Ground Work

I started my day by watching a DVD by Stacy Westfall called "Basic Ground Work". It totaled about 2.5 hours, so it took up most of my morning. I don't mean this to sound sexist, but I enjoy watching a woman work with horses because you mostly see men. Some men that work with horses say that a woman is too sensitive and not assertive enough... well they don't know some of the women that I have met! I think it is good that when working with a horse you are sensitive, if you are sensitive to its feelings (such as nervousness or fear) then you can adjust your training or if everything is going as you like, you would know to keep it the same. In so many words, I mean to say that if you can be sensitive to a horses emotions then you should be able to communicate well with other people- they talk.

Back to the DVD. Stacy did exercises lounging, introducing a green horse to a 'whip' (it wasn't really a whip, it had a plastic pole and a long string attached) which she called an extension of her arm. She also introduced it to a tarp and a large bouncing ball- like some people exercise with. She also reiterated how important it is to repeat things on both sides of the horse. Something that never occurred to me, is that you should find out how your horse acts while under pressure. BUT you should find out in a controlled environment first. An example would be a bird flies past the horses feet on a trail. If the horse has never seen this before it will probably jump or run away, and you do not want this to happen when you are on his back. If you expose him to a condition similar to this before you go on the trail, then you reduce the chance of hurting yourself or the horse if it happens on the trail.

Something that clicked in my brain while watching this film was body language. Horses communicate through body language and their movements may be subtle, but can mean so much. If someone works with horses extensively and concentrates on body language they should be able to pick up on body language of a person as well. If that person can pick up on a person's body language then they should be able to communicate more effectively with them. An example would be that if you see someone standing away from everyone else with a scowl on their face and their arms crossed you probably wouldn't approach them; similarly you wouldn't want to approach a horse that is swishing his tail and has his ears pinned back.

Now two definite possibilities to keep exploring Patience and Body language.

Something else that Stacy emphasized in her film is that the horse should respect your personal space. She gives them definite cues to get out of her space such as throwing her elbows way in the air (like the chicken dance). I believe this is something that as people we should work on as well. Sometimes I talk to someone and feel like I keep backing up because they are too close and I am uncomfortable. If we can teach a horse to stay out of our space, then we should be conscious not to be in someone else's space. I have to say, that all the good horse people that I have been around have not invaded my personal space. So far I am finding that working with horses can only increase your communication with other people (that is of course if you are communicating with horses using natural horsemanship, such as the Horse Whisperer, Mr. Dale.)

I think a lot of people do not realize that horses need a purpose; they need a job. If you ride a horse aimlessly, he may get bored and not want to be there because there doesn't seem to be a reason for him to be there. I think the same thing can apply to people. They need a job and a purpose. It would be like putting a child in a classroom and not giving him an assignment. He would want to know why he was there. If you have a purpose or a goal and something for the horse to do when you set out to ride his focus will be on you and your chance of communication is better. Communicating with people can be the same way if you ask someone to meet you, usually there is a purpose and bonding and communication can happen over this purpose.

I think I have mentioned this before but leadership is extremely important in horsemanship and can carry over to relationships with people. If you can be a leader for a half ton animal, then you can be a leader in a group of people.

Teamwork is also important in horsemanship. You may be the leader of the group (you and the horse) but the both of you still have to work together. If a person can work with a horse to get a job done, then they should also be able to communicate well with people to meet a goal.

I rode Midnight again today. I was more nervous that previously simply because I heard horror stories about what can happen if you aren't communicating well with your horse, and of course I am not an expert. I did however pay attention to where his feet were. An example would be, if you want a horse to take a step to the right, you should give him the signal to step right when he is picking up his right foot. If he is picking up his left foot when you give him the signal then he is not going to be able to do what you ask. I watched and felt where his front feet were and tried to give him the signal to step when the correct foot was about to leave the ground. I think it is much more complex to correctly communicate with a horse than most people think. I think it is also amazing that as people we can talk to communicate and many of us do such a poor job. You can imagine how much more in tune a person who works with horses is to body language on a person as well as a horse; they use the body language as well as spoken language to communicate better with people.