The last post might have been about a bike but the theme was enthusiasm and how the love of an activity (and it could be any activity) makes people more alive. We respond to the bright eyed look of someone talking about their passions, even if the subject is remote from your own interests.
Horses are a case in point. For me they are an alien world but my sister, who is a physiotherapist, has developed an interest in their use for therapy and has recently bought her own horse. We visited the stable and watched her groom and ride her horse and could see the enjoyment. She also introduced us to two of her friends, her riding teacher and another physiotherapist who has her own stable, both of whom were brim full of an energetic enthusiasm. They loved everything to do with horses.
We even went to a horse show (called the Mane Event - I even managed to overcome my distrust of punning titles!) which was a trade show with display arenas. It was another glimpse into this new world. It was a bit like a running expo with different smells. One clear overlap was the focus on injury - there were a number of stall offering ointments and therapies. You can start up a conversation with any runner by asking how their injury is going, perhaps you can do the same for riders.
The other thing that struck me was the number of people selling dvds of training programmes and their approach to horsemanship. We saw a display by Jonathan Field that opened my eyes to what could be achieved. I didn’t know horses could be that obedient, for example he would point to a spot and get the horse to stop there, walk away and then call the horse to follow - it was almost like dog training.
He took his horse through a number of challenges such as weaving in and out of cones or playing with a Swiss ball. The idea was to keep the horse interested at all times. His approach came from a moment of insight when he had been trying to train a particular horse but was making no progress. The more he tried the worse things became. He then realised the horse was bored and he needed to think more from the horse’s perspective and engage it so it became as interested in him as he was in it.
To do this he rethought his routines so that he made sessions a series of challenges rather than an endless repetition of exercises. He also made sure that each sessions had a clear objective and once it was done it was over. It seemed as if the key quality was clarity. The horse had to know precisely what was expected and be prepared i.e. nothing was suddenly demanded. Importantly there was also the concept of rest, of taking a break so that things remained fresh.
As he talked I had a moment of insight and thought that the principles of clarity, challenges and rest could be profitable applied to my own training sessions. Training a horse might be thought of as similar to training your own body. Although there should be a closer relationship between your own brain and body than there is between a horse and a human, there is still a gap between part of the brain that holds the hopes and dreams and part of the brain and the body that has to execute the plan. One can think you are being sensible and realistic with your own training programme but the body might still rebel by breaking-down or sticking on a plateau of weariness, and be as intractable as any horse.
As I watched the horseman ride in such a fluid, easy manner I compared it to some of my forced and laboured runs. Could it be that he actually pays more attention to the needs of his horse than I do to the needs of my body?
Perhaps I need to rethink.
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