Complete Accord

Interessado and Encantara

I only very rarely seek out one of the many books on equitation in my private library, because for the most part, my interest in riding comes from an entirely different place now. I have acquired a mindset that no longer feels it is appropriate for me to place a bit in a horse's mouth or strap on a bridle or cavesson so that I can restrict the movements of her head and neck.

Coming from a background of first competitive dressage and later French Classical Dressage, I feel I have a thorough understanding of both the punitive and refined capacities of the bit and bridle as training tools. I have personally felt the delicate communication that is possible when riding a horse who has been trained to "accept" the bit in lightness and it can be exquisite--but the fact that a horse first has to be trained to accept the bit, bridle and reins and that this training necessarily entails initial discomfort, even pain and in many cases results in extreme physiological and psychological damage--well these elements no longer fit in with the feelings I have about my relationship to horses. Yes, the bit and reins can be used with finesse and articulate a dialogue with a horse for the purpose of guiding while being ridden, but once you begin to realize that you can communicate even more subtly with a horse without recourse to using its mouth as a translator for your thoughts, but instead develop your relationship to such a degree that your minds and bodies flow together in "complete accord", then the now obvious crudities of bits and bridles soon leads one to abandon them along with the traditional training that imposes the human's will over the horse's.

Encantara

For today's journal entry, however, I did dust off one of my equitation books because I remembered a quote I wanted to share to illustrate that even at the master level of equitation, it is revealed that more often than not is is the harmony of the most simple movements that are most deeply moving to the rider.

In the past;, Baucher once said to L'Hotte, 'I often opted for movements that were complicated. Today it takes me six months just to get my horses to walk straight and turn well...When total lightness is achieved by making a horse walk straight and become well-balanced, the feeling that the rider gets is the sense of complete accord with the horse's strength. One then hesitates to pass on to any other movement which will modify the combination of forces and destroy this feeling of harmony.' (pg. 50 Alexi-Francois L'Hotte/The Quest For Lightness in Equitation by Hilda Nelson, pub. J.A. Allen 1997)

I'm using this quote of Baucher's as a springboard for a very simplistic, yet profound bit of riding that I have recently engaged in.

Archived entries of the Journal of Ravenseyrie, discuss the type of communication with equines I have been devoting myself to. It is extremely subtle, based on mindful intention and arises from a "heart connection", a term used by Carolyn Resnick which describes a magnetic entrainment of two beings--a very real phenomenon thoroughly researched by Stephen Harrod Buhner in his book, The Secret Teachings of Plants. I describe some of the ways I engage this form of communication in earlier journal entries which feature Doll (twice), Jerry, Bella and Encantara.

I have taken in the past few days some video footage which, while extremely clumsy, nevertheless demonstrates the type of interactions in which I find some of the "complete accord" mentioned by Baucher.

Before getting to these videos, I first feel it is important to talk a little bit about how conscientious we humans need to be regarding the placement of our weight upon the back of a horse (or mule). Though a mature, robust equine back looks like the perfect place for a human to sit, the physical structure of a horse is not designed to bear weight from above. Open any book on equitation and you will find discussion regarding how to minimize the deleterious effect of our weight upon the equine back. Likewise, stroll through any tack shop and you'll see an entire industry of specialized pads are available to deceptively lure us into thinking we are not causing damage while riding.

For myself, I feel that with a well muscled horse, very brief reprises of riding are not damaging if there is a complete willingness of the horse to accept such an activity and the horse takes pleasure in being ridden.

For the deep thinking human, who looks upon horses with egalitarianism and friendship, a determination against riding is something that should be decided not just by the human, but by the horse as well. Some structurally weak horses should definitely not be ridden, even if they appear to be accepting of it--and some horses that have the most robust bodies which could physiologically support a little judicious riding, should definitely not be ridden because psychologically they do not take any pleasure from a human sitting on their backs.

Doll

Questions I have come to ask myself are:

--Of what benefit is it to my horse for me to ride it?

--What are my intentions for riding?

--Is the act of riding something I do only for my own pleasure, or is it, from the very first, an activity that the horse enjoys as well?

--How will I know if my horse is simply obeying a request she feels she cannot refuse or if she genuinely is accepting of my riding her?

--How will I know if my weight upon the horse's back is damaging?

--Is my horse psychologically diminished by my presence on her back or enhanced by it?

Doll

The topic of the harm of riding is not the main point of today's journal entry, so I will not address it any further, but save greater scrutiny for a future entry.

I think it is important to place the videos I'll be sharing in the context of which they arose...

In October, here in Canada, a Nevzorov Haute Ecole International Seminar has been scheduled, and several individuals I became dear friends with (during my time within the NHE online school) decided that it would be a great time to meet in person. While none of us are any longer part of the NHE school, we each maintain respect for many of the people involved and appreciate the worldwide efforts NHE makes to provoke a perceptional shift in how we view our interactions with horses.

While we were making arrangements to attend the seminar, we became aware that a statement had been released that further refined the restrictions placed on an NHE student with regard to riding. This prompted a dialogue between us regarding the issue of riding and the damage that a horse's body (and mind) can sustain from it. It is a discussion we four have had many times, each of us holding opinions that differ depending on the many variables involved with each horse and rider combination and the situation of each new day. Because of our differences of opinion and knowing, once again, that my views regarding the minimal riding I engage in with the equines here at Ravenseyrie are not acceptable to followers of NHE, I decided it would be inappropriate for me to participate in the seminar, and instead I would wait for a more neutral venue for the merry gathering of friends.

Mistral and Fada

Having canceled my plans to attend, I was in need of a walk, so went out to the north west sector to look for Altamiro and the family band with my thoughts very deep on the subject of riding and questioning whether I was deceiving myself that on those rare occasions when I mount up it was as much a suggestion put to me by the horses (or mules) as something I ask of them. I also reflected on the sensation that there was truly mutual pleasure from these "rides"...and, of course, I contemplated whether these rare rides were damaging their bodies.

As I was crossing into the northwest sector I was surprised to find Doll there, all by herself, quietly grazing! To my knowledge, none of Mistral's group has ventured this far into Altamiro's "territory" in over a year, and I figured she was there because she was in heat again and looking for Altamiro, too.

Even though I take these hikes without horse treats in my pocket, Doll hooked into me right away and without much thought, I put down my camera bag and went over to stand on a rock. Doll came right up, offering me her back, so I got on her and gave her at least five to eight minutes of really excellent itches. Then I asked if she would take me for a few strides of a walk to the right, and she did, so I stopped and gave her another round of itches from my mounted position. Then I got off. I probably was up there ten, maybe twelve minutes. I gave her some under the belly and buttocks itches and then turned to go back to get my camera back with the idea to resume my looking for the family band. Instead of going back to grazing, Doll followed...then the idea came to me to see how much of a mounted itch session I might be able to get on video. As mentioned above, the results are very clumsy but I think they reveal the harmony of the moment and the "complete accord" between us. While viewing it, I hope you can see, hear and feel the subtle communication between Doll and I:

This type of riding is a very intimate thing, and certainly the intrusion of the camera, (especially because I was holding it and trying to interact with Doll while also hoping I was keeping the view finder in a good position), impacted the quality of the itches I would normally give. I made up for this once I got off and put the camera away and then Doll went back to grazing.

Doll

Lest readers think this teenage mule will let just anyone climb aboard because she might appear to be a slow-moving dullard, I'm sharing footage of what happen after I left Doll and found Altamiro's family band:

Though Doll would like the affection of this rock-star-bird-chasing stallion, he doesn't share the same feelings as she does and promptly drove her out of his territory, during which time she demonstrated just how agile and quick a draft mule can be!

I found myself recognizing the synchronisity of Doll being there in that particular moment just as I was reflecting upon whether or not my mounted itches and simplistic riding were things that perhaps I should turn away from. When I mounted the rock for the first time, it was a sort of test, I suppose...if Doll had not come over and positioned herself for mounted itches, I would surely have taken it as a "sign" that indeed this silly game of ours was something that only I appreciated and I should refrain from it in the future. Doll gave me a very clear answer, or so it seems to me. If Doll didn't want me up on top, being tackless, at liberty, in the big wide open, she certainly could have avoided me to begin with, or rid herself of me once I was on top...but she did not, in fact, she came back for more, which is what prompted me to video tape it for you to see.

A day later, I went down to the beach to be with Mistral's group. Everyone was in nap mode, so I just let the sound of the waves and the wind and the birds and the grasses bring me into a very mellow state of being. I took out my camera and began taking photos of the horses and mules, then I went over to stand upon a rock and simply admire them all. Here is what happened next:

What is remarkable about this bit of footage is that I did not call Jerry to me, or ask him if he would like mounted itches. I did not want to interrupt the comfortable position he and Dee were in for their companion napping.

Jerry and Dee

It was Jerry who took note of me standing on the rock and decided to take leave of his nap to come for a visit. Remember, I do not take treats for the horses when I go out on these hikes--he is not coming to me for treats, nor did he come to me when I was on the ground taking photos. But, when I was standing on the rock, just hanging out, he made his own choice to come over and see if he could get me to participate in a mounted itching session. Again, the presence of the camera severely impacted the quality of the itches I could give, and also the rock strewn terrain made it tricky to have him take me around in a circle as was my intention, so in the end I asked him to take me over to a good place for me to dismount, which he did perfectly, and before dismounting, I turned the camera off, slung it around to my back and then gave him all the great mounted itches he has come to appreciate so well.

Interessado and Encantara

To close, I will leave readers with several quotes by Carolyn Resnick from her book, Naked Liberty published in 2005 by Amigo Publications. It was Carolyn's experiences relayed in this book that prompted me to recognize if one has a relationship with horses built upon a magnetic heart connection, and the moment is right, riding at liberty in the big wide open is not only possible it is a rewarding feeling that both partners share. Though very rustic, very "untrained" and very simplistic, the riding shown in these videos is for me much more sublime than any haute ecole movement I use to perform with a bridle in an indoor arena.

"Why is it that some people can use a small gesture and get a favorable response from a horse, while others make the same gesture and get no response at all? It comes from a strong bond shared between horse and human, and from an innate ability to emote the kind of feeling that will influence a horse's behavior in a positive way. The naivety of a child lends great insight into how to connect with horses. Our childhood memories can return to us in the indelible connection of the heart." (pg. 153)

"My dad said, 'If there is unity in the moment with the horse, you can direct his next movement with aids almost as light as a thought, like geese flying in formation. Do geese practice how to be united? No! They just are. It comes naturally from the bond they share together.' He went on to say that harmonious acts seldom lead to trouble." (pg. 227)


"Her invitation [she refers to a wild mare named Moonlight--lg], convinced me that horses do have a desire to be ridden without domination, capture or restraint. If these methods were the only means to riding horses, I would have given up riding." (pg. 228)

"Everyone has experienced moments when everything feels right or safe, a moment that makes you feel you will live forever. These moments I have no name for, but they can be trusted. They are all around us every minute. The trick is to recognize these moments and act upon them." (pg.230)

What makes these simplistic rides I've shared with you especially meaningful is that Doll, Jerry and me engaged in them together, in complete accord, and this harmony in riding came at a time when I was reflecting on whether or not riding in this context was something that is harmful and for my pleasure only. I'm satisfied that the pleasure is not mine alone and that no damage results from these rides, even if others might hold a different opinion.

Jerry

The Primal Connection - Bella and the Rock

The Sorraia Mustang mare Bella (ctr.), down at the beach with her herd mates during the summer of 2008

Each day is a new beginning and while modern humans may take for granted that when they emerge from warm, dream-spent bed covers, place their feet upon the floor and stand up to begin their daily routines their world will be a reliably familiar one, I think that those who live more closely tied to the rhythms of nature take nothing for granted.

My observations, following the lives of the horses living here at the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve, is that they engage in a perpetual assessment of things, moment to moment, with every perceptive sense taking in visible and invisible fluctuations in their environment and between their herd mates. Theirs is a river-realm of continuously flowing streams of information which they are constantly adjusting to. (Actually we are part of the same river, but have compartmentalized ourselves to the point we are virtually oblivious to the subtle, yet rich, dialogues occurring everywhere in the universe.)

Domestically bred and traditionally housed horses require absolute reliability of routine and often are prone to anxiety if the protocol they are accustomed to is not followed. Stabled and paddocked horses expect consistency and regimented orderliness and have stunted, muted capacities for subtle sensory assessments, having put their trust in their caretaker's ability to assure their reliably familiar world will be the same today as it is tomorrow.

Part of this reliably familiar world is the almost absent-minded acceptance horses demonstrate for the type of handling they receive from their human caretakers. This type of handling assumes a certain ownership over the horse's body and mind, manifesting itself in a human who strides into the barn, opens the stall door, captures the head of the horse in a halter, brings the horse out into the aisle and systematically takes over parts of the horse's body for grooming, hoof maintenance, veterinary procedures, tacking up, etc. It is expected that the horse stands calmly in compliance as the human goes about these activities upon the horse's body in an equally absent-minded way. Most often, these activities the human imposes upon the horse are a means to an end, an end that typically involves some kind of "use" the human will be putting the horse to. Horse and human are aware of each other, but their feeling and appreciation of each other's core essences is as weak as an over-used tea bag.

Many variations of this domestically kept horse/human scenario are played out every day, sometimes with gruff roughness from each of them, other times a real bond of togetherness prevails, yet typically there is always an assumed right that the human feels she possesses when engaged in horse handling.

Bella (Bella means "beautiful" in Spanish)

Among the equines here at Ravenseyrie, especially when entering the Sorraia group, one simply cannot get away with any sort of assumed rights over the horses, or expect that what a horse freely gave me on one day will be offered again the next. Like them, each time I am out mingling with the environment and come into the territory where they are, I have to carefully assess the subtle fluctuations of the present moment to determine what possibilities of interaction are present. How do I go about this assessment?

Before I share how I approach the horses, I'd like to highlight the importance other authors have placed on the proper introductions that ought to be undertaken in order to assure that human and horse are truly and fully accepting of each other and ready to share time together.

In his book, What Horses Reveal, Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling describes the approach to a horse as the "First Encounter" which is based on recognizing the character of the horse and how he experiences and reacts to the world around him. He describes the horse as a house that requires the right key before entrance is granted. Our understanding of our own nature and complete harmony with the nature of the horse coupled with careful body language and movement determines whether or not the horse is willing to let us inside. Hempfling relays that no matter how many times we come and go from this house, we must always gain entrance in the same or similar manner...no barging in as if we have ownership. Here are some of the things Mr. Hempfling has to share regarding the First Encounter from pages 134 and 138 of his book:

'Immediate communication' is a very important concept for us. It is the alpha and omega of the first encounter. For, if you do not have a 'key' to the 'house', i.e. you cannot immediately communicate with the horse, then, to stay with our analogy, you are an intruder breaking in, particularly if you are forcibly entering the house, and as a rule, anyone who enters forcibly violates and steals.

The moment of the first encounter is a moment of the most concentrated patience, because, with great humility, we are serving another creature's needs.

It is consciousness of self, you must be aware of your every expression and particularly their effects on the horse. It is an expression that reflects the deepest peace, sincerity and heartfelt cordiality, no mere superficial 'friendliness'.

I make clear to the horse by the manner of my approach that I never want anything from him. Nothing happens without his invitation. I am never permitted to overstep my boundaries; at most I can defend my boundaries for my immediate protection.

This approach is continually renewed from second to second. Nothing is rigidly determined in advance: everything is dependent upon the communication and reactions of the moment.

Bella and Animado in the autumn of 2008

Carolyn Resnick describes the best means of establishing a relationship with a horse as being a magnetic heart connection. Carolyn believes anyone can achieve this type of connection but first they need to "understand how important it is to interact with their horse in this simple way - sharing time and space everyday like horses do with each other, moving a horse around, letting him move you around, easy and gentle like, with lots of pauses in between." Like Klaus, Carolyn does not take for granted that the horse's acceptance of her is the same every time she approaches him and realizes that she can only enter the house if the key is working. In her book, Naked Liberty, Carolyn relays:

I work with a horse in two stages every day. First, I spend time with the horse in the moment in passive time. When I get the feeling that he has connected to me in friendship and is focused on me, I begin with my daily program, whether it is riding him or traditional training. Sometimes the passive time I spend is as short as a quick hello from my horse. If he comes up to me, gives me a sniff and places his head in the halter, he is ready to go. (Putting on a halter is a critical time. If the horse objects to being haltered, it will negatively affect the interactions you have with him thereafter.)

Bella (far right) during the summer of 2008

Imke Spilker as well has some wonderful things to say about how she prefers to approach horses. We'll quote from her book, Empowered Horses:

"Hey, you!"
I want to reduce the distance between us, but it would be disrespectful to push my way into the horse's personal space and touch him, without first asking permission. Think of the same situation in human terms: if I want to convince a person I don't know about my finer qualities and meet him in a spirit of friendship, I'll wait for his invitation, or offer one myself. People that do not abide by this rule of politeness can seem aggressive, even when they don't intend to be. So, when we respect a horse's personal space we convey the message, "I come as a friend."
Nurturing the relationship according to the horse's rules and in the horse's rhythm, I try, despite all our differences, to show my affection, to offer myself to the horse as a friend, as a companion. pg.10

Reflecting, observing, sensing--those are the tasks for human beings. A person who begins to see the world through the eyes of his horse becomes that horse's kindred spirit. And suddenly, completely new forms of communication are possible. Now external signals are of lesser importance. We understand each other directly, instantaneously, because the sharing of feelings creates an interface, and entranceway into the other's world.

Togetherness is the foundation from which everything else proceeds. Togetherness--not hierarchy--puts us on the same level. Togetherness is the prerequisite for influencing each other from within the depths of our being. And that relates to feelings and movement--horse and person on one wavelength in a dialog of movement. As with musicians, in the beginning there is a search for the common key and rhythm; before they begin to play a piece, musicians attune to one another. Togetherness and sharing openly are the first and oldest form of understanding. This is the archetype of every meaningful communication. Being together in harmony means shared feelings with one another. I share yours--I share mine. pg. 28-29

The communication between a person and a horse occurs on a much deeper, more direct level. It eludes a formal observer.

The melody is an inner one and that is where we both hear it. The way I move my hands is just a visible accompaniment to my mental images.

The horse perceives the whole of a human being and only when we are congruent as a whole, will a horse understand and trust us.

Although I have no physical hold on the horse, he picks up on the inner language of my thoughts and desires, and orients himself to them. When there is great emotional unity human beings, too, can pick up on each other's inner images. Suddenly, we "just know" what the other is thinking in the very moment he thinks it, sometimes without even seeing him. We all once lived in a world without words, and as children, we could think and communicate using inner images. It was only much later that we began to orient ourselves to words. You too can understand this inner language if you build a feeling-based connection to horses." pg. 98-99

So now, dear readers, you have a pretty good base of remarkable insights from these authors to assist in understanding a series of photos I'm going to share from an interaction I had with Bella last week.

Bella is a registered Spanish Mustang mare, possessing several phenotypical characteristics of the atavistic Sorraia horses. She is a captive bred range born mare (from Caballos de Destino in South Dakota) who came to Ravenseyrie as a relatively un-handled yearling. She gave birth to the half-Sorraia studcolt, Animado, when she was four years old. She is now five and expecting her second foal next March. She has never had any "official" training, but using an approach to establishing a relationship with her similar to the ones described by the above authors has enabled me to gain her acceptance of being haltered and led as well as having her hooves occasionally attended to. (Haltering and leading are things I rarely do--here there is little need for this.) Within the hierarchy of the herd, Bella is the dominant mare. She is very noble and has always seemed mentally older than her age. She has a sweet, yet very demanding personality, is slow to anger, but swift to violent retribution without regrets. She likes interacting with me but I always feel that I let her down, i.e. there is often something more she wants me to understand about her that so far I have failed to recognize--something that feels like she wants us to do when we are together...

Bella often nickers during our interactions, using the low murmur voice typically reserved for foals...she makes this low murmuring nicker when I have found the precise itchy spot, or when I am handling her front legs and she wants me to give her a shoulder lift (an equine bodywork movement) or after we have come to an understanding about something new we might be learning together. She will also paw with a foreleg if I am not paying good attention or not "getting" something she is trying to put across to me.

Okay, let's look at the photo sequence, keeping in mind that it is me taking the photos, so it was not possible to take photos of everything that we did together.

I'm hiking out to the west, where the family band is hanging out. The others are grazing, but from what I can tell, Bella is enjoying a standing nap. She senses my approach from quite a distance and maintains a focus on me, matching my focus on her.

The closer I come to Bella I can already feel that even though she hasn't altered her slack-hipped stance she will be coming up to engage with me. She doesn't always come forward to interact with me, sometimes she remains sleeping or continues grazing, ignoring my presence...likewise, I don't always go out with the intention of connecting with and interacting with her. But in my core being I knew that she was receptive to me this day, and in her core being she knew that I was willing to interact with her.

I stopped short of walking straight up to her (about ten feet away) and took up a position with my body aslant to hers, my heart filled with genuine admiration for who she is. Though still slightly dozy, within just a few seconds she came over to me. The key fit the house and she let me in.

Bella wanted to be itched and massaged. I willingly obliged. Noticing a burr was snagged in the inner part of her mane, I stopped itching to pull the prickly seed case out. She was not pleased that I had interrupted what was probably just the high point of a particularly good itch to do something so mundane as remove a burr. She let me know right away that she would rather I continue to itch and leave off the grooming for the moment. Sometimes, Bella can be pushy and more than asking for itches she demands them. Her manner of demanding is to step almost on my foot while simultaneously pushing her body, shoulder-first in a bullish bumping kind of way. It's a remarkably precise and deliberate action, rich with communicative expression. My response to this is to step away, giving her nothing to push upon, rather than attempting to correct her breech of gentility by forcing her to back out of my space (which is the traditionalists approach to teaching a horse to stay out of the human's space.)

At the same time, of course, I realize that I had disrupted a perfectly lovely itch session by shifting my focus to grooming so abruptly, even so, I did not right away go back to resuming our itch session, rather I asked Bella to make a half circle to the left allowing us to both reposition ourselves to begin again...our mutual transgressions now forgotten by this simple new channeling of our togetherness, our primal connection restored to its former harmony.

After I had given full attention to every spot that Bella wanted either itched or massaged, I then asked if I could get the tangle out of her mane and she was perfectly accepting.

"Would you like to play a bit with circles and turns around the haunches?", I inquired. "Oh yes!" was her response. How do I know this? I stepped three feet away from her, positioned myself just behind her center, slightly towards her rear, with my body facing forward and angled left, then I opened my arm and gracefully invited her to circle left while I myself did the same thing. That was my question put forth and her following my offer precisely was her definitive "yes".

After a couple of circles to the left and also to the right, then turns around the haunches both left and right, then a little steps of the hindquarters around the shoulders and some backing to the hand, I was going to end our session. But I could see that Bella still wanted to do something and since we'd pretty much run through our repertoire, I decided to see if she would trot along with me a few steps...something we've never tried. I did my best perky-horse trot hoping to entice her to accompany me--she looked quite interested in a bemused sort of way, but she remained stationary.

Spotting a rock nearby, I thought to suggest we should try an old game we used to do when she was a yearling, which was to lift a foreleg and rest it on a rock (a basic prelude to learning Spanish walk), something she became pretty good at, but as our herd increased and the foals started coming, I sort of left off thoughts of training for haute école movements.

So, I went over to the rock, noticed that it was nice and flat, almost like a pedestal, and I thought maybe Bella would like to try standing up on it with both front feet. Like the companion trotting idea, standing her front feet on a pedestal is something we've never done before. I invited her with my mind and a gesture of my hand, to come and stand up on the rock. Without hesitation, she did! And while I stroked her appreciatively, she gave her low murmuring nicker. I asked her if she'd stay up there long enough for me to take a photo and she obliged me. I took a few photos, but when I went to back up a bit further to get her full body in the frame, my camera batteries went dead (such timing!).
Bella remained up on the rock, so I gave her more caresses while she was up there and then asked her to step down, which she did. We exchanged several more mutual admiration gestures and then I continued on with my hike, feeling really good about our encounter. I hope she returned to her herd mates feeling really good about our encounter, too.

My reason for sharing these experiences is not to display my laughable "prowess" as a horse trainer...(I would actually flunk Carolyn Resnick's "quick quiz"designed to evaluate one's relationship with her horses and her leadership skills). I'm putting these things into the Journal of Ravenseyrie to provide readers with examples of how this unconventional approach to horse/human relationship manifests itself here at Ravenseyrie. The things the horses and I are exploring are not things that one brags about or gives achievement ribbons for--these are intimacies I am sharing, which are not aimed at creating a "using" horse for a human's equestrian pursuits, but are meant to heighten our appreciation for each other, facilitate greater understanding and explore new avenues of fun learning. I have no idea where it is leading, but I'm absolutely fascinated with this primal connection and want to only engage with my horses when the connection is mutually pure. This will require continual reassessment within myself and how I fit into things, and I am thankful for ground-breaking horsemen and women who have inspired me to take a journey down a river like this!

Touching Encantara

Living with a family of atavistic horses in a wilderness setting provides me with amazing opportunities to experience a variety of non-traditional interactions. The wide open landscape here at the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve, while an excellent environment for the development of natural herd dynamics, poses challenges, however, for human/horse relationships.

Because I do not separate the horses or keep them in small paddocks, my capacity to influence interactions with these semi-wild equines rests entirely with them. Ravenseyrie is under equine rulership. These horses hold the power--they determine whether or not I am allowed to groom them, play with them, train them, doctor them, etc.

I could change this, have thought about changing this, still may change this--stack the deck of cards a little more in my favor, if you will--by imposing restrictions, from time to time on the autonomy these horses experience. Rational, pragmatic voices certainly suggest I should...after all horses ought to be under our control, if only to allow us to provide them better care and training, all designed with their best interests in mind, or so the thinking goes. I can appreciate the merit of this--but, something strangely inexplicable holds me back from actually doing it myself (at least in the usual way things are done). Reasonable, sensible voices may be quite right in telling me if I am not willing to assert control over horses--for their own best interests--I have no business being with horses. I wouldn't dare argue with rational thinkers...

...but over the course of the next several journal entries, I will offer some examples of the purity of interactions which have emerged, providing a little insight into why I am reluctant to break this primal connection by introducing too many man-made restrictions on these horses just to make it possible for me to have more human-centered, traditional interactions . Perhaps there is something here that the universe itself desires me (us) to learn?

My most recent example involves Encantara. You might recall Encantara was Altamiro's firstborn for the year. Belina delivered this exquisite "zebro" filly on a chilly spring day in early May. Mother's Day to be exact.
Belina is an exceptionally protective mare, and would not allow any one except Altamiro to be within touching distance on the first day. She was the same way when her first filly, Fada, was born. This cautious reserve of Belina's is something her foals immediately took into their behavioral development. With Fada, it took four days before she reached out a tentative muzzle to touch me with and allowed me to touch her back.

To touch Encantara took a bit longer. Days went by, weeks passed. Spring became summer, Encantara lost her foal coat, engaged in long mutual grooming sessions with her herd mates, rubbed on trees, mingled confidently with every element of her environment--all the while curious enough to come near me, but not yet ready to bring herself to touch me or allow me to touch her. And oh!, how I longed to touch her!
I began to wonder if the price to pay for her striking primitive markings and ancestral morphology was a concomitant avoidance of anything that wasn't wild like her. It didn't seem to matter that her mother would come to me for itches, caresses and grooming, or that her younger brother, Silvestre would engage with me not just for itches, but mini-schooling sessions where he tested out the feeling of a makeshift leather halter and wore proudly my woolen shawl. Encantara wanted none of this...but I could see her eyes following me, always, and I had hope that one day she would willingly come to physically interact with me.


Weeks stretched themselves into months. Vegetation began dying back, biting-cold winds swept all the leaves from the trees and Encantara exchanged her summer sleekness for a thickly layered winter coat. She is now six months old.

Now that the grass isn't as delectable, Altamiro and his family band have discovered that if they come around near the house later in the day, us humans will hand feed compressed alfalfa cubes. Encantara quickly developed an appreciation for this nutritious treat and decided it was okay to take a thin sliver of these "cookies" from a human hand. After a week, she allowed me to softly cup her chin as she munched on her cookie. One day, I reached out to stroke her cheek and she moved away in alarm. But I tried it again the next day, and this time my touch on her cheek was accepted. And one day, I trailed from her cheek and laid my hand against her neck. She did not leave and I felt a little closer to heaven!

And so it began that when I would hike out the far fields, Encantara would walk right up to me, perhaps thinking I might have some of those alfalfa cookies. I don't carry cookies with me, and she soon discovered this, but began to poke around to make certain, nuzzling my basket of brushes, my pockets and my camera bag, my hat, the toe of my boot, the hem of my skirt. She found no cookies, but all that exploration seemed to really relax her and she allowed me to cup her chin and lay my hand on her neck briefly before shrinking away from my presence.

On Sunday, November the 8th, I was out among the family band, pulling burrs from Altamiro's tail, and also the mares'. Encantara was grazing, but keeping an eye on me. When I was mostly done with the others, I noticed she had now taken up a dozing position, I walked nearby her and stopped. She came right over and sniffed to see if I had any treats. Not finding any food reward on my person, she began once again to nuzzle my basket of brushes and camera bag while I gave her a little itch on the neck. Then I tentatively and carefully worked my way down to her chest. I was thrilled that not only did she not shrink away from this action, but she soon realized how good it felt to be itched there! A mental connection was made, and I could actually see it in her facial expression, like a sort of new sparkle in her eye and a softening of her nostrils.

For the first time, I was able to run my fingers over those zebra stripes on her lovely neck--the feeling was absolutely sublime. Let others brag on about how they have shaken the hand of royalty, or kissed the Pope's ring--those mean nothing to me and pale in comparison to touching the Enchantress herself, Encantara!

The next day, I was most interested to see how things would go...would Encantara seek me out again? Would she remember our connection and desire more touching, engage in more explorations of each other? I wondered even if perhaps Encantara might be asking these very same questions, hoping and wondering if I would come out and see her.

When I found the family band, Encantara was the first to come to me! Notice how soft her expression, how hopeful and trusting her body posture is as she approaches me in this photo. And as I caress her with my voice and hold the camera in one hand I am able to take a photo of my touching her with the other hand. The effort was noisy, clumsy, peculiar...but she stayed with me, no longer distrustful, no longer suspicious...A friendship was born!


It was my day off, and so I was able to hang out for several hours among the family band, grooming, composing paintings and poetry of them in my head and otherwise "dawdling" away a fine morning. Throughout this time, Encantara would go off with the others to graze, but frequently came back to spend time with me. Like new lovers, we couldn't seem to get enough of each other! What a high I was on...did she feel the same way, too?

No doubt if I had placed Encantara and Belina in a smaller paddock or a box stall I would have been able to establish a physical connection with this ultra-shy filly in far less time than six months. Taking away a horse's option of leaving our presence if they are uncomfortable, gently cornering them, desensitizing them to our touch, etc. has been the way many horses come to accept the ministrations of humans. While imposing ourselves upon horses like that sometimes intensifies their distrust of humans, most of the time they "give in" and in doing so (if among kind people) find that there are some pleasures to be had by allowing us to touch them. I do not consider this means of gaining a foal's trust and acceptance inappropriate, and if done empathetically its an excellent way to help a young horse learn to accept so many things in the world humans have designed. For myself, even though it is much more challenging (and certain potentials are vastly limited) this wilderness approach is presently the only acceptable way of developing relationships with our horses here at Ravenseyrie.

As mentioned earlier, I'm planning to devote a string of journal entries to experiences I've had that have arisen within this wilderness setting where the horses rule the land and I am a guest in their territory. What I am discovering is that there is some kind of primal connection between us that at times makes the step by step training methods seem utterly unnecessary. What I am calling the "primal connection", Imke Spilker refers to as the "inner language". Carolyn Resnick has named it the "magnetic heart connection". Other terms attempting to describe this phenomenon are, "heart entrainment", "resonance", "gnosis", "universal logos", etc.

To close today's entry, I'll share another recent experience with Encatara which demonstrates this peculiar, magnificent, cross-species understanding that stands apart from the means of communication that must first be trained into each of us. This experience had no training, it simply emerged, effortlessly with complete, mutual understanding.

During a recent visit with Encantara, just a few days after our big "breakthrough" in physical touching, Silvestre joined our group of two and in no time it all the "three's a crowd" expression became obvious as I simply could not keep focused attention on two inquisitive foals, each pressing their rumps into me for itches. I cooed them my apologies and turned to leave. Of course they followed and I had to shoo them back to their mothers.

When I was about seventy feet away, I turned back for one last look at these beautiful semi-wild Sorraia horses. Encantara had positioned herself next to a Cedar tree and was rubbing her rump against it, all the while looking intently at me. I mentally "threw out" the idea to her that if she wanted to come over to me I would definitely itch her bum for her and do a far better job than the tree could. Then I motioned with my hand for her to come.

She immediately left the tree, walked by all the others and came and stood in perfect position to receive the promised rump itch.

Such is the potency of the "inner language" and the untainted quality of the primal connection.

SeaWorld and Empowered Horses

This past Saturday a friend of mine stopped into the studio to chat a bit. Ted and his wife, Barb, had just returned from a week long holiday in Florida shared with their son, daughter-in-law and delightful seven year old granddaughter, Willow. Ted looked very refreshed and said they'd all had a wonderful time. One of the highlights was a visit to SeaWorld.

Ted relayed to me that prior to the show, the SeaWorld trainers explained the general philosophy of how they interact with and teach these marine mammals to do the amazing things they do.

Some of the noteworthy things Ted related were:
--there is no force involved
--there is no punishment
--undesirable behavior is ignored, not corrected
--copious praise reinforces desired behavior
--food is just one reward, praise and human attention are more appreciated by the animals
--the gate to the back pools is always open so if an animal doesn't want to participate it is free to leave the area
--if an animal does not want to "perform" his part of the show is canceled

In fact, this last element is something that Ted and his family experienced for themselves. The first day they went to see the show, they struck up a conversation with an enthusiastic fellow sitting nearby who was especially addicted to SeaWorld (having made many repeat visits) and enjoyed telling them all the things he'd learned about the type of training that is done to put a show like this together. He also told them that sometimes Shamu refused to perform, and that if this happened they should come back at another time because Shamu's performance was spectacular and worth waiting for. Sure enough, during their first visit, the Shamu Rocks America show had to be called off, but during their next visit, the killer whale was in a better mood and ready to show what he could do, bringing astonishment and awe to the cheering crowds.



I was thrilled with what Ted was telling me because it felt very much like the path of horse/human relations I have been pursuing, and reflected almost word for word the philosophy put forth by Imke Spilker in her book, Empowered Horses. This philosophy is also present in Alexander Nevzorov's work, and there are many similarities as well with the work of Carolyn Resnick.

I quickly did some research on the internet and found a website which provides information on training marine mammals at SeaWorld. Those of you who train horses and are especially drawn to non-coercive means of training will enjoy reading through the way training and behavioral shaping takes place at SeaWorld. Reading about how SeaWorld approaches training once again (as with the way Imke Spilker interacts with horses) also reminds me very much of the philosophy behind the Montessori method of teaching young children.

After reading through the SeaWorld web pages, I was especially impressed with their detailing of what they feel creates an ideal training environment which to my perception seemed remarkably holistic and more of an overall interactive lifestyle which includes, sessions devoted to learning, exercise, relationship, play, husbandry and the shows.

Learning about the way SeaWorld trains these marine animals came at a time when I had just been reading on various Spanish Mustang forums and websites how disgusted many of these trainers are with the surge of enthusiasm dedicated to shifting perceptions of horses as livestock which are to be dominated and used, to that of horses as friends with whom we can have egalitarian relationships that lead to self-actualization for both horse and human.

Here are just a few comments from these various sites that caught my attention because they come from a particular perception that horses will take advantage of humans and harm them if they are not reprimanded, disciplined, punished, etc.



"On the flip side, we have those that will over-gentle the horse and try to treat it like a dog. They do not discipline or follow through. They allow the horse to make decisions and then can't change the behavior because the horse does not take them seriously. These horses are allowed to act like spoiled children and will hurt you if given the chance."

"Too many people equate natural horsemanship with passive, whimpy, non coercive, "training" methods. I am not Ghandi. I am just as violent, (and no more so) than are the horses in my herd. If one of my horses would bite me I would take my natural fist, do my best to make it feel like a natural kick, and try to knock the natural hell out of him. "

"I like your description of how you deal with a ground problem, horse to horse. Himself gets popped in the old kisser or a hard fist on the neck when he deserves it. When it happens, he then looks at me and starts licking his lips or if bridled-up, will spin his bit's cricket roller. Like he knows I caught him crossing a line. And then we're fine. It's the old John Lyon Three Second Rule: If the horse bites or kicks or something along those lines, you have three seconds to kill him. Then you let him know that the world is now OK. Rub him a bit. Love a horse to death and one of you may die."

These types of responses from humans towards a horse's undesirable behavior often yield the results humans are after...but not always, horses are not machines and humans are not always interpreting the horse's state of being accurately (meaning that many times a horse is punished when actually the human is in error or has inappropriately provoked the undesired behavior to begin with). And while one can argue that to discipline a horse in this brusque manner is something horses understand because this is the way they handle disputes amongst themselves has a certain merit--however, it does little to raise the level of communication to a subtler, higher state of understanding that brings out the best in both horse and human. At best, this type of training teaches the horse that if he behaves in a subordinate manner things will go better for him and teaches the human that when the horse shows an opposing reaction, she must assert herself, no matter what it takes, until there is a yielding of the horse's will to hers.

This would be the point of that type of dominator-driven training, I suppose, to create, through the use of force, horses which assume a reliably subordinate behavior (subordinate minded horses are considered safer for humans to be around). A horse must submit to the human handler in all things, like a well tuned mechanized vehicle, if you will, that with the press of a button responds as the human has designed it to do.

The trainers whose comments I've highlighted are probably not mean-minded individuals and likely are not cruel to their horses, but I do feel that they may be mentally stalled in their evolution of horse/human relationships and maintain a certain roughness that will keep them from advancing. They are probably not interested in developing anything other than what they presently practice...they are happy and their horses have come to a place of adjusted contentment. It is not necessarily a bad thing, this relating to horses as subordinate creatures--these trainers are merely capitalizing on the horses natural tendencies to yield to a higher authority...
...its just no longer what I feel compelled to do. I am exploring other means of achieving willing cooperation with horses.

For myself, if I resort to inflicting pain, however brief, to make myself understood to my horse, I feel that I have missed the opportunity to take our relationship to a higher level, i.e. my punitive actions reinforce a certain baseness of character that hold us back from evolving in our understanding of our overall potential in our relationship together.

My understanding of the new philosophy of horse/human relationships (or possibly a revival of an ancient one!) is that it promotes nurturing a means of communication that--while based on what we see horses exhibit amongst themselves and utilizes the type of communication we use amongst our human selves--is ultimately generating a unique (or inherent!) situation that transcends apparent differences between the species. This type of philosophy requires a dedication to developing the relationship first, based on mutual respect, creativity, lack of rigid hierarchy, shared leadership and a complete reversal of perceiving the horse as a useful tool to fulfill human desires.

I should note here that the concept of mutual respect, avoidance of a rigid hierarchy and sharing of leadership are the very things that traditional trainers likely finger as causing "spoiled" horses. No doubt a misapplication of means to achieve "mutual respect" and "shared leadership" occur--similarly a misapplication of means can likewise ruin horses in the dominance oriented manner of training.

My point, and the point that has been made by pacifists all along, is that it is possible to achieve excellent relationships with out the threat of "might makes right". Some ancient cultures flourished as "partnership societies" and though the war-mongers later overtook them and established our present well-ingrained system of "dominator societies" we have within us the capacity to revitalize a more sustainable, egalitarian way of interacting with our world and its inhabitants. What better way to understand this than to restructure our relationships with horses (or killer whales) without resorting to domination and violent measures to gain understanding and compliance from them?

Getting back to the training philosophy of SeaWorld. A man named Chris Rice was able to have a one on one interview with Laura Surovik, one of SeaWorld's killer whale trainers. He relayed elements of this interview in his blog, and I'd like to share a few noteworthy passages here, with readers keeping in mind the parallels to being with horses.

I asked Laura if food was the primary ‘reward’ for the whales’ behaviors. I was surprised at her answer.

“Actually, the whales respond more to attention and love. They’re being fed all day, so a few fish are not so much a reward, just part of our interaction. We take our cues from observing the whales.”

The whales demonstrate her point as they swim around responding to each other’s touch. They continually rub against each other’s backs and sides and bellies and love the attention. It becomes obvious that they especially love this kind of attention from the trainers too. And the trainers are more than happy to give it!

The trainers speak of their work as a “lifestyle commitment,” often spending overnights with the whales.

“It’s a 24/7 kind of life. The whales are like family members to us.”

“You know, Chris, you’re a behaviorist, since you’re a psychology major. You know, having worked with children, and people all over the world, you have to be able to read the situation. Look in the animals’ eyes and read. Are they with me? “Animals have good days and bad days. No different than us."

I'm so glad that Ted stopped by to share his inspirational visit to SeaWorld, it has brought to me an added sense of "rightness" in the path I have been drawn to with our horses here at Ravenseryie.

On Radicalization and Rediscovery

The Raven's of Ravenseyrie, keeping watch over their Sorraia Mustangs

Throughout today's dialogue, I will share some of the images of how beautifully summer is passing here at the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve.

In a comment posted yesterday to the journal entry titled, An Article by Imke Spilker, a reader by the name of June wrote, "I have a new word - it's "spilkered"! It refers to someone who has been radicalized by coming into contact with Imke Spilker's ideas. I have been spilkered, and I don't know where it's leading me!!!"

I know just what you mean, June!

A photo sequence showing a small flock of Canada Geese among Altamiro's family band:

I had my first introduction to these truly unconventional ideas on horse/human relationships just after our first two Sorraia Mustang fillies were delivered from South Dakota. While they were considered "captive bred" horses, they nonetheless came from a situation not too dissimilar from the way horses live here at Ravenseyrie. From the very first, they let us know that in order to establish a good connection (which I consider to be relations built on willing engagement as opposed to force and coercion), we would have to follow a very different path. These fillies, Bella and Belina gave us our first hint at how much more can be accomplished by allowing the horse all possible freedom to "escape" our influence and express their feelings about whatever we might be asking of them.

As mentioned in two prior journal entries (here and here), the work of Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling, Carolyn Resnick, Alexander Nevzorov and especially Imke Spilker further radicalized me. Like June, I'm not precisely sure where it is leading me--this radicalization of thought and action in our relations with horses--but I have a nagging intuitive sense that it is not a "new" way of being with horses (although it may seem that way to us modern humans) rather, it is a rediscovering of how early humans used to interact with horses.

A photo sequence showing Belina and Encantara nibbling just the seed heads of the Timothy grasses:

While I am not ready to write a detailed essay about it yet, let us just say that I feel it is possible that in prehistoric times, humans and horses had a very intimate relationship that was based on mutual understanding, reciprocal offerings of friendship and a complete lack of violence. How do you like that for a radicalized statement!!

June's comment prompted me to look up the words "radical" and "radicalized" and I'm sharing here what my copy of The American Heritage Dictionary offers us regarding these words.

Radical: adj. 1. Arising from or going to a root or source; fundamental; basic. 2. Carried to the farthest limit; extreme, sweeping: radical social change. 3. Favoring or effecting revolutionary changes, as in political organization. 4. Of or designing a word root. 5. Botany. Of, pertaining to, or growing from the root.

Radicalize, radicalized: To make radical or more radical

A photo sequence showing my friend Nancy, on a recent visit to Ravenseyrie:

When we begin to appreciate the perception presented to us by deep thinking horse lovers, like Imke Spilker, we discover that we are going back to the root of things...the way perhaps the first humans and first horses began their relationships, as definition #5 relays, "Of, pertaining to, or growing from the root."

Animado playing games with my shawl over his shoulders:

We have come to accept certain so-called "facts" about our prehistoric roots, which initially have humans consuming horses as food, and later brutally domesticating them for all manner of exploitation. But we don't really know that human's first encounters with horses were violent and based on gustatory predilections. Perhaps the killing for food and violent coercion of horses is a subsequent perversion of how humans and equines first lived together. Much of prehistory is conjecture and dependent upon the prevailing mindset that writes up the research, as such it is open to interpretation...and I'm choosing to interpret things from a "radical" perspective.

When our 2009 tourists season winds up here on the island and the slower pace of life returns, I will revisit this radicalized thinking and put together some of the research that has prompted me to reconsider the way in which first contacts between horses and humans may have occurred.

For now, I am finding it immensely exciting and personally satisfying to follow my intuition and look for the lamps of illumination being held up for me by other novel thinkers who are further along the path than I.

This photo is for June, who has been "spilkered" and is being lead back to the horses:

Mistral and Zeus enjoying a shady spot, away from the summer heat and biting flies:

A short sequence showing Zorita, the half Sorraia mare who is due to deliver a foal by our purebred Sorraia stallion, Altamiro, on or around August 24th. Send her good thoughts for a smooth delivery and a healthy foal, won't you?