Dance Your Own Dance

Time spent with horses is always time well spent. I remember my own childhood with horses and even when things went "wrong" for me and I was frustrated or angry - the horses taught me how totally nonproductive that was! As I work with new and young students in Horsemanship, I see how it takes them a while after first arriving, to settle and connect deeply not only with the horses, but with their own feelings and needs.

There is a great deal more to our Horsemanship than just riding. Being in the presence of horses helps us see our own issues in a new light. We can process problems while cleaning hooves and the horse will tell us if we are congruent or not - if he feels safe lifting a hoof for us; if he feels that we are clear and assertive; if he feels that we care or just do not!

Our relationship with a horse is like a dance. It is based upon communication and mutual concern for the other. "Love is the active promotion of the well being of the love object" (E. Fromm) When we learn how to love a horse, we learn how to love. When we learn how to communicate with a horse, we are more clear in our communications with other people.

Horses need to know when they are successful and are pleasing us. We often let them know when they are "wrong", but forget to tell them when they are "right"...

One thing I learned in Jazz class that improved my Dressage was to let go of control and flow into the dance. We get all caught up in making a "mistake" which blocks the flow of creativity with fear. We can impose a similar restriction upon our horse by confining him within tight, unyielding aids that invite resistance! Yet we need a balance in that communication because we do not want to just "throw him into a vacuum".

The image I use and teach is to think of the horse's energy as a river running between the banks of your aids (keep him between your reins and between your legs) - see his movement as a flow just like the water in the river and, thinking ahead, keep his body within those "banks"....

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Your relationship with horses is unique and personal. Horses come in all shapes and sizes with all manner of talents and experiences. If you are just starting out; get a horse with some age and experience so your time together will be safe and productive. If you have a lifetime of experience with horses; help horses by teaching and training and sharing what you have learned! We're all in this together with a focus (hopefully) on the active promotion of the well being of horses.

We are offering a New Horse Owners Workshop at Dharmahorse on June 3rd, 2012. This will teach Horse Care, Handling, Facilities, Basic Riding, First Aid and more...

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