Satori Center

Horses lend us the wings we lack.

~ Pam Brown

In the last little tidbit I mentioned Ms. Tammy: 

• Dominant vs. Submissive 
• Energetic vs. Lazy 
• Confident vs. Afraid 
• Aloof vs. Friendly 

I ride Ms. Tammy just about every day I ride.  Part of me thinks I should ride her first - as in Eat-That-Frog-first!  And then another part of me thinks, if I wait, it gets warmer.  In the Summer it gets down right HOT and maybe she'll be more inclined to stay on the ground.  This is a horse that likes to go up.  Barring that, she likes to disappear out from underneath me.  Yeah, it's been maybe 10 or 12 years since then, but it's the kind of thing you don't forget.

Is Your Horse a Rock Star? Understanding Your Horse's Personality
by Dessa Hockley

Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
by Brian Tracy

As she has gotten older, she has gotten better, but I'm thinking the crux of this animal, the crux of the DEAF horse is that she doesn't carry her ability, her competence, from one setting to the next.  And then she doesn't listen, but the problem starts with none of the competence carrying over from one setting to the next.

It's not like she learns something and then decides, 'HEY! I know how to do <XYZ>  I can do that here, and here, and here, and here.'  No, she says 'HEY! I learned how to do <XYZ> but over here, this is a whole new world and I just don't know if I can do <XYZ> over here!  In fact, I'm pretty certain I'm going to DIE OVER HERE!'  (Panic, alarm, crazy behavior.)

So, Yes, she can canter in the round pen, but NO, she cannot canter outside of it.  OK, yes, (20 years later) she can canter outside of the round pen in the corner by the barn on the right lead at 10am in the morning, but NO, she cannot canter in the corner after that (on the right lead at 10am in the morning.)  No, she cannot canter in the corner by the barn on the right lead at 9am in the morning.  No, she cannot canter in the other direction, in that corner, the corner before or after, at 10am, 9am or any other time.  And, btw, if there happens to be a dog in the ring at 10am, she cannot canter in the corner by the barn either. O HEAVENS!

This kind of horse takes to an extreme the extent to which a situation is new and unique.  And because the situation is new and unique, it warrants a five alarm response - regardless of what the situation actually is.  A new corner - a cement truck shifting gears on the road - same, over the top out of control reaction.

OK - I exaggerate.  

We have made headway.

We can canter in both directions, but I haven't bothered to move off the 20m circle by the barn.  Not yet.

I am thinking, this is the type of horse you ride indoors.  Always and forever.  Because the walls don't change.  They don't rustle.  They don't have chickens in them.  Dogs don't pop in over the side.  And, hopefully, she wouldn't try to run through them.

But I don't have an indoor arena, so I'm challenging myself!
I'm doing 8 sessions for Tammy & I about confidence.  As a DEAF, Tammy is one quality away from being a Rock Star,  which is DECF.  If I can move that Afraid to Confident, which is the general direction with age but I'm not getting any younger, then we might be able to make significant headway in her training.  

1st session

1st session follow on

1st session follow on con't

2nd session

in between

3rd session

in between

4th session

5th session

8/21/14

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• Horse Personalities
• Ortho-bionomy
• The Sedona Method
• Tapping
• Centered Riding
• Books: Amazon Assoc. / Old Favs