I guess I could describe the epiphany I had this morning as the crossroad between optimism and pessimism. Since that says hardly anything, I’ll elaborate! Just to be clear, these are mere generalizations. Pessimists have an easy time lingering on the moments that weigh a person down and all-things-negative jump out at them. This is not necessarily always a bad …
Forcing Dominance
Dominance and power — very important to us humans. But if we want to be successful in our relationships and training endeavors with others, we have to find a way to view these in a different light. Nothing good can come from allowing our aggressive tendencies (predator instincts) to boil to the surface. I’m bringing this up, because I often …
Cautious Movement
It’s easy to prevent an animal or human-animal from improving when we’re stuck in the same mindset. Allow me to explain. We might not notice or think about it much on an average day or with a very confident animal. But it’s always there — affecting us on a daily basis in all of our interactions. When I’m in a …
Mustang Project: Amazing Progress!
I am blown away by my mustang project. His new name is Eclipse, and he is such a smart, confident boy. Today marks my fourth day working with him, and he’s already wearing a halter! Definitely accepting of human contact… especially if that means getting kisses on his muzzle! I’m documenting all of his progress. This means that I’m filming …
The Deal Breaker
“Kind of where you end up your ride on a horse is so important. It’s a little bit like when you guys were younger & you were dating, that last two minutes of the date can be a real deal breaker. With these horses it’s the same thing you know? You got to quit on a good note.” – Buck …
Mustangs, Mustangs, Mustangs!
This weekend has been all about: Mustangs. I went to the BLM Wild horse & Burro adoption in Santa Rosa, California, with a few others from the ranch on Friday. Then, on Saturday, we went again as good-will ambassadors. Meaning that we came with mustangs from our ranch that were gentled and could be ridden, and so on. While we …
Acknowledge & Change
Here’s something to live by: If it’s not working… change it. It’s just a fact that “bad” things happen to everyone at one or more points throughout their life. I put bad in quotation marks (“bad”), because we all perceive these things differently. One person might lose a limb and think: Well, I’ll have to learn to write left-handed now. …
“When You Fall Off A Horse, Get Right Back On.”
Well, hold on. Should you really? It’s a common phrase yelled at learners who find themselves lying on their back in an arena. They’re staring at a wide-eyed horse, the dust of a horse galloping in the other direction, or a horse with a smirk on her face that seems to say: Yeah, try getting back on. I’ll buck ya …
MRI Of The Canine Mind
I came across this video today and find it very interesting. What are we going to discover about the dog brain? As far as we know, this is the first MRI done of a dog’s brain who is not sedated and not constrained. Hmmm! Enjoy!
Give What You Take
Nature cannot function without balance. A species won’t take and take without contributing something of their own. When we take, we have to give something, too. You can think of it as a what-goes-around-comes-around kind of situation. The truth is, the same goes for interacting with people – so this is an important concept. For one reason or another, it’s …