I love the term 'conscious connection’ with horses and I feel that it is spot on with what we at The Resnick Method of Horsemanship teach our students. Over the years, as people have become more evolved in their understanding of how to gentle horses safely and humanely, horses are slowly getting a better deal. Whenever I ask someone what drew them to The Resnick Method they usually say they were looking for a kinder and gentler approach to horsemanship. Although these same people know that they want something different, they don’t always know what that looks like, or how to achieve it.
So, what is a conscious connection with horses?
Creating a sacred space, only interacting with horses when our entire being is focused on the horse, having the awareness to read the horse’s responses to your requests, and a knowledge of how to find a connection at that moment is what I would call conscious connection with horses.
In this state of being, there is an understanding that the horse has a right to choose if he wants to interact with you or he doesn’t. There is a knowledge of how to bring a willingness to the horse when he loses interest in our company, and how to develop trust and respect by understanding the code of conduct that horses follow to bring a herd to a harmonious, one-minded consciousness. If you follow this code when you are asking a horse to accept your leadership, a horse will follow you automatically. It is the secret that I have learned through developing my skills in The Resnick Method that causes me to be able to easily connect with horses I don't know. We can all learn to communicate with horses in the same way that horses communicate with each other.
In nature horses spend most of their time in a herd ‘Sharing Territory’, doing nothing. Conscious connection with horses begins with Sharing Territory creating a sacred space to be with our horse doing nothing. To begin to understand how to “BE” with horses, we must first understand that the practice of meditation with horses is instrumental in the training of horses at Liberty. Sharing Territory with them each day and staying present to all that surrounds us brings well-being to horses as well as ourselves.
As prey animals, horses are always looking for safety. Wild horses travel for miles searching for a place of well being. Meditation raises our energy and self-awareness, so it is only natural that when we are in their presence in a place of grounded awareness we become very attractive to our horses, as it makes them feel safe.
Sharing Territory with horses in a state of meditation expands our consciousness and helps us receive insight and clarity, which grows self-awareness. It is healing to our soul to be one with all that is. It quietly influences our lives and helps us move forward. You will find that this calm inner state that you feel while meditating with your horse will stay with you in the flow of the day and spill over to everything you do.
Sharing Territory to develop a conscious connection to our horse is the first step in becoming one with the horse, and the first step in our courses, The Bond Technique and The Original Liberty Training. Beginning to understand how to bring this connection to your horse before asking him to do anything brings a one minded consciousness between you and your horse. This feeling is the reason why I have horses. My horses heal my soul each and every day. With this kind of leadership, my horses naturally follow my lead because it feels good to do so, and visa-versa for me.
Nan Zintsmaster
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