Horses have Layers
More on playing with the emotional layer of the horse...
I have started to think of the systems of the horse: mental, emotional, and physical as layers that interact with each other. So we can have a conversation with one or more layers at a time and then end those conversations at the same time or at different times. For example, I can be asking the horse to do a maneuver, say yielding the FH. While the horse starts to yield the FH, he also gets emotional for some reason. So I might release my request for the FH yield when the horse has completed what I was asking for, but I might still continue a conversation with the horse about where his emotions are. When the horse's emotions come back to a good spot, I would end that conversation too. Or, depending on the situation, I might continue the physical yield until I got the emotional yield. An example would be if I thought the horse was getting emotional with my request, despite the fact that I was mindful and fair with my phases and clear with my intention. Usually I see this when the horse is deciding to challenge the hierarchy and ignores the first couple of phases but then gets emotional when the human gets effective. In the prior example, a horse might be doing the yield, but then something happens like a noise in the distance that distracts the horse and causes them to get emotional.
Back to Gunny and I...
The last three sessions have continued to bring about interesting results. In session #1, we played on the ground with our L3 tasks and then did some riding. There was a couple of other horses in the arena, one of which is a high energy mare. I have observed that this mare's energy is very upsetting to horse's who are not used to her. So I took this opportunity to play G1 with this mare's energy and to also continue to talk to Gunny on an emotional level.
I was riding, so I used a combination of techniques to affect Gunny's emotions. Depending on what I was doing and what Gunny's response was I used: fluid rein technique, circling and pushing the ribs out, pushing sideways, and continuing whatever yield I was doing when he became "unlaxed" until he relaxed.
At one point, we were trotting along and I started to pick up two reins, which caused him to get emotional, so I started doing the fluid rein technique of combing two reins and letting them slide back out repeatedly. Gunny kept tucking his nose until it was almost to his chest but was also trotting faster and faster and still being tense. So I kept up the combing and sped it up to match his tenseness. After a little bit, he relaxed and softened and was able to trot softly while I combed the reins, so I released there. Now he is starting to get the idea (or rather re-get) that when I pick up two reins he should soften.
So we were trotting around doing a blend of fluid rein and softening whatever bend I was asking for and Gunny was relaxing more and more. At one point I had this sensation that his whole entire spine had relaxed and that each vertabrae was moving independently. It was a very yummy (as Karen Rohlf would say) feeling! We rode it for a bit and then we had a rest.
Also, during this session I noticed that for Gunny, if he gets tense he drops his shoulder into the turn. The opposite seemed to be true too--that is if he dropped his shoulder, then he was more likely to get tense. I have noticed this before, that when Gunny is sticking a shoulder out or in, this is a subtle way for him to play dominance games--for sure during riding, probably during ground work too. And then if I miss the game he gets tense. I think that this is because for Gunny, his fear comes out when he is unsure of the hierarchy. He is very confident in his environment and in himself, but he needs to be sure that I am the leader to be confident in our relationship. So this session kind of gelled an idea for me that dominance, emotions, and physical response all play off of each other. And I can influence one through another.
The next couple of sessions, I played on the ground with a couple of other horses in the arena and a lot of obstacles. We were having some rainy, sleety, windy weather during these two days. So the horses were "up" even more so than usual, plus the barn was making funny noises because of the precipitation on the roof.
On the first of these two days, Gunny was an emotional wreck because of the rain on the metal barn roof. So we spent quite a bit of time at that end of the arena and I spent a lot of time on "matching and adding 4 oz" to his tension. He eventually became calm and stayed calm but it took quite a while and quite a bit of effort. I had started with trying to match and mirror at the more subtle level, but Gunny was too emotional to relax at that level. It was during this time that I started to wonder if I was suppressing his emotions. And if there was anything else I could try.
So the next day I came back with a new plan. I decided that when Gunny started acting like a lunatic, that I was going to act like one too, but in an "inconvenient" way. So, I warned my fellow arena users and we got down to business. I set up the same scenario as the day before to see how effective I had been. Gunny was calmer but still not where I like him to be. So I started asking for things and when I found an emotional button, I used my new tactic. The first time he started to get over-emotional, we were doing a falling leaf, squeeze game type combo. He started to rush through the yield, try to miss the turn, etc. So when I decided that yep, he had crossed the line into truly "lunatic" territory, I turned into one too. I started darting this way and that way, but in angles to the direction that he was darting. I added some jumping around in there too. After about three or four darts back and forth I felt Gunny make a change. One of the girls watching said that he looked at me like, "what the heck are you doing?!". As soon as he made that change and started thinking again, I slowed down and softened.
He chose to go "there" two more times during this session. The second time, was much like the first. It took about thirty seconds or so of me acting like a lunatic for him to check his emotions and start thinking again. The third time he went there, I made one "dart" and he came trotting to me with his head up and ears pricked. So then I just asked him to relax and he did. The fourth time, he thought about going there and calmed himself down very deliberately.
So I thought that this session was much more successful than the day before. It took much less to get him to find calm. I know that some of it was because of the day before but I think a lot of it was that this technique is more effective for Gunny.
Also, my concerns about suppressing Gunny were for naught. On the second day, he was much more calm but also much more engaged with me and more playful in a curious, mouthy way than usual. I directed that behavior in a constructive way. I think that the mouthy, playful curiosity was that same emotional energy that I had the day before, but coming out in a more desirable way. So for Gunny anyways, doing what I did was not suppressing to him at all.
I have started to think of the systems of the horse: mental, emotional, and physical as layers that interact with each other. So we can have a conversation with one or more layers at a time and then end those conversations at the same time or at different times. For example, I can be asking the horse to do a maneuver, say yielding the FH. While the horse starts to yield the FH, he also gets emotional for some reason. So I might release my request for the FH yield when the horse has completed what I was asking for, but I might still continue a conversation with the horse about where his emotions are. When the horse's emotions come back to a good spot, I would end that conversation too. Or, depending on the situation, I might continue the physical yield until I got the emotional yield. An example would be if I thought the horse was getting emotional with my request, despite the fact that I was mindful and fair with my phases and clear with my intention. Usually I see this when the horse is deciding to challenge the hierarchy and ignores the first couple of phases but then gets emotional when the human gets effective. In the prior example, a horse might be doing the yield, but then something happens like a noise in the distance that distracts the horse and causes them to get emotional.
Back to Gunny and I...
The last three sessions have continued to bring about interesting results. In session #1, we played on the ground with our L3 tasks and then did some riding. There was a couple of other horses in the arena, one of which is a high energy mare. I have observed that this mare's energy is very upsetting to horse's who are not used to her. So I took this opportunity to play G1 with this mare's energy and to also continue to talk to Gunny on an emotional level.
I was riding, so I used a combination of techniques to affect Gunny's emotions. Depending on what I was doing and what Gunny's response was I used: fluid rein technique, circling and pushing the ribs out, pushing sideways, and continuing whatever yield I was doing when he became "unlaxed" until he relaxed.
At one point, we were trotting along and I started to pick up two reins, which caused him to get emotional, so I started doing the fluid rein technique of combing two reins and letting them slide back out repeatedly. Gunny kept tucking his nose until it was almost to his chest but was also trotting faster and faster and still being tense. So I kept up the combing and sped it up to match his tenseness. After a little bit, he relaxed and softened and was able to trot softly while I combed the reins, so I released there. Now he is starting to get the idea (or rather re-get) that when I pick up two reins he should soften.
So we were trotting around doing a blend of fluid rein and softening whatever bend I was asking for and Gunny was relaxing more and more. At one point I had this sensation that his whole entire spine had relaxed and that each vertabrae was moving independently. It was a very yummy (as Karen Rohlf would say) feeling! We rode it for a bit and then we had a rest.
Also, during this session I noticed that for Gunny, if he gets tense he drops his shoulder into the turn. The opposite seemed to be true too--that is if he dropped his shoulder, then he was more likely to get tense. I have noticed this before, that when Gunny is sticking a shoulder out or in, this is a subtle way for him to play dominance games--for sure during riding, probably during ground work too. And then if I miss the game he gets tense. I think that this is because for Gunny, his fear comes out when he is unsure of the hierarchy. He is very confident in his environment and in himself, but he needs to be sure that I am the leader to be confident in our relationship. So this session kind of gelled an idea for me that dominance, emotions, and physical response all play off of each other. And I can influence one through another.
The next couple of sessions, I played on the ground with a couple of other horses in the arena and a lot of obstacles. We were having some rainy, sleety, windy weather during these two days. So the horses were "up" even more so than usual, plus the barn was making funny noises because of the precipitation on the roof.
On the first of these two days, Gunny was an emotional wreck because of the rain on the metal barn roof. So we spent quite a bit of time at that end of the arena and I spent a lot of time on "matching and adding 4 oz" to his tension. He eventually became calm and stayed calm but it took quite a while and quite a bit of effort. I had started with trying to match and mirror at the more subtle level, but Gunny was too emotional to relax at that level. It was during this time that I started to wonder if I was suppressing his emotions. And if there was anything else I could try.
So the next day I came back with a new plan. I decided that when Gunny started acting like a lunatic, that I was going to act like one too, but in an "inconvenient" way. So, I warned my fellow arena users and we got down to business. I set up the same scenario as the day before to see how effective I had been. Gunny was calmer but still not where I like him to be. So I started asking for things and when I found an emotional button, I used my new tactic. The first time he started to get over-emotional, we were doing a falling leaf, squeeze game type combo. He started to rush through the yield, try to miss the turn, etc. So when I decided that yep, he had crossed the line into truly "lunatic" territory, I turned into one too. I started darting this way and that way, but in angles to the direction that he was darting. I added some jumping around in there too. After about three or four darts back and forth I felt Gunny make a change. One of the girls watching said that he looked at me like, "what the heck are you doing?!". As soon as he made that change and started thinking again, I slowed down and softened.
He chose to go "there" two more times during this session. The second time, was much like the first. It took about thirty seconds or so of me acting like a lunatic for him to check his emotions and start thinking again. The third time he went there, I made one "dart" and he came trotting to me with his head up and ears pricked. So then I just asked him to relax and he did. The fourth time, he thought about going there and calmed himself down very deliberately.
So I thought that this session was much more successful than the day before. It took much less to get him to find calm. I know that some of it was because of the day before but I think a lot of it was that this technique is more effective for Gunny.
Also, my concerns about suppressing Gunny were for naught. On the second day, he was much more calm but also much more engaged with me and more playful in a curious, mouthy way than usual. I directed that behavior in a constructive way. I think that the mouthy, playful curiosity was that same emotional energy that I had the day before, but coming out in a more desirable way. So for Gunny anyways, doing what I did was not suppressing to him at all.
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