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Sharing the Journey

The Project:

One Mustang directly off the range, One trainer, No tools, Just body language

The Goal:

To discover how far Equestrian Art can be developed solely using body language.

 

Sharing the Journey

 

When I was a child horses allowed me to be bigger, stronger, and faster than I was on my own two feet. They swept me into a world where anything was possible. They shared their journey through time and space with me and lent me a sense of power in life.

 

To this day, horses still give me all of that and so much more. In the beginning horses were a physical thrill and that physical thrill fed me mentally and emotionally. As I grew, training horses became a mental thrill, learning about cause and effect, building a partnership between horse and rider systematically. Now in this project, challenging me to a year of training without tools, I find my emotions are being fed directly in a way I have never before experienced.

I sit here watching the print course along the page as I struggle to illustrate with words this visceral and personal experience. I am not sure how it is this project seems to use my mind and my body to shape the course of events while tapping more directly into the emotions at the core of my existence. I can tell you the physical steps I take, I can tell you the mental processes that accompany the physical steps, yet I don’t know how to describe the emotional component that comes from the connection between horse and human.

 

I do know, however intangible it is to explain, people feel it powerfully when they get the chance. Perhaps not exactly what I feel, but something profound none the less. Each time I introduce someone new to the Mustangs, I am apprehensive that what I do is too subtle and slow to be of interest to anyone other than myself.

 

Nothing ventured nothing gained, so I take a deep breath and put it out there, walking each person who comes to visit through the physical steps of drive and draw, approach and retreat, walking them through the mental understanding of building trust and connection with a horse. Then I stand back and marvel as the emotional connection between horse and human sparks and all of a sudden this isn’t just about me and my journey with Myrnah. This is a journey shared.

 

I don’t know how to explain the feeling of intensity, being an integral part of a horse’s breakthrough from fear to confidence. I don’t know how to explain how time evaporates and before we know it, hours have gone by in the blink of an eye. I don’t know why it is so emotionally touching to feel that bond, that trust and that connection with an animal so recently wild and so new to the world of people.

 

I marvel that I can share this experience with other people. Myrnah and Cleo are willing to reach out to the friends I bring to visit with them, willing to meet, converse, and show each person attention and devotion, offering communication and connection.

 

It’s so simple and so powerful.

 

I know I could spend more time with the Mustangs drilling cues and specific responses, riding patterns and creating machine-like perfection of movement. I also know that doesn’t affect anyone in the deep way this more inexplicable feeling of connection does.

 

I sat on Myrnah again on Monday- it was lovely and yet somehow also felt beside the point. It felt like Myrnah was unconcerned but also unengaged as though there may be a few more things we need to do before she is ready to completely bond and connect with me riding. This isn’t about how many tasks we can do together; it is more about how engaged and interested I can encourage Myrnah to be about doing those tasks with me. It’s about how the two of us feel as we do whatever we are going to do together.

 

Myrnah and I are sharing this journey with each other, and also with the world. To anyone who might be interested in tasting this inexplicable feeling of connection, I want to put it out there that it is possible, and achievable, and simpler than you might expect. You just need to learn to read the signs along the way.

 

 

 

Elsa Sinclair

EquineClarity.com

First Ride On Myrnah!

The Project:

One Mustang directly off the range

One trainer

No tools

Just body language

The Goal:

To discover how far Equestrian Art can be developed solely using body language.

 

First Ride On Myrnah

As life with Myrnah seems to be, this week was both unassuming and life changing all at the same time. Long story short: I took my first ride on Myrnah and I am flying high about this next step in the journey.

The details are more modest and quiet than the headline would lead you to believe. I love that dichotomy of quiet unassuming details gathering together for results that seem bigger than the sum of their parts.

Tuesday morning Margaret was here to do some filming for me. Myrnah and I went through our routine of grooming, basic yielding, and walking together. We went out the gate of the paddock into the woods to explore, and, when she found the bucket with a little bit of hay in it, I noticed there was a rock right next to us. It wasn’t planned, it just made sense to step up on it and belly over her back while she nibbled bits of hay. This moment in itself is monumental because, as recently as a week ago, Myrnah would have been irritated with me for distracting her from eating. Tuesday Myrnah didn’t mind at all.

I got off and on several times- just bellied over, my full weight on her for far longer than ever before. Myrnah stayed unconcerned, so I threw a leg over her back and used the rock to push me up astride. One leg on either side, I laid on her neck, relaxed, peaceful, feeling her breath, listening to her chew, watching carefully for any signs she might like me to get off. After awhile I decided I had pushed far enough into new experiences and got off to resume my more customary position next to her.

When she finished eating, Myrnah took me on far more exploration of the woods than ever before. Showing confidence and exuberance, she sometimes picked up the trot and let me run alongside her, seemingly just for the joy of doing so.

We were out for hour more or less, before she took me back to the gate, then to the trailer letting me know she had had enough exploration and would like to go have breakfast. I like this routine we have created. At some point we will take this pattern and apply it to traveling to other places to explore. Myrnah loves the trailer as it is where she gets to eat the rich, Eastern-Washington hay. One of these mornings, when we feel ready, I will let her in the trailer, close the door, and take her somewhere new to explore together- somewhere fenced where she can’t get in trouble with traffic or danger, yet somewhere that isn’t home. We will travel around side by side or riding and explore the world, returning to the trailer for the remainder of breakfast whenever she is ready, and make the return trip home.

Until then we will continue exploring more parts of the woods close to home, continue developing her confidence carrying me, and continue honing her trust to let me direct her speed and direction with increasing accuracy.

Beyond the simple dictates of essential training I have begun to widen Myrnah and Cleo’s social context, expanding their trust in humans beyond myself, and giving a few wonderful friends the chance to walk through the steps of earning trust and feeling connection with recently wild horses.

I also put a new horse in with them for the first time this week. Lir, a two-year-old Gypsy horse was a perfect first domestic companion for them to know, even-tempered, respectful, and easygoing even in the presence of horses less so. I was there with them for the first few hours, sending Cleo or Myrnah away from Lir and me when they showed any aggression, allowing them to be close with us when they remained polite. I understand horses will work things out as they need to in a herd; I also need them to understand that aggression has no place anywhere around people. When people are present all communication needs to remain polite.

Cleo seemed to understand me completely right away. I only saw her coil for one kick at Lir. I sent her away and after that she was the model of civility when I was around. Even when I was on the other side of the paddock she might be standing next to Lir, reach out to touch him, and then look over to me quickly to make sure I was OK with that, then reach out again commencing a game of touching each other with their noses- a game that looked surprisingly similar to the games I play accustoming Cleo to being touched by me.

Myrnah was not so convinced Lir was a good addition. Time and again she would approach and then pin her ears, bare her teeth, and charge. When I was there, I would send her away. She would move a few feet off, look at me and then walk to a different spot in the paddock, as though she hadn’t a care in the world. I know she ran Lir around the paddocks some when I wasn’t there to enforce civility, but after a few days they had formed some sort of truce and would pass each other like two ships in the night, carefully avoiding aggravating each other.

Lir left on Monday to go to his other home on Orcas. The Mustangs are again on their own for a little while. Soon another companion will come up for them to get to know as winter is fast approaching and dry spaces to live are in high demand here. Hopefully, by the time spring is on the horizon, before the foal is imminent, Myrnah and Cleo will be out in a pasture bonding with the larger family of horses who will be family to the new little one.

I don’t know what it is about mile stones that makes me want to look ahead in anticipation of future mile stones. First ride on Myrnah this week, just ten weeks from being wild on the range. When the other miles stones will fall into place only time will tell.

I will keep you posted,

Elsa Sinclair

EquineClarity.com

The Fear of Losing Control

The Project:

One Mustang directly off the range, One trainer, No tools, Just body language

The Goal:

To discover how far Equestrian Art can be developed solely using body language.

The Fear of Losing Control

The beautiful thing about training Myrnah as I am, using no tools of force, is my illusions of control are limited right from the start. I recognize that I cannot control her any more than I do at any given moment because I have no tools to force her to obedience. Whatever leadership I have in this partnership I have to earn. If she is not willing to give me control of her direction or speed, I have to break the training down to the simplest pieces, developing her trust enough that she feels content to have me in the leadership role.

If I walk through this relationship knowing she has full right to take back control of her speed and direction at any time two things happen: One, I take care to develop strong habitual patterns of her following my leadership, never challenging her so much that she loses trust. Two, I am less likely to be scared of losing control when I accept I only deserve whatever control she feels safe enough to give me. I can’t be afraid of losing something I know is only on loan so long as she trusts me.

Without tools to force Myrnah into situations she would choose to avoid, I believe we will ultimately feel more reliably and consistently safe than the usual horse and rider partnership. Before we take that walk out into the woods, both of us have to agree it is a good idea. Once we have agreed, there is less likelihood that fear will interrupt our progress.

From my observations, both people and horses get into trouble when they think they deserve to have more control of a situation than they actually have. As a rider I expect to be able to go, stop and turn my horse, at any time. A horse often thinks pretty much the same thing about their rider. The art of training a horse, develops the horses desire to be part of a team. Horses need to learn to give up their control without fear of being unsafe. People need to learn to develop control of the horse without causing fear in either their horse or themselves.

As soon as fear steps into the game rationality starts fading away. If I give up my control of a situation, will I still be safe? Will I get hurt? Can I trust someone else to make the decisions for me in this situation? If I think anything bad might happen, there is no way I want to give up my control of speed and direction, neither does the horse. We are at an impasse, using more and more force to try to gain enough control in the partnership to feel safe.

So last week I wrote about what Myrnah and I do when we reach an impasse. I am happy to report it is going beautifully. Little by little she is allowing me more and more control of speed and direction on our walks through the woods. She is once again willing to put up with the boredom of having her feet handled and trimmed, trusting me to get through it and move on to something more fun soon. That trust is something we have to keep building and honing to a useful point.

Myrnah has to trust me that boredom and claustrophobia don’t last forever, she has to trust me that I will have more interesting things to do with her after tasks that are tedious, she has to trust me to take her away from food and know I will bring her back to food again soon. That last one is probably the hardest lesson we have together. Coming from a place of being pregnant where food was scarce it is hard for her to trust me there will always be enough even if she can’t consume it right away. Yet proving that to her again and again I feel is a powerful tool to bond us together.

Myrnah and I are making such simple slow and steady progress I find I am amazed to think we may be ready to ride sometime in the next few weeks. Her back is starting to look more muscled, and she trusts me enough to let me jump up with my arms braced on the other side of her withers, holding myself there, feet hanging a foot off the ground for a few seconds before I slide back down to earth.

I dream of galloping flat out with Myrnah through the pastures, baby alongside us, her trust in me allowing enough control that we both feel safe. I don’t know how long it will take to build that sort of relationship, but I do know I want to find out.

One Horse, One Trainer, One Year, No Tools, how far can we get? Is it possible for us to train together without fear of losing control?

Here’s to finding out.

Elsa Sinclair

EquineClarity.com

Wherever there is a No, there has to be a Yes nearby

The Project:

One Mustang directly off the range

One trainer

No tools

Just body language

The Goal:

To discover how far Equestrian Art can be developed solely using body language.

Wherever there is a No, there has to be a Yes nearby


This week Myrnah got confident. Confident enough to say no to me. That makes me smile, and also check my watch. These dialogs take time. When a horse tells me no in response to a request, I can do one of three things: I can make their life uncomfortable until I get a yes, or I can just look for where the yes naturally is, working gracefully back to my original request from a better perspective, or some combination of those ideas.

Myrnah and I started the week taking walks together outside the paddock. Beyond the high fenced area is a larger woods paddock fenced only by a single strand of dark green electric fence. The feeling of freedom is enhanced by the lack of visual fencing. Yet I have enough confidence in Myrnah’s respect for that electric line to know we will not wander too far astray in these first forays outside.

Myrnah hesitated at the narrow gate. Once outside, I put my hand on her withers and shadowed her movements, the two of us exploring the world together, side by side. There were little bits of grass to nibble and terrain to be investigated. The only limits I set were about the grass directly under the hot wire. She needed to adjust to my directing her at least a small amount of the time, and because I didn’t want her getting shocked by accident, those seemed like good spots to put off limits. When we got close to the fence I would use my hand on the side of her neck to turn her around as much as it took to head her away from the fence again. Interestingly, once there were a few spots off limits, those were the only places she wanted to go.

When I had her faced away from the fence, she would say no, she didn’t want to walk in that direction. So I looked for the yes. In this case, the yes was standing quietly, my arm draped over her back, my ribs against hers breathing softly together. It could be seen as a standoff; it could also be seen as an opportunity to practice being together, being still, being patient.
There are many times I would like my horse to be still and patient while I talk to a friend, or teach a lesson, or fix a piece of broken fence. If Myrnah wanted to practice that in this particular moment, I was prepared revel in the yes, while thinking about how to change the no gracefully in the future.

The next time out, Myrnah was slightly more exploratory, but after forty-five minutes got stuck in a battle of wills with me about the grass under the electric fence again. If I wasn’t going to let her eat under the fence, she wasn’t going to take me exploring around the woods anymore either. We again took the opportunity to practice stillness and patience for a while, finishing our time together by letting her follow me back into the main paddock and into the trailer for her breakfast hay. The following day I put a bucket with a few bites of timothy hay out in the woods for her to find in her explorations and I stuck a few brushes in my pocket. The bucket was fun for her to find as she was worried about it being in a strange place, and then she was happy finding she liked eating what was inside. When we would reach an impasse where she didn’t want to explore, and I wouldn’t let her graze the spot she wanted, the yes we could agree on was being still together, only this time I added grooming to our still times.

It was a great session… except for the end when I thought I would ask her to take me back into the paddock with me at her withers instead of me walking ahead of her. Myrnah said no, she liked being the one to pick the direction of travel when I was walking at her side. I can tell her where she is NOT going, letting her decide where she IS going from the array of other choices. However, our relationship is not evolved enough for me to tell her where we are going specifically, unless I am actually in front. So in this particular instance I settled for being able to tell her which direction to face, then, after an appropriate amount of time being still and enjoying each other’s company, I took the lead and let her follow me back into the paddock. It’s nice to know we have skills to fall back on, when the new skills are still in their developmental infancy.

So Myrnah decided all these exploratory walks were the new fun game. When I went to trim her hooves on Tuesday she again said no. Every time I ran a hand down her leg she started walking away, taking me to the gate, patiently letting me know she didn’t want to do hooves anymore- she just wanted to go out walking. Again I looked for the yes. If she wanted to walk, me too, walking together is an excellent game to practice. We didn’t take it out the gate, just in random patterns through the paddock- practicing turning and walking over and over until she offered a stop. When she did I would run my hand down her leg and we were off again. Forty-five minutes later she heaved a sigh and stood still and patient for me to trim all four feet. It takes time, but it’s worth it when I feel her make the decision to work with me, not because she has to, just because she has decided life is better this way. Luckily I still had time to take her outside the paddock after her hoof trim to end our session with the explorations she seems to be enjoying so.

Interestingly, Cleo is also letting me trim her front hooves with no halter or lead on, much more readily and quietly than Myrnah this week. It’s kind of nice to have them switch roles, with Cleo being easy and Myrnah making me work for the relationship this week.

They keep me thinking and I like that. Wherever there is a No, there has to be a Yes nearby.

Elsa Sinclair

EquineClarity.com

How to Measure Success…

The Project:

One Mustang directly off the range

One trainer

No tools

Just body language

 

The Goal:

To discover how far Equestrian Art can be developed solely using body language.

 

 

 

How to Measure Success…

 

Each day I am blown away by how successfully this project seems to be progressing. I am continually awestruck by Myrnah’s interested focused attitude about learning with me. All the training I have been exposed to so far in my life relies heavily on either reward and punishment, or more subtle pressure and release. When I took all my tools away for this training project I knew I would use the same concepts, but the intensity would need to be dialed down so far that I really wasn’t sure what kind of results I could expect.

 

The only pressure I can use on Myrnah is that of focus and expectation, combined with the pressure I can exert with my fingertips on her body, or my hands moving through space- even then if I were to push too hard she is free to walk away and discontinue the conversation with me.

 

The only reward or release I have to give is being still and peaceful combined with being sure they know I am the one who fills up the water trough and puts the rich hay in the trailer for them to eat at breakfast. They are never out of hay, and the water trough is never empty for more than a short time. Given my self imposed limitations I am not able to reward for behaviors immediately in any other way than to be still.

 

With such a low intensity of pressure and release I expected I would have to work hard for everything Myrnah gave me and have near perfect timing in order to keep her from walking away. Happily I have found I was wrong. Myrnah seems to have a good sense of my intentions, enjoys working with me, and is willing to be persistent, letting me know in those moments when I am clearly not getting things right.

 

Our original agreement was that any time she touched me with her nose I would stop everything and wait for her to take her nose away giving me the go ahead to continue. Now we are at a point where I can ask her for one more thing after she touches me with her nose, but I need to stop after she reaches out to connect with me again, otherwise that touch of the nose turns into a more forceful shove; or if I am particularly dense that day, asking over and over for things five, six, seven times after she repeatedly asks for a break, that touch of the nose starts turning into an ever so gentle bite motion, mostly the lips, with the teeth only slightly implicated. We have an agreement- one which can be changed and expanded over time. I just can’t overtly break the rules. I need to remember that time is an important factor in the adaptation to change, Myrnah has a say in this process too.

 

So how do I measure success with Myrnah? (Yes, I am looking for feedback here from any of you watching the process evolve- what would you consider success from your view point?)

 

So far I feel wildly successful in both ways I expected and ways I never imagined. Myrnah and I can now take walks with me at her side, positioned right next to where I am going to be riding her. My hand can come down to behind her elbow to push her into a slight turn away from me to get her moving, just like my leg will do when we ride. When I am ready to stop I can run my fingers up the far side of her neck to ask her to bend around and touch me, followed by a break for both of us. All that is coming along so well I can’t help but look forward to using the same communication riding. I can now put a hand on her withers and a hand on top of her rump and jump up and down, bumping into her with my belly. She stays calm and relaxed as I jump and whenever I ask she brings her nose around to me again so we can take a moment to be still and think about everything we are doing together. It doesn’t seem so far away that I will just jump all the way up there and she will be ready to carry me.

 

The unexpected success is even more fun. The other day when I went out to give her a grooming in the morning sun, Myrnah was standing on the other side of the paddock in the shade. I called to her from my sun spot, and she whinnied back from her shade spot. So I called to her again, and she whinnied back to me again, as if she was asking me to come to her in response to me asking her to come to me. After the third exchange she ambled over in my direction, coming to join me for a grooming in the sun. It may seem like a small thing, but I have never had a horse whinny to me for any other reason than food. This vocal communication Myrnah and I have is outside the scope of anything I have done before, and that is a beautiful thing.

 

With Cleo, success is a little harder to measure from an outside perspective. She is less naturally trusting, more easily overwhelmed and panicked by things she doesn’t understand. On the one hand that makes me feel more challenged and less successful; on the other hand, if I think of what is most important to build between horse and human, Cleo presents an interesting case of total success building the best foundation I have ever seen a horse build with people. The most important thing I feel a horse needs to learn is focus and connection. Once a horse has good focus and connection with a rider, the sky is the limit in what can be done together. Cleo’s tendency to be overwhelmed means she stops me with her nose constantly, sometime holding me still with her touch for three or four minutes at a time- neck bent around, ears twitching, eyes blinking, nostrils softly flaring as she breaths deep trying to understand me and lose her apprehension.

 

If Cleo can learn to connect more deeply with her rider and focus with every fiber of her being any time she is unsure, she is going to make the most amazing partner. While her fear may cause us to take longer learning simple things, like holding up hooves and confidence with ropes, that same fear may cause her to be more connected and devoted to her rider than any horse I have yet known. Time will tell, but I believe Cleo’s focus and determination to connect and understand me is one of the greatest measures of success there is.

 

I guess I measure success by all the possibilities I see stretched out in front of what has happened so far. The greater the range of positive outcomes I can see ahead of us, the more successful the current moment feels.

 

Success is about how you feel in the moment, while looking toward the future. So I think as long as I see good things ahead of me, growing out of the basis I built today, I consider this project completely successful.

Elsa Sinclair

EquineClarity.com

Taking the slow road

 

 

 

The Project:

 

One Mustang directly off the range

 

One trainer

 

No tools

 

Just body language

 

 

The Goal:

 

To discover how far Equestrian Art can be developed solely using body language.

 

 

Taking the slow road

It’s not that I want to go slowly through this training process; it’s just that every moment feels precious, each stage of learning unique and irreplaceable with the responses, reactions, and communications between Myrnah, Cleo, and me, changing minutely day by day.

Could I move this process along faster into riding? Yes, I am sure I could, I am also sure the horses and I are much happier this way. Today when Cleo finally let me hold her front hoof up off the ground for what seemed like a full minute, eyes soft and relaxed, body at ease, letting me hold her hoof because she decided she didn’t mind- that felt like the most brilliant moment.

I love it when it feels like the horse knows they have a choice, and they choose to work with me not against me. When waiting for that sort of decision, time makes all the difference, and I never know how much time we are going to need. I just know each little step of progress is one I wouldn’t want to miss by hurrying through it.

The beginning of this week I chose to drug Cleo to expedite trimming her quarter crack up off the ground. We used freshly blended apples from the orchard in a syringe to get her used to the idea of something being squirted in her mouth. I am still not sure she likes apples, but she was at least interested enough in the taste that she learned to hold still for the syringe; then she would make faces like the taste was strange indeed, but it was also entertaining for her. After a break she would nudge me like she would like to try some more, even though she wasn’t sure about it. Once we had that pattern down, she took the Dormosedan under her tongue like a pro, only giving me a funny look when it didn’t taste quite like the last syringe.

The drugs made her sleepy enough that when she tried to move, her legs would get all crossed and she would look as though she was going to fall over. While she was not happy with me holding a foot and rasping it back into shape, the most she was able to do in this state was wrestle me back and forth in one spot. Having her choose to keep the other three hooves firmly planted was the only way I was able to get the job done at all. I felt like I was wrestling an elephant over the course of the next two hours, and, while I tried to give Cleo frequent breaks to reward any sort of cooperation, the glazed, defeated look in her eye left me praying she would forgive me the next day.

Cleo had the night to sleep off the meds. Come the next morning I took every care to go slowly and earn back my place in her trust. To my delight, Cleo, with only a little reticence seemed to forgive me. She is seemingly sound and happy in spite of the crack, and, little by little each day, slightly more willing to give me her feet to hold for a moment. Hopefully next time we can work together to trim her hooves instead of having her submit with little choice in the matter.

Myrnah continues to whinny to me sometimes, a low throaty whinny, louder than a nicker, deeper than a call of distress. It seems like an appreciation of my showing up. I wish I knew how to whinny back to her. I hope she can appreciate my laugh as much as I appreciate her whinny.

Myrnah and I started adding some energy to our games this week as our quiet basic work started feeling strong enough to build on. Myrnah follows me beautifully at the walk, sometimes matching my stride exactly, even though I am in front not making any effort to match hers. The first time I saw it in the pictures I couldn’t believe it, yet there we were, stride for stride together. She stands quietly and patiently while I hold her feet. She yields her front end and hind end away from me when I ask and bends around to me from a light touch next to her mane at the bottom of her neck. We have put the bending and yielding into combination with the leading and draw so we get variations of turn and move off together. Myrnah even allows me to send her into he trailer now for breakfast instead of always following me in.

Myrnah at this point is an easy going mare- energetic is not one of her adjectives. Her look of ribs with skin stretched over the top is slowly starting to give way to a more normal horse look and at the same time her belly is growing immense, leading me to believe she must be pregnant. So when I thought adding energy to our games was an obvious next step, Myrnah seemed quietly bemused. Sometimes now, instead of walking quietly off inviting her to follow, I run circles around and in front of her. All she has to do to get me to stop my antics is reach out and touch me. Then we can do what she likes best and just spend peaceful time together. Eventually I am hoping she will run with me, a game of tag we can play together. For now I find I have to be careful to slow down when she reaches out to me, allowing her to tag me within a couple of steps of her trying to connect. If I want this game to be as fun for her as it is for me, I have to play within her comfort zone.

Myrnah is like her name- peaceful. I would like that peaceful personality to also encompass all sorts of fun and playful energy. I believe it will happen best if we work within the range of who she is each day. That way we can enjoy every small change as it eclipses the change made the day or week before.

Perhaps she won’t be ready to run around with me until after the baby is born, and perhaps she will be ready tomorrow. If I don’t mind taking the slow road, we don’t have to wait for anything; we just fill all our moments with the learning that gives us a strong basis to build on. Whenever we are ready, all the pieces will be in place.

We could go faster; it’s just a choice to take the slow road. Life flies by far too fast as it is; it doesn’t need any hurrying.

So enjoy the moments, soak them up and revel in them; it’s all too good to miss!

Elsa Sinclair

EquineClarity.com

Bringing life into focus

The Project:

One Mustang directly off the range

One trainer

No tools

Just body language

 

The Goal:

To discover how far Equestrian Art can be developed solely using body language.

 

 

Bringing life into focus 

 

This weekend a good friend of mine asked me why I am doing this. One trainer, One mustang, One year, No tools. What compels me onward through the project, the filming, the photography, and the documentation?

 

Like anything, the answers to that question of are multilayered and multifaceted.

 

The simple answer is: I want this way of working with horses to be accessible to anyone. I want people to know it is possible to build a relationship with a horse without any tools of force. I want people to see halters and ropes and sticks and bridles as a conscious choice instead of a necessity. I want to help demystify the building of relationship between horse and rider.

 

In my life I have been unable to find any clear illustration of how to go about training with no tools. Given the frustration of my search I decided it was high time someone created a clearer path for others to follow. I am incredibly grateful to all my teachers who have given me pieces to the puzzle. I feel I may have enough experience with horses at this point and enough interest in learning that I can piece together a course of development. Myrnah is here to let me know how on or off track my ideas are and help me show the world what it looks like to follow this particular path of building relationship between horse and human.

 

Cleo is helpful as well, though she is peripheral to the central project. Cleo illustrates the choice involved here. All paths have their pros and cons, and we are all responsible for choosing the path right for us. Cleo’s life is going to involve trailers and traveling, halters and stalls, and new spaces all the time when she leaves me. I believe for her, getting comfortable with the tools of control that will keep her safe in human-created situations is vital sooner than later.

 

Myrnah and I have the luxury of time to explore a path unknown with the freedom to take as long as we want to get to riding and traveling and venturing out from our safe home base. Cleo has a different path to follow, neither better or worse, simply different.

 

This project is about showing people there are choices and there is more possible with horses than what is commonly accepted.

 

From a personal standpoint this project is all about the connection to something bigger than myself.

 

Being connected brings life into focus, and makes me feel alive. This week I felt the connection with Myrnah when she greeted me with a nicker two days in a row. It was after I had been away for three days of work. My mother took care of the mares while I was away- I know they didn’t lack for food or water or grazing time. So to hear that vocal sound of appreciation directed at me, recognizing that I was home, perhaps that I had been missed, felt like heaven.

 

The connection that I feel with everyone who reads my blog is awesome. I do this for myself, but it is the sharing of it that brings focus and clarity. Thank you so much to all of you who read and comment and find value in being part of my journey.

 

The connection I feel with all those willing to help me with video and photography, inspiration, ideas, and direction. Thank you. I would be doing the project even if I was doing it alone, but this is so much better. Doing the project with all of you helps me to see things clearly and bring the path into focus.

 

The biggest challenge of the week was being away. It was wonderful to reconnect with all my favorite people and horses in Fall City and get back to work I love, and the nickers I received from Myrnah when I got home were music to my soul. Yet I will be honest that I missed those hours I could have been with Myrnah and Cleo. Logically I believe they probably will progress faster through training with some time off away from me every once in a while. How can they miss me if I never go away? Yet, there is so much I want to get done with those two, it is hard to take time away from them to do anything else.

 

This week I hope to take out the rasp and start trimming hooves. Interestingly the shot I had to give Myrnah and the trimming of hooves seem more challenging to me than the more obviously big steps like riding, or trailering, or performing. So wish me luck this week.

Myrnah is getting very patient with her hooves held in every different position for longer and longer periods of time. Cleo is still in the place of learning to trust picking them up briefly for me. We started working with a syringe of apple sauce to prep for worming and the possibility I may need to sedate Cleo for her first hoof trim. Cleo has a fairly extreme quarter crack that is trying to grow out, so I need to keep it trimmed to minimize damage to the coronet band during the growing out process. She is only three-years-old, she does not need to have a permanent quarter crack for the rest of her life. If I need to sedate her to do what it takes to give her the best chance at normal hooves, that is what I will do.

 

Lucky for me Cleo seems at least hesitantly interested in that taste of apple sauce. Myrnah still thinks I am trying to poison her, so I will proceed more slowly with her- no hurry.

 

No hurry at all, just bliss in the moment every day with these two.

Thanks for coming along with us on this journey.

 

Elsa Sinclair

EquineClarity.com 

What horses like most

The Project:

One Mustang directly off the range

One trainer

No tools

Just body language

The Goal:

To discover how far Equestrian Art can be developed solely using body language.

 

What horses like most


Each day I marvel at the bond Myrnah and I have developed in our relatively short time together. The logical and analytical side of me wants to know WHY everything is working as well as it is. There are no carrots, or grain, or clickers and treats. I haven’t round-penned her or used any tools to pressure her into looking to me for answers. Nonetheless, Myrnah will come when I call now, even away from green grass, or her favorite hay she has just settled in to eat. She will walk all the way around the paddocks with me and stand quietly while I pick up her hooves and move them around in preparation for trimming.

The test of our bond came on Sunday as Myrnah let me stick an inch and a half needle in her neck to give her the booster vaccine I promised the BLM I would take care of. I had been dreading this task, terrified I would break the trust Myrnah and I had so carefully built. A promise is a promise though, so we took the plunge.

I spent weeks leading up to this, preparing Myrnah for needles. Using toothpicks and acupuncture needles we built a habitual sequence for her to lean on. Pressure in the needle area means bring your nose over and touch me. Early on we had built the skill of bringing her nose around to me with my fingers on the side of her muzzle; little by little we connected that skill with a prick on the side of the neck to bring her around to touch me.

Even so, when the day came, and I looked at the needle realizing how much bigger it was than the tiny acupuncture needles we had been using, my heart started racing and my hands started shaking. Would she forgive me for this?

We went through our routine out in the middle of the paddock with space for her to leave me if she needed to. Myrnah was wonderful- she moved away from me in surprise as the needle went in and then came right back to me, standing solid for the rest. She even spent time afterward to nuzzle me and be with me, as if reassuring me we were okay and I really didn’t need to worry so much.

 

(For those of you reading this by email, click on the title at the top and it will take you to the blog page to see the video)

So what is it that has gotten us to this place of intense trust so quickly? I believe it is that thing that horses love more than anything in the world: to simply exist in company.

The most natural reward for them is to be quiet with their herd. From day one with Myrnah and Cleo I have used this concept. I know it works beautifully, and yet I am still in awe of how strong the resulting bond is.

While I am the person that brings them hay and water, I really don’t think that is nearly as powerful as the awareness and timing of what horses love most.

I have a progression of training we are working through, and, for each step along the way, I know the horses need to feel it is worth their energy and attention to learn new things with me. I can pay them with time.

When the horses take an action toward building a stronger relationship with me, I take a moment and a breath to look around and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us. I take time to focus anywhere else than on the horse I am sharing space with. For horses, focusing on them is pressure; focusing elsewhere while being near them is the ultimate comfort. Timing is of course everything.

When I take time to be still and quiet I need to always be aware of what happened directly before I took that time. Was it something that was building the relationship and bond between me and the horse, or was it a moment when the horse was looking for distance from me? WHEN I choose to be quiet and still makes all the difference in how well our habits and patterns develop together.

It still is amazing to me that I can ask either one of the horses to come with me, away from their food, and they seem happy to come. We can walk together, or practice our pressure games, or just exist side by side, observing the world and enjoying each other’s company. They trust me, they seem to enjoy learning with me, and I keep reinforcing and rewarding that with time spent-

simply existing- together.

Elsa Sinclair

EquineClarity.com

Contrast

The Project:

One Mustang directly off the range

One trainer

No tools

Just body language

The Goal:

To discover how far Equestrian Art can be developed solely using body language.


Contrast

Week three has led us into a distinct contrast.

Myrnah’s development progresses ever so gently- a meandering path, peaceful and easy. We know each other a little better each day. She seems Zen- at one and at peace with everything.

Cleo feeds my soul with her thrilling beauty. From a logical standpoint I find myself wanting training to go softly and quietly, and yet, when circumstances cause Cleo to move too quickly for me to follow, the resulting explosion is breathtakingly magnificent. While I stand back watching her rippling muscles and agile movements in awe, she rockets around trying to escape the dragging rope she thinks is chasing her. On the one hand, I feel terrible I have set her up in a situation where she is afraid; on the other hand, it is generally short lived and not terrible compared to the steep learning curve most wild horses have to climb while adjusting to domesticity.

Generally Myrnah and I stand back, watching quietly as Cleo takes a lap around the pens and through the barns, hooves striking out in every direction as agile as a cat before she comes back to me shaking like a leaf. Then I can re-approach- reach out to her as she reaches out to me with her nose. I pick up the lead again, and we go back to working together. My gut instinct is that she needs to move slowly and quietly like she would in the wild, traveling from one watering hole to another. The halter is new to her so our progress is slow and gradual. We take few steps to the left, she reaches out to touch my hand, and we rest together. Then a few steps to the right, she reaches out to me, and we rest again. We take breaks to rub her all over and let her adrenaline drain away, and more and more I drag the tail end of the rope on the ground as she follows me so she gets to be the chaser of the rope and gain confidence in the idea of things dragging along the ground.

Life does contain chaos and I think sometimes it is okay to live through it and find your way out the other side, unhurt and realizing what it is to find calmness again after feeling shaken. I do my best to foster learning for Cleo as calmly and gently as I know how. In some circumstances though all I can do is let her find her own way through the fear: like yesterday when she decided the pressure of the rope was something she wanted to back slowly away from instead of giving forward toward me. When she backed into the edge of the trailer and then exploded forward in surprise, all I could do was let go and stand out of the way waiting for her to come back to me. It is a beautiful feeling when she does come back, looking to me for answers.

Between the occasional displays of magnificent action, Cleo is becoming reliable in her habit of walking right over to me when I reach out a hand to her. She stands quiet and easy for the halter to go on and off, and I can lead her almost all the way across the paddock now without needing to stop for a rest. I am as much thrilled with her progress as I am with her instances of awe-inspiring movement. I will keep looking for ways to help her learn through confidence instead of fear. While I may love to watch the display of athleticism fear can create and logically excuse it as one way to learn, it will never be my preference.

Last week Myrnah was starting to come over to me quickly any time I asked. She would touch me with her nose and then we would rest together or go back to our respective jobs of eating and lounging in the shade.

This week we developed a breakfast routine. The horses have free-choice, local, island hay all the time. The richer hay shipped in from Eastern Washington is reserved for when I say goodnight to them at the end of the day, and then to play around at breakfast time. In the morning, some of it goes in the trailer and some goes in a tub on the other side of the paddock.

The first day I let Myrnah eat in the trailer while Cleo and I practiced with the halter and I led her on a meandering path to the other feeder. The second day made me smile as I let Cleo get in the trailer to eat with the idea of having Myrnah follow me to the other hay trough. Myrnah was not fond of this idea. Again and again, she tried to get around me to get in the trailer with Cleo. I was an inconvenience and I loved it. How often do you hear of people having trouble keeping their horses out of the trailer? I love that I was confronted by my new “wild” mustang about the audacity of my insisting she stay outside the trailer on this particular day.

So here is training with a purpose- I was aiming to move Myrnah to a new good place to eat. She didn’t know it yet so on the way there she had a chance to practice yielding and drawing to me- one hand on her shoulder, one on her cheek asking her to yield away from me a step and stop when I rub her. With some persistence she understood and stopped, facing away from the trailer, pointed toward the other hay pile.

Once we got our direction sorted, I could step out in front and ask her to take a step toward me to touch my hand with her nose. After being frustrated about getting in the trailer, she wanted none of the next part of the game. So I would wait a moment, and then go over to pet her, and ask her to yield her front end over a step before offering for her to draw forward toward me again. Slowly she figured out I was going to persist moving her a step at a time left and right until she was willing to walk toward me and check in with her nose. Then I would sit down and we could just relax together for a while before repeating the exercise. It took us a quite a while to get to the hay that first time. I think Myrnah agreed with me though, the trip was worth it.

Each day Myrnah comes away from her hay a little more willingly and follows me a little more fluidly to a new eating spot. When she does get stuck I love it because it is an opportunity to practice her skills about yielding to pressure: the same pressure we will use when I ride her- the spot behind her shoulder where eventually my leg will sit, or the spot on her neck where I may lay my hand to guide her onto a new course.

Slowly and peacefully, one step at a time, Myrnah and I are building the language that will allow us to travel together. The thrill that comes from that is quietly breathtaking.

Cleo and I have had a more obviously exciting trail to blaze together this week. No matter how much I love the thrill that brings through me, I am determined to strive toward peace with her too. She may be wearing a halter while Myrnah is not, yet I want the same ease and confidence all the way through the process for both of them.

Elsa Sinclair

EquineClarity.com

The Simple Things

The Project:

One Mustang directly off the range, One trainer, No tools, Just body language

The Goal:

To discover how far Equestrian Art can be developed solely using body language.

The Simple Things

Fingers combing through a knotted mane, those first hesitant steps- horse hooves following human feet, fear turning into curiosity, horse noses rustling across coats, hands, faces and tangling in windblown hair.

It’s the simple things in life that make it worth living and also send time speeding past in a blinding flash. I can’t believe it has been an entire week since I last blogged, yet here I am again.

Myrnah and Cleo are progressing at what feels like light speed. I  lose all track of time when I am with them, and each new development fills me with a giddy rush.

From an outside perspective our progress is slow and gradual. I sit down to watch the video we have taken and it amazes me to see how long we have actually spent working on something. In real time, I am so immersed in our process it passes by in a flash; in hindsight on video, I realize the hours and hours the mares and I have amassed together.

Cleo continues to be more hesitant about sharing space with me, yet she is far more curious and interested, almost desperate to interact. I am listening to her this morning: walking, walking walking, through the sheds, round the paddocks and back again, I am sure pushing Myrnah along in front of her. She isn’t mean at all, just restless. She needs more to do, and when I show up to spend time with her, stroke her, practice having her give to pressure, comb through her mane… her relief from boredom seems  palpable. She loves being social and entertained.

Cleo is a riot of fun, still caught between the extremes of fear and curiosity. It is exciting for me to see the space between fear and curiosity grow as she learns to be more comfortable just existing. If I move quickly anywhere behind her she is quick to bolt away, and when she approaches me it is still usually with careful hesitant steps. Yet you can see her wanting more. The other night I was sitting with Myrnah while she ate hay in the shed. Cleo came in, one careful step at a time, and then, half way to us, she had to reach over the sidewall and nudge a shovel with her nose, causing it to fall with a clatter and a bang. Myrnah and I sat there watching the whole thing and were unsurprised by the clatter. Cleo jumped a foot in the air and looked at me accusingly as though the surprising noise was somehow my fault.

I just want to laugh all the time when I am with Cleo, though I know she needs so much more quiet understanding to develop steadiness. She seems to carry a desire for more entertainment wherever she travels. We put the halter on this week, and started developing the communication about following the feel of the lead with her nose and neck. Perhaps the feet will follow soon, but for now I am thrilled with the ease of the small developments. The first time of putting the halter on was beautifully uneventful, like she had been wearing a halter all her life. With Cleo it is going to be an ongoing balance between progressing constantly forward to satiate her need for entertainment, and going slow enough to help her develop steadiness and comfort in life.

Myrnah is a love- gentle and kind and happy to just be with me. She is happy to be stroked all over, pick up her hooves for me, and she is getting quick to walk over to me any time I ask. Our relationship seems companionable and easy. We have been practicing turning her nose toward me from pressure of fingers wrapped under her chin. That happens from a feather-light touch for the most part now. Then we progressed to asking her to turn towards me from one hand behind her ears and one over her nose. Yesterday we were able to lose the hand on her nose and she turned toward me from only the hand behind her ears. It’s a simple thing, and also one of those things that makes me grin from ear to ear.

If all goes as planned I will be riding Myrnah before too long, and when I do it will be without any tack. Right now we have gotten to the point that she can turn her nose from pressure right behind her ears. Little by little we are going to work that understanding back, until I can turn her with my fingertips on the sides of her withers. Each little step along this path gives me confidence the future developments may really all work out. Time will tell, yet the future looks pretty bright from here.

This week we took the tall metal panels away from some of the wood fences. I felt confident the horses were not going to jump out, and with the metal panels we were able to make an extension paddock into the grass out one of the gates from their main paddock. Myrnah will follow me around now, if I am carrying a bucket of fresh cut grass and agree to share it with her every so often. Cleo will follow Myrnah. So every day at some point I call them over and the three of us make our way to the grass paddock together. The fact that I take them to good places and share what food I have with them helps them to see me as a leader.

While they are grazing I will sit in the shade of the hawthorn tree and just spend time with them. Occasionally though we play a leadership game: I stand up and stare at one of them. If it is Cleo she will stare back at me for a long time, all grazing forgotten. I think that is important- the two of us paying attention to each other for as long as it takes to get comfortable together. If she goes to graze again I take a step closer; if she takes a step toward me I sit down or look away. As soon as she touches me with her nose I go back to sitting in the shade, games are put aside and grazing continues. Myrnah is quick now: the moment I look at her she leaves her grass and comes right over to say hi, nuzzling my fingers or face to check in. She has figured out it is a small thing I am asking for, and the sooner she comes over to say hi, the sooner I sit down and relax, and the sooner we can all go back to doing what we were doing. Myrnah is very practical and easygoing that way. I feel incredibly fortunate she was the horse that chose me for the project.

Looking through pictures I found this one that Cameron took of us the other day. Though Myrnah is still very thin with all her ribs showing, is it my imagination or is she getting wider? What do you think? Is she pregnant?

We will just have to keep taking pictures and see what happens. One step at a time we will travel through everything together. I am glad I can share this with everyone. It is all way too much fun to be kept to myself!

Elsa Sinclair

EquineClarity.com