Alternative Horsemanship™ with Samantha Harvey the Remote Horse Coach shares horse training and horseback rider coaching, philosophies, and approaches she has developed over three decades. Offering horsemanship clinics worldwide, distance horse coaching instruction, equine consultations, equine re-education and rehabilitation, colt starting, and lessons. Follow her #alternativehorsemanship on all social media platforms.
Filling in the "holes"
I’ve had a new horse come in for training and in between
this crazy ongoing rain I head outside to work with him. He is a four-year old that has had a lot of
handling, though his owner’s experience is limited, she has gone “slow” with
him…
TEC re-opened for 2012
I arrived safe and sound to the gorgeous northwest and have spent the week re-opening the Sandpoint, ID facility. Starting Monday May 21 I'll be starting lessons, training and more! Reminder there will only be one Full Immersion Camp this year held June 8-10. Please visit www.learnhorses.com for details!
Expanding your Experience- Breaking the boundaries of invisible barriers
As I’m winding down in my last week of teaching here in the
quickly warming Arizona desert and prepare for my trek to the north where
cooler temperatures and greener pastures await (think rain and wet), I have had
several conversations with students whose initial reaction to my leaving is a
state of semi panic. But as I try to
continually remind people my goal is to empower them with the awareness, ability
to assess and interpret their horse’s behavior, and then offer them tools to
effectively communicate with their horse in order to achieve the desired mental
and physical changes.
With the ending of each lesson we always review a few of the
key points we addressed in that session, so that the student is able to literally
think through and then communicate verbally what, why and how they did what
they did, so that when they are on their own, they are able to address
behaviors, issues, etc. without having to rely on me “watching” them.
Several new students this winter have started to really “take
the ball and roll with it.” What I mean
by this is that at the beginning of each lesson we discuss the rides that occurred
between lessons; as the students are able to vocalize observations (of themselves
and their horse), report on experimenting with various “tools” to achieve
desired results, and have a more “tuned-in” perspective in how they approach
working with their horses, their confidence increases tremendously, which of
course is a rewarding and encouraging feeling to both the rider and horse. This is the “path” that allows the rider to
not feel “needy” towards the riding instructor and still allows a forward
progression with a clear direction.
Most of all my clients find me through word of mouth
recommendation and over the last few days, without my initiating, several have
mentioned that what they are learning, how I approach teaching them, and the “issues”
I help them address, were not “at all” similar to what our mutual acquaintance
had mentioned in suggesting they work with me.
I find humor in this because it is completely true.
I believe the challenge in being a quality instructor is
assessing what either the human student or horse need me to address and we go
from there. Even if I have two students
with similar “problems”, I may have to approach teaching them in completely
different ways.
So when a current student is asked about how or what I teach,
their answer may be appropriate for them, but their friend might not have the
same experience with me. And yet, they
all can arrive at the same end goals.
The downside to this, is that I often find what I do to be very “clear
and simple”, and yet to even the most supportive students, when asked to “summarize”
riding with me, they can’t. For the
student’s self-growth, their horse’s contentment and their goal achievement, I
believe retaining flexibility in our “curriculum” helps both the rider and
horse maintain a positive mental and emotional experience in their journey. The downside is that this approach often can
be a bit difficult for them to summarize to someone who hasn’t experienced a “Sam
lesson.”
Business wise the “vagueness” of my services not being “easily
defined” often frustrates people when they attempt to “pinpoint” my style. But blending the boundaries of “what I offer”
allows no restrictions, no reservations and no judgments… I often find riders
don’t experiment enough with their horses because none of their riding peers
are “doing it.” From things as simple as
the “type of clothes” one wears (usually defining what discipline they ride) to
the type of horse ridden, to the equipment used. Take a ranch horse and jump that log? Take a Thoroughbred and herd cows? Take a Dressage mount and ride it in a
western saddle through an obstacle course?
Why not? Who created the “boundaries”
and why are people so concerned with what others think? (Obviously prioritizing the safety factor in
any scenario.)
So my point is wherever you are at in your riding situation
and experience, you just may not know what you’re missing out on by not keeping
an open mind. Not to sign up for a lesson ever week and have to be committed for
the rest of your riding days, but rather for some insights and new directions
for you to work on…
Sadly the thought of working with someone new, especially
when “nothing is wrong” can be scary as many horse folks have had a less than
positive experience with perhaps a new instructor or clinician. So before you commit to something “new” go
and audit a lesson to find out “what you’re getting” as far as the horse
professional’s teaching style, ability to communicate, etc. Notice if the instructor seems to have a
predetermined focus for the lesson or do they assess the student and horse’s
current “needs.” Look for communication
between instructor and student, often people teach, and theories can be clear
in their head, but that does not always mean the student on the receiving end
is as clear in what is being taught.
Look for the mental availability and physical participation of the
horse; as the lesson progresses does the horse seem “happier” or does it get
stressed the more “stuff” is being worked on?
Go “break the boundaries” and watch what wonders in can do
for your relationship with your horse!
Sam
Full Immersion Clinic June 8-10
Happy Spring Time to Everyone!
I have finally organized my calendar… I’ve received some emails regarding clinics, and this year I will only be offering ONE Full Immersion Clinic at TEC in Sandpoint, ID. Please visit the following link: http://www.learnhorses.com/Clinics/camp.htm for details, registration and more.
This really is a great opportunity for an evaluation, ideas and suggestions in addressing current “issues”, thoughts and theories to help you and your horse attain future goals and much more. I always have a varied group of participants; much of the feedback is the relief participants experience from being in a “supportive” setting with other equine enthusiasts who have left judgments and egos behind. Often past participants have mentioned that the experience shifted from their originally intended goal of “fixing” a current problem, to their realizations during the clinic, through a newfound awareness, of understanding "holes" in both themself and their horse in regards to things they never recognized or addressed that were affecting the quality of the relationship and performance in their horse.
Even if you cannot participate, feel free to pass this email
along to all of your horsey friends! As always auditors are welcomed and
encouraged.
Thanks!
Sam
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