On Sun, Nov 23, 2014 at 7:13 AM,
Elizabeth Pope <ehpope@embarqmail.com>
wrote:
Hi Mary,
Lisa and I got together yesterday. I thought she did great
with Tiara--was able to see Tiara progressively relaxing, increasing the
alignment and the catch the thought goes pretty well for them with the dressage
background. That's the good news.
I learned a lot playing with Try yesterday. Mainly I
learned if she isn't in the mood and I can't change it, there will be no
sincere alignment so no point in going on.
(Note: Try bit two people this week and snapped at another
when they tried to put her halter on her in the pasture--very uncharacteristic
for my perfectly wonderful warm, loving, safe friend. Both vets have checked
her out and found nothing physical. I have asked Try what is going on and she
is saying to me--if I am hearing her correctly--"I am in a bad mood, I
don't know why, I am confused, I don't want to do anything, LEAVE ME ALONE, do
not ask me to do anything.")
2 minute video--not sure it is worth your time to watch but
link is included below.
1. Because Try was cranky I picked her to play with thinking
she might enjoy the low-keyed attention in the sunshine etc.
2. GM she was fairly relaxed but tuned out--energy
ribbon not leading to more relaxation so went on to alignment. I kept trying to
find a way to reward the slightest relaxation and release but she wasn't
offering any. I stopped and rubbed her forehead at one point and she did melt
for me really well--this is our go to spot for relaxation.
3. Alignment: although it got slightly better as we
went along and we did both sides, I could see her cutting her eyes at me and
she was so slow--no energy put forth to connect with me--I was
embarrassed to see the video. I am wondering if I need MORE TM energy in some
way. Today I plan, however, a session just to see if I can change up the mood.
4. Catch the thought: I could see her chest tighten
and this was not difficult for her and she responded quickly but she did not
have the lovely catch the thought and round up simultaneously that she has had
twice in the previous week.
5. A question about teaching Try to soften when I touch her
face--am I correct that this is while focusing on the center of her chest and
will this lead to Try rounding up every time I touch her face with GM whether I
holding lead or not--just touch lovingly while focusing TM energy on the center
of her chest?
6. Do you reckon she is bored with what I am doing and do I
need to somehow change things up?
7. Will let you know if I have good results today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE0CaFDRzJU&feature=youtu.be
From Mary:
Try has so very much pre-exhisting communication with you -
she could be getting frustrated when she thinks she should know how to answer
you - yet it is not resulting in reward - I would be quick to get out and move
on to something else when she first starts to soften in the face the slightest
bit - was this video in one time frame? She had a great shift of Energy early
on - but then seems to tune out as you went - try to notice when you get a 2 +
2 is 4 and go on the something else.
yes to 5 - but only if she understands clearly that this is
the answer - it sounds like she has a lot of other things she is pretty certain
are the answers and is getting frustrated if she does not know what path you
want her one -
make it really clear just with the slight pressure on the
nose for now - lessen the exaggeration of you body moving into hers - and just
work on that one 'sheet' of communication - when she softens her face
release - and treat if you want - be real quick to get out and change it up to
something else to reward her - she has a lot of well paved roads - we want to
be helping the communication on those roads even clearer.
Mary
Mary,
I think this is
huge--ordinarily I would be rewarding in so many ways step by step i.e. good
girl, pats, rub her forehead, wait, treats (I have 3 categories of treats and
am careful how I give them and when--gave treat too late in the previous
session then too many. I have so-so treats for ok stuff that I still want to
reinforce, good treats for big improvements and a super treat when the session
ends.)
In my desire to be perfect in
my BMe learning I was only just trying to reward with GM cookies and I think we
were both frustrated and communication was so unclear between us.
Also Try is absolutely a horse
not to drill--move on when she gets it!
Will let you know how it
goes--between rain and barn being inundated with water, I have lost
consistency.
From Mary:
Please keep me in the loop on Try's
progress - Anytime I've had anyone say their horse was nippy or cranky it has
usually stemmed from the horse being frustrated by the human's communication -
and this is one of those things that can be really hard to diagnose via
internet - if I need to come up for a short visit just for you and Try - I am
willing to do that to ensure I am helping guide you both in the way I intend -
just keep me posted please :-) MMJ
Will keep you informed. Try has
cranky periods. She had a bad one August of 2013 and vet found arthritis
issues--injected hocks/adequan. I have whatever vet is at the barn continuing
to check this and so far no need for repeat of this. Last January, Try was
cranky and vet thought it might be hormones in aging mare. But now if it is
physical neither vet can find anything. I am considering chiropractor for
accupuncture or massage therapist.
Also she is grumpy in her
pasture when I drive in before she even sees me AND her biting people/children
when I am not even there and Try doesn't even know them--doesn't seem an immediate
reaction to human communication. It could be a general frustration to humans,
weather, her 2 y/o pasture mate, arthritis. I am very concerned as I want this
to be a good time in her life when she feels good, is healthy and feels loved
and valued.
Will let you know.
Thank you for offering the
workshop and sharing your expertise!!! YES to continuing with the workshop on a
monthly basis.
***************************************************************************
COURSE WRAPUP QUESTIONS: I would like to ask that you respond to the following
questions with candor and heart. (you may reply in the body of an email or
attach a word doc)
1. What have you discovered is your best way of creating GM
within yourself? Little smile and think of my
golden girl Try. I even think of it as GM golden mode. I think of how much I
love her and love to stroke her golden coat. I have this linked to the
"one with the universe" state of mind I learned to create years ago.
I don't always remember to bring GM forth in me LOL!! However, if I want it,
its there.
2. What have you discovered is the best way to guide your
horse to reach GM? Stroke her forehand and ears and
she will melt. She doesn't see the energy ribbon as a cue to melt--just
tolerates it. I believe I de-sensitized her to it. OR perhaps I need to find
ways to give her a reason to want to relax/be released from pressure.
3. Out of all 8 Sessions - which was the easiest for you and
why? I just looked back through them and I don't
feel that any of them were/are easy. In a way working on myself is the most
difficult as it requires working on some fundamental change and the need for
fairly constant awareness of my relaxation and positive thinking. On the other
hand, applying sessions with Try and Sephira are more difficult because I am
not the only one in control of what happens.
4. Which Session was the hardest and why? Session 1 thankfulness/GM/relaxation--creating in myself
what my horses would like to experience.
5. Was the workshop what you expected it to be? Please
elaborate. I had few expectations--my feeling was
that I just wanted to learn more about using energy and visualization with my
horses. So the workshop exceeded my expectations.
6. What was the most challenging part of the workshop as a
whole? I have tried to not use Parelli methods
along with the energy ribbon/B Me to further my learning and I think it was a
mistake as it takes me away from using my intuition to focus in so much on
learning a technique. (I am task oriented enough as is.) I have done the
Parelli so long that I am not sure it is even Parelli but just me--I do have
the right brain/big energy/artistic creativity part very strong in me and my
intuition with horses is good if I will just let it be the highest priority.
7. What would you say that you have
gained from this workshop? Belief in my ability to
communicate with Try and Sephira on a deeper level.
8. Is there any constructive
criticism you could offer to help the program help more horses & humans in
the future? I have not tried session 8 yet with Try
and Sephira. The fact that the workshop went eight weeks was a positive for
more time for exploration but I suspect my de-sensitizing may have come from
not moving along when Try and Sephira needed it. When I signed up for the
course the Aug/Sept time frame was a selling point for me--i.e. to use that hot
August time productively. I knew October would be difficult with trips/projects
etc and I dropped the ball for nearly a month and lost momentum and lost the
depth of GM I had been using/creating.
I wonder if there is a way for
the facebook group to be more learning oriented. I am happy to like and support
everyone--that is me. I am not comfortable posting there all the time if it is
more than others as that feels selfish.
I wonder if there is a way to
make journaling more a part of the workshop--I blog and make notes on the
course each time I play with my horses and I am keeping a notebook with the
course text, my notes, your notes, private session notes, etc.
I actually think I have a
fairly good intellectual grasp of the course work BUT when I am with my horses
I lose pieces and am never as effective as when you are there. I do make a list
of key points and memorize them before I go to the barn and still have trouble
in action remembering 5 or so points simultaneously. LOL I realized with Lisa
and Tiara--that the points to remember come to me so easily, steps to follow
etc--when I am just WATCHING. I want so much to read my horses moments as they
happen and not miss important stuff.
ok I am rambling. Thank you for
undertaking sharing your knowledge with us.!!!!!
***************************************************************************
No comments:
Post a Comment