#15 Advice on Learning from three Masters

Gratitude is running through my veins this morning as I sip a cup of Rooibos tea and reflect on the past couple of months. I've listened to the little voice that wouldn't stay quiet. The little voice that whispered there was something waiting for me to do. Sometimes it was drowned out by the bigger voices- the ones that sound like bullies- but the little one stayed strong.

A calling to shine a light on some of the horsemanship masters that I've had the pleasure to meet and learn with. 

I hope today, you are able to listen to the little voice inside of you. The world needs all of us to celebrate who we are and to quit holding ourselves back. 

This brings me to what I wanted to highlight this week... Three golden pieces of advice from 3 of the horsemanship masters I've had the chance to interview in the past few months. 

Learning, Practice or Performance- know which one you're in. 

Linda Parelli shared this simple but POWERFUL concept in a recent podcast interview. Anytime we're with our horse, we are in one of the 3 stages... and often we're in the wrong one. Knowing the stages, their purpose and how often we should be in them is a game changer. 

Learning- we should be in this stage 10-20% of the time. When we are learning something new OR we're teaching our horse something new. You'll know you're in this stage because it feels uncomfortable and awkward. You're doing something you haven't done before- or have done very little. It's so important to be understanding, encouraging and supportive of OURSELVES and our horses during this stage. We often do the opposite- it's easy to think we're the only ones that feel this way... How cool would it be if instead, we celebrated that we are LEARNING. You might already be at that place and then you know how important the shift of perspective is. If you aren't to the place of celebrating when you're uncomfortable- play with it and make sure to listen to the episode with Linda OR re-listen to it 😊

Practice- this is where we should be most of the time. Reward often in this stage. Ask for little improvements. Don't expect perfection- that's for performance. One of the things Linda shared that I LOVE is that you'll know you aren't practicing correctly if it gets too hard for you or your horse- then you're teetering into the Performance stage. It's a sign that you need to back off and break things into smaller pieces AND/OR reward a smaller try. 

Performance- about 5-10% of the time play with being in the performance stage. Go to a show or have some friends over for a friendly competition. Do something with purpose where you and your horse need to be in a certain place at a certain time. 

Often we get comfortable in one of the stages- we need all 3 to have a balanced, progressive relationship.

Clinics aren't the place for learning... 

What? This one shocked me at first when Charley Snell shared it with me in a recent interview. I was shocked until his next sentence sunk in to my brain (which happened a few seconds after I heard it 😆). 

Clinics are the place to gather information. The learning happens when we go home and practice. 

Similar to what Linda shared- practice is where we need to spend most of our time. It's often a place some avoid- but it's where the true learning happens. Keep practicing, keep learning. 

Know what you need as a learner and do your best to ask for it

David Lichman recently shared that he feels the most inspired and makes the most progress when he's working and collaborating with others. He's constantly seeking out other people to learn with and to exchange ideas. He knows this is how he makes the most progress. 

Some of us need to practice alone and feel most inspired during those times. 

Some might need a bit of both. 

Which one are you? What do you do to meet that need? Is there something you could change to make it even better? Asking for what we need is sometimes super hard- but so worth it if it results in us being in a better place to progress with our horses. 

A big piece of my feeling of gratitude this morning is getting the opportunity to learn with some amazing people AND the gift of sharing it with you. I'm grateful you're a part of this. Keep listening to the little voice and celebrating YOU- we need you. 

Have a wonderful rest of your day!!