Life lessons from Hank’s first day back to work with his new shoes! (click for Video)
Everyone who has met Hank knows he is a worker and loves adventure! Hank waits all day at his stall door or fence to go to work. A few months ago, he injured his back and has not been happy with his “off duty” status. Now, as he was recovering, Hank was stretched out every day, got massages regularly, chiropractic adjustments every three weeks, and Bemer blanket treatments. Needless to say, even though he was frustrated at times with not working, Hank has been rather spoiled by our team during his recovery. He also got shoes put on his back feet and he is sporting his new hoof boots to help with the soreness in his feet.
Kaitlyn has been a part of his recovery and wanted the opportunity to work with him on his first day. When it is time to work Hank sets the standard with a great attitude and sometimes with a little too much excitement! It is particularly important to introduce a horse back to their work out program slowly after being off for an extended period time. Like humans, they need to increase their balance, flexibility, strength, and cardiovascular endurance at a slow pace to avoid re-injury. We knew Hank’s mind and heart would be incredibly happy to get back to work, but his back and feet needed to take it slow. Knowing Hank, this would be a challenge, so Kaitlyn chose to work with him for her lesson this week.
During the lesson, Kaitlyn had the challenge of communicating clearly to him and keeping his focus on her while explaining to him that he needed to approach each obstacle slowly rather than his normal approach which is “full speed ahead!” Overall, Hank did very well and is getting stronger every day. Kaitlyn did a fabulous job and learned about the challenges of rehabilitation and conditioning a horse that has a total “conquer the obstacle in front of you” type attitude. As the coach on the sidelines, watching the conversation between Hank and Kaitlyn as always got me thinking about human relationships and what can we all learn from this conversation between human and horse?
Hank came to work with a “lets attack these exercises” attitude, but Kaitlyn was saying slow down and take your time. Many times, with humans who share a difference in opinion, it can result in frustration and anger ending in damage to relationships. Working with horses who share a difference in opinion can result in the same emotions. However, Kaitlyn and Hank maintained a smooth and calm conversation through the whole hour without any negative emotions surfacing. What was the secret to their success? Clear communication mixed with a humble heart!
When training horses you must be alert and quick in recognizing and listening for their efforts of trying to communicate with their body and actions otherwise the conversation is ineffective. Clear communication is essential and that includes nonverbal communication such as body language, hand gestures, eye contact, physical touch, and noticing inconsistencies in communication patterns. When clients come to our facility for familial and relationship dynamic struggles, many times the negative outcomes of difference in opinions/feelings is their reason for seeking our services. Many clients say they do not think much about their nonverbal when speaking but they do notice it when listening. It is interesting, most client’s say they are more offended by voice tone, body language, and gestures rather than what is actually being said so why are these nonverbal communication skills not the focus when speaking? Just some fuel for thought.
Kaitlyn focused hard on being clear and concise leaving little room for Hank to misunderstand what she was asking and provided a good amount of positive feedback to him. At the same time, she was humble in recognizing areas she needs to improve when he objected so that she can bring her best when working with Hank at next session. Like most of our clients, Kaitlyn admits she accepts the life lessons from the horses easier than from the people in her life. For some reason, learning “self” lessons from horses (and other animals) just doesn’t seem as offensive as compared to receiving constructive criticism or opinions from the humans in our world. When we ask our client’s their reasons most have said that animals are not judgmental, they have an abundance of forgiveness, and they appear to be listening which makes them feel accepted. As humans, we have a tendency to let opinions, pain, trauma and other reasons override the essential elements for successful communication. Some of the most foundational relationship education that our herd provides our client’s centers around respect, forgiveness, acceptance, patience, and many other key components to healthy relationships.<
-Christina
