A Brief Comparison of Spilker and Hempfling

June, one of the reader's of the Journal of Ravenseyrie, has been immersing herself in learning a new way of interacting with horses. Like many of us, June has found herself marvelously impacted by the work of Imke Spilker as presented in her book EMPOWERED HORSES. The teachings of Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling are also providing June with much to think about and prompting her to explore different means of "coming together" with her own horses.

In a few recent comments to other Journal of Ravenseyrie entries, June has recognized that the concept of "dominance" in the horse/human relationship brings up some differences between the way Imke Spilker relates with horses and the way Mr. Hempfling does.
Within Imke Spilker's work, the notion of dominance is not addressed in the manner which it is in Mr. Hempfling's work perhaps because Imke Spilker's approach is not based on domination but on shared leadership. In Imke's world there is no fixed individual in control, rather horse and human cede control back and forth to suit the quality of the moment.
Imke writes,

We will stop when our horse says: "No!" We will let it all go, try another way, or do something else. We will not force our horse to do it our way. Rather, we will find the path our horse wants to travel and walk it with him. We ask him for his permission, we discuss things, and above all we listen. "Okay, Toppur. Pardon me. I did not mean it like that." We reflect on the matter once more--pause--and then I make a renewed attempt. Now Toppur does what I request!

In this aspect it may be that Ms. Spilker's interactions with horses favor feminine qualities as a means of motivating a horse to become master of himself on the road to self-actualization. The role of the human is built on deference to the horse, and it becomes the job of the human to identify what motivates the horse and initiate ways which assist the horse in developing his own awareness of his inherent potential. Horse and human work as a team, as friends on a common goal, a goal that the horse comes to choose for himself and we join them as a supportive mentor, offering suggestions, ideas and creative advice rather than demands, corrections and punishments. In Imke Spilker's work the cultivation of non-linear perception also leads to identifying, nurturing and trusting our instincts and intuitive powers which then makes it possible to completely harmonize with our horses in a mutual understanding that transcends our apparent species differentia.
Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling's work is extraordinary, beautiful and inspiring and I find little about it that makes me uncomfortable. My feeling is that Mr. Hempfling's work is much more influenced by masculine traits. In his book, What Horses Reveal, Mr. Hempfling relays how strongly he identifies with his forefathers "the Celts, the Vikings, the Teutons, the Goths and the Cimbrians", so it does not surprise me the emphasis he places on the concept of dominance in his work, but he isn't dominating via violent force as was the way of his forefathers. The way Mr. Hempfling goes about demonstrating his dominance over his horse is more a reflection of his own domination of his inner self (so that he isn't acting out of fear, anger, or a desire to be powerful himself) demonstrating to the horse that he is a competent leader--he just confidently and deftly uses his intent and body language to stimulate the horse to move. (This is much like Carolyn Resnick's third "ritual" Taking Territory) Mr. Hempfling also feels horses and humans are part of an ongoing mythological process of learning to control our darker sides, and it is in this juxtaposition that he looks upon horse/human interactions. My impression is that his means of training are flexible but yet exist more in a linear, human directed path which is much more serious, keenly structured, less play oriented and maybe a little limiting by the devotion to patriarchal notions of chivalry.
Both Imke Spilker and Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling discuss the importance of recognizing we humans are a part of nature, just as the horses are, and we need to be inwardly and outwardly authentic in our beingness...they each do this differently based on the way they view their heritage as humans.

It's no secret that of the two influences, I feel a greater kinship with Imke than with Klaus, mostly because of the things she says about egalitarianism between horse and human, shared leadership and the "inner language" that we can become part of. These are things that I have been pursuing with my horses and I've felt immense gratification with the way they respond. I also recognize that the very notion of sharing leadership boggles the minds of those still bound by the dynamics of traditional horsemanship.

For some reason, it seems many people are under the impression that to indulge a horse's preferences sometimes over our own, means that we have forfeited our own right to say "no" and our own right to experience "respect" which automatically leads to the horse taking over, running us over and abusing our good nature in a thousand bullish ways. Here we have a topic to discuss in a future journal entry, with personal examples to share.
Thank you June for providing questions that provoked me to briefly compare Klaus Ferdinand Hempling's work with Imke Spilker's on the subject of dominance. Overall, I don't think the two are necessarily far apart on things. I will quote a segment of Hempfling's book What Horses Reveal to illustrate:

Does the horse walk behind me or do I walk ahead of the horse?

This is the simple question. What would you make of the following very unusual thought. What if I do not bring the horse onto my path and lead him, but, rather, I simply put myself on the horse's path and walk two metres ahead of him? Am I leading the horse? Or, am I simply walking his path a few steps in front of him?
Again and again during my encounters with unfamiliar horses, I let them follow my hand as though they are being hypnotized. The pictures show that. But what if, in fact, I am actually following the head of the horse, only I am a second in advance of the horse's movement? That seems totally absurd, but that is, in a specific, exaggerated way, exactly what happens. I put myself in a world at one with the horses, as the shepherd is at one with the sheep. In my case there is a comparable interplay: leading and being led blend into a shared experience. I lead the horse, the horse leads me, and we are both led in that place and time. Only in that way can what seems to be impossible occur. We are simply on a shared path. We each reveal ourselves. --Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling

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.

Empowered Horses

(Click on book cover image to view it in a larger format)

I have been given permission to discuss in greater detail the work of a lovely German woman, Imke Spilker, as gifted to us in her book SELBSTBEWUSSTE PFERDE. It is with immense, heartfelt enthusiasm I share here that Empowered Horses / Learning Their Way, Through Independence, Self-Confidence and Creative Play has gone to press and is expected to be available for delivery in April! At long last, Kristina McCormack's English translation of this relationship-altering book is available, thanks to the foresight of the editors at Trafalgar Square in securing the rights to publish it.

I have ordered several advanced copies (including one for you Nancy, and one for you Jean, as promised!)

Here are just a handful of places which already have the book available for pre-ordering:

http://www.horseandriderbooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=EMHO&Category_Code=

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570764131/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB

http://www.amazon.com/Empowering-Horses-Learn-Their-Self-Confidence/dp/1570764131


If you go to the Amazon sites, they offer an excellent glimpse inside the book. In this first Journal of Ravenseyrie entry for February, I hope to give you a heightened feel for this book as well, as I quote from some of the passages I've highlighted in the working draft of the translation which Kris provided me quite some time ago.

Before I begin our virtual thumbing through Empowered Horses, I want to relay why I find this book to be so pivotal in my life, and why I am so keen to have others read and experience it for themselves.

Imke Spilker had an epiphany one day, when--like any other day--she went out to the pasture with the intent to ride her horse. Questions that many of us have begun to ask of ourselves plagued her that fateful day and instead of pushing such questions aside, she felt compelled to sit down and confront them head on. These are the questions she asked herself:

What gives you the right to do what you always do -- punish what you call disobedient -- try to control them -- lay claim to their bodies? What are you doing here? Why do you do that?

We humans have a long history with horses, throughout which we have been culturally shaped into believing that we must always assume leadership and be the dominant partner in our relationship with horses. Such perspectives at best profess to love and care for a horse like a parent tends to a child, and at worst, the assumed role of dominant being leads humans to perpetuate all manner of immoral assaults upon the horse and its liberty as equally as abhorrent as the history of slavery among humans.

Is there a different concept of the horse/human relationship possible--one that does not demean the horse by constantly treating it as an immature child or look upon it as chattel we own and can "use" as we see fit? And if the answer is "yes" how do we go about discovering this new way of being with horses?

My own epiphany was not something I can attribute to a single "pasture moment" like Imke Spilker's, rather mine has been a gradual reflecting upon these questions over years and allowing the answers to emerge through a myriad of mishaps, bumblings and overriding intuition that directed me towards influences that broke free from the pattern of old modes cultural shaping. All fine and good, this gradual epiphany, but I must say it rather left me feeling completely uncertain about how to proceed with carrying on with any form of "horse training" within this new mindset I'd flowered into. Empowered Horses not only provides all that is necessary to go exploring the deep, murky waters where the above questions live so that we can find inspiring, liberating answers, this book also reveals to us how to graft elements of classical horse training onto a relationship built upon "play".

In many ways, what Imke Spilker shares with us in this book is much like what I learned during my study of Nevzorov Haute Ecole (in fact her work along these lines predates his). While both approach the horse from a completely novel mindset and excel at assisting horses in developing authentic natural collection, Imke Spilker does so without finding it necessary to condemn others who may not yet be ready to change their way of thinking about horse/human relationships. Also, Imke Spilker's training is more horse-directed (as in Learning "Their" Way) than is that of Nevzorov Haute Ecole, the latter which imposes restrictions and specific rules which must be adhered to by both human and horse. With the wide-open landscape and semi-wild herd setting here at Ravenseyrie, Imke Spilker's approach to training is much more fitting and achievable for me and (in my opinion) more physically and mentally satisfying for the horses.

So, let's take a look at some of what Imke Spilker has written in Empowered Horses...

Considerations on the horse/human relationship

Horses are defenseless against the encroachment of human beings. To give them a sense of well being in our company, it is important that the relationship is structured so that horses do not feel oppressed by our might, but rather feel empowered by our presence.

If you want to learn to understand the nature of horses, you must approach them in a different way. If you want to have friendly conversations with them, you must meet them on an equal level. Only in that way will you be able to become part of their world, instead of coming as a conqueror, as one who wants to destroy.

A person who seeks to master horses will always resort to instruments of force. But one who understands that he is a guest in the horse' world realizes he has neither the right nor a reason to punish a horse, or to fight him. He does not issue commands, but rather makes an effort to learn something new with and from this animal, and to make his own presence as pleasant as possible to the horse. This basic politeness will change his behavior so radically that he will soon be accepted by the horses without reservation.

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 beings.

A horse's desires should count just as much as ours do, at least if we are talking about partnership and friendship. I do not enjoy feeling like a slave overseer among my horses. And we cannot be speaking of genuine unity if I must coerce them into it. Let us turn the question around: Would you have fun at something to which you were forcefully dragged? Why even consider applying this pressure to my horse or myself? These days no one and nothing demands that we must ride. Instead of forcing my horse, I will sit in the grass and play with my dog, or think of something else to do.

Freedom - this feeling comes from within and so can hardly be identified by external trappings. A halter or a bridle can mean to my horse, "Oh no! I'm going to be annoyed again' or "Great! Now we'll finally get going! I've waited all day for you!" We must know how our horse is feeling and how he perceives a situation or thing before we can characterize him as "free". How does the horse feel as he is doing whatever-it-is? Can he find a way out? Does he have a choice, a genuine alternative?

Considerations on developing a new dialogue

Free space is what creates the possibility of a true dialog. The horse can leave or he can come, he can say "yes" or "no". We want the horse to sense his freedom, to feel it to realize it...the horse may, should and must be able to decide for himself freely, because it is only from a freely made decision that our very special kind of relationship can grow. We want to share pride, joy and time together with the horse, not force ourselves upon him.

There are many different ways to get a horse to comply with our wishes. What distinguishes them is the attitude and feelings of the participants. How is my horse doing with this? Why am I doing what I am doing? Does this action have anything to do with my horse, any meaning in the good sense of the word? Meaningless actions on the part of the person are a sure way to quickly lose a horse's motivation. Who among us enjoys being ordered around?

Recognizing the value of play

It is here, in the balance of the relationship between man and horse, that we find the beginnings of play. The equality of the partners is the basic requirement for fairness - the same opportunities and rights for all players. Our playing can be truly carefree only when things are fair.

If a person truly wants to play with a horse and relate to him as a partner, he must adhere to rules the two of them have both agreed upon. Otherwise the horse remains a plaything, a toy which the person merely uses to play out his own game.

Playing lets us grow closer because it overcomes differences - even when they are as great as between man and horse...Play removes the distance between us and lets us become one. We get a glimpse into the other's world of thoughts - even if the other is an animal - because play conquers even the boundaries between species.

Considerations on playful work

Working together, working 'with', a horse is something different. I do not have an ideal form in mind into which I will try to mold my horse. After all, this is a living being standing here with me, not lifeless "material" that can and my be worked on as I please. The art of horsemanship as I understand it can only be an art dedicated to horses and must serve them, instead of human ambition, performance, or the entertainment of the masses. What we want is for a good enough connection to exist between person and horse so that understanding and harmony rule. We want a hierarchy-free, joyful atmosphere - the same atmosphere that exists when we play together. Only under these conditions can I offer a horse something new: aids that are truly helpful, and working with him, not on him. "Is there something you would like to improve? Are you perhaps not feeling well there?" From play we draw forth the energy and the self-confidence to confront such sore points. A horse needs courage for this, even perhaps, enthusiasm.

There is much that I have to leave for you to read from the book itself, these are just a few of the many incredible insights contained in this book. Also, I have run out of time and am not able to highlight some of the exercises Imke Spilker has learned from the horses which facilitate greater freedom, proud and lofty balance and the joy of expression, and anyhow, these things are better viewed in the book with the benefit of the excellent and detailed photos she shares of how her horses came to develop these exercises and the changes they have brought to the horses way of movement and pleasure in "working".

First we learn from this book how to change ourselves, and from that we learn from the horses how best to proceed into new ways of interaction, better ways of developing communication which lead to explorations of better carriage and movement...all throughout which we are guided and measured by the horses' responses, as Imke notes, "The nicest thing about this work is that we finally have a pure, incorruptible standard for evaluating the quality of our actions: our horse's approval. His enthusiasm grows, he becomes more and more madly eager to move, to collect, he takes over the arena...all showing me that my work cannot be so very wrong."

This is the gift of learning "their" way, this is the splendor of Empowered Horses!