Post by Elaine on Aug 14, 2009 18:55:19 GMT
Right, some thoughts on how to raise your energy/be effective after a chat I had today...... 
The question was asked... if you're working with a horse, and someone says 'you need to raise your energy' how do you do it? They might also say something similiar along the lines of 'you need to get more effective.' But practically, how do you physically go about it? How can you 'make' yourself be effective if its not really something you are used to / comfortable with? How do you flip that switch? Or maybe, if you haven't got it, well you just haven't got it and you'll never really be a good horseperson?
One of the things stopping someone being effective, or being able to raise their energy / ask a bit more from their horse, is fear.
Fear that if you hold a whip when you ride your horse will see it and start to go faster than you would like. Fear that if you horse barges into you and you ask him to move backwards, he will rear up & scare or hurt you. Fear that if you raise your energy too much or ask your horse for more, it will lead to confusion / too much energy / too much speed and you will loose control and there will be danger.
So how do you get over the fear? Assuming the fear is irrational in so far as you have a lovely horse who is well trained and won't do any of the things listed above, what you do is practise. Practise a lot. Do lots of handling, lots of groundwork, lots of ridden work.
With lots of practise, your confidence will start to grow.
As your confidence grows your fear will decrease.
As your fear decreases, you don't have something holding you back from being effective, and you feel confident to raise your energy when you need to.
When you can raise your energy and you are effective, you take your relationship and leadership up to a new level with your horse and its displayed in everything you do with your horse, who after all the practise and handling and you being more effective and experienced, results in a better trained horse.
It also means that just cos you're not effective now, doesn't mean you don't have some magical 'horse' gene in you, that you need to be a horse person. It just means you need more practise (good practise though, perfect practise and all that), and then as you build your confidence, you will get more effective and grow as a horseperson.
Possible? Or just waffle? (If it's waffle you can say so!)
The question was asked... if you're working with a horse, and someone says 'you need to raise your energy' how do you do it? They might also say something similiar along the lines of 'you need to get more effective.' But practically, how do you physically go about it? How can you 'make' yourself be effective if its not really something you are used to / comfortable with? How do you flip that switch? Or maybe, if you haven't got it, well you just haven't got it and you'll never really be a good horseperson?
One of the things stopping someone being effective, or being able to raise their energy / ask a bit more from their horse, is fear.
Fear that if you hold a whip when you ride your horse will see it and start to go faster than you would like. Fear that if you horse barges into you and you ask him to move backwards, he will rear up & scare or hurt you. Fear that if you raise your energy too much or ask your horse for more, it will lead to confusion / too much energy / too much speed and you will loose control and there will be danger.
So how do you get over the fear? Assuming the fear is irrational in so far as you have a lovely horse who is well trained and won't do any of the things listed above, what you do is practise. Practise a lot. Do lots of handling, lots of groundwork, lots of ridden work.
With lots of practise, your confidence will start to grow.
As your confidence grows your fear will decrease.
As your fear decreases, you don't have something holding you back from being effective, and you feel confident to raise your energy when you need to.
When you can raise your energy and you are effective, you take your relationship and leadership up to a new level with your horse and its displayed in everything you do with your horse, who after all the practise and handling and you being more effective and experienced, results in a better trained horse.
It also means that just cos you're not effective now, doesn't mean you don't have some magical 'horse' gene in you, that you need to be a horse person. It just means you need more practise (good practise though, perfect practise and all that), and then as you build your confidence, you will get more effective and grow as a horseperson.
Possible? Or just waffle? (If it's waffle you can say so!)
