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Riding/Training TipsMotivation from Moshi 80, by Jane Savoie
Fall is so beautiful in Vermont, USA. We have lots of trees, and they turn the most incredible colors. I only see yellow, green, and blue, but the many shades of yellows are amazing. I hear red and orange are really striking, but I have no way of relating to that. Like all horses, my eye structure doesn’t let me see red. I heard a fellow at the barn say an interesting thing: “If you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” That reminded me of how everyone sees the world through their own filters. What’s good in one person’s eyes may be evil in another’s. It’s why we have wars. It’s why we have prejudice. It’s the cause of most of man’s (and woman’s) suffering. Is there a solution to this? It’s not possible for us to all see things the same way, but knowing that fact is a big help in releasing the judgement of others. When we can acknowledge that we’re all doing the best we can with what we’ve got, it’s a lot easier to let go of any anger or frustration we feel. Just let people be who they are, protect yourself if you have to, but let the rest of it go. If you really look at it, there’s very little in this world that’s worth fighting about. Motivation from Moshi 78, by Jane Savoie
I’m a people whisperer. A Moshi Level Five People Whisperer, to be exact. Fellow horses come to me when they are confused by their people and ask what their person really meant by their crazy people language. These poor confused horses say things like, “my person says she’s the boss when on my back by directing where we go, but then moves her feet and backs away from me on the ground, which says I’m the boss instead of her. I’m confused!” I remind them that people have a different language than we do, and we horses need to learn to be “people whisperers.” That means we have to do our best to learn to listen to human commands with our ears, and to ignore the loud body language people scream at us. It’s very hard for us to do, as we naturally listen to body language much more readily than noise. People are very confusing and incongruent to equines, and sometimes the mixed signals make us a bit crazy. To help, I am posting this message to all my horse friends: Dear fellow equine: When your human freely gives you lots of treats or lets you push her around with your nose, that means she loves you, not that you’re her boss. I know it is uncomfortable and confusing because to you this behavior means you’re in charge, but you need to learn to tolerate this and not take over. Try not to get confused when she then turns around and asks you to yield your feet to her direction and control. Motivation from Moshi 77, by Jane Savoie
Two brains. That’s right, I have two brains. So do you. The difference is you have a bundle of nerves called the corpus callosum between the two halves of your brain that lets the sides chat. My brain doesn’t have that. It’s true that my brain, or brains, have a very difficult time talking to each other. For a horse, this means I have to be trained to do things from both sides. What might be easy for me to understand through my left eye may be difficult to understand through my right eye. It’s a pain, but it’s the price I pay for having eyes on the sides of my head like a prey animal. Humans can have binocular vision, so you can see things with both sides of your brain. That means your left brain hemisphere, the logical, linear, thinking side, can analyze things and explain that to the right, the more artistic, big picture, emotional side. That corpus callosum is very handy, as long as it’s working. When humans are under extreme stress, the corpus callosum shuts down. Communication stops. That means you could get stuck in responding to the situation from only one side of your brain. If it’s the logical side, you’ll probably analyze the situation and handle it without emotion. If it’s the emotional side that takes over, you may find yourself hysterical or locked up and frozen. Speech is located in the left, logical side, and if the emotional side takes over, that’s why you get tongue-tied if you get upset. Have you noticed that when you’re stressed and can’t think of what to say, but then calm down and the corpus callosum starts working again, suddenly the perfect words for that snappy comeback show up in your mind? Frustrating, isn’t it? What Are the Aids to Ask My Horse to Stop or Slow Down? by Jane Savoie
It’s important to know you can slow your horse down or stop completely (your brakes) so that he’s a safe and obedient mount. With a young horse, your outside hand is your primary speed control aid. Give a quick squeeze and release on that rein as if you’re snatching a fly out of the air. For example, if your horse is going too fast in the trot, give a quick squeeze and release on your outside rein to slow him down. When you first use your brakes, combine the squeeze on the outside rein with a voice command that your horse knows, like “slow” or “whoa”. The voice command helps him make the link between the rein aid and what you want him to do. As your horse becomes more educated, you’ll add your “stilled” or “retarding seat” to your outside hand aid. If your horse ignores your light aid to slow down, don’t pull harder. Instead, make a correction. Correct your horse by halting sharply. Sit deeply in the saddle and give a firm, upward pull on the outside rein. Then go forward again. Within the first stride or two, RETEST with the original polite squeeze and release on the outside rein. If he slows down immediately, PRAISE him. If he doesn’t react immediately, repeat the steps above. Note from Jane I want to thank all of you who wrote in asking how we fared during Irene. I truly appreciate your concern and am so grateful that personally we didn’t suffer from this horrific hurricane. 2012 George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session Presented by USEF 2011 George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session. Photo: USEF Archives. Lexington, KY – The sixth annual George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session presented by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will take place January 3-7, 2012, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL. An opportunity not to be missed, Morris, the legendary horseman and Chef d’Equipe of the U.S. Show Jumping Team, will again lead top young riders in a comprehensive program including mounted sessions, with other experts teaching stable management, veterinary care and nutrition. Riders will assume sole responsibility for their horses during the Training Session, the goal being to develop a pipeline of young “horsemasters” for future U.S. Equestrian Teams. The invitation system for the participants will be announced in September, but auditing of the mounted and educational sessions is free and open to the public; however, a donation to The USET Foundation will be greatly appreciated. More information will be available at www.USEF.org. For additional information on the 2012 George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session, contact Lizzy Chesson at lchesson@usef.org. Motivation from Moshi 76, by Jane Savoie Photo by: Liz Ritz Photography A terrible thing happened today, and I’m really struggling to get over it. There was a loud hissing sound that hit my nervous system with a scream that said, “RATTLE SNAKE!” I was so startled, I jumped sideways really hard and fast, and unseated Jane! Her off balance body clinging to my side triggered “MOUNTAIN LION!” in my brain. So, I bucked. Not just a little, I bucked from one end of the arena to the other until I shook off the “Killer Lion!” But that lion was actually my best friend, Jane. I dumped her! In the dirt! I bucked her off! I’m so upset! Jane and I have been best friends for ten years! I’ve never bucked her or anyone else off. NEVER! Not even once. Fortunately, Jane was not seriously hurt. She’s a bit banged up, but no broken bones. Of course she was wearing her helmet. She ALWAYS wears her helmet. Thank goodness! I would never have intentionally hurt her, but I could have anyway just reacting like a normal horse! No one has ever come off me before, and it freaked me out. I was wide-eyed for twenty minutes. But I’m not going to let this ruin my time with Jane. I’m going to look at this with clear thought, do some EFT meridian tapping to release the energy pathway that my neurons created during this fear episode, and move on. Jane understands that I was acting out of instinct, not maliciousness. Still we both feel really bad about it. We have to just have to make sure that we FEEL our feelings, do the techniques we know to release the energy of the past, and move on. Motivation from Moshi 72, by Jane Savoie
Words have power. They have energy. They create a state of being in our minds. Horses don’t use words, but we understand the energy behind what you say. You’ve probably heard the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” I say, the wounds from a stick or stone will probably heal, but the damage caused by the negative words we hear may sting for life. Never underestimate how your words affect those around you, as well as how they reflect back and affect YOU. If your self-talk is negative, your experience is going to be negative. If you speak positively, your experience will reflect the same. If you bark and growl at your horse without careful thought to the attitude you’re projecting, your horse is going to feel insecure and you’re going to maintain a negative vibration. If you’re snapping at the people around you, the energy you’re projecting can be just as damaging as a pointed stick jabbing into someone’s heart. Have you ever asked yourself, is it better to be right, or is it better to be kind? It’s a very pertinent question. Sometimes you have to stand your ground and be firm in what you consider “right.” Sometimes being right is just not that important. Choosing which applies in each situation is one of the things you have to decide on your own. Observing the results of your choices, right or wrong, is where wisdom is born. Motivation from Moshi 71, by Jane Savoie
Winning. What does that feel like to you? For me, I’ve “won” when I feel that flow through my body and everything comes together. I find it easy to feel flow when I’m cantering. I have a “winning” canter. It’s my favorite gait. When Jane was first teaching me tempi changes, I lost that sense of flow until I had the muscle memory of changing leads whenever she asked. Once I got that muscle memory, the changes became easy and flow returned. I felt like I’d “won.” Winning doesn’t have to be about blue ribbons. If you’ve been away from riding for a while, you may feel like you’ve won if you simply get out to the barn and get on your horse for ten minutes. Walking around may be as far as you want to go today. If you’re a serious competitor, you may have that sense of a w in by perfecting that challenging movement. If you’re a teacher, you may feel like you’ve “won” when your student ends the lesson with a smile. There are many ways to find that sense of a Win. The key is simply to look for it. And when you do, remind yourself to pay attention to how it feels. Then you can consciously create it again and again. It’s being in that positive space that creates even more success. What could you do today that would make you feel like a success? I’m going to perform perfect pirouettes today, both directions. That gives me a terrific successful feeling! Motivation from Moshi 70, by Jane Savoie
I was watching my favorite barn cat try to catch a miller moth today. She was so determined to catch that flitty creature! I couldn’t help but chuckle inside when she’d leap from a hay bale and try to grab the thing, midair. She never did catch it. Watching her try so hard made me think about all the things we want to do with our lives that we never actually achieve. I always wanted to swim in the ocean, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Some of my barn-friends’ people have or had a dream of riding in the Olympics. Some wanted to become famous writers. Some wish they’d struck it rich so they could have a whole herd of beautiful horses. Sometimes our dreams don’t come true. It’s a fact. But if there is something you want to do that is really important to you, there is a good chance you can and will do it. It has to be important enough for you to let other things go. Life is just too short to do it all. And yes, sometimes life gets in the way and we don’t reach our goals. There is a point when we have to be satisfied with what we can do and not be upset by what could have been. If there is something you wish you’d done with your life but the opportunities have passed you by, perhaps you can help someone else achieve a goal. Sponsor an Olympic hopeful. Be a mentor to a budding writer. Teach someone how you made it rich. By sharing the successful parts of yourself with others, you get to be part of something much bigger than yourself. It’s a type of immortality. You can have a positive effect on the world while you live a piece of your dream by helping someone else reach theirs. Motivation from Moshi 69, by Jane Savoie
She likes me! She likes me! I’m so excited! That new mare told her friend that she really thinks I’m pretty neat. She said I had the most handsome face and cutest butt in the barn. I was blushing pink through my black hair. I’ll admit it’s true… I do have a nice big, round hip. It’s one of my best attributes. There’s a joke I hear in the barn a lot. People say, “Does this saddle make my butt look big?” I don’t understand why so many people worry about the size of their butts. People like horses with big rear ends. I’m constantly hearing people talk about losing weight, this diet or that, who’s too fat and who’s too skinny. It’s strange. We horses don’t care what size you are. Your weight is not nearly as important to us as how you ride. One of the most uncomfortable sessions I’ve ever had was with a really skinny rider. She pounded my back like a farrier’s hammer. And one of the most elegant riders I’ve ever experienced was a very large woman. She was so balanced and so at one with me, that it was very easy to carry her. Riding is a sport, and all sports require some level fitness. If you’re a casual rider who just wants to walk down the trail, you won’t need to be as fit as a rider who is a serious student of jumping or dressage. As you ride regularly and learn more, your fitness level will naturally improve. It’s a given. If you want to improve even faster, add a regular brisk walk to your day, and do some crunches or sit-ups every evening before you go to bed or every morning when you first get up. But please, stop worrying so much about your size and weight. You get more of whatever you concentrate on. So, if you concentrate on a negative view of your weight, you’ll hold onto or increase the problem. You can’t help it! Instead, concentrate in getting FIT. Think about all the small ways you can become stronger and fitter, and you’ll get more of that. Put your bathroom scale in the back of your closet and stop obsessing about the pounds. They’re not that important! Instead, learn to ride light with softness and balance. Your horse will be happier. |
