Using Metaphor to Understand Your Horse
I wrote a previous post about how I sometimes use metaphor to gain insights into my horsemanship here.
I have also used metaphor to help understand what Gunny might be communicating to me. I have found this helpful for behaviors that continue to happen despite my efforts to fix an issue even though I have tried multiple techniques. It is really very simple. I just look at the behavior and put it into the simplest language I can. For example, "Gunny is giving his attention to something in the distance even though I am right in front of him with something he wants". (This was in regards to Gunny being more concerned about herd antics in the distance rather than the fact that I was approaching him with his feed and asking for his attention.)
I then asked myself if I ever am more concerned with things happening off in the distance instead of paying attention to what was right in front of me. And I was able to see that I do that too. So then I came up with some ideas to help remind me to pay more attention to what was right in front of me, both in my horse time and the rest of my life. Next time I went out to feed Gunny, he paid attention to me and the feed instead of the herd antics. And if I ever notice that Gunny is more distractable than I would like, I ask myself if I am paying attention to the here and now.
So when I get stuck and feel like I don't know what else to try, I use this as a way to get new answers.
In case you are unclear about what I mean by metaphor, here is a quote from here:
"A metaphor, as defined in our glossary, is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something important in common. The word metaphor itself is a metaphor, coming from a Greek word meaning to "transfer" or "carry across." Metaphors "carry" meaning from one word, image, or idea to another."
I have also used metaphor to help understand what Gunny might be communicating to me. I have found this helpful for behaviors that continue to happen despite my efforts to fix an issue even though I have tried multiple techniques. It is really very simple. I just look at the behavior and put it into the simplest language I can. For example, "Gunny is giving his attention to something in the distance even though I am right in front of him with something he wants". (This was in regards to Gunny being more concerned about herd antics in the distance rather than the fact that I was approaching him with his feed and asking for his attention.)
I then asked myself if I ever am more concerned with things happening off in the distance instead of paying attention to what was right in front of me. And I was able to see that I do that too. So then I came up with some ideas to help remind me to pay more attention to what was right in front of me, both in my horse time and the rest of my life. Next time I went out to feed Gunny, he paid attention to me and the feed instead of the herd antics. And if I ever notice that Gunny is more distractable than I would like, I ask myself if I am paying attention to the here and now.
So when I get stuck and feel like I don't know what else to try, I use this as a way to get new answers.
In case you are unclear about what I mean by metaphor, here is a quote from here:
"A metaphor, as defined in our glossary, is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something important in common. The word metaphor itself is a metaphor, coming from a Greek word meaning to "transfer" or "carry across." Metaphors "carry" meaning from one word, image, or idea to another."
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