BFO -- The Moment Right Before
In the past month or so I have had quite a few BFO's. A BFO is a "blinding flash of the obvious", it is that moment when you realize something that increases your understanding in some area, yet seems so simple and obvious that you can't believe that you didn't see it before. BFO's are generally a surprising and rare occurrence, it is unusual for me to have so many in such a short time. I attribute it to a journaling technique that I have been using on a much more regular basis lately. I will explain this journaling process in a later blog post.
I thought that it would be a good idea to share these BFO's to see if they spark any new ones for anyone else. This first one is about "that thing", that pattern that has been going on long enough with your horse that it seems like it has become a habit. For me, another factor with defining "that thing" would be that you have tried many different ways of explaining to your horse that you would like a different response. These different ways maybe work in the moment but seem to not resolve the pattern so it is there the next time that situation comes up.
My BFO was that it comes right down to a spot just before "it" happens. There is a moment of power where it is possible to change the pattern. This is different than learning to read the first sign of "it" occurring and doing something then. The moment I am talking about is before there is any little sign of "it"--things still look good.
The moment right before "it" for Gunny and I, was a certain physical thing that Gunny did. Now I can pay attention when Gunny does that particular physical thing in the circumstance that "it" would occur and I simply ask for something or pause for a little while at that moment. This has the effect of interrupting the pattern before it occurs.
Another reason I think using this strategy works is because it causes the human and the horse to stay on a whole different track. It is as if, once "it" begins to occur, the human and horse are on that track or that path. Getting off that path is much harder than just not going on the path in the first place.
The first time that I applied this idea to one of the "its" that Gunny and I have had for quite a while, it was kind of humorous to see his response. I had to experiment a bit to figure out the right moment to pay attention to. But once I figured that out and used that moment as my cue to do something, Gunny had a lot of immediate chews. His expression was also slightly puzzled as if he couldn't figure out why he suddenly didn't feel the need to do "it" or he couldn't figure out how I had gotten such good timing.
I thought that it would be a good idea to share these BFO's to see if they spark any new ones for anyone else. This first one is about "that thing", that pattern that has been going on long enough with your horse that it seems like it has become a habit. For me, another factor with defining "that thing" would be that you have tried many different ways of explaining to your horse that you would like a different response. These different ways maybe work in the moment but seem to not resolve the pattern so it is there the next time that situation comes up.
My BFO was that it comes right down to a spot just before "it" happens. There is a moment of power where it is possible to change the pattern. This is different than learning to read the first sign of "it" occurring and doing something then. The moment I am talking about is before there is any little sign of "it"--things still look good.
The moment right before "it" for Gunny and I, was a certain physical thing that Gunny did. Now I can pay attention when Gunny does that particular physical thing in the circumstance that "it" would occur and I simply ask for something or pause for a little while at that moment. This has the effect of interrupting the pattern before it occurs.
Another reason I think using this strategy works is because it causes the human and the horse to stay on a whole different track. It is as if, once "it" begins to occur, the human and horse are on that track or that path. Getting off that path is much harder than just not going on the path in the first place.
The first time that I applied this idea to one of the "its" that Gunny and I have had for quite a while, it was kind of humorous to see his response. I had to experiment a bit to figure out the right moment to pay attention to. But once I figured that out and used that moment as my cue to do something, Gunny had a lot of immediate chews. His expression was also slightly puzzled as if he couldn't figure out why he suddenly didn't feel the need to do "it" or he couldn't figure out how I had gotten such good timing.
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