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BEHAVIOUR |
| TRAINING MYTHUNDERSTANDINGS | HORSE AND HUMAN BODY LANGUAGE |
| DOES YOUR HORSE SUFFER FROM FARRIER PHOBIA | REARING AND PULLING |
| SENSE FAQ | TIPS TO HELP YOUR HORSE |
| THE TELLINGTON TOUCH | SOUND SENSITIVE CD |
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TRAINING MYTHUNDERSTANDINGS by Dr. Ron Meredith Horse-Logical Communication Starts With Grooming © 2000 Meredith
Manor International Equestrian Centre. All rights reserved. |
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HORSE AND HUMAN BODY LANGUAGE Have you ever wondered how to tell what your horse was thinking? All horses communicate with vocal and body language. They use vocal language for distant communication and for emphasis while using body language in close communication. Mares will nicker comforting sounds to their foals while nuzzling the foal's withers. A new horse in a group may squeal when he strikes with a front leg stating that he is not submissive to the horse with which he is blowing nostrils. Stallions use a mating call with very expressive body language that tells the mare of his intent. You will find in established groups of horses that they use very little vocal communication. Yet, they have an order of dominance, with one horse as leader, on down to the most submissive and bottom of the pecking order. Horses use body language for the majority of their close communication. Horses "speak" by pinning their ears to tell another to move away; a swish of a tail tells another to keep its distance, or a gentle scratch on the withers of another horse tells that horse, "I have an itch on my withers, please scratch me there". Horses communicate what they are thinking and how they feel toward us through their body language. It is our job to learn what they are saying. Learning your horse's body language will help you understand your horse better and enable you to train him more effectively, knowing when he is understanding what you are teaching him. All horses have a basic body language with each horse using his in a little different way. This is like having a southern or northern accent in the English language. When reading your horse's body language, you will also have to consider the circumstances. For example, a high and fast tail swish could be a horse trying to get rid of a biting fly on his loin or strongly telling another horse to keep his distance. The tail swish tells you he is very irritated. It is up to us to learn why. The most expressive parts of a horse's body language are his lips and mouth, eyes, ears, nostrils, chin, and tail. The position of his head and neck along with what he does with his legs will tell you more. A key concept to keep in mind as you read your horse's body language, is his basic instincts of flight, fight, freeze, and faint. A horse's first choice is flight--to flee from perceived danger. If the horse feels he cannot flee, he will fight. If he feels fighting is not working, he will freeze, becoming motionless, and no amount of spanking or bribes will make him move. After freezing, he will either fight again harder or faint, where he collapses on the ground, if the perceived danger is still present. The flight instinct is engaged when your horse has his head above his withers. His eyes are wide open. His mouth and lips are tight. His ears are erect. His whole body will be tight especially his neck. The fight instinct will cause the horse to use his teeth, legs, hoofs, and body to cause the perceived danger to go away. You may notice that he will pin his ears back along his neck. The flatter he pins them, the more threatened he feels. His mouth will be tight. His eyes may lose the wide-open, scared look and take on a more determined expression. Fight instinct in a mild form is when a horse is tied and unable to flee, he kicks at the brush that is irritating him, where he doesn't wish to be brushed. When a horse freezes he becomes very still with a tight mouth and chin. His eyes will have a sleepy, half-closed look to them. He will not move his feet. When he decides to move, he may explode, fighting again -- only harder. If not restrained in any way and the perceived danger is removed, the horse may relax and move again without a fuss. After a horse freezes he may faint. The two conditions I know of that will cause a horse to faint. One example is where he is totally confused and after freezing gives up and faints. He may throw himself on the ground or just collapse. On the ground he will blink and breathe but will not get up or move. Removing all restraints and allowing him to get up on his own. This can help stop him from getting up in a panic state and exploding. Another time a horse may faint is when the girth is tightened too tight. He cannot flee the discomfort because he is tied or held, he knows not to fight, he freezes but the discomfort is still there, so he faints. The horse will slowly buckle his knees and collapse to the ground. If you loosen up the girth, he will stand right up and be fine. If you do not, he may get up off the ground bucking to rid himself of the girth that is causing discomfort or he may feel it is restricting his breathing. Horses are all different in how fast they go through each step. Some will go to freeze very easily, while others never seem to get to the fight instinct and keep trying to flee. By being aware of the stages, you can tell if your horse is understanding, confused or feels threatened by what you are doing with him. You want to work with your horse in his thinking state before he goes into the instinct of flight. When you first start working with a horse, you have to work with the horse's instincts because he knows nothing else. For example, one horse may want to run as fast as he can when first learning to lunge. While another horse may feel he cannot flee the whip because you have a lunge line on him and will choose instead to kick at the signals given by the whip. Both will learn how to lunge, but the methods of training should be different. Reassure the first horse that it is okay to travel slowly on the lunge line, and show the second horse that he can flee the whip by moving forward on the lunge line. Your body's positioning will aid a great deal in communicating with the horse. Once this communication is established, the horse will no longer be in his instinctive state and will be in a thinking state of mind. Communication is the key to training your horse to think instead of react instinctively. A horse's body expressions will tell you if he is secure and content or fearful. He will look and act very different in each state of mind. Content horses have a soft look in their eyes, with no wrinkles above their eyes, and their ears are loose and floppy, hanging toward the side. How far they hang depends on how the horse's ears are set on his head. His lips are loose, and his chin may be hanging down away from his lower teeth and top lip. Concerned horses will have a tight chin and mouth, and one or both ears are turned toward the object of concern. His eyes will look normal with a few worry wrinkles above them. His neck may be slightly tense. Mild fear in a horse is shown by a tense neck, head raised, chin and mouth tight. His eyes are a little wider than normal with worry wrinkles above them. His ears will be more erect than normal and pricked toward the fearful object. His attention can be distracted from the object. He will chew if you put your fingers in the corner of his mouth or offer him something to eat. A very frightened horse will have his flight instinct fully engaged. He will have his head above his withers, eyes very wide, and ears pricked toward the object, even if you turn his head away. His neck will be very tense, and he will hold his chin and mouth very tight.. He will not be able to focus on you and your signals. He will not chew if you put your fingers in the corner of his mouth. He may take food in his mouth but will not chew it. Your horse may show all or only part of the body language signals described. Each horse is different; some show more expressive body language than others. A key body language to watch for when working with a horse is when he chews or licks his lips. When a horse is upset in any way he will tighten his mouth. When he does chew he has accepted the training you are doing with him. When he will not chew, he is not ready to learn the next step in his training. Under saddle, watch for times when the horse will chew. If he is chewing hard and fast on the bit, it tells you that he is unsure of what you are doing with him and is mildly upset. The horse will suck on the bit or chew slowly when he is accepting what you are doing with him. If he has been tense he will chew slowly and/or lick his lips once he relaxes and understands. Watch a horse's eyes, they are one of the first indicators of what he is thinking. If he has worry wrinkles above them, he is concerned. Also, note if your horse looks at you with one or both eyes when handling him from the ground. A horse will look at you with both eyes when he is paying attention and has confidence in you. If he looks at you with only one eye, he is looking with the other for an escape route and is unsure. When riding your horse, he will look at you when you turn his head to circle if he trusts and is looking for directions. If he is unsure, he will turn his eye away as much as he can when you turn his head so he does not have to look at you. Many trusting horses will turn their heads so they can see the rider out of one eye, when they are waiting for their rider’s next instruction. The horse is usually standing or walking at the time. A horse cannot see the rider's upper body well with his head straight ahead unless it is held very high. Horses will also blink quickly when they are thinking about something recently learned. When they are blinking--they are thinking. The next section is about where and what it means when a horse turns his ears. In this body language, the horse's ears are erect but the open area is facing to where I say he has his ears turned. A horse's attention is focused on where his ears are turned. Pricked forward is looking straight ahead with his attention focused there. Some very tense horses have their ears pricked forward most of the time. This is because they are on the edge of the flight reflex and are looking for an escape route. With one ear turned toward the rider and the other pointing ahead tells you he is looking ahead and is listening to the riders or handlers' signals. If he has both ears turned back, this tells the rider he is totally focused on his signals. If he keeps his ears always turned back that tells you he is worried about the rider or something on his back. When riding a green horse, you know he has accepted the rider on his back when he can move his ears and attention away, between the signals given by the rider. When he can move his attention away from the rider, tells us, that he is not as worried and has developed some trust that the rider will not harm him. His ears should come back when he is given a signal, thus telling the rider that the green horse is paying attention and acknowledges the signal given. When riding with contact, and the horse's ears become loose and floppy, not looking in any direction. This tells the rider he is confident and in total concentration of the rider's signals. Signals given on a particular side of the horse will cause that ear to turn back. A horse cannot learn something new unless he is paying attention. By watching his ears you can tell if you have his attention. Some horses respond to signals without turning an ear back that means they are not thinking about what they are being asked to do. They are responding on an instinctive level, not a thinking level. A horse pinning his ears is a very different body language than just swivelling them where his attention goes. A horse will first make his ears narrower, and more erect. Then he will lay them back along his neck. They may be laid back, just above the surface of the neck; down to so flat against the neck, the ears almost disappear. When a horse pins his ears, this means he wants something to go away. In the barn he may be telling the horses stalled around him to stay away from his food. The flatter his ears are on his neck, the stronger the language he is using. When riding and another horse comes by, your horse may pin his ears for the same reason telling the other horse to stay away. This is not good behaviour and the horse should be retrained. If a horse is allowed to pin his ears at another horse, he may follow up with a bite or a kick, and that is unsafe. Ear pinning is a warning that is often backed up if the other horse does not respond by moving away. By understanding that your horse feels threatened and feels the need to pin his ears to keep the other horses away, can give you a direction to retrain that behaviour out. By stopping the ear pinning and understanding why, will make your horse both safer and happier. If you notice your horse's ear is hanging at an odd angle, it usually means that something is pinching him on that side of his head. By paying attention to what movements your horse's body makes, you will learn more about him, and you may find he cooperates more with you. Any body language, that your horse, shows that is a danger to you should be noted and discouraged. Horses have reasons for what they do: they want physical and mental comfort. Horses are usually dangerous only when confused and/or frightened. Look for the body language signals your horse gives BEFORE the dangerous behaviour occurs. Change his mind at the first sign of that behaviour, and then figure out what your horse was trying to tell you. Go to your stable and be a detective. Figure out if your horse is trying to tell you something is wrong or if he is happy. One example of this is one of my riding students asked me about a behaviour her horse at home was doing. She said that when her horse felt weight in the stirrup as she mounted, the mare took off running. After asking several questions, I received this information. They had to tie the mare very short to saddle her or she would reach around to bite them. The horse would pin her ears when they brought the saddle near her. If tied, the horse would stand when mounted, but would pin her ears the whole time. Once mounted, she would ride forward quickly but under control. If you pressed your fingers around her withers, she would toss her head and pin her ears. When not around tack, this mare was pleasant to be around. This information led me to believe that the saddle may be to narrow for her withers, and her withers were sore. A horse can lessen the pinching pressure of a saddle by moving. I suggested changing the saddle to one with a wider tree. The next week my student said that she had changed the saddle and her horse was much better and would stand when mounted off a bale of hay. (Using a mounting block to mount when possible will help your saddle and horse last longer by lessening the side way pull..) Her horse would still try to walk off if someone heavier tried to mount from the ground. Also her horse quit trying to bite her when saddled. I suggested that she try an orthopaedic pad, because the mare's withers may still have been sore. The next week my student said that her horse was no longer a problem to saddle or mount. I am sure her horse was happier, and I know the owner was. BODY LANGUAGE PART 2 THE WARNING SIGNS It was just turning light outside and I had heard horses' hooves thundering on the ground. I went to see what was going on and to my delight they were playing in their own pastures. One horse rose on his rear legs and shadow boxed his invisible foe. I really love to watch horses play, yet a little voice inside always says that I am glad I am not on the horse's back when he is bucking and rearing. Natural horse behaviours that pose a threat to themselves and their human owners should be firmly discouraged. The best way is to change the horse's mind while he is still thinking about it and before he actually "misbehaves." By learning his body language you will have a better chance of anticipating a dangerous behaviour and stopping it. Rearing is natural for a horse to do. It is also very dangerous, because a horse can easily fall over backwards when he rears up with a rider. Horses usually rear when their desire to go forward is restricted in some way. Their instinctive flight reflex is engaged. Since the horse cannot go forward, he rears up. A horse has to have his poll above his withers to rear. It is possible for him to throw himself over backwards if his head is restrained low. He exerts so much force into trying to free himself that he flips over backwards. The horse must lock his poll to rear. Your hands will feel a solid resistance when asking for flexion. He will not bend at his throatlatch area toward his chest or to the side. The horse can evade the pressure of the bit by flexing his neck about one-third down his crest. The highest point on his neck is his crest, not his poll. His poll will still be locked, though you may feel less resistance to your hands. A horse has to have a stiff straight neck to rear. If the rider keeps applying steady pressure, he will gather his hind legs under himself and shift his centre of gravity back toward his flank area. He has to change his balance to lift his front end. When your horse shifts his weight in this manner it is his signal that he may be thinking about rearing. Horses will also rear to escape from discomfort. I find this is the most common cause. An example of this is; if the horse is asked to back and does not understand what he is to do, especially if he has raised his head high and hollowed out his back. This position makes it very difficult if not impossible for the horse to back up. In this situation he may not move his feet, but the pressure of the bit may have caused him to move his centre of gravity back enough to rear. Even a mild bit with enough pressure can cause a horse to rear. The horse will rear to get away from the discomfort of the bit, not understanding that he should move his feet. At the first signal of the horse sticking and not responding, especially if his poll is locked and stiff, ride him forward until he unlocks and then ask him to back again. Using a give and take signal is also very helpful, by not giving him a steady pressure to balance off to rear. His instinct is to go forward (flight) when he feels uncomfortable. Instead of going up when he cannot go forward, he will learn to go forward in a different way (backing up). If a horse is jigging and/or cantering in place with the rider restraining him with the reins, he may choose to rear to escape the bit pressure, so he can go forward. This horse has already gathered himself and moved his centre of gravity back. All he has to do to rear is to lock his poll and have his neck and spine straight. Not all horses that act this way rear, but for the ones that do, it is important to train them to bend their necks and flex at their poll. This type of horse may be very tense and difficult to bend. (He is using his instinctive reflex of flight, when he acts in this way. Fight reflex can happen at anytime, and then he rears, leaps or bucks.) In this situation allowing him to trot in very small circles until you can get him to bend his neck and calm down can be very helpful. A horse cannot rear if he is moving forward, and because you are allowing him to "flee" in small circles, it often stops the horse from getting to the point of rearing to escape. If your horse rears, you should always release bit pressure and lean forward, so you not pull the horse over and on top of you. Some horses have reared before and found out that if they rear, they can have a release of bit pressure. This type gives a rider less warning and may rear with no bit pressure. This type of horse will, also, have a straight back and neck with a non-flexing poll. Often the horse will tuck his nose toward his chest, flexing mid-crest instead of at the poll. The rider will have not been able to have contact with this horse's mouth. The horse will evade all contact. This type will also not be easy to bend to the side and should be kept moving at any hint of stopping to rear. Further training to accept bit contact and flex at the poll, will give you the advantage in changing this type of horse's mind should he position himself to rear. Horses rear when lead for the same reasons they rear when ridden. This can be seen in foals that want to go forward and cannot, rearing up to try to get their freedom. Or if they feel too much pressure down on the halter the foal will instinctively rear back into it, sometimes to the point of falling over backwards. Horses instinctively want to push into pressure. If he feels pressure on the poll he will push into it or pull back against whatever is causing the pressure. The horse has to learn that the pressure is released when he lowers his read or comes forward in response to pressure on his poll. Until then, he will raise his head pulling against the pressure until he has to rear to get his head higher in a vain effort of trying to find a way to escape the discomfort. A horse's body language before he rears depends on the situations, but all will be tense in the body because rearing is a form of the fight reflex. The first option of flight has been taken away by the restraints used and the horse is looking to regain that option. Some horses use bucking as a fight option. This is also a very natural behaviour. Horses buck for two main reasons, to play and to rid themselves of a perceived predator. The difference in the two types of bucking is that the play buck is generally milder and less intense, where the predator buck is usually violent and the horse is in some stage of panic. Horses can also buck from ill-fitting saddles and/or sore backs. Generally, this type of buck is mild, but can become violent if the horse scares himself. A horse must have his head below his withers to buck. He will also clamp his tail down. His back will round, lifting the back of the saddle and the rider. The harder he bucks the lower he will hold his head, the rounder the back, and will have a stiff neck (not bending to the side). If the horse is bucking from fear of a perceived predator, he will have both of his ears turned back and tail clamped down tightly. This perceived predator could be a saddle, rider, or anything on his body he does not feel secure or safe wearing. At the walk he may round his back and move stiffly. He is using his body language to say, "I have not accepted this and may buck if asked to travel at a faster pace." When he is more settled the horse's back will flatten out and he will relax his back muscles along with the ones that clamp his tail. He will lose that worried look and will move his ears away from facing back all the time. His head will come up to its normal position and he will release his neck so you can turn his head and see his eye, flexing his poll in and to the side. If your mount is feeling his oats, you may notice that when you first mount up, he will raise his back up, lifting your seat. He may move with a stiffer gait. He may try to put his head down below his wither and move it back and forth trying to free himself to play. His mouth will be resistant to your signals to flex at the poll and bend his neck. A playful horse will not keep his ears back all the time and will move them to the direction of his thoughts. You may find riding only at the walk and trot, using up some of his extra energy, helpful, before your canter. Use lots of transitions and circles to keep his mind from thinking about playing. This also helps your horse to learn to use his energy constructively and learn to think less about bucking when he feels good. Cantering before he has lost his extra freshness will enable him to buck very easily, because he already has his back round and is likely to be stiff in the neck and poll, too. If you can keep his head above his withers and can keep a bend in his neck and poll, you will likely spoil his fun. Keeping his head up makes it difficult to round his back to buck. A horse has to learn to play buck under saddle. If never allowed from the start of his training, he will not likely think about it later to express his extra energy. If you discourage the idea when you feel him start to think about it, he will never really learn how to play buck hard or at all under tack. Kicking is another natural behaviour you will see horses do. Horses kick (fight instinct) when they feel they cannot get away (flight instinct) and feel threatened. Also, they kick if they want something or someone to leave them alone. In the latter case the horse is showing dominant behaviour to get what he wants, to be left alone or maybe to eat another horse's pile of hay. I have found that mares seem to have a greater tendency to kick than male horses. When a horse is going to kick he will usually alert you by swinging his rump in your direction, telling you he feels threatened. Then he will clamp his tail down, telling you he is feeling more threatened or irritated. He may then gather himself and give a little warning hop with his back feet, or he might lift a hind leg in a threatening gesture. He might swing his leg toward you in a slow kick, all of these gestures politely telling you to move away. The horse will likely kick hard next, if the irritation continues and if the kicking behaviour is not discouraged. Some horses give you a lot of warning before they kick, but others give very little. Watch his tail and ears, if he turns his head so he can see you with one eye and is pinning his ears, all he has to do is clamp his tail and kick. If startled, a horse can clamp his tail and kick in a split second, some kick first and look afterward to see what he kicked. Horses kick for many reasons, though it's most likely to protect their food or body from perceived danger. If a horse is kicking, he is not comfortable in his surroundings yet. It is always a good idea to speak to a horse when approaching from the rear. You can be sure he knows you are there if he swivels back an ear and turns his head so he can watch you. If the horse realizes you are approaching his is not likely to startle and kick. Some horses will kick at their belly when you tighten the girth. This is the same body language as if the horse was kicking at a biting fly on his belly. He is saying that tightening the girth is uncomfortable. The saddle may not fit or the girth is dirty and irritating, or maybe he has sore muscles on which the girth or saddle is pressing. A few horses will continue to kick at their belles, some even before you tighten the girth because they remember it hurting before and think it will hurt again. A well fitting saddle, a clean girth and being careful of sore muscles will eventually cure the horse of wanting to kick at the thought of the girth tightening. It sometimes takes thirty to fifty positive experiences to undo negative expectations. Another body language associated with a horse's legs is when he is unwilling to pick up his hooves for you. If he perceives anything threatening around him, he may be unwilling to let you pick up his hooves. You may have experienced this if you have tried to lift a horse's hoof while he is spooked by something new at the other end of the barn. The horse's hoof seems to be cemented to the ground. The horse must feel relatively safe to give you his hoof and surrender his flight reflex. If your horse normally lets you pick up his hooves easily and you notice one day he will not pick up one hoof for you. He may be telling you that his opposite leg is sore and he does not want to shift more weight on it. A horse's tail can flag, swish, or clamp down. When he flags his tail, sticking it straight up, he is excited and happy. A tail that is swishing tells us that the horse is irritated at a point of his body from the shoulders back. He may also swish his tail to warn other horses he intends to kick if they get any closer. The harder and faster the horse swishes his tail, the more irritated he is. A mare can swish her tail like this when refusing a stallion's advances. If the irritation is strong, a horse will usually pin her ears in addition to swishing his tail. The pinned ears say she is not happy and is warning the bothersome thing to go away before she kicks. At the other end of the horse you have to be concerned with biting. Male horses, especially young ones, like to use their mouths to play and investigate. Mares can also be mouthy but the tendency is not as strong. When a horse play bites he is not pinning his ears and can snap at you very quickly He may be hoping you will buy into his game of sparing. He bites, you hit act. A horse that is fed treats, can also bite telling their handlers they want a treat now! Horses usually give clear body language signals when they are going to bit aggressively. This is another example of herd behaviour, a horse is warning something to away from them. They will pin their ears and wrinkle the top part of their nostrils. Then they will point their nose toward what they want to leave. If still no response, they might choose to actually bite or snap at the air. After warning whatever is irritating them, horses will usually bite and may try to turn and kick too. Not all horses give this much warning before they bite and some give the warning very quickly. It is always a good idea to pay close attention to what your horse is telling you especially if you are in a situation where the horse may want to protect something. This could be a foal, or a friend horse, territory or personal space. When you are out to the barn for your next ride keep an eye out for the body language signals of your horse and the other horses around you. Look for signals that tell you when a horse is going to rear, buck, kick, bite or a combination of these behaviours. You will find it is safer and easier to change the horse's mind while he is thinking about it, but before he does it. You will soon be able to tell if your horse is frightened or just full of himself or warning that he is going to be aggressive. The more you watch the better you will become at reading the horse's body language. Be sure to watch his eyes, ears, and mouth the most because whatever he is thinking will show up there first. Your horse is like you in that he is a thinking creature. The way he holds and moves his body will tell you what he is thinking. Next time you want him to learn something new, watch him and proceed when he tells you he understands by relaxing, breathing and chewing. Learning your horse's body language will help you become a better horseperson and rider. You will be safer too! HOW YOUR BODY LANGUAGE EFFECTS THE HORSE We had just purchased three broodmares and were loading them to take them home. The first two my husband, Gary, and I led up to our stock trailer and they walked right in. The last mare was at a different pasture, so we drive over there to get her. The man we purchased her from, caught her and led her up to the trailer, but was unable to get her to load. Even though I was encouraging her from behind, she stood with her head up pulling against him. After a few minutes, he realized he wasn't going to be successful and backed her up. At this time my husband took the lead and she walked into the trailer without hesitation. The only difference was the body language of the two men. The first stood facing her with the attitude that she had better load or else. His body language was telling her she might be in danger if she came closer. By pulling with a steady force on the lead, trying to pull her in, he was giving her the pressure of his pull to resist against. The second man, Gary, had a softer attitude, used a light tug and release on her lead and expected her to follow him in. He kept his back to her so she would be less intimated and would likely follow him. Gary also used her herd instinct to follow by keeping his back to her. He gave her no reason to think she wouldn't be safe. By using the tug and release signal on the lead, he gave her nothing to resist against. The mare having no reason to resist, loaded easily. Most of us have heard of magical horsemen and horsewomen that can do anything with a horse and the horse cooperates. There are two key reasons, first is the person's understanding of how human body language effect the horse and second is their excellent understanding of the horse's body language. The magic you see is really total communication Any one can learn to use their own body language more effectively. Learning how to breathe, centre, use soft muscles, use soft eyes, and make mind pictures will help you achieve this goal. Breathing is something we don't normally think about since it's so automatic. But when we are concentrating on something very intently or are very nervous (like at a scary movie), who hasn't found themselves holding their breath? When you hold your breath, your body becomes tense and inflexible, which are two conditions that directly affect your ability to communicate with your body to your horse. You should make a conscious effort to breath regularly and deeply. To breath properly, you should feel your stomach move out below your navel when you inhale. Take a deep sigh and you will feel this movement. Centering is when you find your centre of balance. To find your balance, stand with your feet about shoulder width apart with your legs straight, but your knees should not be locked. Close your eyes while in this position and focus on finding your centre of balance. At first you may feel like you're swaying as you stand, but with practice you will find the place where you feel centered and balanced. In time you will be able to find this place instantly. Centering is important because when you are centered you are like a punching bag that is weighted on the bottom. No matter what happens your balance is secure and you will return to your centre, like the punching bag. This will give you confidence that will help you relax and, in turn, will help the horse be more relaxed.. While centering you need to make sure your back is flat so your spine is straight. If you placed one hand on your back where your belt would be and slide it up and down, that area of your back should feel flat. If your back is concave, you will not be able to centre properly. To flatten your back, tilt your pelvis so your tail bone is pointing down. Soft Eyes are important because how you use your eyes effects how you hold the rest of your body. If you use hard eyes, where you stare at something with little or no peripheral vision, you will notice a tension in your back and neck. When you use soft eyes, you look at something but use as much peripheral vision as possible. It is a more relaxed and all encompassing gaze. You will notice how much more relaxed your back, neck, and body feel. Your horse will sense the difference too. Horses are the body language experts because most of their communication is done with body language. Soft Muscles are important because hard muscles cause you to lose your centre and are present when your body is rigid and inflexible. Soft muscles allow you to maintain control yet keep you flexible to handle changes in the horse. Your touch on the horse is also more effective when you use soft muscles. Use this exercise to discover soft muscles and how effective they are. Stand on the ground and using the muscles in your arm, hold your hand out so your arm is parallel to the ground. Have a friend try and push your forearm and hand toward your shoulder. Note how hard it is to maintain your balance and how much effort you had to use to resist your friend's strength. You will find hard muscles keep you from being able to adjust. Now try the same exercise by using soft muscles, mostly your arms tendons, to hold your arm in the same position. Your muscles will feel soft to the touch. Once again, have a friend try to move your forearm and hand toward your shoulder. This time you will find that you are to resist a stronger effort by your friend, maintain control, and keep your balance. Soft muscles will allow you to control your horse better and be flexible to the changes the horse may require of you. Mind Pictures is an easy yet effective technique to use. To use it all you need to do is think about and make a picture in your mind on how you want your horse to behave or what your want him to do. By having this picture in your mind it will automatically make your body language say what is in you mind to the horse. For example, if you think that your horse will not go into the trailer, you will put out subtle signals that the trailer is an upsetting place to be. But on the other hand if you picture your horse walking right in to get a bite of grain, like in his stall, you will send a relaxed signal to your horse and he will think he is just going into a different kind of stall. Another example is if you have ever had a horse rub your knee on a fence as you are riding and had a very difficult time getting him to quit. You may have found that when you were thinking about your knee being rubbed off by the fence that the horse kept rubbing it every time around. Once you were able to think about something else like riding on the inside of the track, the horse quit rubbing your knee on the fence. Your body language told your horse to go where you were thinking, and this can often be a stronger signal than your direct aids. In addition to how you hold your body and think, the horse will also read your position in relation to his body. There are a few basic positions that are often used to communicate what you want your horse to do. One is to stand off to the side and in front of the shoulder facing the horse, this means to stay back or hold. You will find standing erect with your head up and shoulders back has a more aggressive effect than when your eyes are down and your shoulders are slightly slumped. While the horse is loose or lunging, moving toward the rear quarters from the mid-barrel back will move the horse away from you. If you circle around and approach the horse from the shoulder forward, this movement has a blocking effect to stop or turn the horse. You will find that horses will also mimic some, if you want him to duck under something, the act of you lowering your head and shoulders will help him to lower his head and neck. You will find that if you step big over polls while leading your horse he will be a little more careful stepping over the polls himself, and if you walk around them he will want to too. These techniques will help you work with your horse in a way that is easier for your horse to be calm and you will be able to effectively use your body language to communicate what you want him to do. Horse Whispering Until recently, handling horses was based on a traditional procedure handed down from generation to generation. Today, Horse Whispering is a powerful, effective method used to train horses. It is gentle for both the trainer and the horse because it creates a bond of trust, control, and compassion between the two. If a trainer learns the horse's philosophy (set of principles about the nature of horses) it will teach him/her to recognize and take advantage of a horse's instinctive behaviour. The Equine Language On a horse, the tail, mouth, nose and legs express the horse's feelings. When my horse has a relaxed, droopy bottom lip, she's dozing. If my horse's nose is high, her top lip is curled up, and her teeth are showing, she is doing something called Flehmen Posture. Flehmen Posture usually happens when my horse is mating or there has been a sudden change that attracts her attention. When my horse's ears are back, it means that she is afraid. If my horse has pinned ears (her ears almost look like they are pinned to her neck) she's mad. If my horse's ears are forward, she is either curious of something that is in front of her, or she is startled. My horse's attention is split if one of her ears is forward, and one is back. If her ears are droopy, it's due to a lack of attention. A tense, tight mouth means she is upset or confused. When my horse is startled, she will jerk her head and neck as well. A snapping motion by a foal with her mouth means she's submissive. If my horse's tail is high, she's excited. On the other hand, if her tail is down, she's fearful and submissive. A tail slightly high means a greeting. If her tail is slightly low, she is sleepy. When danger is near, my horse's body will tense up, her head will be held high, her tail will be up and her eyes focused. A pawing horse is either investigating or is angry. Neighs, nickers, squeals, and snorts are all vocal messages. A grunt means that my horse is making great effort or she is in pain. A squeal means that she is meeting others. It can also mean resentment or courtship. When a horse snorts, she will probably be alarmed and her head and tail will be high. Individual horses have their own voices when they neigh. A nicker is a lower and shorter sound than a neigh. A nicker is usually used between friends. The Horse Horses are very much like us. They are as individualistic as we are. Horses do not like to be confined. They are into pressure animals. That means that if you put heavy pressure on a horse, she will lean back towards you. So if you want a horse to sidestep, you tap her belly firmly but gently. The outline of a horse's body expresses its emotional state. Horses communicate using voice and body language. However, eighty percent of horse's communication is non-verbal. The equine communication system embraces all breeds, colours and types. Techniques Of Horse Whispering My horse can read my body language. Humans have to counter-act the physical strength of horses with our intellect. Humans impose the only barriers to understanding horses. Horse Whispering means no whips, no chains, no cursing and no yelling. The secret to training a horse is to become the dominant "horse" or force in the animal's life. The trainer tries to position him/her self to be the leader of that horse's life. To win a horse's confidence, we must act less like predators. To make a horse behave a person must make him/her self look big. We must think more like a prey animal (a horse). We may not be aware that we are sending signals to a horse when we actually are. If the trainer keeps his/her mouth closed, it invites the horse's discomfort. Horses don't like that. Opening your mouth even slightly is fine. Opening a fist close to the horse sends him away. Opening a fist on the side of a your body, away from the horse, draws the horse in. There are numbers from one to ten in training. If you are a ten, you are the boss. The trainer always tries to be a ten. By understanding the nature of horses, people can learn to communicate with them. Horse Whispering is the name applied to this method of training. It is gentle, but also powerful and effective.
Author Unknown. If anyone knows who wrote this article will they contact me |
DOES YOUR HORSE SUFFER FROM FARRIER PHOBIA
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DOES YOUR
HORSE SUFFER FROM FARRIER PHOBIA
Imagine yourself trapped in an elevator. Your hands are tied and you are only able to stand on one leg at a time. Let's also add an annoying fly that insists on using your nose for a landing site. Sounds pretty uncomfortable and maybe even scary if you're the claustrophobic type, doesn't it? Keep this in mind the next time you see a young horse in crossties, fighting flies in a narrow barn aisle, anxiously awaiting a farrier. One thing the owner and farrier should realize is that the horse's skittish, jumpy, kicking, etc., reactions are not personal attacks directed at them, rather, they are natural responses to the situation. An automatic response to this behavior is to hold the horse in place physically. Such approaches include crossties, leg hobbles, "honda knots" and the like, most of which prove dangerous to both horse and handler. Some may argue in support of these tactics and to accomplish the job. However, these methods are long, physical processes that never lead to a lasting fix. Facing Fears Through Body Boundaries All horses have two primal fears (phobias): being attacked and being trapped. Unfortunately, for a horse, a new farrier can represent both. It is only through a process of setting boundaries for the horse's body in relation to the handler's that this situation can be truly helped with lasting results. This body-boundary approach is currently being used by many successful trainers/educators. Terms such as "WESN-Lesson," "Joining Up" or "Heeding" have been associated with the basic idea of creating corridors, tunnels and/or counter moves. They develop a horse's understanding of where to be in relation to the handler. The handler should maintain a shoulder-by-shoulder alignment on the ground with the horse. From this spot, the horse can be directed or steered. Once the handler knows where to be, it is necessary to show the horse his boundaries. The first step is to deal with the horse's phobia. Being patient and standing by his shoulder will help show him the handler does not intend to attack. In addition, being in a place that is familiar, such as a grooming stall, barn aisle, round pen or arena will show the horse there is no attack from his surroundings. Once this stage of training has been successfully completed, stage two addresses the horse's feeling of entrapment. This can result if a horse loses its balance and/or the ability to move. A horse must feel he has an opening in a least one of four directions: forward, backward, nearness or farside. Restraint devices can trap him, causing fear to take over. This concept is not easily remembered in the heat of a frustrating moment, especially when both the handler and farrier are pressured for immediate results. Redirecting the horse to stand up or stand still can be done by the shoulder-by shoulder boundary. Blocking with light resistance in front of shoulders can gain a standstill, or light encouragement or tapping behind the shoulders encourages the horse to step forward or stand up. Side-by-side movement should be tolerated in the early stages of training to prevent a trapped fear taking over the horse. After the horse relaxes and accepts his boundaries, it is then time to ask for his feet. The single most important thing to remember is to avoid a tug of war. The goal is not how long the horse's foot can be held up, but to teach him the handler is the one in charge of setting it down. This means setting the foot down before the horse expects you to. He eventually will learn to trust and wait for his foot to be put down each time, whether it is in two seconds or two minutes. Farrier phobia in horses is natural. It takes an investment of time by the owner/handler working with the farrier to train a horse to be calm and comfortable. A humane approach to horseshoeing is a method that can be practiced on every horse. This "farrier-friendly"™ approach represents the wave of the future. © 2000 Bryan Farcus.
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TRAINING MYTHUNDERSTANDINGS by Ron Meredith
Dealing with Rearing and Pulling At some point in its training, something will startle or frighten an energetic, red blooded baby horse and he will rear or pull back or run sideways while the trainer is leading him. Or he may jump around just because he's young and he's feeling good. Or maybe he's challenging his trainer like he would another horse in the herd just to see who's who in the pecking order. These things are actually the trainer's fault because they allowed the animal's attention to wander. Then an awful lot of trainers make a second mistake. To get the horse's attention back, they jerk the shank or yank the horse sideways or pop him with the end of the lead rope or they yell at him. This is the "biggest, baddest wins" school of horse training. This method sometimes looks like it works. If the trainer really is the biggest, baddest one, they may get the horse to freeze and hesitate before they startle or rear or pull back the next time. But the horse hasn't really learned anything except that when they're frightened or startled, they're going to get attacked so they better watch out. That's not a lesson you can build on to teach the horse anything else. The trainer intends these jerking or pulling or popping pressures as punishment for the horse's "disobedience." They think if the consequences of a particular behavior are bad enough, the horse will avoid that behavior. But it doesn't work that way. The horse feels shanking, jerking, yelling, or popping as an attack. So instead of shaping the behavior the trainer really wants, these things just accelerate the behavior they were trying to correct. Most people are scared when a horse rears up. Their first reaction is to jerk on the lead rope or get out in front of the horse and pull on it. Pulling down on a horse's head gives the horse the feeling of being trapped. The fastest way to put a rearing horse over backwards is to keep pulling on his head because his natural tendency is to fight back against the pressure. Just the same, if you get out in front of a horse that's running back and start pulling on his head, the horse will just go backwards faster. You'll see horses running backwards with someone running right in front of them holding on to the rope and jerking. To the horse, this is a head on attack that just drives him back more. If it's a horse that's challenging you or unhappy for some reason and you get in front of him, he can get you with his left or right front foot or with his teeth. The only really safe place to be around a horse is close enough to it so that it can't get any swing going with anything. That means at and right against the shoulder. When you work with a horse, you always work from the shoulder back and from the shoulder forward as you get to know the horse. When a horse rears as you are walking beside it, you want to stay as close to the shoulder as possible. The front feet are what will hurt you and if you can stay against the shoulder, there is no way the front feet, back feet, or teeth can get you. If you need to, grab a chunk of mane and pull yourself against the shoulder. You give the horse all the lead line it needs to go up. The best way to deal with rearing or pulling is not to let them get started in the first place. You do that by keeping your attention on the horse and the horse's attention on you at all times. Every stride. Nobody's perfect, however. So if the horse does startle or pull back or rear, you just go about your business and put him right back to work. Don't attack or punish the horse for "being disobedient." Remember, there is no such thing as a disobedience if you're not directing the horse. That means you have to be telling the horse what TO DO and what NOT TO DO. Pulling or rearing or jumping sideways may be a lapse of obedience but when they happen, you simply interrupt them with instructions of what to BE doing. No punishment. No fight. No fuss. Your primary objective in any training session whether you're working on the ground or from the saddle is rhythm and relaxation. What the horse needs is steady, physical work at a mental level that you have created which is alert enough and excited enough to pay attention to you but not frightened and not tense. He's just looking to have a good time, and that's what we're trying to teach him to do--how to have a good time playing our game. If he gets startled or frightened, you want him to come to you as the safe place to be. You want to be a person he can trust for some direction to get him past whatever is frightening or startling. When you're working with a horse, pay attention to his ears because they'll tell you where his attention is and whether he's relaxed. Whether you're walking alongside him or up on his back, you want one or both of those ears swiveled in your direction to let you know you have his attention. If you don't, put him to work with some heeding or change what you're asking for under saddle just a little until he gives his attention back to you. © 2000 Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre.
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SENSE Mary DeBono Q. What kinds of problems does SENSE help resolve? SENSE benefits animals of all ages and levels of fitness, from improving the performance of an Olympic-level equine athlete to helping an older dog with hip dysplasia walk comfortably. Simply put, SENSE maximizes the potential of all animals, enhancing the healing process and reducing the risk of injury and degenerative disease. Well-being and comfort are increased. Some benefits of SENSE:
Q: How does the SENSE Method work? The SENSE Method improves animals' well-being and athletic performance by addressing the causes of physical and mental tensions. While numerous animals suffering from hip dysplasia, spinal problems, ligament and joint injuries, and sore, stiff muscles have been helped by SENSE, it is not veterinary therapy. It is an educational approach. This easy-to-learn approach uses gentle touch and exercises which assist the animal in learning how to move in safer, more comfortable ways which lessen musculoskeletal stress. Injured areas get a chance to heal, and degenerative problems can be prevented. With this newly found comfort, the animal's anxiety is greatly reduced, aggression often diminishes, and cooperation is enhanced. People that utilize SENSE report a greatly increased bond with their animal friends. Q: What kinds of workshops, products, and services do you offer?
For dog lovers, Mary leads one- and two-day canine workshops throughout the country. Participants learn how to improve the well-being, comfort, and movement of their canine friends. Participants also use Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement exercises to improve their own body mechanics. These workshops are popular with owners of show, agility, working, and pet dogs. The concepts learned in this course are applicable to cats as well. For horse lovers, Mary Debono personally leads SENSE intensive five-day equine workshops in San Diego, California (USA), as well as two-day equine workshops nationwide. In both venues, participants learn how to effectively use SENSE concepts to improve the well-being and performance of horses, while they improve their own body mechanics through the use of Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement exercises. Please refer to the Workshops homepage for details and registration information. Find out how you can host a SENSE workshop in your home town! SENSE products include our unique Rollercise Package that instantly eliminates back and shoulder tension while improving posture. We are also creating a quarterly journal that provides detailed information on using SENSE, as well as other holistic modalities. Please refer to the Products and Newsletter homepages for details. Based in San Diego, California (USA), Mary maintains a busy private practice throughout Southern California. She works one-on-one with horses, pets, and their people! She is successful at helping equestrians improve their riding skills effortlessly. Please email her at mary@debonosense.com or call toll-free 1.888.858.6862 for appointment information. If you are affiliated with a therapeutic riding or service dog program, please indicate this. You may qualify for a free session! Discounts available for groups. Q: Where can I find the schedule of SENSE workshops? We keep an updated listing on the Workshops homepage. Please contact us if you have any questions or need more information. We're happy to help you! Q: What is the Feldenkrais Method, and how does it eliminate pain and movement restrictions? Can it improve my athletic skills, too? The Feldenkrais Method, named after its creator, Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, is a profound approach to improving human movement and maximizing potential. The Feldenkrais Method uses sensory motor learning to ease aches and pains and enhance skills. It is an innovative approach to achieving dynamic health and well-being and reducing stress. Feldenkrais practitioners teach people how to discover efficient and comfortable movement patterns, freeing them from restrictions and pain. Individuals who participate in Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lessons or private sessions can expect improved performance and enjoyment of pursuits such as riding, golf, running, handling their canine companions, swimming, yoga, martial arts, tennis, walking, and weight-training. In addition, the Feldenkrais Method has proven to be effective for people with carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive stress injuries, chronic and acute back pain, neck and shoulder tension, headaches, neuralgia, foot, knee and hip pain. As a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, Mary's development of SENSE was strongly inspired by the Feldenkrais Method. Q: What does the acronym SENSE stand for? Strength with Elegance through Natural Somatic Expression Strength with Elegance is the ability to perform athletic tasks in a graceful, relaxed manner. That means that all of the effort goes into performance, rather than into counteracting habitual movement restrictions and tensions. This improves performance and reduces fatigue and injury. Natural Somatic Expression refers to the full range of free movement that is every animal's ultimate potential. SENSE liberates and maximizes this potential. Q: How can I find a Certified SENSE Practitioner in my area? Please email us at mary@debonosense.com or call toll-free 1.888.858.6862 and we'll provide you with a list of practitioners in your geographic region. Please be sure to include your complete mailing address, telephone number, and email address. A Natural Approach to
Enhancing Copyright © 2002
SENSEsm. All rights reserved. |
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TIPS TO HELP YOUR HORSE Mary DeBono
Q: "My 11-year-old gelding, Troy, doesn't like to be girthed. In fact, he pins his ears and bites the air as I cinch him up, even though I do it slowly. Since his recent vet exam found him sound and healthy and his saddle fits well, my friends have been telling me it's a just a bad habit. The advice has been to either ignore the behavior or punish him for it. I'd rather Troy not act so grumpy, but it doesn't seem fair to punish him for it either. Do you think SENSE work will help?" A: Yes, I certainly think SENSE can help Troy. But first, let me applaud you for having your veterinarian rule out a medical condition. It is essential to do that first. Horses are limited in the ways they can communicate with us. Troy's display of pinning his ears and biting the air is his way of telling you that you are hurting him or he is worried that you will hurt him. Troy seems like a very polite horse; at least he isn't biting you! Without seeing Troy, it is impossible to know with certainty, but my experience has shown that horses who exhibit Troy's reaction to girthing are sore through the ribcage. Since sore muscles hurt more when they move, the horses learn to inhibit movement there in an attempt to avoid the discomfort. Fastening a cinch across a sore, inflexible area can cause pain! You can already see that punishing Troy for displaying his reaction would be doing him a tremendous disservice. Instead, I'll lead you through an approach that can help your horse overcome his aversion to the girth by eliminating its cause: pain. In addition to having a happier partner, you should find Troy to be more supple under saddle as well. There are many muscles that participate in moving the ribcage. When your horse inhibits certain muscles from moving, he is actually keeping them in a state of chronic contraction. This is fatiguing and contributes to the soreness. In addition, other muscles have to work overtime to compensate. This vicious cycle results in even more soreness and lack of movement. The key to supple, pain-free movement is having all of the parts work together, with no one part doing more than its intended share. Therefore, your task will be to convince Troy that keeping his muscles chronically contracted is no longer necessary. While that may sound like a big challenge, it usually isn't that difficult. Your first job will be to take over the work that these muscles are doing. This will render their contractions unnecessary, and your horse's nervous system will start allowing the muscles to relax. In SENSE we call this "Supporting the Pattern," since we are exaggerating or supporting what Troy is already doing. If we were to contradict his pattern (such as trying to force movement to happen instead of allowing it to), it is likely that he would become anxious and further contract his muscles. SENSE operates on the level of the nervous system, since the nervous system controls the functioning of the muscles. Keep this in mind as you touch your horse. Horses are incredibly sensitive, and a light touch is often much more effective than a heavy-handed one. When in doubt, use less pressure. Remember the motto: Less is more!
Okay, let's get started. Stand by Troy's left side, facing his ribcage. Stand balanced on both of your feet. Place your hands softly on Troy's ribs. You can use either the palms of your hands or soft fists. People prone to wrist tenderness (such as those with carpal tunnel syndrome) are often more comfortable keeping their wrists straight, so holding their hands in soft fists may be preferred. Either way, remember to exert as little pressure as possible and keep your hands soft. Using the smallest amount of pressure possible, gently slide Troy's ribcage forward, toward his head. Your hands should not move across the skin. Look at the area in front of his shoulder blade. If you are indeed sliding Troy's ribcage forward, you should see the muscles around his shoulder soften. Sliding the ribcage forward should elicit a change to deeper breathing, a sigh, a contented look, or a lowering of his head. If Troy seems at all anxious, you are probably trying too hard and doing too much. Throttle back, and try again. It's very helpful to think the movement through before you actually do it. Remember, use the smallest amount of pressure possible. You are not trying to force something to happen, but rather showing Troy what's possible by providing him with this additional support. Experiment with the placement of your hands. It is impossible to dictate an exact place where your hands should be, since a lot depends on the size of both you and your horse. Try several different hand positions and see which one requires the least amount of effort. Do the movement a few times, on both the left and right sides. Notice if one side moves easier than the other. Does Troy seem to give a greater release on one side? With the same degree of sensitivity, move the ribcage toward his withers, in an upward diagonal direction. Again, be aware of his reactions to the movement. Does Troy seem to prefer the forward or diagonal direction? Which elicits the greater response? Can you find the best place to put your hands for the diagonal movement? By providing this physical support for Troy, his muscles can begin to release their contractions and the soreness will diminish. Very importantly, you are showing him that movement of his ribcage can be pleasurable and not something that needs to be inhibited. Also, since you are moving his ribcage relative to his shoulders, the movement of his shoulders will become freer as well. It is likely that his stride length will also increase. Troy will enjoy feeling how much more movement he has and will likely want to recreate and expand on it, carrying this newfound suppleness over into his under saddle work. Continue to be unhurried and gentle in girthing him up, and he will thank you for it! Remember that this is just the first step for Troy. In upcoming issues of this page we will explore other aspects of working with the sternum/ribcage and its importance to rounding the back, engaging the hind end, and allowing the neck to be free and supple. Copyright © 2002 SENSEsm. All rights
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THE TELLINGTON TOUCH
The Tellington-Touch Equine Awareness Method:
TTEAM offers a training approach that encourages optimal performance and health and presents solutions to common behavioral and physical problems. TTEAM horses demonstrate marked improvement in athletic skills and increased willingness and ability to perform. Not only does the horse benefit, but also a deeper rapport grows between horse and rider because of increased understanding and more effective communication. TTEAM has been used successfully with: * sore backs * stiffness * stress
There are three phases of TTEAM work: * The Tellington Touch (TTouch) With the TTEAM approach, a series of Ground Exercises enable a horse to override old patterns and to learn without fear or force. Using a variety of obstacles including labyrinth, ground poles and plastic, TTEAM exercises result in self-control, focus, self-confidence, cooperation, balance and coordination. Moreover, eleven unique ways of leading a horse provide opportunities for both horse and rider to increase ability and coordination
The Tellington-Touch finds areas in a horse's body that indicate tension, fear of contact, soreness or discomfort. Specific touches and movements improve self-image and self-confidence. The TTouch has been used extensively to speed healing and recovery from injury and illness in horses and in all animals, including humans. Attitude and behavior also can be positively influenced with the TTouch. The TTouch techniques for first-aid offer animal owners an invaluable tool. Hundreds of case histories about emergencies with colic, illness or injury demonstrate the value of TTEAM work with the ears to keep a horse out of shock or to bring a horse out of shock while waiting for the veterinarian. The Joy of Riding combines Linda's 30+ years of teaching classical riding and her experience as a Feldenkrais practitioner for humans. TTEAM has developed several unique tools like the Balance Rein, the Neckring and the TTEAM Training rollerbit to encourage the well-being of the horse. Experiencing the joy of riding with awareness increases the comfort, performance and confidence of horse and rider. Copyright 2000 Linda Tellington Jones |
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