 Equine-Facilitated
Psychotherapy & Learning EFP/L |
December 2008
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Upcoming Workshops
Energy and Grace:
Human and Horse
Vale de Prazeres
Portugal
Feb 17-19
Invisible Horsemanship™
Introductory Seminar
Chehalis, WA
Feb 28
Full 2009
HEAL Schedule
on our
Website
be sure to check for the latest events
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How will you invest
in 2009?
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How about in yourself!
Read more about how beginning in January
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To Friends of HEAL,
Season's Greetings! And WOW, what a year!
Have you ever heard the saying, "Be careful what you pray for"? I believe that the principles that we teach and practice in EFL allow us to effectively manifest greater good and positive change in all areas of our lives, not just the horsemanship arena. Practicing these principles is a way of investing in yourself, making the most of your inner resources, and removing the "inner impediments" to growth.
2008 brought a new location for HEAL, plus new programs, staff members, and professional and personal relationships. Now I feel like the poster child for "tiger by the tail" syndrome! Change is stressful, even when it's positive. The holiday season can be stressful too, even with its opportunities for togetherness and sharing. Luckily, horses also teach the principles of balance, staying in the present, and being able to go with the flow... which allow me to enjoy the season, ready or not.
This month equine artist/writer Kim McElroy sends "Nickers" to our readers (check out her website for great gifts for horse lovers!). Kim is a featured contributor to The Path of the Horse, a recently released innovative documentary exploring our evolving relationship with horses (reviewed this month in our Soul Work with Horses column).
We've also posted links to new offerings for 2009 (including a February workshop in Portugal!). Hope to see you in the coming year!
Your short columns and comments are always welcome and we look forward to hearing from you. We encourage you to contact us at news@humanequinealliance.org.
Blessings for this season and beyond,
Leigh
Leigh Shambo, MSW, LMHC
Human-Equine Alliances for Learning (HEAL)
360.266.0778
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Nickers... from Kim McElroy Equine Artist and Writer
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 It is only in hindsight that we can see how our paths intertwine. And often, horses lead us to the most profound paths. When I met my first horse at a racetrack in Kentucky I had no way of knowing how she would lead me to not only a new way of life, but a new way of being. Though her name, Darma - which means the chosen path - should have given me a clue.
I have spent my life painting the spirits of horses to share their benevolent emotional and spiritual wisdom, but though I embody the horses when I paint them, I only rarely received glimpses of how they could be a catalyst for my own healing.
 I first learned of working with horses for personal growth when Linda Kohanov contacted me to ask if she could feature a story about Darma in "The Tao of Equus". I eagerly read everything Linda wrote, but it wasn't until a few years later when I received a flyer mysteriously in the mail - from a friend of a friend of a friend - offering Leigh's Introductory workshop in the Way of the Horse - that I realized the potential of the horse as a guide for my life's path. That first workshop led to a cathartic shift in my entire understanding about myself, and began my path of exploration.
That path has not only led me to find myself, but also from that center I have expanded upon the gifts that I was destined to express through my visionary art and writings. I illustrated the Way of the Horse book and card set with Linda Kohanov, and recently New World Library also released a journal of my artwork and writing also titled Way of the Horse. My free weekly E-Inspirations on my website have an audience of over 1,000 subscribers, and now my new animated eCards are drawing attention as well. My interview and artwork appear in the new inspiring documentary The Path of the Horse. All of this and more has been made possible by the power and belief that unfolded within me when horses helped me open up to the truth of my potential.
One of my most profound experiences was with a horse named Leo in a workshop with Leigh Shambo and Kathleen Ingram. I entered the round pen with a heaviness born of a lifelong anxiety about what to do or expect next. I said to myself, "What if nothing happens?" The horse turned to me, and said words my mind heard as clearly as if he had spoken them, "Nothing never happens."
Thank you Leigh and all the many horse healers!
Copyright 1987 - 2008 Kim McElroy
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Soul Work with Horses
Riding Without Pain, Force or Fear
by By Leigh Shambo, MSW, LMHC
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Coerce (verb): to restrain or repress; to compel; to enforce
Much of traditional horsemanship and riding is based on the behavioristic language of punishment and reward. When the 'outer' action of riding is more important to us than the 'inner' feeling of connection, the language of behaviorism may work reasonably well, and there are ways of employing it with a minimum of violence.
But the topic of this column is Soul Work with Horses, and a soul perspective raises interesting questions about training. To what extent does behaviorism serve to build a deep relationship with our equine friends? Given our culture's deep roots in the philosophy of behaviorism, are there other foundations for relationship that we may only be glimpsing now?
 The recently released film, The Path of the Horse by filmmaker Stormy May, offers thought-provoking perspectives on building relationship with horses. Contributors to the film are prominent horse men and women (including Alexander Nevzorov, Carolyn Resnick, Kim McElroy, Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling and Linda Kohanov) who are at the forefront of the 'horses as teachers of consciousness' movement. This is the story of one horse trainer's "leap of faith". Stormy May, a successful horse trainer and instructor, left behind a successful business in search of the secrets of a truly non-coercive, completely collaborative relationship with horses.
This fascinating film reveals little known research into the effects of forceful training of horses, including the physical effects of bit pressure on the tissues of the mouth and jaw, and the effect of prolonged pressure on the horse's back. To many equestrians the facts may be shocking, as they were to Stormy herself, but they are presented in an honest way that reveals Stormy's own journey toward a deeper understanding of our equine companions/teachers. And, the film offers a compelling vision for finding harmony that transcends force. I highly recommend it for all serious equestrians.
In EFP/L, we promote the values of authentic relationship, and unless we make every effort to understand horse behavior in its most subtle forms, then we are not really "walking our talk". We have to follow feeling as attentively in our equine partners as we would in our human partners, if our aim is to foster a deep sense of connectedness and a truly mutual relationship. This can occur within riding relationships, but this film shows us that we must proceed with sensitivity and most of all, greater awareness. The horses will inevitably show us that awareness itself is our most powerful "tool" in training.
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Noteworthy
The Path of the Horse Teleseminar Series
To celebrate the launch of The Path of the Horse DVD, to
further explore its themes and to help people learn a new paradigm in
horsemanship, producer Stormy May is putting together an exciting new FREE
teleseminar series featuring most of the people she interviewed. The series
will be called "The Path of the Horse Teleseminar Series - Learn from
today's leading teachers and visionaries" and will start on Saturday, January 10,
2009. The series will consist of four consecutive phone calls, and will
also be available live streaming online at those times. Get your
questions answered by the panel of Alexander Nevzorov *,
Carolyn Resnick, Kim McElroy, Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling, Linda Kohanov, Stormy
May and your host for each of the shows, Anna Twinney.
* Alexander Nevzorov will be represented by his english-speaking North American representative More info and DVD trailer
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