Showing someone a video of them playing with their horse or dog is priceless. We can feel as if our posture is just great, our body language clear, and our communication couldn’t be better… until we actually see it on video.
People will raise their eye brows, mouths open, saying, “That’s how I look?” “Wow, I look down a lot.” “Look at how slouched over I am!” “It’s so weird seeing myself!”
Since discovering how much I could learn about and teach myself by simply filming my work, I’ve been filming constantly. Just by setting a video camera on anything standing around, we can take a peek at how we really come across and act when we work with our animals. Many of the things a teacher will correct a student on is something that the student would have known, had they seen themselves like a bystander would.
Although something may not feel right, it can be hard to tell what it is until we see for ourselves. Especially when you’re dealing with a problem that keeps coming up: Your dog doesn’t come or stay, your horse is heavy in your hands or won’t go, the list goes on… It really helps to film and spot what might be causing it. Plus it’s so empowering to be able to see the progress you’ve made!
I love looking at videos of myself working with an animal a few years ago and then that same animal and I now – what a huge difference! Try it out.