Business update

It seems I own this business, but based on the last two months you wouldn't know it. I just seem to have some very large hay burners in the backyard. I think it is time to begin to be a little more proactive. Before the nightmare that was December hit, I had been working with a couple of different people to create a leadership development program based on equine facilitated learning principles that I could share with corporations for training purposes. During December, I had some homework to begin writing the text for a more corporate based website that would explain what horses could offer. Well, that didn't happen. It also didn't happen in January because my mental equilibrium was still recovering. It's now nearly February, I and think I need to get that website going. To do that, I will need text to hand off to my IT guy (aka MC, my son-in-law.) Not being one to let a good blog post go to waste, I will kill two birds with one stone and begin the process here.

In the training I've been helping with for the Athena Herd Foundation, one of the opening questions at the beginning of a new training session is, "What have you learned in the presence of a horse?" It is an interesting question, and for me at least, has a rather extensive answer. I think this is a good way to introduce how valuable working with horses can be. Welcome to my first, very rough, draft.

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What I have learned in the presence of a horse.

I have learned self-awareness. Horses are herd animals and it is by working as a herd that they stay safe. They are highly attuned to the state of their herd mates, quickly noticing if one has alerted to possible danger. A disregulated horse can upset the whole herd because they sense something is not right. Horses also pick up on human emotions and states of being. A person who is disregulated will also affect a horse in the same way. Horses don't know words, but they do sense states. Someone can say they are fine all they want, but the horse will react to the not-fine state and not the words. If I try to work with my horses and am feeling nervous or upset or on edge, chances are my horses will be as well. If I can become aware of what I am feeling and calm the energy I am giving off, my horses will calm as well. We do not need to be at the mercy of our emotions, but can be mindful of them and influence them. Horses are excellent mirrors to help us first become aware of our emotions and then gain control of them.

I have learned courage. Horses are big and strong. Even my small pony is still around 700 pounds. They can be intimidating if you are not used to them. They can be intimidating even if you are working with them. One of my horses can be very fearful. She has only partial sight and things can be scary if she doesn't really see or understand what is happening. A scared horse can act scary, but a scared horse also needs to be cared for. It takes courage to walk in that stall to care for a horse who doesn't know they need you. For some people, just walking a calm horse on a lead rope can require courage. I have watched clients struggle inwardly with themselves just to take the lead rope from me and take a walk with a horse. I have also watched the overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment that comes from having done the scary thing and discovered they were braver than they believed.

I have learned authenticity. Horses don't actually care who you are, they care how you are. Are you being yourself or are you pretending to be someone you are not? You can't impress a horse. I've tried. When I try to be the awesome horsewoman I think I need to be, usually when beset by imposter syndrome, it doesn't go well. The horse has no desire to join me and it becomes a power struggle. When I accept myself for who I am and ask the horse to join me, we work together well. 

I have learned to be in the present. Have you watched a herd of horses grazing in a field? They are wholly focused on that moment. If something startles them, they will check it out, maybe they'll run if it seems necessary, they'll pause to make sure the mountain lion has gone, then go back to grazing just as peacefully as they were before. They don't spend time rehashing the scary past potential mountain lion in their mind, they don't spend time worrying about future potential mountain lions, they enjoy the mountain lion-free moment. When I find myself perseverating about the past or worrying about the future, I will often picture my horses just grazing and enjoying the moment. With that moment of awareness, it is easier to move my thoughts to what is happening in the moment.

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Okay, that's rough and too long. But it's a start and I now have something I can begin to revise. I've decided that the tag line for my blog should be, "Why say something in 15 words when you can say it in 150?" 

In other Bittersweet Farm news. I will be heading to England in May to join with some training at Athena in person, then in September, Athena will be coming here to do a live training at Bittersweet Farm. I am very excited about both of these things. If you are in the US and are interested in practicing Equine Facilitated Interactions, put that in the back of your head. Also, I will be offering some horse classes again beginning in April, though they are not open for registration yet. And if you are interested in coming and doing some work with the horses, my schedule is fairly flexible. If you are up for the cold, scheduling in winter is also possible.