TeenzTalk
  • Home
  • About
  • Our Team
  • Resources
  • Partners
  • Blog
  • Get Involved
  • CONFERENCE
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
  • Home
  • About
  • Our Team
  • Resources
  • Partners
  • Blog
  • Get Involved
  • CONFERENCE
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017

BLOG

Horsemanship

9/30/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Isobel C. || Peer Leader || Perth, Australia
I am privileged enough to not only be a high school student but also a student of horsemanship. Training and riding horses requires a great deal of commitment, however, I value this commitment greatly. By practicing my passion, I have learned many things about myself that have shaped my attitude towards learning and my future. 
 
In order to work with horses, an understanding of the link between a horse’s psychology and physiology is imperative. 
The model of horsemanship that I follow has three major "components" that are interconnected and are used interchangeably according to the situation at hand. These are: confidence, yielding, and tasks. 

​A horse's primary motivation is safety, and this is the only problem in interacting with a horse; it simply has many facets. Confidence in the immediate [the personal bubble of a horse] and external [the surroundings] environments is required. This allows a horse to be comfortable enough with a human as well as their surroundings; the horse is able to respond to certain stimuli that correspond to a yield. Horses look for security, and when they find it, they attach positive connotations to it. This is how they learn.
​
Yielding is the act of developing a certain action associated with a cue. A confident yield becomes a cue for a smaller stimulus. You develop this until the slightest stimulus incites a positive and powerful response from the horse.  

 
Confidence and yields are used together to achieve tasks — practical applications of yields. In order to do tasks, these other aspects need to be developed well.  All of horsemanship is confidence, yielding, and tasks in more places with the horse at higher energy —  moving faster and using its body in the most efficiently powerful way.
 
But, it is not an easy process. I have often found myself stuck and unsure of what to do with my horse, but this is a gift in disguise. Despite many situations involving tears of frustration, I have had to come to appreciate that sometimes you will be alone and nobody can help you, so in order to get a job done you just have to do it to your best ability. When you are galloping towards a fence you cannot just think, “We can work on this a bit more tomorrow…” You cannot get there; you have to be there.
 
Nevertheless, this does not mean one cannot get help along the way! I have mentors who guide me along the path of horsemanship notwithstanding that often in the process of learning you meander to and from the path, making the process longer but more beneficial to your own understanding.
 
In sum, horsemanship teaches the worth of mental and physical strength, empathy, self-examination, confronting failure, and recognizing success — 
all of which are qualities that apply to other spheres of life. But my experiences with horses have also foregrounded that one has to give oneself permission to be a student; nobody can experience it for you.
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    About

    TeenzTalk's Blog is here to amplify youth stories and perspectives on topics including personal challenges, self-care practices, initiatives in their community, and more.

    The blog is open to all youth. Email your articles here: contact@teenztalk.org

    Categories

    All

    Archives

    June 2020
    May 2020
    September 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    September 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016

ORGANIZATION
About Us
Our Team

Popular Stories
Blog
Contact Us
​
Donate


VIDEOS
Videos + Youth Voices Landing Page
U.S.  
Growth & Resilience
Stress Relief

International         
Passions
Growth & Resilience
Stress Relief
Happiness

TEEN WELLNESS CONFERENCE
Conference Landing Page
2020 Statement
2019 Conference

2018 Conference
2017 Conference


SECTIONS & EVENTS

Building Friendships @ OMS
Growing a Brain
​Happy You

Hear from the Experts
#WellBeing4All Campaign
Positive Messages Campaign
Speak Mindfully Campaign


GET INVOLVED
Share Your Story
​Partner With Us
Join Our Team
Start a Club
Ask the Experts

RESOURCES
Hear from the Experts
​Ask the Experts
Learn About Mental Health

Tools for Well-Being 
   
Sleep     
Mindfulness     
Exercise     
Smile
Nutrition     
Nature 

Get Help
COVID-19 Resilience


SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook
​
Instagram

​Twitter
​
LinkedIn


 TeenzTalk © COPYRIGHT 2016-2021, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  
Disclaimer  |  Privacy  |  Terms

Picture