Hi Marv,
You may not remember me but you gave me some very useful advice in regards to working with 1 of our horses (J.W. 5 yr. old SSH) It gave me the confidence to start again and not stop the process which this time in the end was very successful and a good beginning. To review your help you told me to ignore J.W.'s gestures (head nodding, snaking, & resistance) It worked! Insist that he keep moving, and the speed was unimportant. Also your comment about him being people wise and not wild helped. I was able to ignore and keep him moving and change his directions. I still have a ways to go but he was calm during the whole process as was I.
He moved off easier and did the head movements in the beginning but they eventually went away. If he stopped and I kept him moving thats when they came back up. After awhile he just kept moving. One thing he did which surprised me was that his ear did lock on and he put his nose to the ground after about 5 min. but no lip chewing. That didn't come till way later. 15 min. approx? Every time he would try and come in I would send him out. Shortly he just would go around in a steady medium gait with his ear on. I was waiting for the chewing beings I felt that was very important to the process. As I mentioned he dropped his head early but the gestures and his attention wasn't focused on me at that time. When I did attempt the join up & follow up he just stood there so I sent him back out. Do any of your horses you start do this? And why? Are they trying a short cut? To show me he's harmless yet he still wants to be herd boss? Really curious so I can learn more.
In the end the chewing came and the head drop again and he joined- up and Followed up around the arena with me so we callled it a day. He and I our on our way.
What also gave me a lot of help was when you mentioned that many of the ground manners will clear up by themselves once there is the j.u. bond between us regarding the respect issues. That hit home beings our 3 horses our people orientated yet as you put many times I felt I was a mere tolerance in their day sometimes. Now with your help and clarifications I am gaining the respect little by little and am feeling I am on tract and helping our horses at the same time by gaining confidence which is needed to be a good herd leader. I may not be expressing myself clearly but my point is THANK YOU because it is all tying in together for me now with your many posts.
Sincerely
Tricia ~ MPHR08A@prodigy.com
NOTE: In her letter Tricia uses some terminology that is connected to another clinician's system such as join-up and follow-up. These are not terms that I use. While it appears that the method I use and the methods other clinicians use are similar, they are not.
For the most part, other clinicians get to the horse's mind by placing demands on the horse's body. I get to the horse's body by placing demands on the horse's mind. With Mind Meeting Mind In Minutes techniques the goal is to produce a connected horse with no exertion of either horse or handler.
My method also acts as a platform or foundation, rather than a conclusion, for the rest of the work I do with horses. I never use war bridles or sell or even use "be nice" halters.
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