Hi Judy, So glad you posted this article...very interesting and something I would like to work on more.
Trish > By Brandon Carpenter, Part 1 > > Training is a term we have been conditioned to accept as done through tasks > and by using tools. This is true, but sometimes the tools we use, we cannot > see, taste, hear, smell or physically touch. If we cannot see or touch the > tool how can we use it? The sense we employ to use this tool is feel. This > feel is different however from the feel we traditionally experience through > our fingers or skin. > > Instead I am referring to the inner feeling that goes on inside our bodies > to create an emotional and physical change in us. This feeling changes us as > well as those we come in contact with. What does this have to do with > training or even handling horses? A lot! It actually has more to do with > training ourselves in order to work more effectively and subtly with horses. > > What is sadness, joy, fear, aggression or any other feeling but an emotion > within us? In short it is a state of being that we get a physical internal > sensation from. This internal sensation influences our attitude, thoughts > and physical demeanor. We have all heard the expressions "dead on my feet" > or "my heart was in my throat". What do those words describe? Obviously they > aren't literal terms, but terms to describe a feeling. > > For most of us it conjures up a memory we can identify with when we felt a > certain way. The feeling we got when we were so tired our energy was low and > in our feet, or so scared about something our energy was in our throat. > Energy is the key. > > Energy is something for most of us that we know is there and available for > us to consume every day. We consume it to light, heat or cool our homes, > cook our meals, drive our cars, as well as thousands of other uses. We tend > to think of energy as a tool for us to get what we want or need to sustain > life. We purchase it from companies as a commodity every day. > > There is also the type of energy that is not just a commodity, but is what > makes us live as a biological unit in our very base form. This energy is > what you use to influence yourself and others around you. It is the energy > of your being. We use this energy every day and never give it much more of a > thought other than how much do I have left at the end of the day. We tend to > think of it as the gas in our tank. We view it as what we need to get more > of in order to do more activity. I like to think of energy as something that > is directly tied to our emotions and thoughts, not just viewed as a > commodity we use. > > The feeling you get when you are suddenly scared causes the emotion of fear. > That emotion causes the body to react by dumping a chemical called > adrenaline into your blood stream from the adrenal glands. This chemical > allows your body to react with a fight or flight response. The amount of > adrenaline released is somewhat measured by the size of the threat as > perceived by you. > > What does this have to do with energy used as a tool? Let's demonstrate. > > Imagine that you are out in the mountains in an open flat clearing with no > trees within 100 yards. The gentle warm breeze carries the smells of the > grass, flowers and trees permeating the air. You are meandering alongside a > nice creek. You are focused on the water, rocks, and sound of the water > running. It is a beautifully tranquil day. Suddenly you hear something > behind you. > > You turn and look only to see a very large grizzly bear running at you and > growling as he quickly closes some distance between you. You wheel around > and instinctively run toward someplace for protection. You decide your only > chance is to make it to the trees. Your "heart is in your throat" as your > body is moving like never before. The bear is still chasing you because you > can hear his growls getting louder and closer. You don't know how close he > is, but know he is gaining on you. You are not sure if you will make it to > the trees and be able to climb one in time, but you keep running for your > life. > > Just by reading this, your thoughts and imagination made your body react > with a small shot of adrenaline. You don't even have to be in the real > situation for this to occur. This has been proven time and again with > researchers measuring heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, respiration, > galvanic skin content, blood analysis and reporting of emotional state > through questioning of the subject themselves. Perhaps right now you feel > your heart beating slightly faster and maybe have a little more available > energy. > > There is really nothing new here that hasn't been known and taught for > centuries. I was taught to control my emotion and energy and therefore my > body in order to do things I never thought possible in the martial arts. The > research described with the bear encounter only gave me more evidence that > what I learned in the martial arts is real and measurable to someone outside > of myself. > > Why is this important? Because knowing this we can use thoughts and emotion > to influence how we emotionally and therefore physically control situations > when dealing with others. Animals are especially sensitive to our emotional > states and are influenced by them to a high degree. If we think it, we > create it in our minds and our emotion and body follows what the brain has > told it. Therefore, thoughts are things. > > I'm sure most of us have seen a horse respond nicely to one person through > what appears to be great training. It is calm, obedient, willing and > attentive. That individual can get off the horse and another person mounts > up, but within mere minutes the horse is not the same horse it was with the > previous rider. It is the new rider that influences the behavior with little > apparent physical change. > > I see some horses being troublesome; have a rider change and almost > immediately become calmed and willing. Again the rider is the changed > influence. It is common for none of the riders to pinpoint exactly what they > did to influence the horse. Often they are just being themselves. It is > their emotional state and the influence it brings to the horse that causes > the horses' behavioral change. This means we need to learn how to analyze > and control ourselves to cause positive behavior from our horse. > > Many times during clinics or in lessons I see people having problems with > their horse. When I begin to help them, one of the questions I ask is how > they feel about the relationship they have with the horse. Within a short > time we drill down to the core issue, and find that the person is scared of > the horse, or scared of certain situations they are afraid of putting the > horse into. Some have even said they don't like what the horses' behavior is > and over time have begun to dislike the horse. They are looking for ways to > fix the horse. > > What those honest answers reveal is an underlying emotional "state of being" > on their part. Upon asking them to pinpoint when they first feel the way > they do about the situation, they almost always answer similarly. Before > they even approach the horse, they envision how the horse is going to react. > This thought process often takes place whenever they think of the horse and > it becomes their dominant belief system. > > They don't even have to be anywhere near the horse to make a judgment on how > its behavior is going to be. They mentally and emotionally prepare > themselves for how they believe the horse will behave. And what happens? The > horse does exactly what that individual's emotional communication has told > it to do. Call it self fulfilling prophecy, but they are controlling how the > horse will act by setting the tone of the communication between them before > even being near the horse. > > (continued) > > > Judy > >
