What Are You Basing Your Horse-Related Perceptions On?
Perspective & Approach
Horse-Related Perceptions - Gaining Perspective
I was watching a discussion between an astrophysicist and a psychologist... The topic was related to people's perception. I'll share the example:
When you're driving down the road, if you see someone driving much faster than you, what do you think of their behavior? If you see someone driving much slower, how do you mentally react?
So... the "argument" was that whatever speed you happen to be driving, you consider this the "correct" speed, and disagree with, judge, or critique the faster or slower drivers.
If You're the Only One With a Problem...
They went on to present that if you are the only one having a problem, and everyone surrounding you isn't, then maybe what you perceive as a problem isn't everyone else — it's you.
This belief system is so commonly and deeply ingrained in many societies, and 100% why I specifically stepped away from "the mainstream" world of horses.
You could apply the "logic" to any topic — religion, politics, etc. — and it is just as much of a trigger in terms of horses and training.
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The Rage Bait Problem
On any social media platform, finding the rage bait horse-related posts, the emotionally triggering ones, the fixated one-size-fits-all system, is easy. The algorithms reward posters for engaging the public — even in a negative, aggressive, degrading manner — especially in the case of unasked-for opinions.
I know in recent times I may sound like a broken record, but I cannot emphasize enough how much one's perceptions 110% influence their mental "playback" — or interpretation — of an experience, their emotional response, and the physical behavior that follows based on their thoughts and emotions.
Every Witness Tells a Different Story
Take a witness account — whether a crime or an accident — police will question bystanders and get drastically varying stories in each person's first-hand account of "what happened." To the individual, their perception is based on many factors, including what past experiences have taught them. This can affect their ability to separate factual events from their perception of what happened. The same goes for when people interact with horses.
So, the uncomfortable question of the day: What are you basing your horse-related perceptions on?
This isn't meant to trigger self-doubt or analysis paralysis, but instead to revisit why you believe what you believe about the horse, the interactions, and how you communicate.
Where Your Beliefs Actually Came From
Consider your mindset when you were in your early 20s, then your 30s, then perhaps later in life. You are still "you" — but what influenced your ideals, motivation, behavior, and emotions to evolve or change? Lived experience. Social influences. Relationships... and so many other aspects of life.
Past horse-related experiences will cause you to unintentionally filter your perception and understanding of what is happening. If your initial interactions with horses were with a hard-to-catch or resistant horse, you probably unintentionally established a mental pattern of anticipation, tension during interactions, and increasing lack of confidence — all of which you'd bring to the next horse you interact with.
If your first instruction was from someone aggressive and dominant in how they taught, berating you for asking questions, how would that affect your learning as the student? Or your mindset, perspective, and confidence, even when learning from a different instructor later on?
Why Questioning Makes People Uncomfortable
Unfortunately, I have found that "questioning" things can make people uncomfortable, especially in the horse world. Which is more reflective of human dominance mindsets than it has anything to do with the horses.
The problem is, the deeply ingrained "follow the program," "get with the program," or "don't question the authority" mentality can lead to crippling learning experiences for the horse, who resorts to dramatic and dangerous behavior, while the human student frequently becomes overwhelmed by the equine's responses while receiving critique or berating from the instructor or coach.
Society has constantly shined a light on singling out the "outcast" — those who don't conform or comply with the "norms." If we look back at history, what positive changes would never have occurred if we considered those who voiced "new" or different ideas, perspectives, and opinions as fundamentally wrong solely because, at the time they were first voiced, they weren't accepted by most of society? Change only occurs when "the way we've always done it" is questioned.
I have found this to be incredibly true in the horse world. I encourage you, every so often, to take a few minutes and explore whether the belief system your horse perceptions are based on is still relevant to your current state of being.
— Samantha Harvey, Alternative Horsemanship™
The Remote Horse Coach
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Labels: horse perception, horse learning help, rider mindset, alternative horsemanship horse training tips
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