On Teaching:
In so many things that I have undertaken in life: figure skating, dancing, riding; I have found the joy of creative expression through teaching it. In some ways I am and was a more talented teacher of skills than a talented performer of skills. I have a knack for seeing and feeling the basic break-down of what skilled riders and dancers are doing in their unconscious competence. Making that kind of competence more readily attainable to the beginner and novice; through building on their strengths jazzes me.
When I teach riding lessons I find ways to help a rider expand their body awareness with language- with words. Nothing can replace an instructor with powerful imagery and visuals for her student. But I am thrilled when I have a chance to use my hands to "speak" to riders’ bodies on a cellular and muscular level- build on their strengths, and bring them to new levels of awareness; short circuiting the lengthy process of explaining it to their mind, and then waiting for their mind to re-train their body. When the technique of using bodywork; a touch that teaches; on both horse and rider is combined with effective instruction; the results are powerful surges ahead in comprehension and competence. It is the power of teaching a rider’s body the way a rider teaches a horse’s body.
On Touching:
What I have discovered with my hands and the medium of The Equine Touch is that much of what I do absolutely escapes explanation via language. While I may be able to become certified to teach The Equine Touch, and have been an approved tutor in the past; I could only do just that. I could teach the textbook application of The Equine Touch. But I could not and cannot teach what I do because is some ways, it remains a mystery to me! Each practitioner has his or her completely unique way of using the tools of The Equine Touch. Likewise, I cannot explain the way horses look to me. They certainly do not look they way they did even 2 years ago. I have developed what some call "an eye". Only watching hundreds of horses can gift a person with "an eye". Only touching hundreds of horses can teach a person to "see" with her hands.
For now, I am reveling in this one thing I do which I don’t break down into teachable, repeatable steps to success. For now, I am basking in the warm fuzzies I feel when I stand in awe, watching my hands "do their thing". This must be what it is like to master meditation; to be able to discipline the mind that is addicted to thinking/solving so that unconscious knowledge- universal knowledge can spring forth.
When I do this, or rather, when I be this, I get into the "zone" as sports enthusiasts sometimes call it, and I feel I can help improve the strengths of horse and rider at any skill level.
My Equine Touch teachers, Jock and Ivana, taught me the "rules of engagement" in such a clever way that I understand how and when to bend the rules of the system. By this I mean I have learned the series of important foundational moves that allows one to address the horse as a whole. However, to be truly effective, I have learned to follow instinct; allowing my hands to navigate and feel apart from my logical and schooled brain. I liken mastering Equine Touch to mastering a martial art. The movements themselves are brilliantly simple; yet if the practitioner’s intention and energy are not aligned- then the move is not nearly as effective as the same move applied by a seasoned master. A true master is always a humble and open-minded student as well- ever honoring their skills. I aspire to be a master of my natural strengths and abilities.
On Training;
I believe that a competent horse(wo)man is not made solely by an accumulated series of training "techniques", course certificates, or an impressive show record- but by an ability to read a horse; to first prioritize understanding the psychology of their behavior and what motivates each individual, and identify what each individual’s strengths are. A good trainer utilizes paradoxes like "less is more" and "slower is faster" to build a horses confidence and willingness to participate. A good trainer thinks outside the box of what she already knows, and embraces ever creative ways of accomplishing a task; her goal being not just accomplishing a task- but finding the pleasure of creative self expression and cooperation of both horse and human for the simple sake of self expression and cooperation between horse and human.
A good trainer’s motto is "A horse’s well-being is more important than the preservation of a human’s ego."
