Leadership is all about relationship.

When I started with horses, no one talked about leadership with me as it is talked about today. I remember being pushed and shoved around by cunning ponies, had my share of bruses and aces and that it somehow was considered to be the kind of lessons a rider needed to have.

I do believe (in retrospect, of course) that these bangs and bashes laid the foundation for the fear that I actually had for horses for many years, without ever believing I was scared! I felt a lack of trust, I knew that even if horses were said to be "nice" they could actually cause real pain.

What made life unpredictable was that I could not see the pattern for when the horse would be "good or bad." It meant that my action was based on the principle Guilty By Suspicion with the horsemanship I have learned, and that would be to jerk the reins roaring "Stand still you biiip-ing horse".

We've talked leadership in the blog, and I thought I'd add to that on the basis of two books - All the King's horses by Emelie Cajsdotter and Finding the Magic of Dan Sumerel.

A quotation from Emelie's book. "If you communicate with wild horses, they seldom speak about leadership. But they often talk about survival. For a flight animal, it is necessary to detect a potential danger, and when it occurs, already be in motion. When all this happens in the split of a second, there is no time for doubt or a peer discord. Each herd member must know his place. From a human perspective, we have studied this behavior and decided to call it ranking. By doing so, we assume that the leading horse is the group leader. We assume that this horse is the fastest, strongest and most intelligent horse. As a result, there are many animal owners who ask me to find out who the leader is in the stable. Alternatively, which human they regard as the dominant. But if you ask that question to a horse, you always and without exception get the same answer. They describe the different herd members' personalities, horses as well as people. --- It seems to be impossible for them to define a specific leader. Instead, they describe a sophisticated interaction, where the foundation of the structure is that each individual first and foremost knows himself. "

Within a horse herd there is a situation-based leadership. Different jobs have different 'leaders', some individuals are responsible for certain stages of the every day activities of a herd. One is good at finding water, one being the guard, one finding herbs, minerals, one fostering the fillys and one being ready for defense, etc.

In Dan Sumerels book is a wonderful section that shows that this situational leadership includes us. After an distance competition Dan and two friends rides out to remove all the paper-strips that has marked the track. When they turn back home they realize that it will be dark "Can-not-see-hand-in-the-black" and with at least three hours of riding ahead of them, along the winding and brushy mountain paths he will experience something extraordinary.

I quote "My concern and fear started to release and I handed over my well-being to Cisgo. My whole perspective on the ride changed. I had to trust him, because I had no opportunity to control the situation. We humans always want to be in control, because we believe we can and know everything. Sometimes we do not know everything. Lose the possibility to see when riding in the Colorado mountains and you will notice how little control you have. " (This is a quote based on the swdish translation of Dan’s book and therefore not an exact quotation.)

Leadership is about the relationship between individuals more than determing who rules and who obey. But nevertheless, it must be a certain degree of rule and obey in the horse and human relationship.

I take my own ladies and as an example. When I itch my 17 year old, I let her itch back, because she has learned just to rub me with her muzzle. My 1-year old can NOT itch back because she wants return the favour with her teeth. That sort of mutual grooming is ok with a horse but not with me!

In everyday chores, there are many moments that qualify for the application above, for the simple reason that we humans are so much more fragile (and slower and weaker) than horses.

Trust is a basic requirement for any relationship, and it grows out of friendliness, comfort and clarity and is made possible by the fact that "every individual first and foremost knows himself." as it says at the end of the quotation from Emelie Cajsdotters book.

Horse's nature and leadership

What have high quality Natural Horsemanship and Classical Equitation in common? Both respect the nature of the horse. I wrote ”high quality” since unfortunately there are trainers who claim they work according to the principles of Natural Horsemanship and Classical Equitation but still don't respect the nature of the horse.

Horses are not humans. There are certain specific differences in the way horses function compared to us humans. The nature of the horse as a species have not changed in the 6,000 years humans have invited horses to be part of our daily lives. I like to think that people who either instinctively understood or learned to understand the horse's nature were, and still are, more successful in getting the horse to do whatever he or she asked of the horse.

What are these ancient secrets of the horse's nature*?

1) The horse is a herd animal. In a herd of horses all individuals always know how the leader is. This also holds true if the herd consists of you and your horse.
2) The horse is a flight animal. The best defence for a horse is to run away from danger. It is the leader's job to look out for danger and to make decisions about the necessity of flight, or not. Who do you want to make these decision when you handle a horse, you or your horse?
3) The horses' reflexes are 6-7 times faster than humans. This is the reason we as humans don't always notice what the horse does until after he's done it. Especially if the horse thinks he/she is the leader and need to make a decision about flight.
4) Horses are desensitized quickly. When the horse's flight response is triggered, it will usually run 200-500 meters. If whatever scared the horse is not still in pursuit, the horse will stop, turn and start to explore what triggered the flight response.
5) Movement determines who is the leader. The individual that can get others to give up a certain space is the leader. A very good leader can get others give up their space simply by being focused, no need for negative emotions like frustration or anger.

The day-to-day handling of the horse as well as riding is so much simpler if I just remember how the horse's nature influences its behaviour. Riding can also be seen as a manifestation of leadership. The leader is the one that makes a decision about where to go and when. On a basic level this might mean you ask the horse to turn right, exactly how this is done the horse can decide for itself. When riding with precision, you not only ask the horse to turn to the right, but also exactly how this should be done. For instance with the weight on the right hind leg (turn on the haunches) and looking in the direction of the movement.

* Read more in "Understanding the ancient secrets of the horse's mind" by Robert M Miller(1999)

PS Thank you to Mark Stanton of Natural Horsemanship magazine for proof reading!

Alexander Technique - a matter of learning

The Alexander Technique is an over 100 year old method with roots in one man's quest to overcome his own voice problems. FM Alexander himself was reciter and actor which in turn lead to that the first students were found among actors and later on among other culturally involved people.

From that startingpoint the technique has spread and is now available as a way to refine the use of the self in running, swimming, horse riding, golf, rowing, tennis, martial arts, rehabilitation, pregnancy, childbirth yes, in almost every area where the ability to use the body in a better way can mean a lot to both performance, experience and health.

When I got my first "Alexander Experience" in 1997 I was hooked. Hooked, because I knew that even if I was offered this great experience in my body now I could "own the road" to the experience itself, if only I could learn more about how to enter that road.

It is the fact that “the road becomes yours” that distinguishes the Alexander Technique from so many other body awareness methods. It is also therefor the thechnique is not a technique for everyone. It requires your commitment. You need to devote time to your development by doing your homework. You may have to opt out of some of the things you do today to get where you want tomorrow, I had to put riding on the shelf for two years and then return to it as a re-ginner for example.

Alexander Technique is no quick fix, it is a process (under your control) based on your ability, needs and desires. As a teacher, I can initiate, provide feedback and serve as your guide and give you reference for your work.

A lesson in Alexander Technique can be both pleasant and a challenge, it can vary from one hour to two minutes (it was all Lena coped with in the beginning because she had her history of back problems). Since it is a process, it is you as a student that determines how fast it will proceed. The tools you have available is to visit yourself, that is to check what is going on in your body and your mind in a specific moment (Visit yourself right now: what is going on in you?), inhibition (the transformative word" no ") and direction.

At first lessons cover everyday activities like walking, sitting and standing. The genius of these "exercises" is that all you do is a possible training opportunity for you as an Alexander Student. You do not need to devote one hour a week for training, the opportunity is there all the time your’e awake!

When training is possible as often as you just remember, the better you become at reading what is happening inside of you before, during and after an everyday activity, and therefore the more refined your perception will become. You will eventually be able to determine what you need to adjust before coming into play in order to get what you want to be doing done in a better way.

That ability is so important for us as riders. It allows us to ride the horse in the present, taking in information and adjust the next step. Among the athletes it is called flow. For a tennis player, flow could mean that he percieves that the ball is moving in slow motion on its journey from the opponent's racket against his own and that he has time to make the necessary adjustments he needs to hit the ball as he wants to. Flow is a form of mindfulness in activity that makes you feel that you have control of the boat or the horse, which we probably can assume it is in your case, no matter pace.

For me, the Alexander Technique led to increased self-awareness. I know where I am in myself, where the sign of stress comes first, how stupid I get when I learn new things, how I can rest in the middle of chaos, what to do if I need to let my thoughts free and I can enjoy the beauty around me (skyes, views, flowers) even if I'm on my way to something else, and usually in a hurry.

The Alexander Technique bares recemblance to several currently popular approaches; mindfulness, coaching and body awareness among others. FM Alexander stressed that man was a psycho-physical unity and that body and mind was an inseparable whole.
He also stressed that it really was not important to reflect on which muscles are doing what since the quality of the movement is dependet on their ability to interact with each other. A collaboration which in turn is depending on how well the head is carried on top of the spine.

As a summary, the Alexander Technique teaches how the mind-muscle-skeleton can work for you and with you in the best possible way under the influence of gravity. Alexander Technique takes a fraction of a second to understand and a lifetime to master, said Marjorie Barstow, one of the grand old ladies of the technique, and I can just nod my head and return to my chamber to continue my studies.

Details are important, but what details?

Last week during my visit to the UK, I had the good fortune to be able to attend a demo about understanding collection. The lecture part was presented by a riding instructor who also was a chiropractor. She explained collection as something horses do naturally in the field when they get excited. With this I agree completely. She continued by saying that the collection we want from our horses when we ride is this same posture from the horse but without the excitement, on the contrary the horse should remain calm. Again, I completely agree.

What I don't agree with is what I as the rider / horse trainer should focus on when training my horse. The chiropractor suggested that the focus should be on certain specific muscles. More precisely in the first stage of the horse's training the ilio-psoas muscles in the hip area, the abdominal muscles and the scalene muscles in the base of the neck. Her horse was certainly calm and attentive with three pure gaits. In themselves these are very good qualities and a testimonial to the chiropractor's good qualities as a horse trainer and rider.

Two things where never touched upon during the evening lecture and demo. Two things that in my opinion are far more important details: the mobilisation of the horse's jaw and the use of the rider's hand. Why do I think this is more important than focusing on specific muscles in the horse's body? First, the mobilisation of the horse's jaw is a prerequisite for relaxation in the horse. If the horse's mouth is not mobilised by the horse swallowing, licking and lifting the bit with the tongue, then the horse is contracted not only in the jaw but also in the neck and thus most likely in the rest of her body.

Why do I think that the horse that was shown during the demonstration was too tense? It was very often behind the vertical. Not much, but even so very often just behind the vertical. This indicates to me that the muscles, particular the muscles underneath the neck, are too contracted and need to be relaxed. This relaxation is dependent on the mobilisation of the jaw and the use of the rider's hand.


PS Thank you to Mark Stanton of Natural Horsemanship magazine for proof reading!