Office Hours
Everything from training techniques to
the nature of consciousness
This is an equestrian community space of curiosity, openness, candor, vulnerability, kindness (especially that!) and possibly even whimsy!
feel is a learnable skillset
“Feel” is not a mystical gift only given to a select few, but a learnable ability composed of the individual skills of timing, mechanics, and use of repertoire working together. Simply put, it's knowing what you’re looking at, what to do about it, and when to do it. The words wash away and what's left is the action and felt-sense of seeing the horse, and being seen by the horse.
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brains, not reins
Historically, we've used tack as a means of everything from communication to coercion. Tack has an enormous impact on a horse's wellbeing, on so many levels. However, tack is simply an external mechanism with limited, straight-line, one-way application.
But what if we didn't need those constraints?
What we're really trying to reach is the horse's brain, their mind. This is where all the learning takes place: within the horse's emotions and experiences. Using the process of shaping, through positive reinforcement training, we can train without the overshadowing effect of tack, while also allowing space for the horse to communicate with us.
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Do you have questions?
While there’s a structure to learning and to positive reinforcement, there’s no single path to success. Every horse is different, and a lot of horses (and people!) are different on different days. Let me help you make a fun, flexible training plan that celebrates your and your horse’s individuality.
Heather K McManamy
South Central WI
Text welcome at 608-333-6950