Now you have opened a can of worms!
I used to (regrettably) do some form of imprinting on my new foals. And like the experiences shared here - unpredictable "results". I'm not sure what I was expecting. I had worked at a breeding stable for years and after assisting the mare - stepped out and let the mare do the imprinting. When I had my own foals the imprinting was part of my own personal need to 'hug and hold'. Now I understand it to be trauma! At the "cellular" level! These imprinted foals are actually trauma victims at a very early age and become "dead" horses as adults.
Harmon - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-TLrFq9gXg&list=PLFF54166AEFB805D0&index=33&feature=plpp_video
Now I don't halter "break", tie or even lead until they are at least three or even four. I can still 'move' them and absolutely have the "dominance' that KFH speaks of (how I hate that word!). Now they can be the real teachers they are meant to be.
Listen (or listen again if you have already heard them) the interviews with KFH (and Linda Kohanov) from the Path of the Horse and Horse Conscious series.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Continued
Pleasure was telling me "catch" was the WRONG word. Even the WRONG behavior! What I really want to do is invite myself INTO HIS WORLD. What I was really doing was dragging him into mine! My work (as KFH says) is to become 'worthy' (responsible for myself) of this invitation! ALL of KFH encounters with the horse leaves the horse "intact". He "takes" nothing and yet the horse "gives" everything.
I could list enumerable 'stories' of what this "looks like".
Starts with - "It is not your hoof!"
Sunday, July 8, 2012
How arrogant we are to think (assume) that our words are heard (received) in the way we intend.
Pleasure was difficult to catch. Every time by anyone. So, he trained his people to always "feed" him in a small area. Once there he had absolutely no resistance to being caught. Putting the halter on and going with the human to do whatever. No resistance to the "doing" in the relationship.
The "problem" was getting caught.
Operative word 'caught'.
Traditionally, when humans come upon a "problem" we "problem solve" and come up with strategies to reach our goal. And I had a list of strategies that I shared with my student to reach her goal. Catch her horse. She followed them to the letter with barely noticeable results. Often resorting to enticing him to a small area where "catching" was no longer necessary. My student felt hurt that the horse didn't want to be with her. Yet, my observations were the horse dearly wanted the relationship with his new human! I could tell the struggle with being caught was a fear within this horse. His own struggle.
So I went to catch him. My intentions were clear. I wanted to catch him. No sneaking up on him. No tricking him into a trap. Honest open congruent intentions. Then the conversation began. I found a very very sensitive horse. To the very smallest 'movements' from me. Invisible to observer. In the end my "doing" was to meet him where he was in the pasture. Stay with him where ever he went - energetically and with my "honorable" intentions. Until he followed me into the smaller space and to his human. Who had the halter and "good intentions" for a respectful relationship.
I already knew this horse was a high ranking individual in a bachelor herd. He established this instantly and quietly with no damage done. The old gelding in the herd that was the leader before did not question his authority (as he had with other additions to this herd).
Later I found out his story. Pleasure was raised naturally in a large family herd until he was two or threes years of age. He was then ROPED and brought in to be BROKE to ride.
Bottom line is: Pleasure's "experience" with the capture word was quite different than my intention with the word!
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