't have to figure you out and learn to get out of your way to get things done......We can learn to understand one another if we listen to one another, if we respect one another's thoughts; we can work on things, figure them out so there doesn't have to be any hassle in life.  And again, we will try to do quite a bit of this with other human beings but we won't put up much of a try with a horse."

 Powerful, powerful stuff. You see a lot of 'training' out there, but those who cultivate a learning frame of mind in the horse, with the horse, are the rare jewels. I feel fortunate to have seen those horsemen/women in action, and there is just no comparison to those who force horses through the motions.   An animal as sensitive, forgiving, intuitive, and healing as the horse deserves every bit of respect and understanding and try we can give them.

Thank you Mr. Hunt. This is exactly why Think Harmony with Horses, a little bitty book chock full of the thoughts of a legend, is in the horsemanship hall of fame.