Charlie’s horse

More than anything, Charlie wanted to rope a wooden cow from a horse’s back. Although I agreed to give him riding lessons, I’m thinking that maybe I learned a lot more from him, than he did from me.

At five years old, Charlie didn’t know that he didn’t know how to ride a horse. The thought never occurred to him. It only occurred to the adults in his life. For Charlie, things were simple. He had to ride a horse, in order to rope a cow from a horse’s back. Logical.

During his first lesson, I had him do arm circles, around the world, touch his toes, touch close to the horse’s ears, and close to the horse’s tail.

“Can I rope the cow yet?”

“Not yet, Charlie. I have to make sure you can do a couple more things.”

So, I trotted the mare, and had him do all the previously mentioned exercises. He did these things effortlessly. I had him get into a two point position. Usually, the first time kids ride, they hang on to something. Not Charlie. He did his two point position without holding on to the saddle, the horse, or anything. He held his arms out like he was a soaring bird. No idea he didn’t know how to ride a horse. It never occurred to him.

“Can I rope the cow yet?”

“Charlie, let’s wait until tomorrow. You can carry the rope then.”

He learned his emergency dismounts in a flash. Just like his western heroes in the movies, he knew he would have to jump off quickly and run for that cow. Did it at a walk, did it at a trot – no problem.

Doubt never entered his mind.

The following day, I was letting my horses run around in the indoor arena. Suddenly, the door opened, and the horses made a dash for freedom. I was helpless. There was Charlie, standing right in their path. He was anxious for his lesson. Before I could utter a sound, he thrust his plastic ‘Excaliber’ into the air and let out a roar.

My horses turned tail faster than jack rabbits. I hustled over to the door while my horses snorted and recovered from their fright.

“Hey, Charlie. Come on in so I can close the door a little bit more.” He stepped inside.

“Can I rope the cow today?”

I tried to convey nonchalance while my heart was beating so hard I could feel it in my temples. “Sure. Your mom out in the barn?”

“Yep.”

“Okay,” I said as I shook my head and put my hand on his shoulder. “tell her I’ll be ready in 20 minutes. You can start brushing your horse. Sound good?”

“GREAT!” He flew out the door, leaving it open. I rushed to the door and shut it. Enough excitement for one day. I stood there for a good ten minutes processing my disbelief. I’m sure my horses had some thoughts about it too.

Before the week was out, Charlie was cantering on his 15.1 hand Quarter Horse. He was steering the mare with a hackamore, roping that wooden cow, and roping everything else he thought was worth roping. The horse loved every minute of it. Stood there while he jumped off, and stood quietly next to the fence so he could climb aboard again.

The moral of the story? Charlie pursued his dream, and he pursued it single mindedly. It’s amazing how fast we can learn and perform when we don’t have unsettling thoughts bouncing around in our minds. Horses can mirror anything we project mentally; fear, doubt…and courage.

Charlie’s horse had a clear picture in her mind, because Charlie never faltered. At five years old, he gave her clarity and purpose.

She gave him a much bigger gift. She helped him ‘rope that cow’.

Dr. H.L.M van Schaik

There have been several requests for more insight as to what Dr. van Schaik was really like. I can go on and on about how he influenced not only my riding, but my life. His form of ‘natural horsemanship’ went well beyond methods and equipment.

He was a master of the horse/human bond – a true artist, and an incredible leader. Another thing can also be said about him; he didn’t tolerate folly, and was unimpressed by superficiality. His heart was with the horses, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all, if he had really been a horse in human’s clothing.

Here’s a really nice article by Kip Mistral in the August 2009 issue of the Equine Journal.

Mirror, mirror: horse’s reflect their riders

Your body does matter, just as much as your knowledge and skills. At least with knowledge and skill, we’re all pretty much aware: do this at a certain time, do that at a certain time, and we analyze our performance either simultaneously, while watching a video, and even in our feelings toward the riding instruction we receive.

Your body transmits its own messages to your horse, with or without your approval. This is best illustrated, in my mind at least, by recounting a lesson I taught years ago.

This was a fun pair. Competent, capable, and bright. We were schooling at first level dressage. Circles, transitions, shoulder-in, all established. One day, and I mean literally one day, the horse, after a proper warm up, would not pick up the right lead.

We tried all kinds of things, but the reason for the horse’s reluctance eluded both of us. The best we could guess was that the horse had sustained some kind of injury while out to pasture.

I got on the horses occasionally, to see if there was something I might have missed from the ground. Some subtle feeling here or there, that would help me guide the rider. The horse picked up the right lead immediately…

The lesson hour came to a close, and we talked during the cool down. Like a light bulb instantly receiving current, my client said, “I had to go to the doctor this week…”

…and if you haven’t guessed already, she had pain in her right arm: a repeated use injury – carpal tunnel syndrome. She was managing the pain, however the muscles attached to this tendon (part of the 24 muscles that make up the shoulder) were still tight. Advil might relieve inflammation and symptoms, but it doesn’t alleviate the causative muscle spasm or active trigger points. The rider’s injury was highlighted by the horse’s seeming lack of performance.

Horses are natural empaths, and our dear friends. They mirror us so that we are able to bring awareness to a spot, and heal it on several levels.

It’s a journey, inside the riding arena, and out, and in this case, the horse was the leader. Massage and stretching significantly reduced the rider’s underlying physical, and emotional reaction to job stress. We never had a problem with canter transitions again.

Past injury and trauma effect the present, and there are several ways we can reduce its impact and influence. Dr. van Schaik used to talk about the Alexander method.

“Alexander, although not trained as a physiologist, showed a shrewd understanding of how the brain worked. Our consciousness, in the cortex of the brain, is where our will to do something arises. After this the pathways go to centres deep in the brain which form the subconscious or unconscious. If nothing is done to stop existing programs being activated resulting in inappropriate muscle contractions, then a person’s characteristic way of sitting, standing and doing things will occur.”1 http://www.alexandercenter.com/pa/stringsii.html

Here are some links:

Alexander Center

The Alexander Method: The First Lesson (youTube video)

This is not the only method of body awareness. There are many others. The idea here, is to realize that body awareness is not only a valuable addition to your riding goals, it is essential.

We mustn’t expect our horses to be fluid artists, without attempting to be the same, especially when it comes to the tiniest details.

Learning to ‘meditate’ on horseback

the rhythm of a horse's motion can be meditative...

We’re continuing the discussion of alignment of the rider’s seat to the motion of the horse. I really need to mention here, that this is about riding, not about methods. I’ve already gotten a series of emails asking if this is only about Classical Dressage. Answer: no. But that’s where my background is. I refer to it often, because it’s a great way for me to convey the basis of oneness with your horse; in a physical and metaphysical sense. Read on.

We’re still at a walk, on a straight line.

We’re feeling the rhythmic right, left, right, left; more specifically, the right seatbone, having reached its peak, now travels backward while descending, the left seatbone travels forward and ascends. Right reaches its lowest point, left reaches its highest. Right travels forward and ascends while the left travels backwards and descends…on and on…

…and now  you’re really into the rhythm of the walk. The sensations, the sounds. Listen to the breath of the horse, and breath deeply within the motion.  Allow your mind to reach beyond the confines of your normal type of riding.

Listen to the sounds of the footfalls on the sand, dirt, grass…think ‘peripheral vision’, and stay there. You’ll find that you can maintain an awareness of your body, your horse’s body, and the environment your in, without any effort. Details become easier to manage, concentration less of a task. Here’s why. It relates to ‘drumming’.

This type of sustained awareness calls upon an ancient knowledge; something that Native Americans and indigenous peoples of the Earth have known for millennia – that the beat of the drum, was used to transport individuals into shamanic states of consciousness.

This is not saying that you’ll go into some deep trance and wake up in the next county…I’m saying that horseback riding allows us to experience a different level of consciousness, while remaining quite aware.

The physiological effects of sound regarding altered states have been well documented. Mitchell L. Gaynor MD, and many others have repeatedly shown that rhythmic sound is able to produce alpha, beta, and theta (psychic) states in the brain, which in turn can be used in a variety of ways [the book listed is more about self-healing, but this is not the only task the brain is limited to!].

…and don’t forget that Linda Tellington Jones has shown us that we can obtain that same ‘whole brain’ state by producing a circular motion on the horse’s body…(if you haven’t read that post, click here)

Tuning into the sound of the horse’s hooves, combined with the passive motion of your following seat and the use of peripheral vision, can be just as powerful as practicing Yoga, Tai Chi, or the Martial Arts. It is meditation in motion. It opens the door to sensing the horse on many different levels simultaneously. And it will improve your riding.

It takes time, and it takes practice…If you’re ever having trouble connecting with your horse; having a bad day, an off day…you’ll find that this exercise will change the dynamic, and you’ll both perform much, much better.

Alignment of the rider – with the horse

now for a few biomechanics...

Before you can really ‘make yourself tall’ in a physical sense, we have to observe the connection of the rider’s seat to to the horse, with or without a saddle.

In Dr. van Schaik’s book, “Misconceptions and Simple Truths in Dressage”, there are pictures of a rider (along with discussions) with a hollow back – tilting the top of the pelvis too far forward, a rider leaning back – tilting the top of the pelvis too far back, a rider with her legs too deep – producing an unnatural ‘fork’ seat…

All of these variations take away from the function of the pelvis, which needs to move quite bit in order to maintain contact with the horse. At the walk, when the horse takes a step forward, we can feel the motion it produces. If we isolate the horse’s hind legs and concentrate on this motion, it feels like a rise and a fall, first one side then the other. If you haven’t yet felt this sensation, ride at the walk until you do. Concentrate on relaxing your lower back. You’ll find that your seatbones make a movement similar to pedaling a bicycle backwards.

left seatbone lower than right seatbone

When the left hind leg is off the ground, that side dips while the right side supports forward momentum. Notice that the hip of the horse, and the hip of the rider stay aligned when the rider has a supple back. The rider’s shoulders remain unaffected.

Similarly, when the right leg is no longer bearing weight, that side dips lower than the left, which has since taken on the task of carrying and thrusting everyone forward.

The middle of the pelvis moves the least, and the seatbones, which are near our hip joints, move the most in this alternating, circular motion.

So. From the waist down, we follow, and from the waist up, we remain still (in a relative sense). The lower body is absorbing the movement, around a singular pivot point in the small of the back.

This is where the genius of Sally Swift, who penned ‘Centered Riding’, is a great help to those riders who are more intuitive by nature. She’s the one who got us thinking about ‘center’ in an ‘Eastern’ way. In the pictures, the orange circle of the rider represents the lower abdomen chakra. It is this

right seatbone lower than the left seatbone

area that serves as the pivot point, and it is from here where Sally wielded her power.

She was really a small woman with a great sense of humor. I met her on many occasions, with horses and without. During one of these times, she was an honored speaker at a large event in New Jersey. She approached the podium, walking slowly; her cane advancing with each step. She propped it against the lectern’s side, with Yoda-like wisdom and confidence. She invited a young, muscular man to come up to the stage and help her. Lots of guys volunteered, and she picked the burliest one.

‘Push me.’ she said.

‘huh???’

‘Push me!’ she ordered.

He touched her shoulders and politely pushed – a little.

‘YOU WIMP! PUSH ME!”

The crowd laughed. She explained that her volunteer was very kind, and that he had wonderful manners. She whispered something to him, and suddenly, when the crowd quieted, she gave him a nod, and he gave her quite a shove.

The crowd gasped, but she didn’t budge. She stayed centered. Her feet shoulder width apart, her knees slightly bent; her awareness in her lower abdomen. She was literally planted to the ground, yet she was in no way rigid. She was resilient and powerful.

This is a particularly insightful lesson, for all those words of explanation can’t replace a simple demonstration. Think about riding along in car, traveling fast on a bumpy road. What if there weren’t any shock absorbers, what if your seat had no cushion? It would be jarring and uncomfortable. If you are sitting, without the support of your legs, and you were holding your back stiffly, the concussive forces would force your vertebrae to compress together. Boom. You’d have a headache in no time.

By slumping your back, you can absorb some of the jarring force. Your lower pelvis moves in an up and down motion, while the pivot point is higher up in your back. This encourages you to slump your shoulders forward, and become something like a hinge opening and closing, or, if not your shoulders, than your head becomes a balancing tool, and this causes your jaw to open and close an angle with your chest. Stomach muscles have to work hard to keep the lower pelvis chasing the contact with the horse, back muscles get tense, thigh muscles get tense…

…and whatever we have to do to stay balanced, has an effect on the balance of the horse. We work harder, they work harder, and inevitably, the quality of contact deteriorates…and that always becomes evident in the contact between the horse’s mouth and the rider’s hands…

motion and energy dynamics

Back to the car on the bumpy road. Let’s say we take the seats out and you have room to stand with your feet shoulder width apart. With your knees slightly bent, you are able to absorb a great deal with your legs. If the floor remained completely level and the bumps parallel, your knees and hips would be able to handle everything. Bumps in roads are never uniform. Now there’s a bump on the right. The right leg – ankle, knee, hip absorb, and if you want to be able to steer the car, keep your head steady so that your line of sight remains unimpaired, than your pelvis must also become part of the absorption process. So, now, regardless of what challenges are ahead as far as bumps in the road, you now have a functional mechanism to deal with it.

The fourth frame, indicating functional motion absorption wouldn’t change much if viewed from the side. The legs would move, but the overall alignment of the spine would not be altered. One other point about the slumping position not shown in the diagram; energy is also lost at the neck chakra.

Riding tip: internalize the feeling of that right/left motion whether you are sitting upright, or in a two point position. Once you are aware of this, a whole new world opens up, and this will give you the greatest amount of stability, contact, reception and influence as a rider…

This is the essential beginning of ‘making yourself tall’ in a (mostly) physical sense…

(to be continued…)

Alignment of the horse and rider: introduction

'alignment' of the horse and rider

During his lessons, Dr. Henri L.M. van Schaik frequently used to say, ‘Make yourself tall’, the statement always fully adorned with deep meaning and a rich Dutch accent.

While watching me ride many years ago, my Dad thought he said, “Make yourself talk.”  But that’s another story.

Classical horseman and Showjumping Olympian, it was also van Schaik who said, “It doesn’t matter that you want this horse to do the high school movements. He may not get to the first level. What matters is how you transform his life, his body, and his mind; and realize that in the process, he will also transform you.”

Dr. van Schaik was a singularly driven, passionately focused, and highly opinionated man. His love for horses, and his purpose in preserving the principles of Classical Dressage far outweighed the banalities of life. He was outspoken and critical at times, and during others, he praised people for their intuitive sense of harmony.

“Perhaps you ‘should reconsider just what parts of you are at a ‘novice’ level’.” He’d say. “Already, you know the source of the secret bond between the horse and yourself. It’s a matter of the technical aspects for which your education will now commence.”

That secret bond, if you haven’t guessed already, is Love, Compassion and Devotion.

After that, but not separate from it, Classical Dressage is about biomechanics and balance; two more words loaded with meaning.

Years of practice will bring you to a full circle of sorts. At some point, when the intuitive mind is engaged alongside the rational, you, your body and your mind realize a fluid ‘oneness’ with the horse; where whispers and hints are the only things needed to perform spectacular movements.

With philosophy, skill and knowledge, along with the ‘trinity of human kindness’ as your guide, you will create an artistic relationship that is so much more than the sum of its parts…embarking upon a journey ending up where you started only now, you’re not alone. You will have experienced Love, Compassion and Devotion mirrored back to you…in an everlasting bond of friendship and fidelity.

When Dr. van Schaik passed away, his farm was dispersed; a metaphor for his legacy, which was borne on the wind, scattered to the four corners; anchoring itself in random places inside the minds of those who received his message.

I can remember making sure I internalized the concept of ‘descent de main’. The meaning is this: it’s a referral to something: a concept if you will, that comes from the highest place — a nugget of wisdom that would then be practiced. Van Schaik’s nuggets were always thought provoking; ‘descent de main’ recovering its purpose in the ‘ascent of awareness’ of individual humans and moving us from the mundane to the magnificent.

All of these things were eloquently put into perspective by a knowledgeable man…one who could, by the way, tell a great story.

After a long day of teaching us on horses, the unwearied septuagenarian (when I first met him) conversed fluently well into the night. I’m sure he rested blissfully, knowing that he had provoked at least some of us into a sleepless torment of new ideas.

… ‘making yourself tall’, after all, is the alignment of your mind with wisdom, the alignment of your heart with kindness, the alignment of your spine with itself, the alignment of your seat with the saddle, and your feet with the ground…

…’making yourself tall’ lifts you from burdensome overwork and pounding seatbones – releases the full potential of movement and contact through the balancing of your head and body in physical and metaphysical terms.

…the experience of ‘making yourself tall’ resides in your willingness to practice…and once you’ve felt its simplicity, you’ll never forget the moment of buoyancy and ease.

It was van Schaik who said, ‘Only through heaviness, will you get lightness’. And it is so true. There are mechanics to everything, along with a period of learning…and levels of vibrations that change in frequency once you’ve internalized something new and beneficial, and given up something old and damaging…

…so you can start anywhere – it doesn’t matter, because the more you know, the more you grow…

…make yourself tall…

(to be continued…)

Grounding your energy and opening your mind

Human energy plug

Like negative thoughts, negatively charged particles cause a disruption in our body’s energy system.

Where do they come from? Everywhere. They are components of atoms, and everything in and of earth is made up of atoms.

Atoms contain subatomic particles called protons (positively charged), neutrons (no charge – or neutral) and electrons (negatively charged). Electrons orbit the protons and neutrons.

When some of these electrons are pulled away from their orbits, they search for balance, finding other positively charged materials.

What we eat, how we deal with stress, how much water we drink, and the levels of exposure to the radiation emitted by our electronics are just some of the significant variables in how negatively charged particles are drawn away from their orbits and dispersed within each one of us.

When electrons are on the loose, they travel along the path of best conductivity. Our bodies are mostly water, and therefore good conductors. All these homeless electrons would gladly ‘go to ground’ if we weren’t wearing shoes with rubber or wooden soles all the time!

So, one thing you can do is walk outside in socks, bare feet, or some other kind of material that will allow a negative particle ‘dump’.  Simultaneously, you will be charging your energy system of chakras, and life force.

This is one step toward energy management for people…since we do indeed live in a hectic ‘negatively charged’ environment.

Conversely, in a perfect world, our horses are perfectly grounded and content. They are turned out 24/7, have adequate shelter, nutrition, room to roam and run, and have long term herd relationships.

In this state of inter-dependent self-determination; fulfilling their natural relationship with each other and the land, horses would be balanced, healthy, strong and confident. But, they have to live in our world. A world of confinement, rules, and under certain circumstances – a world of hurt.

We really do find ourselves in the same boat. Horses need their energy balanced, too. They need their turnout, which for the most part they get.  But, the rest of the time, they are generally held within wooden cubicles, and they are resting upon anything from a layer of sawdust to a thick bed of wood shavings…

Life has been separated from its most basic element.

How can we help our horses, and help ourselves besides being in direct contact with the ground?

There are ways…

One of the simplest is the Linda Tellington-Jones TTouch method.

Simply put, it’s about circles. Little circles. With your fingers, press on the skin of your horse and move in a small, clockwise direction – slowly – full circle and a quarter – more than three times in one location. Move to another location and repeat.

In a study performed over 20 years ago, Maxwell Cade student/colleague Anna Wise, recorded the brainwave activity of both practitioners and recipients of the Tellington-Jones TTouch method. The results were stunning.

The specialized ‘consciousness’ EEG that she (Anna Wise) used (developed by psycho-biologist and bio-physicist Maxwell Cade) recorded high levels of optimal brain functioning in all participants; givers and receivers. This suggested that levels of the ‘awakened mind’ emerged from this simple practice in humans and animals alike. Four brainwave patterns  were present in both hemispheres of  ‘all brains’, promoting the ‘whole mind’ experience where logic and intuition are truly balanced.

A little effort can develop into a new paradigm.

According to Anna Wise: “Someone in the Awakened Mind brainwave state has access to the unconscious empathy, intuition, and radar of the delta waves, the subconscious creative storehouse, inspiration and spiritual connection of the theta waves, the bridging capacity, lucidity and vividness of imagery, and  relaxed detached awareness of the alpha waves, and the ability to consciously process thoughts in beta – all at the same time!” [quote from Anna Wise website listed below]

So, for energy lesson number 2, grounding and opening your mind, there’s homework!

• Get those feet on the ground – spend some time with Nature
• start ‘circling’ for yourself, your kids, your animals…

As in all energy work, the idea is to take the time. Give yourself permission to experience the activity in its tiniest detail, even if the duration is only a few minutes…

…oh, and don’t limit yourself to just the physical approach. Experiment with your mind. Imagine you or your horse (dog, pet, wild animal) is receiving those circling touches…

Mind Mirror Study Tellington-Jones site

EEG Study of Equine Brainwaves Tellington-Jones site

Mind Mirror EEG The actual Mind Mirror developed by Max Cade along with more background information

Biofeedback Institute Anna Wise website

The journey toward energy awareness with a horse

Energy lesson number one. We operate at a frenzied level compared to horses…

Two very different worlds...

Energy can be thought of in a number of terms such as; frequency, wavelength, pattern, and field for starters.

In terms of wavelength for example, the human energy that is focused on completing tasks in a certain amount of time sets up a certain stress level, and therefore a certain wavelength.

The horse shown in the illustration is content, meditative, and staying true to his nature, producing a different wavelength (this also may be thought of in term of brainwaves).

When the auras of these two bodies interact, there is a period of interference. Wavelengths may even negate each other.

After a few moments, hopefully the horse will influence the human, and a slower, more relaxed wavelength will be created; working toward harmony and resonance.

For you musicians out there, imagine that the human energy produces a D note, and the horse energy produces a nice middle C. These two notes produce a discord. If the human energy moves to the middle C through relaxation, resonance is created. If the human energy moves to an E, not through more stress, but again through relaxation, they become harmonious notes.

Sensitivity to this dynamic allows you to observe your horse’s reaction to your different moods and states of mind. Understanding just how you and your horse affect each other is the basis for understanding your shifting energy patterns, and the basis for understanding the quality of work you do together.

Physical journey toward energy awareness with a horse: initial spark

Intrepid jumping for a reporter

I was never a spectacular rider in the jumping arena, but my horse showed talent and ambition for fences. In fact, when I went to see him for the first time, that’s all he knew how to do.

Untrained, inexperienced, and obsessively attached to his pasture mates, my only option was to evaluate the 5 year old gelding from the ground. Since my passion is Classical Dressage, I was looking for three honest gaits and a nice balanced way of moving.

I wasn’t disappointed when he was turned loose in a nicely fenced arena. What alarmed me was his expression every time he passed by an area next to the gate where I was standing. He seemed to be calculating. His owner was confident that he wouldn’t make any attempt to crash through. After all, he was so sensible…so quiet…such a gentleman.

I observed a pile of old electric fencing at the exact location he seemed to be considering; a tangled mess extending several feet horizontally and vertically. Combined with the arena fencing it was a solid 5′ oxer with a 4′ spread. Maybe she was right.

A horse without any muscle tone or experience wouldn’t take the risk. But still, he eyed the place from both directions. Ears flicking and mind working, I read the signs and informed the owner, “If he doesn’t make it, I’m not going to buy him.”

She smiled and shook her head.

An ardent willpower pervaded the air. Hoofbeats grew louder; approaching like a locomotive. I looked just in time to see the tip of Intrepid’s hind foot pass less than a yard away…at eye level. Silence accompanied his tryst with freedom as he floated effortlessly toward his objective…

…and that was twenty five years ago. Yes, he landed safely. In fact, within a stride he had collected himself and walked calmly into the barn where his buddies were munching hay. I still joke about the day I first saw him – about that incredible leap – but what I didn’t reveal to the previous owner was this; I knew I was going to buy him from the moment I saw him.

Something in the eyes. Something in the heart.

Still don’t know what that is exactly, but I can say that the decision came from a deep, mysterious, ever flowing current that lacks form but contains great power. It wasn’t the analytical part of my brain, nor was it superficially conscious.

It was something I had to do.

This was the beginning of an incredible journey, and something that happens to all of us. We may or may not recognize the moment’s significance at the time.

Many years after purchasing Intrepid, when I thought about that day, I suddenly realized that the knowing may have been there all along – I mean for my whole life. Information was registered at a subconscious level and enacted at the appropriate time.

I ‘bought’ the wisdom-filled lessons contained within this unique being structured as a horse, precisely when I needed to.

So, while I thought I was making a good investment for my riding career, the reality was that I had just made a decision to expand my consciousness, and experience the subtle and amazing world of energy.

At one level I had a choice and at another I really didn’t, ya know?