The Project:
One Mustang directly off the range, One Trainer, Many Students, Communication through body language, Tools used only for safety, never to train
The Goal:
To discover how far Equestrian Art can be developed solely using body language.
Love it, or Change it
What I do with horses is Freedom Based Training.
We all, horses and people alike, instinctively reach for freedom. Freedom is our ability to be unique and individual and reach out to live a life that suits us.
Training is also part of every day life because training is simply the development of habits. I believe habits form regardless of intention, and, if we can be conscious, then we can form the habits that may serve us. That consciousness and deliberation in training can at times feel restrictive and binding, yet, in a roundabout way, isn’t that more free than the alternative of creating habits randomly that perhaps do not serve us?
We are free to create the lives we want over time within the framework that life offers us developing one small habit at a time.
Watch your thoughts for they become words,
watch your words for they become actions,
watch your actions for they become habits,
watch your habits for they become your character,
watch your character for it becomes your destiny.
Horses do not have words, they have movements – their movements become actions and actions become habits and habits become character and character becomes destiny.
I don’t know about you, but I want my horses to have the best destinies possible. I want them to feel their freedom and uniqueness of being and at the same time develop habits that serve them.
That is Freedom Based Training.
So we start with their thoughts… how do we know what a horse is thinking? We notice where they are looking.
I talked about this in a recent blog, Attention and Confidence
We know what it looks like when a horse is totally self-absorbed, ears relaxed and attention turned inward. As a skill, this is self-confidence.
We know what it looks like when a horse is interested in their leader, ears and eyes following every movement the leader makes. This skill is confidence in the leader.
We know what it looks like when a horse is watching the group, scanning from one individual to the next. This is confidence in the herd.
We know what it looks like when a horse is watching and wanting to focus on and investigate all the objects and environmental variations around him. This is confidence in the environment.
We all know what it looks like when a horse is trying different things to get comfortable, the head coming up and down a little, the body adjusting left and right, the figuring out where in time and space one needs to be to get this right. That is confidence in learning.
Thoughts become actions (looking at something is an action) and this is where training starts.
If we can aim to build good habits in the action of attention, all the other actions follow that.
Here is the key: while all of us are individuals and long to be uniquely and freely ourselves, we also crave connection. We all seek someone who wants to do the things we want to do, we all want partners, we all want harmony and easy association with others around us.
That feeling of ease between characters is dependent on the development of complementary habits.
I truly believe it is our nature to perpetually seek balance between our love of freedom and our love of connection.
Our intrinsic motivation to develop new habits or strengthen old ones (on the horse or human side of the equation) is based on one of those loves- freedom or connection… or can we have both?
It starts with Flow…. A harmony of being that sets the base line for this relationship. Most likely one of the partners in the relationship is going to have to voluntarily give up their freedom for a moment to match the other.
When I start with a horse I match them, I give up my wants and desires and just watch what they are watching and move how they are moving.
Then, in order for my personal freedom to come into play, I have to ask the horse to do something I want to do. I have a choice, I can move towards a draw or a drive.
A draw is a suggestion, an option offered. I walk away and invite the horse to come with me, they can choose to or not.
If they give up their freedom for a moment and follow me, we have flow again. We are building habits that support deeper connection between the two of us.
If they ignore me completely they are exercising their freedom, but they are not developing reciprocal habits of connection. The horse in this case is in essence offering connection just on the horse’s terms; stand here with me and we are a team, do anything else and you are on your own.
Here is the challenge. Freedom and Connection are usually equally important, and I cannot get MORE connection by offering you MORE freedom. I can only get MORE connection by offering MORE connection. (I can often get better connection by offering you better freedom, but that is a nuance to explore in another blog). Simply- we get good at what we practice. Our actions become our habits.
Here is where drive comes up as an option. I am going to do something that is a direct request. My horse is going to feel pressure that increases until they do something that connects us more, and then they feel the release back into flow and partnership.
A halter and a lead line are a form of drive. I may be drawing away, but if they don’t follow me they will feel pressure until they make an effort to connect and do the thing I want to do.
Positive reinforcement training, best known recently as clicker training is a lovely sort of drive. The pressure the horse feels knowing you have a cookie to eat and he has none is eased, if he gives up his freedom for a moment and follows you, so that the cookie may be shared. That is drive.
In a more subtle drive, if I stare directly at my horse with all my focus and intensity and don’t give up, eventually the horse will do something. If that something is something I like, connecting us together, I reward it with Flow. A matching action of me looking in the same direction my horse is looking will be a preferable feeling for the horse. Repeat that enough times and you have a habit.
We are changing our habits all the time, and we are reinforcing our habits all the time. We are, all of us, comfort-seeking missiles. Living in a world where we find comfort in two apparent opposites, connection and freedom, is a rich environment for learning and growth.
The greater variety of things my horse and I can do together the richer our life experience will be. The only way to grow our skills is through this dance of Flow, Drive and Draw.
We do what you love, then we do what I love, then we do what you love, then we do what I love… and then as habits become established, we find we love the same things… or we change again.
Love it or Change it, one small piece at a time.
Here is to Freedom and Connection. We really can have both, that is what Freedom Based Training is all about.
Elsa Sinclair
Ps. If you want to learn more about Freedom Based Training, there is an internet based course in the development process right now that will be offered starting in September 2016. If you want to work with Elsa and Myrnah directly in this online format, email Elsa@TamingWild.com for more information or to get on the list of participants. We will be keeping the participating groups small and the format adaptable to the uniqueness of each horse/human pair.
6 Comments
I am interested in the online course, please put me on the list.Katherine Marinemarinekatherine@yahoo.com
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Katherine! Yes, We will be sending out information soon, Thank you for your email address, I will make sure you get the details shortly.
Nicely put! Thanks Elsa
Thank you John 😉
Elsa I agree with you but question the use of the word “train” in our language since this epiphany earlier this year.
ENGAGE
Registering the new domain name of http://www.ridinginthelight.com has prompted me to ask questions around what it really means to “ride in the light”. Many will agree that humanity and horsemanship is moving towards a new paradigm now so it seems appropriate to take a closer look at some of the language we have formerly used around horses. One such word for me has been in the “training” of my horse.
“Training” has an implication that here we know everything and the horse knows zip and that it’s a fairly one way conversation. Not a good foundation to begin with. It occurred to me to ask the horses directly if they could offer up a word that would be more appropriate and to their liking. A few days ago I went out to the Herd, greeted each one individually and asked each the same question – what word would you like used instead of the word “training”? I am not aware of any one horse replying but before leaving their paddock I definitely received the answer! The new word is “engage”.
I love this word! “Engage” suggests a conversation which is dynamic, equal and with a high level of interest and presence. I have already taken this word with me when I have played with the young horse I am starting and can see how when changing my language to now “engage” with her, I change intent and thus the experience and the outcome is changed. In effect we are still learning, however, it now happens more harmoniously and I am more respectful of her contribution in the exchange.
I am reminded of the saying-
“Watch your thought as they become your words,
Watch your words as they become your actions,
Watch your actions as they become your reality.”
As one friend of mine says “we need to stop talking around our horses as if they are coma victims!” Contrary to what some would think, our horses are actually deeply aware to our thoughts, words and actions. When we accept this truth and choose to engage with them, the outcome can only be a mutually enjoyable dance.
Jane,
This was an interesting blog for response to word usage, some really good conversations have come out of it. I find everyone has their own personal connotations to any word. Some are positive, some are negative, and some are just a little different. I personally really like the word “Train” and I think it supports the new paradigm for me nicely. I personally have really positive associations and feel it works well to imply the development of all parties in the relationship. For anyone who feels some resistance to the word, I think your substitution of the word engage could work really nicely. Thank you for your thoughts on it all!