I tried to publish this artice on EzineArticles.com, but it was rejected for "Too much profanity." What do you think? Please leave a reply.
When, the veterinarian stepped into the pen to help our ailing horse, her first words were,
"OK, Bitch, let’s see what you got."
I was thunderstruck. Georgie was one our beloved horses, and to have anyone call her a bitch was insulting. On the other hand, I can see how a vet needs to be always on the defensive with horses she doesn’t know, especially a horse in pain. They can move quickly and powerfully, and a 120 pound woman is no match for an upset 1200 pound horse. The vet is also working under a time constraint. She can’t always take a slow, easy way of working with the horse. She has to get in, get her work done, and get out, and sometimes that means being a little rough. But, calling the horse a bitch? I don’t know. There has to be a better way.
In The Art of Possibility, Benjamin Zander describes how he got more effort and joy out of a graduate class of music students. In this Interpretation class these students were to explore the "art of musical performance, including the psychological and emotional factors that can stand in the way of great music making." The problem was that the students were so anxious about being graded and evaluated that they would be afraid to make a mistake and would not take any chances. One semester, Zander decided to give every student an A before the semester started. The only requirement to get the A was to write a letter within two weeks dated the end of the semester that describes how they expect to have earned the A. With the performance and evaluation anxiety gone, the students allowed themselves to grow, to make mistakes, and to create exciting music. Continue reading Give Them an “A”
The task our clinic instructor wanted was to ask our horses to back up, then turn a quarter turn on the hind end. A well executed quarter turn to the right would mean that my horse would rock back and plant his right hind foot, and I would ask him to move his front feet only to the right. If we had been backing up facing north, we’d end up facing east. I knew the right cues: left supporting rein, right direct rein, left foot forward with a little pressure, and right foot off the horse.
But it wasn’t quite working. Sometimes Cody would step over nicely, and sometimes not. Sometime Cody would keep his weight on his front end and swing his hind end over. Rather than being crisp and clean, we would stumble through the turn. I knew enough that Cody was trying to do what I wanted, but he couldn’t because I was not asking correctly. It seemed like I was asking the same thing each time, but I was getting different results.
When I expressed my bewilderment to the clinic instructor, she watched Cody and me a couple of times. She asked me to dismount. "Stand with your weight evenly distributed over both feet," she asked. "Now, change your weight so that most of it is on your right foot." I dutifully complied.
"Lift your right foot."
I had a choice. I could either not comply with the request or shift my weight off my right leg.
"What you are doing with Cody is sometimes asking him to lift his feet to the right when all of his weight is on it. You are asking with the right cues. You are just asking at the wrong time. Ask him to step over to the right just before his right foot leaves the ground."
I had not been paying enough attention to Cody’s feet when I asked him to step over. If I asked when his weight was on his hind feet, his front feet would step over lightly. But, if I asked him to move his front feet when it was impossible to do so, he would move his hind feet. He knew what I wanted, but he could not comply. And the quarter turn looked and felt ugly because I asked for a front end move and all he could move was his back end.
When I started paying attention to Cody’s feet and I asked at the right time, we got near perfect turns each time.
A good leader knows not only what to ask of his followers, but when he should ask. A good coach knows when his team is getting tired and worn down. He knows that if he pushes too hard at the wrong time, his team will resent him. On the other hand, that same coach knows when it’s time to push his team a harder than they want so that they perform beyond what they expect they can do. If a boss asked an employee to take on a big, important project two days ago, it may not be a good time to ask him to take on another top project. He won’t know if he should shift his weight to the other foot or ignore your request. Worse, the boss will lose leadership points in the eyes of the employee. "Can’t he see I’m already busy here? Which most important project is most important?"
So let’s say that when you begin to interact with someone for the first time, you have your say and then something in what you say causes all of what you say and do to be rejected. Better known as starting off on the wrong foot, the opening slip trips you up and causes any chance of a meaningful connection to slip away.
I received this in a bulk forwarded e-mail today. It’s worth passing along. Unfortunately, I don’t know the origin or the writer.
NEED WASHING??
A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target.
We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.
The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in ‘Mom let’s run through the rain,’ she said. ‘What?’ Mom asked.
‘Let’s run through the rain!’ She repeated
‘No, honey. We’ll wait until it slows down a bit,’ Mom replied.
This young child waited about another minute and repeated: ‘Mom, let’s run through the rain,’
‘We’ll get soaked if we do,’ Mom said.
‘No, we won’t, Mom.. That’s not what you said this morning,’ the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom’s arm.
This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?
‘Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ‘If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!’
The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn’t hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child’s life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith..
‘Honey, you are absolutely right. Let’s run through the rain. If GOD let’s us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing,’ Mom said.
Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked.But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.
And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.
Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories…So, don’t forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.
I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.
In the above video, Tabitha Darling uses her pony, Trixie, as a seeing eye horse. Darling, who is legally blind, rides Trixie six and a half miles into Ft. Worth. The video shows Tabitha and Trixie at a Dairy Queen drive through and shopping in Target. That’s right: "IN Target." Darling does not tie up Trixie outside and go in to shop. She rides her right in through the automatic doors.
Darling is allowed to bring Trixie into Target because Trixie is classified as a service animal. If Target refused them entry, they could be sued for discrimination. The video says that the government is considering changing the rules for service animals to include only dogs, as was originally intended.
But, how can anyone deny that Trixie has expanded Tabitha’s world? Apparently, Tabitha can’t drive, and Trixie is her only way to get around. It’s obvious that their eight year bond is deep. Trixie is obviously well behaved and knows her way around. Continue reading Seeing Eye Horses?
Ray Hunt was one of the founding fathers of the natural horsemanship movement. Almost all of my horsemanship instructors studied under him. I did not ever get to ride in one of his clinics, but I watched one. I have been struggling over how to memorialize Ray since I heard of his death on March 12. My friend and mentor, Nancy Lowery, in Alberta, Canada, wrote a tribute to Ray that is better than anything I could have written. Here is her tribute:
Who Do You Admire?
What leaders do you admire? Just as a horse will mirror our habits, we reflect what we experience. Our own leadership philosophy can be shaped by many individuals and finding someone you truly admire helps the whole journey appear to be that much easier.
A fine horseman I had the great pleasure to ride with a couple of years ago, died last week. A legend in horsemanship circles Ray Hunt was a man who lead by example offering his 80 years of wisdom to anyone interested in learning.
Dubbed The Master of Communication, it was a title that stuck. Ray may not have been known for his people skills but his horse skills are unquestionable. Ray always said he was in it for the horse. He showed people how to behave, so their horses had a chance.
Ray had been repeating that perspective for over forty years. It wasn’t just that he talked about what people should do but he showed people how easy it could be to have an outstanding partner in your horse. Ray may well have influenced more generations of horsemen and women than any other single horseman.
Ray likely considered himself to be just a horseman, but John Maxwell suggests to be a successful leader you must surround yourself with people who can respond to five key questions.
· Do they display exemplary character in everything they do?
· Do they bring complementary gifts to the table?
· Do they hold a strategic position and have influence within the organization?
· Do they add value to the organization and to the leader?
· Do they positively affect other members of the inner circle?
These kind of people flocked to Ray, spawning decades of horse people willing to let the horse’s perspective be held in high regard. Ray has clearly demonstrated he created an inner circle that many top executives would envy.
Displaying integrity in all he did, Ray offered the most humble of gifts to every horse human combination he encountered, respect. Ray was able to see the inherent talent in a horse when the owner couldn’t, and an argument was never personal. It wasn’t about you, it was about the horse.
Ray has been a part of my leadership and horsemanship journey. He helped me understand like the reins we hold in our hands connecting the two most sensitive parts of the horse human team. The responsibility we are given in leading others represents the most fragile part of the organization.
Ray Hunt, August 31, 1929 – March 12, 2009
Nancy Lowery is owner of The Natural Leader. She teaches leadership through horsemanship seminars in the Calgary area. Her web site is http://thenaturalleader.ca/.
When working with horses, I have learned that I sometimes have to be a different kind of leader at different times. When I am first starting a horse, I will give him lots of leeway in getting a task accomplished. If he can back up at all on command, I’m happy. But, later I will ask for a back up with more precision. It’s part of the progression.
As a member of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Chorus, I have the privilege of being led by two different kinds of leaders. Roger Melone, our choral director, works with us every week to teach us the music we are going to perform. Guillermo Figueroa is the Music Director and Conductor for the whole orchestra. Guillermo works with the chorus the week of the concerts when the chorus and orchestra get together. Both of these leaders understand music with a depth I will never understand, and I am grateful that we get to work with both of them. Continue reading Choral Music: Two Different Kinds of Leaders
Sometimes, the emotional moments in music just jump up and grab you.
Our choral director says that as performers we often have to suppress our emotions while performing so that we can concentrate on the singing. The audience should have the emotional experience while we do the work of creating the music. Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis that we performed this weekend requires a lot of concentration from the orchestra, chorus, and especially conductor for the entire concert. I am a member of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and we sang this wonderful opus three times this weekend on the NMSO’s Classics Concert series. While the whole experience of singing with a wonderful orchestra is spiritually uplifting, there are times when the emotions in a performance can be overwhelming.
For me, this happened in our second performance on Saturday night during the last movement, the Agnus Dei. While we were singing "dona nobis pacem," "grant us peace," I started getting choked up enough that I had a hard time singing for a few moments. Continue reading Finding Peace in Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis”
Tresaca Hamilton sent me a link to her blog post about how to use increase your sales from lessons from a dancing horse. I have posted the first couple of paragraphs, but you should go to the link below to read the whole story.
"Yeah right!" I thought to myself as I started to turn off the TV
after hearing that the show was about a dancing horse.
I couldn’t imagine watching a documentary about a
dancing horse and its rocky road to success.
I was very skeptical but curious enough to see if this
horse could actually dance.
After all, the truth is sometimes stranger than
fiction — and a real life dancing horse beats a fictional talking horse.
I was amazed to see the elaborate venue set up for this horse.
The audience was dressed as if they were attending an Opera,
and the venue was beautifully decorated with an orchestra
playing on the stage.
Then out comes Brentina, the dancing horse and main attraction.
I watched mesmerized as the horse started dancing as soon as the
orchestra started playing.
They were in perfect harmony with each other.
Tell me if this has ever happened to you. You ask a friend, “Do you know what time it is?” And, just to be a jerk, he answers, “Yes.”
Not only have I had this happen with a human friend, I’ve had this happen with my horses. When, I was learning to work with horses at liberty in a round pen, I could get my horse, Cody, to trot around the pen, but I could not get him into a canter. I would swing my rope at Cody’s hind end. Instead of going faster, he would turn and face me, then come in to the middle.
