FEEL and PATIENCE – Every Try Counts!
Let me ask you a question.
Say I asked you what mammal makes the longest migration of all mammals.
Say your answer was “Elephants” or maybe “I don’t know”.
Then after you gave either answer I slapped you upside the head and said…
“Idiot! That’s not the answer!”
What would be your response?
Would you be mad at me for calling you an idiot?
You should be.
Would you be miffed that I used a condescending tone of voice because you got it wrong or didn’t know?
Probably.
What if I asked you another question or two or three and you still didn’t know the answer.
Then you saw me getting increasingly agitated cuz you’re not gettin’ it.
What would be your demeanor at that point?
Would you grow increasingly unsure of yourself…even if you knew the next answer?
Maybe.
Would you not want to be around me anymore?
Probably not.
Would you not want to play my game anymore?
Probably not.
Would you even like me after all that?
Likely not.
Ask yourself why?
Why would you feel those sickening emotions?
Heck…you at least tried to guess the answer didn’t you?
And so what if you were wrong? You tried…right?
Shouldn’t I have given you credit for at least spitting out an answer? Even if it was “I don’t know?”
Why, then, do we get upset with our horses when we don’t get the right answer from them?
Heck, the horse can ONLY guess what you want and then act on it.
If he guessed wrong, is he to be chastised?
Is that not the same as making a first grader feel punky for not knowing how to figure the square root of 81?
What’s my point?
Glad you asked.
My point is that when you work with your horse and you try to get him to do something then when he tries…
“That Counts!”
Sure, it may not be what you wanted…but that doesn’t make it wrong either.
We canNOT be impatient and go to anger because the horse hasn’t figured out what we wanted.
My friend Brad Myers calls this “Feel”.
Feel is timing, balance, and patience.
Brad Meyers – Feel and Patience
http://www.
Brad says if the timing is correct and you give the release at the right moment, the horse will understand.
That’s the release point.
Then horses start to look for that release point.
Funny thing is, people make the mistake of releasing at the wrong moment and the horse learned that’s what you wanted even though that’s not what you wanted.
Yet, we accidentally taught him the wrong thing…and we get mad at him for doing the wrong thing.
SHEEEEEEEEEESSSSSHHHHHHHH!
When Brad talks about balance he means you provide enough pressure to get a response vs. being too soft and “not” getting a response.
Pretty good stuff Brad reveals. Read more about him at:
Brad Meyers – Feel and Patience
http://www.
Lastly, Brad talks patience as the final part of feel.
Brad says patience is getting a response that may or may not be the right one. We have to be patient with his responses because…
“Every try counts!”
Amen.
One more thing.
The mammal that has the longest migration of all mammals is the Gray whale.
It’s round trip is 12,000 miles.
Brad Meyers – Feel and Patience
http://www.
OK – that’s it for today. Stay safe around your horses!
Charlie
