- "From the first moment I walked into a stall, I could understand the anger that the horses put their head movements and lashing tails, confusion and sadness in their eyes as they stood with lowered heads, fear so påtagbar by their way of pushing the tail between the legs. I could also understand the playful utlevelsen in their wild gallop over the fields. I learned to listen to and understand the horses' body language to the point that I was at one with them. I took an oath to be their voice in a world among men. "(Freely translated).
Yes, this can be read on the first page of Chris Irwin's book, "Dancing with your Dark Horses".
Chris is a Canadian trainer, equally skilled at riding western as English, which to interact with the horses and teach all this in a very instructive way.
He and his wife Kathryn have a farm in Alberta in Canada, but also live in Kentucky where Kathryn are involved in saving the former race horses. Chris has traveled the world and taught for about 20 years and was in Holland in September for a clinic / workshop for four days. This was his only visit to Europe this year so I (Annette) and my husband Per drove on vacation / training to Arnhem, Holland for a week in September.
The stables where Chris clinic would remain low for a bit outside the center and we were a little late because we missed a bus. So, when we found the cafeteria where he has already begun, he was at full speed on to show how a relaxed horse should look like, illustrating by bending her riding crop.
Chris key message is balance, strength (inner) and awareness. He calls it "non-resistance bonding process," a unity of both parties without coercion. This is something we need to develop if we want to be with horses that are happy and enjoy life. As Chris puts it, "to ride, you can learn, but to understand and interact with the horse of both joy, require an inner awareness and presence in the relationship.
Once inside the indoor arena so did those who had horses with them to start working from the ground with the horses in the halter. Quite a wild stallion, who, incidentally, was trained for the Olympics in dressage, created some confusion when he completely ignored the math, Chris and the other in the arena. He had to leave us for a while and Chris then worked alone with him in a round-paddock. The colt was quite aggressive with Chris, but after several minutes of exercise without harsh words or whips tracked him so well in the revolt, the stallion that is.
Well, back to the paddock and the other participants. According to Chris is a horse with raised head a horse full of stress and a lot of adrenaline, so step 1 is always to get the horse's head in the "level". That is, it must have its head in a fairly straight line from the withers. So to get where we need to have a safe horse and we need ourselves to be present in what we do. We practiced setting boundaries for the horses, they did not bow their heads into us, and not lose presence by ignoring us.
Here it is to imagine a river as a metaphor. River edges are talking about the river where it can drain, but they do not draw in the river to get it to turn and push it to go away. So mote it be when we are with our horses. Our hands can tell the horse where it can not go, this applies both to the sides and front and rear. We select the external borders and the horse learns where it can be and then feel safe and want to cooperate.
Weight Support groups are extremely important and reins are used as little as possible. When the horse is calm, you ride forth from your inner center, your power center located at your navel. Your belly button should always be pointed in the direction of the horse's ears and where you want it to go. You think and feel how your own power and energy from the navel lift your horse forward. The legs hang loose and only used at the right moment. Your influence must be given when the horse lifts its hind leg to move. Otherwise, you create resistance. Another interesting angle that Chris is working from what he calls "counterbend". Assume that the horse is set out as you ride on a volt. Something we certainly recognize many of us. We try to bend the horse right by taking the reins, and bend around the inside leg, and so on. According to Chris breeds that only resistance from the horse, you might solve it once, but it comes back again and again.
To interact with the horse and get the security we need in a situation like that think that it is outside, will be "new Inside" because the horse is bent in the wrong direction. Ride the horse through the bend for ytterskänkeln, now is your new inner grip. You can anticipate that the horse is bending the wrong way by you intentionally use your ytterskänkel the inner grip before you get to a bend. The horse will shortly want to choose to go right without you using any coercion. Since this is less laborious.
So, a very abbreviated finish. If you are using exercises can get the horse to realize that you are smarter "horse", by getting it to want to cooperate without coercion and that you are currently in the relationship with the horse and rider from your "inner power center", you will have a beautiful horse that carries the right and want to please you. What we also got to see samples of participants' horses.
Here is a blend of psychology and ridlära at its best. We were both very influenced by the strength that is in Chris's message. The problems arise naturally when you come home and want to try everything on their own horses. They're a little confused at first, and part of the training first go backward before you see results. But Eyja (horse) and I can now come to a halt in agreement and can ride short tolt without hope and bounce, this is largely Malin Gustavsson merit who patiently supported and listened to all new proposals and excuses, and now before the winter rest, it has thus succeeded.
Per looks like a proud Vikings on his horse, curious to test and carefully supervised by Malin. We have two movies with Chris, one where he goes through landscaping, the weight of the horse does not "give you the finger" as he calls it. And a movie where he is very pedagogical go through more carefully what I have briefly described. Me and Per invite like a movie night in the spring with a talk and refreshments, if interested.
I (Annette) has been working for about 12 years with groups and individuals together with horses to help them develop an inner presence "awareness" and a life more in balance. Many of my clients have severe reactions to stress and work with the horses makes noticeable progress faster. But sometimes it's lighter, for example, where we will teach workshops to communicate better with the help of exercises with the horses. There are so thrilled to see how the horses respond to people's needs, there is so much more with our horses than just riding.
That I and Per went to Chris was partly due to my work and collaboration with an American therapist, Barbara Rector, who was also my supervisor at work with horses. My approach is partly taken from Barbara's "Adventure in Awareness". But it is also influenced by my 1-year training with Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling (Dance with horses).
The meeting with Chris and his view of horses and riding was another piece of a puzzle that I do not know how it finally looks like.
As has been involved and worked with several groups, and self-involved with his old management team in team-building with the support of the horses. He liked the idea of combined vacation and horses so it took off to the beautiful Arnhem which we warmly recommend. Urvacker town, restaurants everywhere, and amazingly good beer. Then long horse-days at this - what more could you want.
Greetings from Annette
PS! All the above have websites online if you want to read more.
http://www.chrisirwin.com/
http://www.adventureinawareness.net/
http://www.hempfling.com/
Once I had the care of a horse named Jasper. He was a master of the art of communication. When he did not want to play anymore so he refused to walk or throwing of us riders. Could it be any clearer? 
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