Have you ever realized how much you and your horse share feelings? Maybe you’ve noticed that when you are anxious and upset, so are they? Just when you need them to be solid citizens because you are at your wits end, they have an emotional breakdown?
The Heart Math Institute has done a ton of research into how the electromagnetic waves of our heart is felt by other humans and animals. In fact, having coherence in your heart energy from emotions like love, compassion, joy and happiness have a direct effect on your health too. But that’s for another post.
Here we just want to acknowledge how much we can share feelings and emotions with our animals. And these emotions can run high from
- fear of an object
- confusion and frustration
- aggression from being mistreated
- pain from injuries and illness
- and many more
Yes, animals feel emotions, and they can becomes reactive “over-thinkers” just like us. How can we help our horses go with the flow? How can we transform an otherwise stressful situation into a calm one? That’s where the Trust Technique (TT) comes in.
Hi this is Rebecca from Reflections From the Saddle. Many of you have asked questions about my new endeavor and so today I am going to take the time to answer quite a few of them. There a lot of horse training programs that talk of building connection, gaining trust and a whole host of “relationship building” but NONE of them (and yes I have searched and looked for many years) come close to the deep transformation that happens with the Trust Technique. So you ask, what exactly is the Trust Technique?
TRUST TECHNIQUE (TT)
First, the Trust Technique recognizes that humans and horses share feelings. Second, it is a proven method of mindfully lowering both thinking levels and emotions. It helps both the horse and humans to see the situation from a different perspective and is a way of resolving problems and bringing about lasting change.
How? In bringing both the person and the horse into the present moment, we create a state of peace. This peaceful state allows the horse to release patterns of tension and relaxes their state of mind. In fact, when practicing the TT, most horses will go into deep relaxation and show large releases as they let go and enter a healing state. In addition, with their mind quiet, we can communicate in a very soft sensitive way on a very deep level. With this communication, slowly, step by step, the problem resolves.
Real connection and understanding are the by-products and the TT creates a space where the horse’s intelligence is brought out, celebrated and worked with.
HISTORY
James French developed this innovative technique based on three key influences on his life.
#1 Having a very difficult childhood, James continually felt his own opinions and likes were not allowed. He felt just like the animals on the farm and his parents anger was regularly taken out on him. He began connecting and relating with the animals because of this shared feeling and reached for them for solace and peace.
#2 Being a Reiki practitioner and healer, he realized the shared healing environment that was created with and around everyone present during a session. It also created a peaceful state for the animals and he was able to understand the animals better in that state.
#3 James’ long standing work in animal communication allowed him to teach people to really be sensitive to animals and what they needed. Through his life’s work, he and his partner Shelley developed the Trust Technique to share this profound work with the world. The Trust Technique can be used to heal both emotional and physical pain along with transforming your own equine “training” methods and revolutionizing the horse and human bond.
So let’s look at the 3 aspects of the Trust Technique. Creative Reaction, Realization Learning and Trusted Cooperation.
CREATIVE REACTION
So the first step in the Trust Technique (TT) is sharing peace with our horses. We basically are saying “right now you can be peaceful” and we lead the way by being peaceful ourselves. How do we become peaceful, by residing in the present moment. So much of our lives as humans is over thinking about what happened in the past or what we are planning for the future. But in reality, all there ever is, is right now. And by concentrating on the here and now, we can quiet our minds and we can share that peace with our horses. In the Trust Technique we call this Creative Reaction. We are creating peace through the present moment and we are giving the horse space to react to that.
Of course, we cannot force our horses into peace. That’s impossible. Think of when you have been really upset. Then think of how you would respond if someone said, “whatever, just be peaceful.” You’d probably want to smack them. No way could you be peaceful now. Didn’t they just hear what you have been through. But what if that friend really listened to you? And what if they stayed really present and peaceful with you at the same time Wouldn’t you begin to feel the peace yourself? Even if it came in waves. So it is with our horses.
Hence an important part of creative reaction is the Mindful Regard. This is the idea of only going at the horse’s pace. This includes allowing the horse the space to work out it’s stuff and just listen. There will be times when we are in the present moment with the horse and they move, look away or come out of their state of peace. At this moment, we give the horse a voice and regard what they are going through, or what they are releasing. We do this by looking at them and just quietly regarding them. This is a state of non-reaction on our part. Whatever the horse does, it’s ok. This practice of being mindful keeps the horse from feeling pressured into peace. It’s like listening to your friend talk about their worries. Really listen. In this moment of really listening to the horse, you can learn so much about your horse. This is the magic of the Trust Technique. Nothing touches a horse deeper than you peacefully sharing space with them and allowing them to express themselves. This means, you can never go beyond the horses pace because they dictate the process timing. When they are ready for the next step, they will drop back down to the feelings you are sharing. If you are training, they will calmly perform what you ask. If you are healing, they will have big releases and go into a healing state. If you are overcoming a fear, they will be ready for the next step. There is no pressure. No force. Regarding horses in this way is the ticket to a lasting bond and it is also the greatest gift you can give them.
PEACE, PATIENCE, PERSISTENCE and PURPOSE
Here we should mention another important concept of the Trust Technique. The Four P’s. Peace is the first one as we mentioned above. This is what we are sharing with our horses through the present moment in creative reaction. The second is Patience and is about allowing the animal to be exactly as it is. We go at the horses pace and are patient to give them the voice to dictate the pace. Allow them the time. Realize any resistance can be worked through with persistence. Which brings us to the third P: persistence. Persistence is the ability to go back and forth between creative reaction and mindful regard as many times as the horse needs to join us in the shared peaceful state. Finally, the fourth P is purpose. Our purpose is to be of service to the horse and human. To bring healing to the horse and the relationship and to interact with the horse in a way that honors their spirit.
REALIZATION LEARNING
The second aspect of the Trust Technique is Realization Learning (RL). RL is about helping the animal and person to see the normally reactive situation from a peaceful state of mind. Horses just like humans can suffer with an overthinking mind. Most of the time this comes from a conditioned past or life circumstances. Even when those circumstances change, the horse still has the reactionary pattern. Sometimes this is expressed in an emotion like fear, worry, frustration and even aggressiveness. The over-reaction of the owner to this emotion confirms in the horses mind that the behavior was needed. The job of the Trust Technique practitioner is to help the horse and owner to move from overthinking to authentic thinking through the present moment and both will be able to see the situation in a different light. This creates an atmosphere of self learning and a new understanding can occur because it is seen through a different mind.
When we practice creative reaction with a horse on a regular basis, we can influence the way they see situations, especially situations that have been troublesome in the past. We can show them how to see it from a calmer perspective. We are showing the horse how to see a previously reactive situation from a peaceful state of mind. The horse is learning that in fact, they can be peaceful in this situation. Patience in this scenario can really create a safe place for the horse to process through previous reactions and find peace, right now. When horses learn in this way, it’s extremely fast. One session can have 70% retention or better. While it may seem slow in the moment, the lesson doesn’t have to be repeated over and over.
TRUSTED COOPERATION
The third aspect of the TT is Trusted Cooperation. Trusted cooperation has two very strong principles. One is to show the horse gratitude for trying and working with you and the second is working with invite. Let’s talk about gratitude first. This means saying thank you and well done when they complete the right response. This is basically reward based training which is something we are familiar with here at RFS. In the Trust Technique, James uses verbal cues, scratches and food rewards to say thank you and let the horse know they have done a good job. The second principle is working with invite. This means we aren’t forcing the horse but asking and waiting for the response. James demonstrates this concept well with the invisible lead. In the invisible lead, you are asking the horse to follow you without a lead. You can’t force a horse to follow you. You can’t make it. But you can invite it and let the horse move toward you. This reminds me of the work Kathy Sdao did with dolphins in the open ocean using positive reinforcement. If force was used, the dolphins would just swim away.
I believe the horse inherently wants to work with us. When treated correctly, they desire interaction and connection. So when they feel invited instead of forced, they are happy to join us. They put their trust in us as trainers/owners when we cherish a phenomenal relationship with them.
PURPOSE
One of the most amazing aspects of the Trust Technique is the purpose of this work. This work is wonderful at helping humans learn to reduce fear, anxiety, frustration in the horse and to bring better solutions to problems. Being in the present moment can also have profound effect on us too. Not only can we use the Trust Technique to problem solve in the horse and human relationship but its greater purpose is to open our eyes to a new way of being in life and a new way of working with horses. One where we honor the horse’s intelligence, their opinions and process, one where we help them overcome misunderstanding and trauma (whether intentional or not) and one where we can be of service to the horse; to truly understand them in a way that has not been possible up until this point. The role of me, the practitioner is to facilitate this process. To be of service and to show horse owners and trainers this new way of interacting. For myself, the invitation (to the horse to engage and waiting to hear their response) has been life changing.
When do we truly give our horses the option of speaking back?
Do we truly listen?
This work creates a listening space, to know the horse’s thoughts and feeling and then to heed that in our interactions with them. This listening space is astounding and the horses response is amazing. Maybe for the first time in their life, they truly feel heard.
BENEFITS
At this point, I’m sure you can see the benefits of working with horses in this way but let’s review them again because this work is so powerful and has so much to offer. The Trust Technique…
- replaces negative feelings with peace
- builds confidence and trust
- works with sensitivity to produce a deeper connection
- opens the ability to work with horses in a previously unseen aspect of equine intelligence
- creates a unique space of peace and can help horses see and understand situations in a new way
- fosters a healing state for both emotional and physical problems
- reduces animals thinking and reactions
- changes the human/horse relationship
- allows self learning and therefore faster learning
- releases held tension and trauma from the body
- opens a deep healing state
- builds authenticity in both horse and human
- creates peace
The environment of horse training is changing. People are starting to look at new methods that resonate with their heart. As a whole, trainers and owners no longer want to pursue training methods that create force, fear and dominance. They are wanting to work with horses not against them. The Trust Technique is one step closer to us reaching that goal. With these methods, the spirit of the horse is truly honored.
If you are interested in learning more, there are 3 ways…
- you can reach out to me to book a consultation
- take a course here on my website
- schedule a group session/evening talk
- contact me for clinic information
I look forward to hearing from you,
Rebecca
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