Words of Wisdom, Part 2

(This blog was originally posted on February 23, 2014)

Me with Chris Cox at the Equine Affaire

Pomona, California in 2009

Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

In Part 2 of this blog, I will share more advice and words of wisdom from a few of my favorite horsemen and horsewomen. Again, while these pearls of wisdom were originally spoken in the context of training horses and riders, the main theme of each of these messages is also relevant for, and applicable to, many other human/life experiences.

• Gina Miles: “Ride past the last jump. Have a plan for where you are going.” Whether you are riding your horse on a Grand Prix jumping course or you are driving to the grocery store, it is important to know not only where you want to go and how you plan to get there. It is also imperative that you know what you are going to do once you arrive at your destination. Life carries on and time passes whether you are doing something or not, so keep setting new goals that will continue to motivate you to succeed after you have accomplished this one.

• Gina Miles also advised: “Don’t let one mistake ruin the ride; go on to the next movement.” Everybody makes mistakes; the trick is to not allow one error paralyze your progress. If you can’t remember information to answer one of the questions on a test, don’t waste time worrying about that problem. Answer the other questions on the test, and go back to tackle that item if you have time. Once a mistake has happened, it is over; but there can and will be other opportunities to regain your advantage if you allow yourself to move on. As former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously advised his compatriots during World War II: “Stay calm and carry on.”

• Monty Roberts: “Low adrenaline equals high learning; high adrenaline equals low learning.” I use this advice every day, whether I am handling one of my trainer’s stallions or dealing with rush-hour freeway traffic. I know that the more calm and relaxed I feel, the better I can focus on what I need to do to accomplish my goal. The key to achieving a goal is to maintain a low-energy state so that high-energy emotions (e.g., fear, frustration, anger, excitement) do not get a chance to interfere with what you are doing.

• Monty Roberts also believed: “If you give yourself fifteen minutes, it will take all day. If you give yourself all day, it will take fifteen minutes.” One of the biggest lessons I have learned (repeatedly) from this advice is, it is important to devote my complete attention to the task I am working on while I am doing it. Have you ever noticed how quickly a series of small projects can explode into a major endeavor—especially when you try to accomplish these projects at once or in rapid succession? Multi-tasking has its place, but that place isn’t every place or all of the time. Show yourself some respect by honestly assessing your physical and emotional ability to accomplish a specific task; based on this information, make an honest estimate of how long you believe it will take you to do that one task. When you go to work on that project, allow yourself twice the amount of time you originally estimated ­­it will take, so you don’t have to feel rushed or otherwise pressured to complete the job. (You’ll probably complete it within the original time estimate, too.)

• Jane Savoie: “You have time.” It is easy to get so caught up in the excitement of an experience that you can’t (or refuse to) stop doing it. Put on the brakes, anyway! Ignore the temptation—no matter how strong it is—to rush through the training or keep repeating what you have just learned so you can “perfect” it. Everything takes time to learn and even longer to master. A young child or a young horse has a short attention span to learn something new, but adults can also become overwhelmed and burned out when they focus a lot of time working on just one thing. Spread out the amount of time you work on a project so you can approach it from a fresh, enthusiastic and focused mind-set. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so the saying goes; but it was built. You have all the time you need to complete your project, too.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2018

Olympic Master Class

Photo by Rick Hustead

The goal of most, if not all, horse riders is to be so in-synch with our equine partner that each movement, every breath, every heartbeat seems to come from one organism. Like the centaur of Greek mythology, the equestrian partnership makes it seem as though horse and human truly are one individual. Watching the equestrian events during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games was like witnessing a Master Class in what such a relationship should and does look like.

This morning’s equestrian competition was dressage, the sport I also train in. I have a long way to go to achieve the skill and experience these riders possess, let alone what is required to even compete in grand prix tests. Nonetheless, just observing and studying what each rider had to do to elicit the desired response or gait from his or her horse was an invaluable opportunity to learn and create new imagery for my own training. After all, it isn’t every day that I get to watch the world’s best dressage riders perform in one place, in the space of about 90 minutes.

The highlight for me was watching Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro successfully defend the gold medal they won at the 2012 Olympics in London. The communication between them was and is so subtle it is practically invisible. Ms. Dujardin’s hands and upper body are so still and quiet, yet it is obvious how much strength and balance are needed to sit his huge extended trot and extended canter strides. I know that my physical strength and balance have greatly improved since I started practicing yoga again, but watching them “under sail” was certainly humbling and motivating.

I also paid close attention to all of the competitors’ leg aids. My first horse, Geeves, usually only needed one squeeze or kick to encourage him to transition up to another gait. Conversely, and like the horses competing today, my gelding Galahad also requires constant communication when I ride him. The smallest shift of my body in the saddle or repositioning of my leg is a separate question, which he answers even if I didn’t mean to ask it. Watching the Olympians communicate with their equine partners this way illustrated how each calf squeeze, re-positioned leg to cue a tempi stride or tiny weight adjustment in the saddle truly was part of a bigger conversation between them. The rider asked and the horse answered.

My second thrill this morning was to watch Isabell Werth compete. She has been one of my dressage role models and inspirations for my (dressage) imagery since the 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong where she won a team gold and individual silver medal. (As of today, Ms. Werth has won 10 Olympic medals, including five team gold, one individual gold, and four individual silver.) In addition to her skill as an equestrian, I identify with her most in terms of physique and complexion, compared to three-time individual Olympic gold medalist Anky Van Grunsven or even Ms. Dujardin. The real treat for me was in knowing that Charlotte Dujardin once used imagery of Ms. Werth performing a half-pass at the trot to successfully perform this movement in her own ride later that day. (For more information about this imagery, see my blog titled Continuing Education.)

Finally, each of the competitors accessed various roles/characteristics of a master herder¹ to encourage/inspire (leader), direct/correct (dominant), reassure (comforter/companion) and watch out for possible problems/opportunities (sentinel) during each of their rides. Last Thursday, we saw Carl Hester bring his gelding Nip Tuck back from a spook during their preliminary/qualifying dressage test. Then Adilende Cornelissen, a competitor from the Netherlands, dropped out of Olympic competition after her horse, Parzival, became ill after being bitten by a poisonous insect. Although the veterinarian cleared him to compete the following day, the equestrian could tell he was not at his best to continue the ride and made the brave and noble decision to not risk his health. Instead, she took him home—essentially culling them from any chances of winning an Olympic medal at these Games (predator). 

From their masterful rides to the ways they conducted themselves during the competitions I will  always remember the lessons I learned from the riders and horses of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

1.        Kohanov, Linda. The Five Roles of a Master Herder: A Revolutionary Model for Socially Intelligent Leadership. 2016. Novato, CA: New World Library.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2016

Choosing the Right Horse

(A version of this blog was originally posted on March 25, 2011)

 

 

 

“You're not perfect, sport, and let me save you the suspense: this girl you've met, she's not perfect either. But the question is whether or not you're perfect for each other.” –Good Will Hunting

 

 

 

I love that quote. Ben Affleck may have been giving romantic advice to Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting, but the insight is also appropriate when you’re looking for an equine partner. Once you start “shopping” for a new horse, you need to ask yourself some very important questions about your goals and ideas about your future, “perfect” equine partner.

 

• What kind of riding do you want to do? Whether you train in dressage, jumping, reining, or any other riding discipline, you should look for a horse that is trained in the area you would like to do.

 

• How much more “experienced” should the horse be? It is usually recommended that less-experienced riders look for a horse that is schooling in that discipline and working at a slightly higher level than they ride. However, the horse should not have so much more training/experience that the animal is likely to get bored working on material he or she has already mastered while the rider is learning to do basic techniques.

 

• What kind of riding ability do I need to have in order ride a horse that is working/training at a higher level than I am currently training? The more time you spend in the saddle, the better. In addition to working regularly with a trainer, spend time working with your horse on your own to practice the movements or techniques you are working on in your lessons. It is important to remain patient, relaxed and calm when you are with your horse so you can feel confident enough in your riding skill to go beyond your comfort zone. For example, before I bought my horse, Galahad, I had never ridden such a “forward” mount; I had to do a lot of strength training and spend time riding him to get used to this kind of action.

 

• What kind of ability/talent should the horse have? This will come down to the horse’s conformation and its work ethic/attitude. If you are looking for a “forward” moving horse that is likely to excel in competitive riding, he or she will need to have plenty of flexibility, impulsion, and action and strength in the hindquarters as well as physical and mental ability to accomplish those goals.
• Which breed of horse should I be looking at? A horse of any breed may be able (or not) to do the kind of riding you enjoy. For example, Warmbloods make good mounts in dressage and jumping competitions. Quarter Horses are typically seen in Western Pleasure and reining competitions. Arabian horses can succeed in English and Western show classes, although they particularly excel in endurance competition. To some extent, the horse’s breed will be less important than his personality/attitude, patience, conformation, and ability to achieve your riding goals. The choice of breed may depend on what you want to do with your equine partner, but keep the motto “Form to Function” in mind. You don’t want to end up “over-horsed” or overwhelmed by an animal that is too big for your body and too strong to handle when you are riding.  For example, if you are very petite like me a large horse such as a Thoroughbred or Warmblood breed would literally be too big for me and possibly a lot of horse to handle. A better choice for you might be a small horse or a large pony in terms of size and ease/accuracy of applying riding aids.

 

• Decision time. Bring someone along to look at the horse who is an experienced rider or horse trainer. Your current trainer or riding instructor is the ideal choice because he or she can evaluate the horse’s talents in the context of your equestrian experience and goals and provide a neutral, objective evaluation of the animal.. Have the current owner ride the horse before you get on, and see if your trainer will do the same. Also, be sure to get a veterinarian to do a thorough physical evaluation of the horse to check for soundness. You may want to get X-Rays of the horse’s legs and hooves and even draw blood to rule out tranquilizing drugs, etc. in its bloodstream. If possible, ask a veterinarian you already know and have worked with to do this check. First, you already have a working relationship and trust with this person; second, the veterinarian can also provide important feedback about suitability of the horse for you based on his or her familiarity with you.

 

 

At the end of the day, it will be up to you to make the ultimate decision whether to buy the horse. Your trainer, the veterinarian and even the person selling the horse can provide information and his or her professional opinion about suitability of the horse for you. But you will be the one who will ultimately spend the most time working with and caring for the horse if you buy it. Whether you want to compete or take long rides along the beach it is important to take your time to make a decision that will be in the best interest of you and your new equine partner.

 

 

 

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2015