“Tina and TTEAM allows us to learn a new approach to handling problems with horses.  The session with her lets us succeed at actually changing their behavior and comfort for the better by changing our own… that there are gentle and cooperative ways to be the ‘top horse’ in our partnership, and that the process of mutual respect really works”

Here are notes from her letters that struck me with how this work helps both the horse and the human…

” Cappy got shod yesterday and managed to sprain his butt by thrashing around with the farrier…so sore he couldn’t trot this morning…now back at spinning a quarter circle with the hind right leg. What a gift to know I could give him some real relief, immediately, without more damn Bute! I worked on him with my TTouch hands about 1/2 hour and he then walked much better… much less spin on the right hind leg. He’ll have more freedom of movement tomorrow, for sure. Thank You for all your help and education!”

By the time Cappy was about 28 years old…
“Cappy is much more cheerful and relaxed since your TTouch bodywork session recently…the ‘Mane Lift’ work (for the neck tension) is a particular favorite for him. Thank you so very much…You’ve been a good friend to both of us”

I’m told that “Wolf” moved to New York towards the later part of 2012 and passed away there at the beginning of 2013 after battling with a bad cancer.
I am told that the long time friends of “Wolf” Israel in San Francisco will be holding a memorial for the passing on of our dear friend on April 6, 2013. I’m in Oregon, and not able to hustle down there, but will be sending my heartfelt love to all as we again say “Good Bye” and peaceful travels to this wonderful person…Happy Journey, “Wolf” !

” Dear Tina,
It’s a long time coming, but I want to share some wonderful changes going on with me and my horse, ‘Chaca’. She’s a 6 yr old Quarter Horse who tended to be “snorty” in new situations and a little suspicious of strangers. In addition, she has a habit of jerking her Right front leg out of my hand when I cleaned her hoof.

Since our week of Centered Riding and TTEAM last year with you and Donna, she no longer snorts nor does she appear to be so suspicious of strangers and strange situations. She is much more calm. Even the leg jerking has improved somewhat after sessions of leg circles and gentle stretches, although I need to be more consistent.

One interesting thing I noticed – During the winter I leave her shoes off. It seems that her jerking is less when I clean her feet during winter grooming sessions (?). So much to learn!!

I thoroughly enjoy that week of CR and TTEAM!

Thank You for your contributions and sharing your expertise.
‘Chaca’ and I both experienced a start to better understanding of ourselves and our relationship with each other.

Here’s to a good, horsey 1996!
Sincerely,
Bonnie Hearn, CA”

Many Thanks to Bonnie, for sharing what her learning of new ideas lead to in her path of life with her horse…let this inspire us all to keep our minds open to adding more knowledge as time goes by…Your Horse will Thank You for this!!

Best Wishes for a Wonderful World with your Horse!
Tina

The latest class title was “ Two Halves, One Harmony…Balancing Both Sides to Create a Whole”.

One of the ‘before and after’ learning lessons involved standing on our two feet and legs, and observing a variety of elements the body offered at that time. My instructions were that we were to very slowly shift our weight to one leg, then slowly lift the foot off the floor of the unweighted leg. In the first segment, students often had wobbly results and repeated attempts at the task. It was clear that the goal they focused on was to lift that other leg, rather than focus on stabilizing and grounding the foundation leg that was truly the support system of the goal.

Guess what that reminded me about in my long history of educating horses, as well as horses educating me?
HOW to lift a hoof is more critical to accomplish than that end goal of a foot/hoof in the air.

When I was young, and had been taught to get a horse to pick up it’s hoof for me to clean it, the main plan was to insist that the horse lift the leg and hoof to me, “NOW”. Some horses did this just fine, others often struggled or even quarelled with me about that task. This became especially clear to me when I became the primary training person of young horses at an Arabian breeding farm in Northern California. My job entailed not only early handling and halter/leading work with the current crop of foals, but there was a group of yearlings that no one had made time to handle much during their first year on the planet. When it came to hoof lifting time, they did try to do the deed, but often couldn’t sustain that hoof in our hands for long periods of time, and that was a need for the local farriers.

In my education years with the alternative style of thinking and teaching for humans and horses, I became more aware that the truly important part of the game of lifting any leg was the learning of a body to shift the weight -bearing segment to the grounded, supporting legs FIRST and FOREMOST. Once that layer of weight distribution of the body was established into stability, grounding and confidence, lifting horse hoof or human foot and leaving it elevated became easy to accomplish!

Thus my interest in teaching this to horse riders, before they work with their horses, whether riding or other tasks.
As I instructed a more micro- moment of each stage involved in the task, all human students were amazed to discover how important each tiny segment played a part in the overall results…when they made it a ‘super slow motion’ task, they were better at observing just how long it took to fully stack the entire body, foot to head, in a tall, balanced, non-leaning way BEFORE they should lift the other leg at all! As they improved their abilities each time, they could also move the suspended foot in various directions and never lose their balance!

So when you go to ask a horse’s hoof to rise up, use your lift signal kindly, observe that nano second that their weight begins to shift to the three grounded legs, and praise them for that moment of movement.

With troubled horses, that is all I focus on during our learning lesson of lifting the hoof…I stop asking with that signal once they begin to shift the weight and take the time needed to secure themselves on those three other legs, clearly. They appreciate that way of focus, learning and confidence, that when I continue with my ‘lift your leg’ cue further, they glide smoothly and strongly onto those valuable three legs and offer me a hoof with great respect.

When we humans offer to our horses the process of thinking and understanding life in broader and deeper ways about the Laws of Physics and Biomechanics, your horse will say “YES” more often than not. What a great way to build a Partnership of Respect.

to all who touch one’s own heart

In the ongoing process of unpacking after a major move to another state, I am continually coming across family memory milestones of my life.

Yesterday, I found an album that my mother had put together, spanning 1952-1955.

It’s focus was on time spent with my paternal grandmother, Rena Boyer Hutton, at her 70+ acre ranch in Upper Lake, CA.  She had been born in 1886, and lived till 102!

She had been raised on ranches in the Colousa County area of California’s North Central Valley, and in early adult years, had been a homesteader in parts of southern and eastern Oregon…so having animals in her life were from her very beginning of existence!

Here she is, as a young girl, cart driving a horned goat…she evolved into a great horse handler as she grew up.

Turns out, I was brought up with animals and ranching in my brain as well as my blood…here is Grandma and I… summer of 1952, the year I was born, and she was 66 yrs. old.

Wow, from the very beginning, I got to feel what horses must feel like…I had my own paddock! But I always preferred open spaces and fre

Then I got to feel what it was like to be in a carriage or cart.

The Hutton family is known for it’s hard work ethics, and now I can see how we got introduced to joining the work force, very early on. Must have been a hot day, eh? Didn’t stop gardening chores…and look, Tina filled the bowl!

Look what I began to see in the field…a large, magnificent horse who my uncle used for riding, or packing, when he’d go long distances for deer hunting journeys…I think his name was ‘Buck’, and from stories I vaguely recall hearing from Uncle Jack and my dad, Jerry, that is something this horse did often and well…so he was ultimately sold to a bucking horse rodeo!

Well, it was time to learn to BE a horse…pulling my wagon, and holding my partially chewed on apple…yup, horses and I form connections from the deepest, inner intuitive sense, to this very day!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY TO ALL!

This was the second winter in new home state of Oregon, so all who attended were glad that the freezing fog and snow took a break for the day…rain had come back this past week, and to our surprise, the FYRW day had long segments of real sunshine!!

Letting light shine into the classroom seemed appropriate to the process I love to share…opening one’s mind to allow more light and new ideas enter the brain, the neural pathways and the body.  Some may believe that the skills needed in riding only come when one is riding the horse. Over the years of learning that I’ve experienced, I have found that improving the balance, stability and fluidity of the body (and the mind!) BEFORE I mount truly changes so many old habits and patterns that interfere with how your horse can perform. We sit on the most delicate segments of a horse’s anatomy…the Spine, the mid section of the whole structure, and a meridian line from head to tail that contains something like 600 points of connection to the function of the horse’s body…Wow!  And the horse is sensitive enough to feel a fly land on it…so do you begin to understand that whatever patterns we have in our bodies do transmit into the horse, like it or not?

These days, what with computers, multi-use phones and driving cars…well, you can guess what body habits we may be developing more strongly than we realized, eh? The horses will feel all that and simply reflect it to us, like a mirror…so before you blame your horse for less than perfect performance, be sure to clear up your body first.

In these series of classes,  I like to mix up things that make learning both expanding and fun…gym balls, mini tramps, wearing horse bridles while others are managing the reins in various ways, learning to exhale differently by blowing the “Slow Mo’ bubbles, and more…then I finish with an MBS Feldenkrais Method segment called ATM…”Awareness Through Movement” . I have the students lay quietly and first mentally scan their entire body as it lies on the floor mat. Then I talk them through a few fascinating, gentle movement sessions, relative to whatever is the theme we focused on in that course day. At the end, I have them scan themselves again…and many are shocked at the differences they observed of how their bodies are different in the relationship/contact on the floor!

We finish the day with a repeat of whatever ‘role playing’ game we did in the beginning…and those who play the part of the horse are distinct in their observations of changes in the style, technique and clarity of their ‘rider’s signals and cues!

I sent out two big flyers this month with great comments by riders of the results their horses showed them after attending these winter workshops. If you want one, contact me via my website…

Are there other benefits to be gained beyond your riding skills in these classes?

Here are what some students have emailed to me just this week:

“Thank you so much for the lesson…I had the best sleep I have had in ages that night!! I would like to do all your classes.” (this student had two major riding accidents in the last year, so feeling such improvements in her balance, and more, was quite awesome to hear )

“I follow your Alternative Methods that you taught me when I had my horse, who has passed away some time ago…I still miss him.  I hope you have a lot of riders doing the ground workshops. What a gift of knowledge that has extended into my life now and made a tremendous difference in handling my current illness (Fibromyalgia). I have been riding therapy horses since this illness…my brain would tell my body what to do and my body would respond “What?”. So rather than get frustrated, I would think of what you would say, and I relaxed. What a difference you have made in my life.” (this is a student I’ve known for a long time, including her illness years…this update came in the day of my January 2013 winter workshop)

Bottom line today is…listen to your body, learn to improve how it is organized, so that your horse can enjoy listening to you more easily!

The horses Thank me for this concept repeatedly :  D

Before the creation of CDS, the earliest introduction of dressage came from the influence of European instructors, especially from Germany and Austria.  We would meet in the arena located in the large ‘backyard’ of Kyra Downton,an  Olympic Dressage team member in the late 1960′s who was located in the Bay Area/ Penninsula of Northern California. We rode whatever horses we owned at the time, often ex TB racehorses, Quarter Horses, part Appaloosas and Arabians. We were honored by education from Hermann Friedlander, Elizabeth Friedlander- Searle, Col Hans Moeller, Waldemar Seunig, Henry Burchard  and more. In 1968, some of us got the pleasure of seeing Col Alois Podhajsky come from Austria to give coaching to Kyra as she prepped for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.

As years went by and dressage grew in popularity in USA and California, I met Jeff A. Moore via Elizabeth Friedlander-Searle. He was a young fellow at the time, and evolved over the years into a competitor, a trainer and clinician, and a judge. He and Elizabeth created Osierlea, a facility for education that was a marvelous place to gain more knowledge about dressage and more. My mother, sister and I often went to their 5 day clinics and loved the learning.

Time evolves knowledge in various ways.  As my path of learning incorporated more perspectives of understanding the animals we were riding, rather than focus only on the goals of competition, I’ve found the best variable in my world was the courage to change my perspectives and techniques.  As my parents would advise us kids, ‘the only constant in life is change’.

The reason for this blog is that after many decades of experiencing the more German, somewhat hard-driving style of education from Jeff A. Moore, these recent clinics I’ve audited were stunning…his style of teaching is changed!!  While he still holds a load of knowledge of what to learn, his ways of moving along that path is way different than I recall.  He focuses the rider more to observing what information the horse is conveying, both in physical and behavioral ways. He instructs a path of more humane styles of puzzle solving rather than demanding results than I’ve heard before. I am never one to say any colleague is the perfect match for everyone at all times…but the courage it must take for a professional like him to shift his style from ‘goal achieving, Get It Done’  to HOW one may get there, in more humane styles that were respectful to the horse, is something I really admire in anyone, of any field.

The French styles of dressage have captured my dressage style of attention more these last years, such as Col Christian Carde and Phillipe Karl seem more along the lines I am interested in learning to following. Manolo Mendez is another I’m eager to learn more from as well.

Thanks to Jeff and Elizabeth, a great portion of my dressage world was influenced greatly by meeting and learning from the Baron Hans Von Blixen-Finecke. When I was asked to be the illustrator of his last book called “The Art of Training”, my world became solid in the reality and necessity of riders to better understand both human and horse anatomy, bio mechanics of movement and ways each of our brains function.

So to you all who may enjoy reading these blogs, I encourage and applaud any of you who keep you minds open to observing and learning, who keep your hearts open to the kindness and fairness of developing a partnership with your horses, and to enjoying the art of Living on this Planet!

Take Care!

Tina Hutton

I find so many clients make remarkable observations of riding and training improvements  after they learn this way of utilizing the act of breathing, that I decided to include it in today’s Blog.

We know that doing a better job of inhaling is important…our bodies rely on Oxygen to keep us alive!!

What I learned from my lessons in ‘Optimal Breathing’ by Michael Grant White was the value of our Exhales…not only that we do it, but more importantly, HOW we do it. As I learned these new ideas in my own body, I observed other amazing things:

- HOW I execute the Exhale becomes a form of language or communication to all living beings around me.

- HOW I execute the Exhale does more to alter my own body than when I simply focused on doing all I could to  increase Inhale stage

- HOW I execute the Exhale even improves both my own riding balance/stability and the physical/emotional response of my horse when I cue for transitions!!

There is more to share about how to do 3-D Breath Work with Tina, but  folks may need to attend my rider classes to get the whole lesson.

This winter, as I have done for nearly 24 years, I will again set up monthly classes called “Finding Your Rider Within”. They will be conducted here at my new location/classroom in Applegate Valley, southern Oregon. They are unique in many ways, and do not require the attendance of your horse…in fact, horses have Thanked me often for helping their riders to improve their rider balance/symmetry  before ever mounting the equine bodies. Many a rider has gone home from classes, mounted their horses to test results, and called me to say “Most of the complaints I made about my horse have now disappeared!  I had no idea that so much of the asymmetry the horse exhibited was derived from my own body!!”

Many riders have also informed me that the changes they learned in class also improved how their bodies felt and functioned in doing their daily lives :  )

Watch the website calendar where I will soon be setting up those dates!  Classes will begin in January  and continue through May each year.  Each class has its own unique theme, so there is something to gain in each one. Attending all the season of classes gives riders the best additions to their toolbox

If you want these “Finding Your Rider Within” classes taught in your own region, contact me to learn how we can set up those classes in your own area.

Over the last two decades, I’ve become more aware of a transition/expansion of the use of the horse species. In primitive times, they were work related objects to pull our belongings with us, then to carry us across the planet. They helped us herd livestock, hunt for food, fight battles, transport communications, and more. In modern times, they are our favorite hobby/ sport partner. Perhaps humans historically only saw these animals as objects…yet when I read in the book by Xenophon (‘The Art of Horsemanship’), I’m seeing thoughtful observations from as far back as 400 BC:

“The one great precept and practice in using a horse is this, – never deal with him when you are in a fit of passion. A fit of passion is a thing that has no foresight in it, and so we often have to rue the day when we gave way to it. consequently, when your horse shies at an object and is unwilling to go up to it, he should be shown that there is nothing fearful in it, least of all to a courageous horse like him; but if this fails, touch the object yourself that seems so dreadful to him, and lead him up to it with gentleness. Compulsion and blows inspire only the more fear; for when horses are at all hurt at such a time, they think that what they shied at is the cause of the hurt”

I’m now seeing horses ‘repurposed’ in some intriguing and valuable ways that help humans in more than just physical situations. Horses are being utilized more often to branch out into teaching humans how to manage their own lives better. Many psychology and medical organizations are using horses to create new methods of helping humans regain better minds and better bodies…even better ‘spiritual’ or intuitive expression.

The seminar I attended in Sonoma County from Aug 24-26 was focusing on the ideas relating to ‘Conscious Living’. While using our brain intelligence is always of importance, this course seemed to bring out the value of remembering how other layers in our body systems also play a part in handling life in better ways.

The lecture given by Arianna Strozzi (www.skyhorseranch.com) offered much to think about…here are some notes that caught my attention and resonated with my view of how horses may influence our quality of living life:

TIna’s Blog #2 Report on attending ‘Horses,Somatics and Spirit: An Equine-Guided Program in Conscious Living” September 2012

Various definitions of the word ‘somatic: – the art and science of the inter-relational process between awareness, biological function and environment, all three factors being understood as a synergistic whole; the mind, body , spirit as a unity. The unity of the self. – of or relating to the body

-

- ‘the experience of the body’, as subjectively experienced by the

consciousness who inhabits it

Comments per Arianna:

“Horses make decisions on how they feel, not how they think…horses are ‘somatic wizards’. For humans, mind is a part of our social animal…we worry of what others think of ourselves, thus we need to listen to all of our body senses, not just our minds”

“Horses teach us to be …” – nonjudgmental – curious / playful – resilient – patient – honest / frank – mystical

To Arianna, the concept of exhibiting a role of Leadership in a horse relationship (not her favorite word to describe this, but was the one she used) equals Relationships…to self, to others and the view of the world.

Offers us something to think about as we process how to improve our relationship with our horses…and hopefully, within ourselves and with others in our lives…

Chew this over awhile and see what you think…Wishing you all the Best! Tina Hutton

This one caught my interest as I spent 6 years developing a TTouch version of Animal Assisted Therapy for At Risk Teens, as well as 8 years creating a second youth/equine program called “Lessons for Life”. Involving horses in the path of human development seems important in my view of life.

Here is a short description of their topics:

“Horses are consummate teachers of somatics and somato-spiritual consciousness. Somatics is the integration of sensory awareness and physical movement with the intellectual, emotional, and intuitive expressions of consciousness. Equine-guided experiences draw upon the physical and metaphysical nature of the horse to help us practice mindfulness, clear communication, and relationship. Horses rekindle our playfulness and feelings of peace and wellbeing. When horses react to our body language and energy, we learn to trust our somatic responses.

Participants will learn and experience:

• The Four Ways of Wisdom based on Carl Jung’s classic Psychological Types Somato-spiritual practices for daily living
• Somatic indicators of clarity of purpose and intention Validation of intuitive abilities and sensate knowledge
• Basic techniques for interspecies communication
• Alternate states of consciousness through connecting with animals and the land

This workshop is suitable for psychologists, teachers, healers, therapists, academics, and scientists. It is particularly valuable for people who are interested in the power of intention and manifestation and those who are working with physical issues, including peak performance, martial arts, and healing themselves and others.”

2)  The second seminar is a 5 day research symposium and Feldenkrais Method Conference in San Francisco. The title is “Embodying Neuroscience” and one of the evening speakers will be Dr Michael Merzenich, PhD. He is an eminent neuroscientist, and featured in several of the brain study books I’ve been reading this past year.

Here is the overview of this big event:

We invite you to attend a special event focusing on neuroscience and highlighting the synergy of theory and practice in the domains of human development, learning and performance. Plan now to join us in the San Francisco Bay Area at the 2012 Esther Thelen Research Symposium and Feldenkrais Method Annual Conference, “Embodying Neuroscience: The Feldenkrais Method in Human Development, Performance and Health.”

The idea of “embodied neuroscience” offers rich insights, a rewarding challenge and opportunities for scientists, teachers and health care providers. The Feldenkrais Methodof somatic education is an avenue through which scientific understanding of learning, thought, emotion and behavior becomes EMBODIED – concrete and perceptible.

FEATURING:

• Keynote address by Dr. Michael Merzenich
• Presentations by internationally known researchers and scholars
• 26 Feldenkrais Method workshops
• Ongoing discussion: Mentoring Awareness through Movement lessons
• Opportunities to connect Practical applications of leading-edge research
• Poster sessions
• Access to the Feldenkrais Science Network (feldscinet.org)

Yes, I love learning…and the results are that I have more ideas and options to share with my wonderful clients, both two legged and four legged!

So I will post a blog after each event and let you know what amazing things I was exposed to from this wide array of amazing people and horses…

With Warm Regards

Tina