(I added this discussion to another group, but I want to reach people in more than one group, so am posting it here too...if thats not allowed I wont be insulted if you delete it!)

I've found that to truely communicate with a horse and form a bond that lets you dance together, first you need to truely understand, accept and be comfortable about who you really are, rather than always trying to be what other people want you to be.

Second once you have found this, you need to learn to hold this secuirity, and be able to understand your emotions, where they are coming from, and how to control them...

...and third, you have to be able to put everything in, and really work your concentration powers, so you are completely focused on your horse, rather than getting distracted by other people or your surroundings. After all you expect your horse to give you their full attention.

It seems to me that us humans have a lot more to learn then simply the body language of horses, as using that by itself is like using any other method. Meaning, you apply pressure, and when your horse responds correctly to that pressure you release.

If you have found all three of the above, and are completely secure with yourself, and can concentrate fully on your horse (of course remain aware of your surroundings, or you may put yourself or you horse in danger), you are more likely to get the equal amount of effort and respect from your horse.

When person and horse are learning from each other, they have found true understanding and harmony together, and this is when they seem to dance.

My dream is to learn how to help other people find this harmony, and it is where I am completely stuck. I would love to work with adults and children and people who have had difficult backrounds, or have disabilitys.

My question is, is there anyone else who is like minded, and has maybe set something up, or done some sort of training that has helped them?

I would really appreciate any tips, guidance or comments, and would also love to hear your dreams...maybe I can help you too!

Thanks for reading,
Gabrielle

(my blog is - http://www.hoponahorse.com)