What about Learning?

STREAM OF HORSEMANNESS Monday! -- What about Learning?
(Disclaimer: There is a reason why I call this Stream of Horsemanness -- These thoughts are not thoroughly researched. They are written in a sort of stream of consciousness free-form as it comes to me.)

What better way to start the week with a long-overdue SoH post? I have a list of topics I am eager to cover but haven't made the time to explore them enough to write something worth sharing. But I hope this subject will offer something interesting on your Monday, even in it's raw format!

What does it mean to learn? Merriam-webster defines "Learn" as a verb, "...to gain knowledge or skill by studying, practicing, being taught, or experiencing something." So learning is the action we expect to come from experiencing something.
What is it we want our horses to learn? How will we shape their experience to cause them to learn what we want them to learn?

This subject can go in a lot of different directions (which all excite me!), but I want to look broadly at WHAT we are teaching our horses in the experiences we share with them.

So briefly...

I often relate horses to children because I see so many similarities. Like horses, children live in the moment - something we seem to lose as we age (but we don't have to!). And like children, we are teaching horses life skills. All too often in horse "training" we get hyper-focused on teaching a specific task or maneuver, when what we should be teaching is self-confidence or freedom of expression and through that the task will come.

Why do we put kids on little league teams? To learn baseball? Well, yes, but usually the reason we put our kids in a sport is to learn teamwork, social skills, and self-confidence. Why do we encourage art or dance? Because it allows a child to learn about self-expression and self-exploration, not just how to pirouette!

I use balls, tarps, and toys not to teach my horse how to use the objects, but as a means to confidence, emotional fitness, and maybe even bravery! I use liberty not to teach a horse how to move with me without attachments, but to build trust and prove to my horse that I will not control her. I use "Games" as consistent experiences, and patterns to build confidence.

So the next time you share time with your horse, consider what that experience will cause them to learn. Will he learn to swing the bat just right to hit the ball? Or will he learn that no matter how many times he swings and misses that you will be there to support him and encourage him? Will she learn how to hit the high notes? Or will she learn how to express her inner feelings in a way she never knew she could? ...

Maybe next time we will explore the three different types of learners: Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic. Which one are you? Do you think some horses have a learning preference?

Thanks for reading!

Patterns and Loss

STREAM OF HORSEMANNESS Friday -- Patterns and Loss

We are creatures of habit. Have you heard that one before? How about "horses are pattern animals"?
Patterns help us survive... and cope.

Have you ever realized a "bad" pattern existed in your life? Maybe a convenient yet unhealthy eating habit? (I am so bad about eating around my veggies, and I'm vegan! How terrible is that!?) How about using negative words in your daily walk? Or procrastinating cleaning the kitchen? Or leaving your valuables out for the dogs to chew up? What stinky habits would you love to boot from your life?
But why is it so hard to change those patterns? Someone well versed in psychology might talk about positive reinforcement even in the destructive habits (and about many other aspects I have no clue about!)...
After mulling this over for a few weeks the answer started to become clearer to me. Part of why it is so challenging to change a habit is because there is a sense of loss, even in losing a bad pattern! We are so familiar with our negative pattern that it becomes what we know... we might even say we feel safe in that behavior, despite the cumulative consequences.

I do *this* every day of my life, sometimes even on a subconscious level. Quitting anything that has become part of who I am is going to be difficult emotionally. There will be an aspect of acceptance and letting go of that part of yourself.

I would argue that horses may feel the same sense of loss when we ask them to change a pattern. That pattern might be a behavior that has kept them safe, like Eli's excessive dominance resulting from being severely pushed and abused. Or it might be introversion, going to their mental and emotional safe place to cope with pressure, like Karma the donkey who was bred, neglected, and used, so even after years of love she still slips into that safe-zone when she feels someone is about to do something to her. Or a horse that says "No" in a variety of ways because people are just no fun!

We should be aware that asking them to step outside this zone they've created to keep themselves safe and comfortable is going to require more from them than simply changing a behavior. They have to release that pattern on an emotional level and let go over time.

Something to consider in ourselves and in our horses...