The natural horsemanship tools that I use have definitely made a lot of difference in my ability to communicate effectively with horses. I now feel naked without my stick. Going back to my old standard tools and equipment would be like living without electricity. I suppose that I could live without electricity if I had to. I certainly wouldn’t choose that option on purpose. The tools of a natural horseman, like electricity certainly do make our life easier and more effective.
I would like to focus on another tool that may be even more important than the physical tools we use. Our mind is the most powerful and effective yet dangerous tool that we can possess. It can be our best friend and our worst enemy.
The mind is what the brain does. Every person’s brain is as unique as their fingerprints. The brain is continually revising itself throughout life. The last area of the brain to reach maturity is the prefrontal cortex, where we make social judgments, weigh alternatives, plan for the future, and hold our behavior in check. Therefore, no matter what the tools look like that we hold in our hands, we can use them with a wide variance of effectiveness depending upon how we choose to use our mind. If we are lacking in the ability to make judgments or plans, weigh alternatives, or hold our behavior in check then the quality of our tools does not guarantee our success in using them.
One of my favorite Pat quotes is “you can lead some people to knowledge, but you can’t make them think.” The ability to think combined with a positive, progressive and natural attitude is the most powerful tool that we have. If we will dedicate ourselves not only to perspiration, but also to expanding and developing our thinking skills, the tools we wield can become a part of our unconscious mind. If we open up the cleverness genes within us and carefully assess our habitual patterns of thinking we will be prepared to use the tools we have with competence and excellence beyond our wildest imaginations. Our thought patterns can be beneficial or harmful; they can determine our success or our failures.
Once we begin to implement the tools of knowledge by utilizing our mind, we hope that it would steer us to the “Soft Feel” that we crave. The tool of knowledge coupled with disciplined thoughtfulness does not necessarily produce a sensitive “FEEL.” Let me give you an example:
I was recently injured in a horse accident. My rotator cuff, bicep and triceps were all massively torn. Consequently, I under went pre-surgery physical therapy to regain strength and range of motion before the surgical repair. I recently had an experience with two different therapists that taught me tools, knowledge, and thinking must be exercised with “FEEL” in order to be productive. Both of the therapists had the correct tools, but only one of them exhibited “FEEL”.
When I was handled by the therapist with “Feel” I felt, tolerable pain, confident, relaxed, willing, and flexible. When I was in the hands of the fumbling therapist that lacked feel, I felt intolerable pain, fear, anxiety, and tension, even anger and resistance.
As I reflect upon this experience I associate it with the bit in the horse’s mouth and the person holding onto the reins. I can now empathize in new way with the horse that is at the mercy of a human lacking “Feel” but equipped with the correct tools.
It is not difficult to understand why a horse may be resistant when he is being banged and pushed around by a handler without precise “Feel.” I can now imagine why the horse may not want to be caught by certain people. I will be running from a certain therapist until he gains enough experience to find a “Soft Feel” that can advance the healing process and restore our relationship.
I can understand now why we need to use a system of building blocks, progressing slowly, and adding new tools at stages; not only based upon knowledge but “Feel.” I am beginning to draw the conclusion that a variety of tools are necessary to advance us in our horsemanship journey. However, it is the manner in which we apply and adapt these tools that determines our success.
Electricity can be used in both destructive and constructive practices. Do I want to survive without it? No way!
Can I continue my horsemanship journey without natural tools? NO WAY!
This article was published in the "Savvy Times". However, I am not associated with the Parelli's in any way other than I highly respect and admire all that they do.
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