Steve Miller har ofta intressanta saker att säga och Inge är en mycket spännande hästmänniska. Själv har jag inget av intresse att förtälja för närvarande och så får det vara så länge.



The Game of Mental Leadership
av Steve Miller kl. den 7 februari 2011 kl. 03:06

Following some challenging times I had recently with Jo in my pursuit of adopting some rather radical ideas from my teacher, Inge, I took the advice of friends and retreated to something with which Jo and I are both familiar – walking out together in the pursuit of juicy morsels of grass; to take time out together.



I had a lovely walk out with Jo this evening but it was very windy - the sort of weather that used to often put Jo 'on her toes' and cause her to want to take over leadership.



To counter this, I made sure I got particular over the small things - like having her move off just slightly before me ("He who moves his feet least - wins" - PP). I lead her to good grass (it's very patchy still) and even played with the idea of indicating a very particular piece of grass - she went to it every time! However, this was all achieved using mental suggestion and miminal or zero body cues – for this is the wonder of Inge's method! Getting the horse to respond to our mere intention IS to win the Mental Game of Leadership!



On a few occasions, Jo put her head high and looked about with slight anxiety. Each time, I centred my breathing to my One Point – as per my last FB Note - whilst we walked - and each time she relaxed, blew out and lowered her head in true relaxation. This may seem a small thing to many but it is HUGE for Jo and me. To be able to reassure her and help her find this relaxation - and acceptance of my leadership - in challenging conditions - is wonderful. Especially so, when it was achieved with no physical 'manipulation'; no rope wiggling; no 'pattern interrupts' etc.



This might not seem like the 'time out' that many of you advised. In truth it was a mixture or Leadership and reassurance but it resulted in relaxation despite the conditions. When times are easy – when the sun is high in the sky on a warm summer's day and we're with our herd in our home pasture, hanging out is easy. Non-demanding time like this is very, very beneficial for helping the horse to see us as non-threatening and non-predatory but it is of little direct help when circumstances become more trying – which is exactly when we need it most!



In trying circumstances, this bond needs to be backed-up by leadership. The horse needs to find someone who is perceptive, decisive ('reactive' might be a more accurate term – see later), with a plan and the mental strength to see it through. More accurately, the horse needs to find someone who is better at leadership than him. Thus the degree of leadership you have to show depends on the horse with which you are dealing. If he can't find anyone who is up to the mark, the horse will do his best to be that leader or leave to seek one somewhere else.



Jo and I used to spend a good deal of time just hanging out (in familiar surroundings) - with nothing in mind - but looking back, she was still totally in charge - would put her head up and 'investigate' the slightest disturbance. In fact she would often cause me to look where SHE was looking! It still happens sometimes! Ha ha! Talk about mentally leading someone! LOL!



Back in those days, Jo would graze and appear to basically ignore me. I now see that nothing escapes her attention but back then If I offered her scratches, she'd let me – but she would never show any obvious sign of enjoyment. In fact she made me think, for the longest time, that she did not have any itchy spots at all! LOL!



Only in the last 2 years has Jo 'let me in' enough to allow me to scratch her itchy spots. Even then, she'd turn her head away from my gaze in order to hide her need to 'wibble' her upper lip. Classic introvert behaviour but it is also one-up-man-ship in the Mental Game of Leadership. Of late, she has at last offered to groom me back. I know most people think of these things as unremarkable and normal for their horse but these are huge changes for Jo and me.



Of 6 horses (and 1 donkey), ranging from extreme LBI (donkey!) thru RBI (Whisper) to LBE (Buddy), Jo is the only one who interacted (failed to interact?) like that – to both Sue and me.



In Inge's teaching, she defines 3 main types of horse in the natural herd; the 'Lead' (usually a mare), 'Dominant' (usually the stallion) whilst the rest are 'Passives' in that they accept Leadership from the Lead with little or no resistance and then get driven into position by the Dominant. The main characteristic of the Lead is mental strength. She is fast and athletic, physically, but it is not this that defines her leadership, it is her mental abilities.



Inge pointed out that Leads will keep that role until they die, after all, age is no barrier to mental toughness even if the physical body starts to fail. However, the Lead often promotes and prepares another horse to one day take over so there is, in effect, often a '2nd Lead' horse in the herd. Apparently it is not uncommon for the Lead to promote her own daughter to this role.



The role of Lead takes a degree of mental toughness. If the human wants to assume the Lead role then they too need mental strength/ toughness. Only a moderate degree of toughness is required to cause the Passive and Dominant horses to follow. However, if you have a Lead horse to deal with, your degree of mental toughness has to be far better developed.



Inge immediately identified Jo as a Lead and my friend, Rebecca's horse, Dottie, as an even more extreme example! She quickly noticed that when Jo threw a few surprises at me in the Liberty pen (unexpected change of direction or change of pace) then I was often left looking surprised and hesitant; in short, I went Passive in response to Jo's display of Leadership. It's easy, and effective to become a Dominant in these circumstances; to shut the horse down and physically manipulate the horse into complying. This is an effective strategy to some extent; stallions will often physically move the mare off her food or claim her space for himself. In this scenario it seems like the stallion 'wins' but if the Lead says 'go' then the stallion follows just like the rest of the herd. So, in reality, the stallion does not supplant the Lead and she still retains her Lead status.



So what is the nature of this mental strength/ toughness that we need to develop? Pat always suggests that we should 'exaggerate to teach' so let's look at at extreme example of mental strength.



Viktor Frankl speaks in his book, 'Man's Search For meaning' of how he developed the perspective, whilst in the Nazi concentration camps, as they experimented on his unanaesthetised young body, that they could do whatever they wanted to his body but they would never have control of him (his mind, his will etc). Further that through his will and imagination, he could 'go' anywhere' and 'be' anything. In the end he developed true compassion for his captors, believing himself to be more free than his guards; for he felt (mentally) free whereas they TOO spent most of their time in the same God-forsaken place, trapped in an awful job and being made to do terrible things; in short, they has no mental control and no mental escape.



So, we only really lead people or horses by leading their mind first – but with Lead horses we are dealing with the masters of this Game of Mental Leadership. The Lead may well allow the Stallion to take her food, or move her around – but, just like Frankl, she will NEVER be overcome mentally by mere physical dominance. Leads are the strongest mentally and are thus the most willful, persistent, focused, alert, decisive and reactive. And yes, I did use the term 'reactive' on purpose, as opposed to 'responsive'. Reactive = RB = unconscious action = the quickest way to act and to survive (on average, but not always!). It is Inge's observation that a lot of Lead horses are RB by nature or go RB to lead.



So when it's windy, when we're away from home; when 'people, places, changes and things' happen - it is only when we can effectively and quietly assume Leadership that the Lead horse gets time off from her role as Leader and is able to relax and hang out.



So today, Jo was truly happy to be out with me and fully accepted me as lead. She was very relaxed despite the circumstances! However, it is important to note that she was probably, temporarily, still the 2nd Lead and ready to take over instantly if my performance dropped.



Providing the mental leadership qualities that would allow Jo (as a Lead) to fully relax despite the conditions required 100% mental attention/ awareness/ presence and I was only able to achieve this result by making use of the One Point technique from Aikido. It is perfect for this Game of Mental Leadership precisely because it demands self discipline and concentration/ control of the human and provides the attention, awareness and presence that the horse seeks.



For anyone reading K.F. Hempfling's latest book, 'It is not I who Seeks the Horse, the Horse Seeks Me' this is also currently my understanding of what K.F. Hempfling means by being 'authentic'. The above describes for me what he means by achieving his pre-requisite; the state he rather obscurely refers to as, 'The First Parallelism'.





Steve Miller