The Lick and Chew
Being aware of and waiting for the "lick and chew" has been another one of those things that has given me powerful results lately. The power comes in because it looks like nothing is happening or being done a lot of the time, but during this time invested, many changes are happening that start to accumulate and show as big results after awhile. Pat Parelli says something to the effect that when the horse chews, they have digested a thought. But over the past six months or so, I have learned that there is much more to it than that.
There was a period of time with Gunny when I had noticed that he almost never chewed when I was working with him. This was during the time that things were the most "broken" between us. I had noticed the fact and wondered about it, but didn't know what it meant. Actually, I thought it meant that he understood the stuff I was asking of him well enough that he wasn't thinking that hard anymore so he didn't need to digest his thoughts. This was because he was responding to my requests.
But I have learned that the chew means much more than whether the horse is thinking about something or not. Some other things that the chew can mean include, the horse is processing a previous trauma or misunderstanding that got triggered while you were doing something in the present, the horse is understanding what you want and the horse is perceiving that you understand what he is telling you.
One simple way to add this concept into whatever you do with your horse is as follows. Any time you ask your horse for something and they either respond incorrectly or they respond correctly but show any sign of tension or worry, pause and wait for a chew -- no matter how long it takes. (Yes, really, literally no matter how long it takes) This simple change alone can add a whole new level of connection, understanding, and cooperation to your relationship with your horse.
Feel free to share any experience you have with giving this a try, I would like to hear about it!
There was a period of time with Gunny when I had noticed that he almost never chewed when I was working with him. This was during the time that things were the most "broken" between us. I had noticed the fact and wondered about it, but didn't know what it meant. Actually, I thought it meant that he understood the stuff I was asking of him well enough that he wasn't thinking that hard anymore so he didn't need to digest his thoughts. This was because he was responding to my requests.
But I have learned that the chew means much more than whether the horse is thinking about something or not. Some other things that the chew can mean include, the horse is processing a previous trauma or misunderstanding that got triggered while you were doing something in the present, the horse is understanding what you want and the horse is perceiving that you understand what he is telling you.
One simple way to add this concept into whatever you do with your horse is as follows. Any time you ask your horse for something and they either respond incorrectly or they respond correctly but show any sign of tension or worry, pause and wait for a chew -- no matter how long it takes. (Yes, really, literally no matter how long it takes) This simple change alone can add a whole new level of connection, understanding, and cooperation to your relationship with your horse.
Feel free to share any experience you have with giving this a try, I would like to hear about it!
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