Horsemanship vs. Humanship | Part II

I am sitting here listening to my horses chewing their hay, enjoying the nice cool morning with a cup of strong and bold black coffee from Schaefer Outfitters. I have so much to share with you folks, but trying to compartmentalize in a logical manner.

Let’s chat about positive thinking and visualization today. In addition to being a horseman, judge, trainer, and instructor, I’m also an accomplished hockey and baseball player. I didn’t get there from skill alone though. I learned by watching, listening, and studying those much better than myself. Wayne Gretzky, deemed the best hockey player in the NHL, said that he was not the best, but attributed his goal scoring to being where the puck was going to be, not where the puck was. Brooks Robinson and Graig Nettles, both top defensive 3rd basemen, knew where the ball was going to go by watching the pitch and not waiting for the ball to be hit. This thinking ahead can apply to virtually any sport. Positive and negative visualization is a thing! It is simply being proactive and not reactive. This is exactly where my success has come from. I’ve had to work long and hard at this. I am presently, and always will be, a student.

Here is a snippet of something I learned from a wise ol’ horseman. You can only move toward something, not away. Let’s pretend you and I are sitting and having a conversation. I tell you to not think of a red car. I then tell you to not think of a yellow ribbon on the red car. Then I tell you not to think of an orange cat sitting next to the car. Well, instantly, you’ve pictured a red car, a yellow ribbon, and an orange cat even though I told you not to. You can only move toward things. This is exactly what happens when someone is going to trailer his horse somewhere and says, “My horse probably won’t get on the trailer.” With that thinking and visualization, good chance he won’t. I’ve watched people trying desperately to walk a horse onto a trailer for 45 minutes when they “knew” the horse would not go on. I got involved and the horse was on in 5 minutes without any prodding. Horses know! I’m not anything special. I just think positive.

If you go into any situation with a positive attitude, your chances of success go up exponentially. What do you have to lose? Be positive. If you read my last article, being positive or negative is a choice no matter what you are doing. Saying “I can’t” is the same as negative visualization. The result will be the same.

When judging a show, I usually get to the show grounds early. I see people lead and stop their horses to look at “scary” things such as the judges’ booth, a rogue bush next to the ring, and anything else the human thinks will scare the horse and maybe lose out on a $.99 ribbon. What is going on there is that folks are showing their horses what to be afraid of. The person is actually visualizing for the horse what to be afraid of. In fairness to the rider, past falls from spooking incidents, horses bolting, etc. can be fear provoking. The more you expose your horse to, the better. I added a photo to show you the true meaning of exposure. The picture was taken at a stop in Kingman, Arizona. My mare is on the left. Ears are all up, horses are relaxed. None of them has ever seen a dinosaur before. Exposure! The more exposure you involve your horse in, the more your positive visualization will increase. If your horse does not like noise, download an mp3 or mp4 of different noises and turn up the volume while performing ringwork. Exposure!

So how does this all fit in to humanship/horsemanship? Very simple. The more you expose yourself or your child to, the more well-rounded the human becomes. The first time our daughter saw Santa and the Easter Bunny, there was screaming and tears. After that, clear sailing. Exposure to other strange elements came more easily. The more you expose your horse to, the more well-rounded your horse becomes.

Be positive, think positive, visualize positive!

Horsemanship vs. Humanship | Part II | Palmetto Bella

Picture of John Toli

John Toli

John has a lifelong relationship with horses. Well known in the equine industry, he has balanced his time training, instructing, judging, and teaching equine nutrition. John has worked for a nationally recognized feed company as well as serving as consultant to others. Prior to The Feed Geek, he managed New England Performance Nutrition, another equine nutrition consulting business. His guiding principle is a pure belief in the importance of balanced equine nutrition in regards to equine health and performance. John’s schooling included Texas A&M, Oregon State University, Kansas State, Purina Mills Equine Research Farm, and on-going equine nutrition based education. He has also spoken at conferences at Tufts University as well as in veterinary practices. John now owns The Feed Geek, Equine Nutrition Consulting. For more information, feel free to call him at 603.520.3875, email [email protected], or visit The Feed Geek on Facebook.
Picture of John Toli

John Toli

John has a lifelong relationship with horses. Well known in the equine industry, he has balanced his time training, instructing, judging, and teaching equine nutrition. John has worked for a nationally recognized feed company as well as serving as consultant to others. Prior to The Feed Geek, he managed New England Performance Nutrition, another equine nutrition consulting business. His guiding principle is a pure belief in the importance of balanced equine nutrition in regards to equine health and performance. John’s schooling included Texas A&M, Oregon State University, Kansas State, Purina Mills Equine Research Farm, and on-going equine nutrition based education. He has also spoken at conferences at Tufts University as well as in veterinary practices. John now owns The Feed Geek, Equine Nutrition Consulting. For more information, feel free to call him at 603.520.3875, email [email protected], or visit The Feed Geek on Facebook.

In the know

Related Stories

Kitchen Tips for Healthier Eating | Palmetto Bella

Kitchen Tips for Healthier Eating

One of my main purposes as a nutritionist is to help my clients figure out ways to eat healthier. The majority of them have a good idea what is on the list of healthy foods they should eat more of. They are also aware of the unhealthy foods they should eliminate. The problem for them is how to do it. I spend a lot of my time helping clients understand the bad habits they may have around eating. Then we work on strategies to change those habits. Gretchen Rubin is one of my favorite nonfiction authors. Her book Better than Before is about how people develop habits and strategies for

Read More »
The Low-Intensity Fat-Burning Myth | Palmetto Bella

The Low-Intensity Fat-Burning Myth

For years, exercisers have been fed a misleading message regarding the best exercise intensity for burning fat. In a nutshell, it goes like this: if you want to burn more fat, you need to work out at a lower, more aerobic intensity, as opposed to higher intensities where you breathe more heavily. Exercisers are reminded of these recommendations every time they step onto a treadmill, elliptical trainer, exercise bike, or stair stepper, as there is usually a chart on the console display indicating the ideal fat-burning zone, typically expressed as a percentage of maximum heart rate or VO2 max, a popular and widely-accepted measure of aerobic fitness. Let’s face it

Read More »
Are You Concerned about Coronavirus Variants? | Palmetto Bella

Are You Concerned about Coronavirus Variants?

COVID-19 vaccines are all the buzz right now as people scramble to get their lives back to a semblance of normalcy. Millions have been vaccinated, but new, mutated strains of coronavirus are causing concern around the world. COVID-19 cases have fallen nationwide, but health officials warn that these variants could trigger a new surge of infections. A new variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was first reported in December 2020. Since then other variants have been identified. Are the new variants more contagious? Will the current vaccines cover them? Variants occur when there is a change (mutation) to the virus’s genes. As a virus mutates, mistakes and changes are

Read More »
Is Your Child Experiencing Stress | Palmetto Bella

Is Your Child Experiencing Stress

Like adults, kids and teens experience stress too. While small amounts of stress are a normal part of life, some young people may have worrisome responses to disrupted routines, school closures, social distancing, event cancellations, and missed milestones. Stress that occurs continually, or is triggered by multiple sources, can take a toll on a child’s physical as well as emotional health. Can stress be helpful or good? Stress is a body’s reaction to situations that occur within and outside the body. Stress can be helpful — it has been hard-wired into human physiology for survival. For example, imagine you are hiking in the forest and are confronted with a bear.

Read More »