tteam connections - Tellington TTouch Training

TELLINGTON TTOUCH TRAINING
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Volume 12 Issue 3
Jul-Sept 2010
www.ttouch.com
From Linda’s desk
I’m back in Hawaiian
My trip began with a
Paradise after four marweeklong TTEAM
velous months on the
Training in Los Osos,
road. I’ve spent days
California at the dresworking to clean up my
sage stable of Barbi
computer and daring to
Breen-Gurley. I first
dump 21,000 emails that
worked with Barbi
were still in my in basmore than 20 years
ket from three years ago.
ago with a mare who
If you emailed me in the
won the Horse of the
last four months and did
Year award in 2nd
Photo by: Sandra Hoffman
not get an answer, please do not take it
Level dressage. In the
personally. Just hit resend!
ensuing years Barbi has trained seven
horses to the Grand Prix level – a remarkAs usual it’s a challenge to choose which of
able accomplishment. With co-author
the rich experiences of the past months to
Janet Emmons, Barbie has written and
share with you. I have not had the time to
self-published an informative, fun and
keep up my blog, but it is high on the list of
creative book entitled, Enlightened Ridnext to do! I’ve been fairly consistent about
ing. You can order it directly from
Facebook which I LOVE. Sitting way out
www.enlightenedriding.com. Checking
here in the Pacific Ocean, 2500 miles from
out her website brought back wonderful
the west coast could get lonely if it wasn’t
memories of the 4-day dressage clinic
for Facebook!! And now a new fangled box
taught by Dr. Reiner Klimke in Griffith
has been appearing mysteriously in the upPark in Los Angeles about 8 years ago.
per right corner of my computer that anDr. Klimke was a gold medal winner in
nounces all day who is on and offline. It
Olympic dressage and a world famous
connects me to friends from Slovenia to
teacher, trainer and rider. The seminar
Russia to Canada and all over the U.S.A.
was for 12 upper-level riders by invitation
What a hoot! At first I thought they were
only, and Barbi was one of the fortunate
trying to contact me. But no! My computer
invitees. Almost 2000 auditors observed
was just alerting me to their activities. The
from the grandstand.
World Wide Web sure is tightly woven!! I
can see there are a lot of night owls around
Several years earlier I had given a private
the globe typing away on their computers
clinic for Dr. Klimke at his stable in Gerjust like me.
many and as a result I had been invited to
sit at ringside and make suggestions dur-
Inside this issue:
Understanding Male
Behaviour… In Llamas
9-11
The Kipper Chronicles
Installment 3
12-13
Saddle Savvy - selecting
the appropriate saddle
14-16
Advancing your
T Techniques - with the
neck ring
17-21
Becoming Maters of
Movement with
Connected Riding
22-23
Black Jack - Recovering
from torn cruciate
ligaments
24-25
Minor Mesa - Our
‘Major’ new project
26-28
My Hip Story
29-30
Workshop dates
31-32
TTEAM-USA
P.O. Box 3793
Santa Fe, NM 87501
1-800 854-8326
[email protected]
TTEAM-Canada
5435 Rochdell Rd.
Vernon, B.C. V1B 3E8
1 800 255-2336
[email protected]
ing each session. Working behind the scenes in the stable
area was my sister, Robyn and 17 TTouch practitioners
from all over the U.S. and as far away as Austria.
Spooking was an issue with several horses on the first day.
Picture this: Many of the horses were very stressed by a
huge piece of flapping plastic at one end of the arena. And
the 2000 spectators sitting in the grandstand added to the
tension caused by the wind-blown plastic.
Mission Statement
Animal Ambassadors International is an educational organization
dedicated to sharing the TTEAM philosophy and techniques in
order to develop a deeper understanding of animals and ourselves,
and to heal our relationships with each other, nature and the environment.
On top of that Dr. Klimke asked that the riders enter the
arena at the trot on a loose rein, a huge challenge that
turned out to be unachievable for many riders on the first
day.
TTEAM Philosophy
•
To honour the role of animals as our teachers.
•
To bring awareness to the importance of animals in our lives.
•
To encourage harmony, cooperation and trust between humans
and animals amongst humans.
•
To recognize the individual learning process of every human
and animal.
•
To respect each animal as an individual.
•
To teach interspecies communication through the TTouch
•
To work with animals using understanding instead of dominance.
Founder
Editor & Publisher
Linda Tellington-Jones
Robyn Hood
Contributing Writers
Marty Bennett
Deirdre Chitwood
Peggy Cummings
Shannon Finch
Linda Hoover
Kaaren Jordan
Shelly Moore
Mandy Pretty
Photos by:
Dr. Klimke knew that we had some unconventional aids to
reduce spooking so I was able to suggest the Promise
Wrap and the Balance Rein, which give a sense of security
without restricting the head.
If you, dear reader, are a dog person, the effects of the
Balance Rein around the neck, combined with the Promise
Wrap around the hindquarters has a similar calming effect
of the Half-wrap or Thundershirt for a dog. If you’re acquainted with the horse world you can perhaps image the
initial skepticism because these two pieces of TTEAM
equipment are not known in the dressage world. However
horses feel safer if their heads are free with a feeling of
connection of the Balance Rein around the neck. Much of
the initial skepticism disappeared once the riders discovered they could indeed enter the arena at the trot with long
reins.
There were many highlights in those four days. One was a
gelding competing at Grand Prix level who had lost his
ability to piaffe. (For our readers not into dressage this
could be described as a springy trot in place, without moving forward.) This gelding had an enlarged sheath that
tended to accumulate so much crud that his collected
movement like Piaffe was restricted. The horse was so
resistant to cleaning that he had to be anesthetized and that
was such a big deal the rider had simply not had the horse
cleaned. You can imagine her surprise when Robyn was
able to quietly convince the horse to allow her to get her
hands into that cavity with a warm cloth and clear all the
crud and beans. Voila! Suddenly the horse could Piaffe
again.
Sandra Hoffman
Roland Kleger
Tass Jones
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Ph: 1 800– 255-2336 (P.S.T.)
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During an evening panel discussion when auditors could
ask questions of Dr. Klimke or me, Robyn made a comment that has become a classic when she said, “You hear a
lot of talk about horse whisperers. The challenge is to
learn to listen to the whispers of the horse.”
Reproduction of any materials without written permission from the
editor is prohibited.
We have a most unusual photo taken at a break with Dr.
Klimke sitting very relaxed in a chair with his feet up and
shoes off, while two of our Practitioners TTouch his feet
to relax and revive him before his journey home. I wish I
Copyright Linda Tellington-Jones 2010
Printed in Canada on Recycled Paper
TTEAM Connections
2
Jul-Sept 2010
could find that photograph or at least remember who the two
TTouch Practitioners were. Please email me if it was you! As
we were enjoying a light meal at the end of the day Dr. Klimke
proposed we repeat the clinic again the following year and
make a video combining his riding instruction with the TTouch
work. A few months later during a public speech at Equitana in
Essen, Germany he made the recommendation that “Every serious horseperson should know about and practice the Tellington
Method”. I’m sad to say that the following summer Dr. Klimke
crossed the Rainbow Bridge and we were never able to make
that video, but I often have the feeling when I am working with
a dressage rider that he is standing by giving us silent tips from
Heaven. I am so grateful to work with his daughter, Ingrid
Klimke, also an Olympic gold medal winner and a brilliant,
empathetic rider who has a wonderful relationship with her
horses.
A month after that clinic Barbi sent this photo and wrote that
she was seeing some improvements at home. Her comments:
“Attending the clinic reminded me of several exercises I had
learned from Linda 20 years ago. I have implemented a number
of them on my horses since the last clinic. I know the high value
of this work but it has just been easy not to take the few minutes
to implement them. I am keeping to my commitment now and I
know it is bringing greater awareness and relaxation to each of
my horses. I have noticed Tango is braver since the work with
Linda. We are doing some construction around my arena and it
troubles him. He is letting it go much faster and focusing on me
more consistently. I am so pleased about this, as becoming
frightened and running backwards has been a behavior that has
haunted us both through the 10 years I have been training him.
I am very encouraged and look forward to even better progress
with him in the months ahead.”
And now back to Barbi. In the fall of 2008, Barbi brought three
horses and her friend and student, Christine Sugarman, to my
weeklong training in Bodega Bay, California. Her primary reason for coming was to get help with her Grand Prix horse, Octango, nicknamed Tango. He had the talent to be eligible for the
U.S. dressage team except for his tendency to spook during
competition. He was exceptionally reactive to movement outside the dressage arena and has had the tendency to stop dead in
his tracks and run backwards in response to movement outside
the arena. To have such a talented individual and put so many
years into the development and then have your test blown by
something as seemingly simple as the steward sitting in a chair
at rings edge bundled up with a oversized coat, is incredibly
frustrating.
I agreed to teach a weeklong training in March of 2010 at her
training center in Los Osos, California - Sea Horse Ranch.
There we could work with some of Tangos spooking habits at
home. That week Tango got lots of TTouch on his body to reduce tension, work on the ground, and work under saddle using
a variety of our training equipment: the snaffle bit in combination with a Lindel (bitless bridle) and the Neck ring and Balance rein; in addition to the Training bit. Under saddle we created many distractions like the ones he had spooked at during
competition. His confidence and trust increased progressively
during the week and has continued since March as Barbie carries on with the program.
The Role of Crossties in Creating Stress
Often undesirable behavior can be exacerbated by crossties. At
three top stables I’ve visited in the past year I’ve found crossties that were, in my opinion, set extremely high . In all three
barns several horses were displaying signs of high stress whenever they came into the saddling area and were hooked onto the
crossties. Half-rearing, pawing and head tossing were clear signals that the horses were very uncomfortable. Nobody had
stopped to realize that the behavior was creating mental, physical and emotional tension that negatively affected performance.
When the crossties were lowered or the horses were turned to
face in a different direction and allowed to eat out of a rubber
tub at chest level, the horses became calmer in the saddling area
as well as under saddle.
Barbi could only personally stay for a couple of days because of
teaching commitments, but she left the horses and they were
worked daily with lots of TTouch and work through the Playground for Higher Learning. In the beginning Tango’s head
shot in the air like a giraffe whenever horses moved around the
outside of the arena. But that began to shift by the third day.
By teaching Tango to lower the head and lengthen his neck
from work in the labyrinth he began to react less to movement
outside the arena. As Robyn so astutely observed many years
ago, “High-headed indicates high-strung.” Change the habitual
high-head carriage and behavior changes. After several days of
ground work in the labyrinth with his neck level, and standing
quietly for TTouch in the middle of the arena with lots of activity around, Tango discovered a new posture that changed his
mental, physical and emotional balance. And along with balance comes trust. And with trust a horse stops reacting and
spooking.
If you use crossties consider making them adjustable so that
your horse can relax and lower his neck at least to level with his
withers. And pay attention to the attitude of your horse to
grooming. How you groom will depend how your horse responds when you swing a leg over the saddle – tense or relaxed.
It’s up to you.
When Barbi returned on the last day of the training I had her
ride Tango to practice lowering his head from the saddle by
giving him a longer rein than usual and doing TTouch up his
neck.
TTEAM Connections
Christine Sugarman’s Report
So often after a training is over I go on to the next event and
don’t hear how the riders and horses are doing. Of course, we
all get so busy that often participants just don’t have the time to
stay in touch. So it was with much pleasure that I read the fol3
Jul-Sept 2010
Photo: Barbi and Tango with Linda observing, learning first
from the ground through the plastic.
Photo: Barbi riding Tango in a snaffle with loose rein, Liberty
Ring around his neck and Promise wrap to give him a connection to his hind quarters to boost his confidence. The umbrella
holder is dressed to look like a person who terrified him at one
of the competitions.
lowing progress report from Christine Sugarman after her third
week-long Tellington Training.
“Dear Linda, I have been meaning to write you about the many
positive changes at Sea Horse Ranch since your training. Today I went on a trail ride with Jeff and Barbi. While Vin and
Whisper were being saddled I looked over to see the two horses
standing quietly in the lowered crossties with calmness and
only an occasional half-hearted paw (more for a carrot than
anything). I was thinking about how the horses in crossties
were so frantic before and that I needed to write you and tell
you. This change has been huge for the horses, as you knew it
would be.
We still work with Tango on his fear issues, using pool noodles
and umbrellas and plastic. Jeff tries to find time for bodywork
with him before his classes. Barbi tried a different saddle and
Tango changed dramatically, becoming much freer in the
shoulder and somewhat bolder. I think this must align with
your belief that pain was somehow involved in his extreme reaction to unexpected movement. Although there was no obvious
pain from the prior saddle, and Barbi had regular fittings, the
saddle change helped a lot. It must have somehow caused a
pinch during movement (particularly half-pass).
Barbi and Tango have really improved and her scores have
gone from 63-64 regularly to 70 in her last three shows!!!
As far as Raphael and I go: Between the Tellington TTouch
work; especially the clinic at the ranch where I learned to use
the Tellington training bit to let go of him; the work at the
crossties and my new awareness of my role in our partnership
we are at a whole new place of serenity and calmness together.
I took your advice and fed Raphael for a few days at the crossties, and just let him stand around outside the crossties a few
times and nibble grass. It has been enough to break the old
pattern of being so upset in the crossties and now he is 90%
improved and I am able to saddle and bridle him with 80%
more ease.
With the use of the Tellington training bit, I am able to ride him
on a loose rein with a low stretched neck. This has transferred
over to riding with the snaffle and when I start and finish my
lesson I am able to walk into the arena with a loose rein and
finish on a loose rein. I now have complete confidence in him
and while there are still issues to work on, I do so with a whole
new attitude - free of anxiety or fear.
Photo: Barbi and Tango with the TTEAM Training bit getting
used to plastic and flapping ribbons. Note the loose rein and
Tango turning his head slightly to the left instead of facing the
plastic directly. We had people standing all around the arena
holding ribbons that normally frightened him, plastic, rugs and
umbrellas.
TTEAM Connections
4
Jul-Sept 2010
The training bit allowed me to break a longstanding habit of
riding Rafael with a "death grip" thinking I needed this to
"control him". Do you remember? You told me to let go of
him. I was quite skeptical thinking I was in for an out-ofcontrol ride. But I trusted you and let the reins loose and he
softened! In one session I was able to learn to let go at the canter, allowing him to stretch down into comfort, and release the
feeling that I needed to control him with tight reins. I have
never had that feeling of needing to "control him” again. By
continuing with the training bit we were able to develop a better partnership because a horse that is being held so tightly
becomes tense and it is a vicious cycle - with the tension passing back and forth between us.
forth three times. People were trying to catch them but they
kept charging the other way. He didn't even miss his 15 onestride lead changes!!! All the spectators were amazed at how
focused he stayed on me. He was disturbed but stayed true to
the ride. We got a 71%!!! We even won the Sportsmanship
award for it!!! Now I don't think this horse ever could have
pulled that off before your work Linda!!!
You would have been soooo proud of us!
Journey to Jordan
One of my highlights of the last adventures on the road was our
May trip to Jordan that was envisioned by our brilliant friend,
Gabrielle Boiselle. (Check out her website at
www.editionboiselle.mom to see her spectacular photos.)
Twenty years ago she introduced me to Princess Alia Al Hussein. During that visit Princess Alia organized a TTouch seminar, which I taught for Jordanian veterinary students in Amman.
It is good that some time has passed because I couldn't have
known at the time how this would progress. It kind of gave me
the chills when I read what you sent me, because it seems that
at the time that I wrote it, it was a concept that I had just
learned but today reading it, I can say that it actually has become a part of me. It’s not that we have solved all our issues or
that we don't still have some really messy rides, I’ts just that
now, when I get to a messy place I know I need to ride with
Intention of Purpose; Holding a clear image of desired behavior or performance; and now I have faith in my horse.
We have great photos from that visit and from our sojourn into
the desert. It was a memorable trip and I was excited about going back. This time Gabrielle had a vision that I should help
with the animals rescued by the Princess Alia Foundation “established to promote the balance, harmony and respect for
all creation”. One of the projects of the Foundation is a center
to provide emergency medical treatment, rehabilitation and rehoming for animals in appropriate sanctuaries and work on issues such as the conditions of animals within the local zoos and
the illegal trade in wild animals.
Each of the training clinics I have attended with you has built
on the one before. I certainly will be at the training in Santa
Ynez with Raphael in tow. I really look forward to it. Thank
you so much for thinking of me. I think of you daily when I do
TTouches or when he stands quietly in the cross ties.”
I was blessed to work with a wild desert cat, and two injured
street dogs who were in the rescue center. I also met wolves,
hyenas and lions that are being rehabbed. At dinner the first
evening we were shown one of the most profound videos that I
have ever had the privilege of seeing, about the release of 3
hyenas into the wilds of Jordan. When the first female hyena
walked slowly out of the carrier, she gave me the impression
that she was consciously savoring the connection to the earth.
The awareness that emanated from her expression touched me
at such a deep level I felt as though my bare feet could feel
what her paws were experiencing. As I share this memory with
you I am taken back to that moment and tears of appreciation
and deep gratitude cloud my vision. I’m sorry you cannot have
the experience of watching this video. It was removed from the
website to be sure that no one could discover where the hyenas
have been released. Not everyone loves this species that are
native to Jordan. I happen to be a great fan of these beings and
had the joy of personally interacting with a hyena in Israel some
years ago. She had been hand-raised by a veterinary friend who
has a wildlife rescue center near Haifa and I had the feeling she
took to me as much as I to her. She also gave me a profound
feeling of connection and consciousness that I observed in the
released female.
And just the day before I finished this report Barbi sent me this
update:
Last weekend I was at a show in San Francisco. I was riding
my Grand Prix Freestyle. Two-thirds of the way through it,
three loose horses galloped adjacent to the arena back and
Photo above: Barbi & Tango in a Grand Prix Freestyle she described in the letter. Photo by Tass Jones www.tassjones.com
TTEAM Connections
The August 16th issue of TIME Magazine has on the cover the
title “What Animals Think: New science reveals they’re
smarter than we realized”. The Science section, written by Jef5
Jul-Sept 2010
frey Kluger, is entitled: Inside the Minds of Animals: Science is
revealing just how smart other species can be—and raising new
questions about how we treat them. About hyenas Christine
Drea of Duke University writes, “A hyena by itself can take out
a wildebeest, but it takes several to bring down a zebra. So they
plan the size of their party in advance and then go out hunting
particular prey. In effect, they say, Let’s go get some zebras.
They’ll even pass up a wildebeest if they see one in the way.”
Last year, Drea conducted a study of hyena cooperation, releasing pairs of them into a pen in which a pair of ropes dangled
from an overhead platform. If the animals pulled the ropes in
unison – and only in unison –the platform would spill out food.
“The first pair walked into the pen and figured it out in less than
two minutes,” Drea said.
Perhaps you can realize and share my delight that in their new
home, which is only a short drive from the PAF medical center,
this small pack looked well adjusted. They have a large area
built on undulating ground on a gently sloping hillside covered
with pine trees and good brush cover. When we arrived to visit
the wolves the veterinarian in charge called and whistled and it
took about five minutes for them to come. When they saw us
they went into a frenzy of delight, rolling against the fence and
licking us and each other. It was not at all what I had expected
from wolves who came from such a horrific background. When
we drove off they quietly watched us go and then trotted back
into the forest together.
Princess Alia has been breeding Arabian horses for many years
and she sends some of her stallions to compete in Europe. I
worked with two stallions who had come back very stressed
from their experience and were very mouthy, as is often typical.
I demonstrated “Taming the Tiger” to her staff so that I could
safely work on the mouths. Princess Alia translated for her staff
and then practiced on the Half-Arab endurance gelding belonging to her son. I showed everyone the belly-lifts, mouth and
nostril work for stress reduction and the Ear TTouches to speed
up recovery. I was surprised when the male staff of Princess
Alia got into the TTouch for themselves after I showed one of
her guys how he can ease the discomfort in his sore lower back
with TTouch.
Personally, I question why it is necessary to have those hyenas
in captivity to do such studies. The biblical concept of man’s
dominion over beasts is, thank heaven, coming more and more
into question and I am thankful to Princess Alia that she is taking it upon herself to improve the lives of those she can.
Please join me in sending appreciation and prayers for the protection of these animals because they are under serious attack in
most areas of the world.
Several young lions who had been rescued by PAF had been
flown to South Africa, and 3 wolves were established in a new
home in a wild area close to the rehab center. When we were
shown the video of the zoo conditions from which the wolves
were rescued, the wolves were so disturbed I thought they could
never be mentally rehabilitated. I’ve been fortunate to see Timber Wolves in the wilds of northern Canada and work with numerous wolves and a 15/16th wolf, as well as Italian “Wolf
dogs” who are bred for captivity.
These Jordanian-born wolves were very slight in stature and in
the zoo from which they came they displayed the worst stereotypical behavior that you could imagine, of wildly pacing back
and forth and spinning.
Photo: Putting a horse in this "Taming the Tiger" half cross-tie
position can teach them to stand quietly. Notice how high the
cross ties are attached on the pole. that is a standard height in
many barns but does not allow a horse to lower their head and
stand in a relaxed posture. I recommended that a feed tub at
chest height be rigged up to help change the habit of pawing,
Photo by Roland Kleger
stomping, and fretting.
Photo: Princess Alia learning TTouch on the nostrils. this horse
has a tendency to get nervous before the start of an endurance
race. working on the mouth and nostrils can help balance the
Photo by Roland Kleger
emotional centers of the brain.
TTEAM Connections
6
Jul-Sept 2010
15 years old and is three-legged. She lost her leg many years
ago from a car accident and thanks to Jenn’s excellent care, gets
along really well. I was very proud to demonstrate on her to
show how much TTouch has helped her to stay strong.
TTouch for Riders
In the July TTEAM Training in New Mexico we had a very
talented 16-year-old student named Claire in my class. She had
been learning TTouch for her Thoroughbred gelding who has a
weak area on his back and was dragging a hind toe. Interesting
that Claire also had a sore lower back with a 6-level ache that
was really bothering her from the standing we were doing while
TTouching the horses. Claire habitually stands with an arched
back and told me that she has this pain almost everyday.
What made the experience memorable was the comparison with
another 15-year-old dog who had not had the benefit of
TTouch. A woman who had recently rescued this older dog and
was essentially giving her a form of hospice care brought her to
the evening. The dog was not strong enough to walk and was
carried in and put down on a blanket. When I saw her lying so
listlessly I asked if I could bring her up onto the table to give
her some TTouch.
Between work on the horses I did about four minutes of
Clouded Leopard TTouches on her lower back in a standing
position and when I finished the pain was completely gone. I
began with Noah's March with a 4-pressure Clouded Leopard
TTouch and did some 3-pressure Raccoon TTouches with
PAWS after each TTouch in the loin area. I followed that with
Octopus TTouches on her legs and she could not believe how
light her legs felt. The pain did not return for the entire day and
the next day, although I did only a few minutes of TTouch between horses, she remained pain-free.
You would think after working on so many animals over all
these years I could not be surprised, but I was amazed that after
about 20 minutes of work, this dog began to respond and by the
end of the session she was strong enough to walk out on her
own and walked to the car. A few days later her care-giver attended another fund-raising evening I did, this time for a therapeutic riding center, and told me the dog has actually been running around and it was as though she had a new lease on life.
Of course, I showed her how she can reach back and do
TTouches on her own lower back. Being able to apply TTouch
to ourselves to reduce pain or relive stress is one of the greatest
gifts of the Method.
In that same training we had three dogs with “turn-around-tails”
that were really remarkable. The first was Yuki and I wrote
about her in the last newsletter. According to Christina she is
still doing well. I consider myself her Auntie and so I call to
check up every few weeks!!
During the Santa Fe TTEAM training I had everyone doing the
"Lick of the Cow's Tongue" in a circle at the end of the day as I
often do. The following morning came the report from one participant that the 5-level pain she had been feeling for weeks had
disappeared and after that group exercise her back still felt fresh
with no pain the following morning. I really appreciate the selfhelp and the hope TTouch brings.
Another dog was a 160-pound deaf Great Dane named Einstein.
He came to the client day because he pulled terribly and due to
the deafness he did not respond to voice commands. His person
had seen dogs abused with head collars so she would not consider using one. Lisa Sellman did a lovely job of relaxing Einstein with a TTouch session and then we put the super balance
leash on him and I taught him to stop and slow down using
principles of half-halts across the chest. He got it! Three days
later he came back to the advanced training to check out her
progress and he was really super and not pulling at all. The last
dog I am going to leave you in suspense about or this report
gets way too long to read. It’s about a black lab type named
Herald. For 5 years his family could have NO guests in their
home because he had bitten a person and he barked uncontrollably when visitors attempted to come in. Both husband and wife
love this dog and were terrified he would be taken away and
euthanized if he had another incident. We have great photos of
this turn-around-tale for the next issue.
Among the many memorable moments of these months is an
experience I had of working on two senior dogs during the
Companion Animal training in North Carolina in April. I had
the pleasure of staying with Jenn Merritt and her husband and
their 3 brilliant dogs for almost two weeks. As I have done each
time I teach in North Carolina, I taught an evening seminar to
raise funds for the animal shelter where we do our training. One
of the dogs I chose to work with was Jenn’s dog, Blue, who is
Photo: Linda
with Blue - Jenn
Merritt’s companion for many
years who has
been helped
with TTouch
after losing a
leg.
TTEAM Connections
I’d like to leave you with a thought to mull over.
On page 105 of the book, Spontaneous Evolution by pioneering
biologist, Bruce Lipton and political philosopher, Steve Bhaerman, there is a reference to the book and video by British biologist Rupert Sheldrake’s, Dogs That Know When Their Owners
Are Coming Home. “In Sheldrake’s experiment, which was
videotaped for Austrian TV, video cameras with time codes
were simultaneously trained on dog owner Pam Smart, who
7
Jul-Sept 2010
was out of her home, and her homebound dog, Jaytte. At a random time, unbeknownst to either Pam or her dog, she received
a call on her cell phone telling her to return home. At that very
instant, Jaytee ran to the door to await her owner. Similar results were confirmed in over one hundred videotaped experiments.”
From Robyn’s Desk
For the first summer in many
years I have spent most of four
months at home on our farm.
What a treat to be able to work
with and enjoy my horses, family and the beautiful area we live in. If you haven’t been to our
farm you can see some of the views from our website
www.icefarm.com . We also have a YouTube channel
www.youtube.com/TheIceFarm which includes a video we
made after the Bitterroot training of a very unique way of
working a horse with major hoof trimming issues. You can
read about him in the next newsletter.
We have also launched a new website for TTouch Canada
www.ttouch.ca and have been very busy as the Canadian distributor for Thundershirts.
I believe that our animals communicate to us in so many ways
most of us miss much of the time. The level of intelligence and
knowing that our dog, Rayne, displays often stuns me. Tonight
was typical. Roland and I rarely eat beef anymore but tonight
we had a steak and it had considerable gristle on it, which I put
aside for Rayne. Now this only happens a few times a year. But
when I finished eating and prepared to take the plate to the
kitchen, Rayne stood up on the side of my chair and put one
paw on my leg with the absolutely clear message that she would
like to have the meat now and not with her breakfast. Her language could not have been clearer if she had verbalized her
wish!!! This sort of conscious communication she gives me
occurs many times a day.
It is hard to believe that I have been publishing this newsletter,
in a couple of different forms, since 1983. I love this work, it
helps people to see things from the animals point of view , instead of just ours.
I think its time to share more of our wonder stories about our
relationships and connections with our animals. I am deeply
moved and touched by the level of consciousness I observe. I
am thrilled that finally science is beginning to wake up to what
many of us have observed and known all our lives even though
we were ignored because our observations didn’t seem possible.
Stay in touch,
Robyn
Now Available:
And I am not just talking about dogs or cats or birds. I’ve had
many profound connections with horses and I think it’s possible
with many animals. We humans are the ones who limit the connections. Last week we spent time at a mango festival visiting
with a woman beekeeper. After listening to her talk about the
conscious actions her bees made, we want to know and connect
with bees, ants and other small beings. Hmm, maybe it’s just a
question of intention and holding the knowing that it is indeed
possible.
Tellington TTouch in the
Veterinary Practice
By Daniela Zurr, DVM
Daniela Zurr is a German veterinarian, and TTouch Practitioner, who specializes in Behavior Medicine with a special interest in the connection between organic diseases
and behavior problems. Her book shows her daily use of
TTouch in her busy vet practice. Although written for veterinarians and animal health care providers this 92 page
book is interesting for anyone who needs to handle animals in stressful situations or wants to learn to apply
TTouch with their sick or injured animal. Pictures include
the use of wraps, towels and different TTouches, chapters
include Philosophy and Goals, Research, Introducing the
TTouch, establishing contact and general examination,
Indication of TTouch with different organ systems, hospitalized patients, TTouch with anesthesia, Behavior Therapy, farm animals, TTouch for wild and zoo animals and
the combination of TTouch with other therapeutic modalities.
So if you have profound connections or thoughts about it, let’s
share on Facebook and spread the message around the world.
Blessings and Aloha and Heart Hugs, and please pass my greetings along to your four-legged, furred, feathered and finned
friends.
Linda
TTEAM Connections Subscription Renewals
If you want to check the expiration date of your subscription look on
the envelope label when you receive the newsletter. I send out renewal notices with the newsletters as we do the publishing and fulfillment from our home office.
If you think a mistake has been made please email me at
[email protected] or call 1-800 255-2336 (8:00 a.m.– 6:00 p.m. P.S.T west coast)
This was originally published in German. It is available in
a spiral bound book or in a PDF version online at either
www.ttouch.com or www.ttouch.ca
Thanks, Robyn
TTEAM Connections
8
Jul-Sept 2010
Understanding Male Behavior
…. In the Llama
By Marty Bennett - Camelid Instructor
Bend, Oregon
Editor’s Note: There are so many labels put on animals of all
species and the dominance model is a big one. While this article is focused on llamas it can also be related to horses, dogs,
cats etc. - take the time to read it.
W
hile I AM married to one, I make no claims to understand the behavior of the two-legged male. I do however feel
pretty safe offering some tips about the 4-legged camelid variety. Boys and girls of any species are different-- that is for
sure. The person who says that llamas are always quiet and
peaceful only has girls. For the most part llamas ARE quiet,
but boys in the midst of a disagreement are hardly shrinking
violets. Breeding males of any species present challenges and
require more thoughtful and deliberate management. Breeding
males are territorial and highly sexual.
To successfully shape the behavior of males it helps to understand them. There are two elements involved in living successfully and easily with male llamas 1) understanding their
behavior in relation to other llamas. 2) understanding their
behavior in relation to humans
It is not always about Dominance!
To begin with I would like to encourage llama owners to
avoid the common practice of explaining every behavior they
see in their llamas from a dominance point of view. The dominance model is over used to explain both behavior between
llamas as well as behavior between llamas and their human
caretakers.
Convincing llamas NOT to engage in natural behaviors is a
losing proposition. I think an easier approach to males is to
make fighting or any other problematic behavior unnecessary.
Pay close attention and anticipate behavior and you have a good
chance to prevent what you don’t want. This is much more
effective and safer than attempting to correct what you consider
to be misbehavior once it has occurred.
What is wrong with the dominance model? In the first place
we borrow the word dominance from the world of wolves. In
fact according to new research dominance is not a particularly
useful model for understanding wolf and dog behavior much
less domestic llama behavior. Additionally, applying an across
the board dominance hierarchy to all llamas in all situations
oversimplifies very fluid, context specific behaviors that may or
may not have to do with a pecking order. It also assumes that
aggression is the result of natural llama behavior when in fact it
may be caused by human mismanagement.
It is only possible to affect what you can control. Trying to
make males that live together play nicely all day and all night is
impossible even if you were willing to move out to the pasture
with them! What you can control is their environment. On the
other hand many owners do not expect much from their breeding males in terms of manners. A good set up will allow for
handling breeding males easily and safely. An intact male llama
on a lead rope can certainly learn to be respectful and cooperative even when females are around.
Lets begin with the animal that we all know and almost all of
us love and that is the dog. This is likely where all this dominance stuff in the llama world comes from. Leader of the pack,
being the boss, the alpha dog we use these terms to describe our
relationship with dogs and because many people tend to see
llamas as nothing more than big dogs we just take these same
ideas right out to the barn. To begin with Dr. Haug points out
that dominance means different things to different people.
Various professionals and academicians don’t even agree on the
meaning of the word although most agree that the lay pubic has
it very wrong. Dominance, according to most of the experts
should NOT be used to indicate a temperamental attribute, motivation, territoriality or aggressive acts even offensive ones.
This is exactly how we use the word in the llama world. Dominance is rightly used to describe the RELATIONSHIP between
two individuals based on the outcome of some number of en-
This article is based on many years of observing camelids,
my professional experience as an animal handler and trainer,
my studies leading to a degree in animal behavior and two very
good articles on behavior. I intend to borrow heavily from an
excellent article about dominance written by Lore I. Haug,
DVM, MS, DaCVB, CPDT and CABC… lots of letters after
her name… suffice it to say she is well qualified to write about
dogs and behavior. The other article is one of the few available
about camel behavior in large herds entitled “Herd structure,
Leadership, Dominance and Site Attachment of the Camel
(dromedary) by Norbert Schulte and Hans Klingel. Both articles
are referenced at the end of the article.
TTEAM Connections
9
Jul-Sept 2010
counters involving conflict. Animals that prevail most of the
time are considered dominant. Dominant-subordinate relationships developed to facilitate group living. According to Haug,
“Hierarchies allow animals to live in close contact in competitive situations WITHOUT constant conflict and injurious, and
potentially fatal fighting. Perhaps one of the most important
aspects of dominance is to realize that it is not absolute. “Every
individual assumes the subordinate role at some point with
some individual in some context unless the individual is pathological.” For example in dogs and wolves, most studies indicated that social and feeding rank are completely different. In
terms of camels natural feeding behavior seems to be completely devoid of dominance. Schulte and Klingel found that
there are no hard and fast rules about who goes first or who
initiates a grazing shift. With readily available forage leadership would appear to be very laissez-faire. “During daily movements from the boma (overnight corral) to the feeding
grounds…Several camels would be in the leading position for
various periods of time, but a leader in the usual sense could not
be recognized. Changes in front position were always completely friendly and the relieved animal was never observed
attempting to regain its former position.” In the camel dominance is almost exclusively reserved for copulation. Males can
drive and chase the females in a sexual context but have absolutely no privileges when it comes to other things like food and
salt. “The lack of dominance related behavior outside the context of reproduction is remarkable. It is interpreted as a reflection of the lack of competitive situations in the original environment of the camel in their wild state where there were no defendable resources and, therefore, behavior allowing for monopolization did not evolve. This is demonstrated in the artificial situation of an extremely valuable and highly localized
resource like salt at the salt lick where even the bull has no
privileges.”
The male standing alone is keeping the rest of the males away
from just about anything of value in this field
to all members of a male group. It is a good idea to think of
managing males as reverse musical chairs… there is always one
more chair than players so there is no need to defend or compete for limited resources.
Pen Size and Composition
Another factor that you can manipulate is pen size and shape. It
is natural to use the number of animals as a gauge for pen size-smaller numbers of animals need less space, larger groups need
more space. This works pretty well until you apply the rule to
groups of males. It seems that distance from the coveted resource is key. The camel literature would suggest that there is a
distance that young bachelor males must maintain from females. According to Schulte and Klingel, “The bull was able to
chase bachelors of age up to 5 years which were kept in the
vicinity. Whenever they came too close to the herd, they were
attacked and chased up to 50 meters or further away. In no case
was there any resistance.” There does seem to be a minimum
size pen that will work for boys regardless of the numbers.
Three males may need as much room as ten if they are going to
get along. The reason is simple… subordinate animals must be
able to get far enough away to signal that they are giving up any
claim to the coveted resource—in most cases females. In a
very small pen no matter what they do subordinates cannot provide the proper degree of deference and are always in trouble. I
wish I could give you an exact number for the minimum pen
size but many factors come into play. Not only the size of the
pen but the shape, the contour of the land, presence or absence
of buildings, and the location of the females in relation to the
shape of the pen. If you have males that are not getting along
you might think of offering more space or tinkering with feeding locations in relation to the females. Change what you can
for example move temporary shelters or add temporary fencing
to create a baffle that creates an impediment to chasing. If the
male pasture offers less flexibility it may help to move the females. It is great when the girls can be completely out of sight.
If the females can be seen but only from a specific part of the
Carry a few flakes of alfalfa out to the field or a single bowl of
grain and there will be fireworks but it is about the food NOT
about social rank. We humans are in fact starting this fight and
we can prevent it by managing feeding time differently. Based
on the environment that shaped their behavior it would seem
that llamas, particularly males, should not have to compete for
food. There are a number of ideas below but once you see fighting as competition for food and not an unavoidable issue of
dominance you can figure out what will solve the problem in
your specific situation.
Feeding males well away from each other defuses battles before they begin. Three feet per animal is often quoted as a rule
of thumb. I think a better number would be 100 feet! Weather
permitting we feed hay on the ground under trees keeping the
piles and the natural resting areas well apart. I know that many
people do not like to feed hay on the ground but that is where
llamas eat. They walk on what they eat when they graze and
they are used to eating from the ground. If you are really opposed to feeding on the ground rolling carts can make good
feeders. You can roll them around and move them to suit your
set up. A bit of wasted hay is cheaper than building more paddocks or veterinary bills!
The same rule of thumb—distance = happy llamas-- applies to
all resources. Don’t make your males fight over anything!
Make sure that there is shade, water, mineral, and salt available
TTEAM Connections
10
Jul-Sept 2010
the receiving end. I have written many articles about how to
work with these kinds of males as youngsters to interrupt their
tendency to use aggression inappropriately. (reference Type A
and B Babies and how to raise them, Novice Handler Syndrome, Raising Respectful Llamas) It is extremely important to
re-shape the behavior as early as possible. Undoubtedly these
overly aggressive males are a management problems and given
the fact that they may be passing their temperament along to
future generations I seriously question if they should be used
for breeding. Castration certainly helps but the tendency towards aggression makes these males difficult to manage and not
suitable for new llama owners.
If I could talk like the animals…
Observing and understanding behavior can be a real help when
it comes to management on the other hand trying to talk to llamas in their language is not so smart. Returning fire by spitting
back, wrestling, or other dominance approaches to misbehavior
are easily misinterpreted by an llamas and may be dangerous to
the human particularly when it comes to breeding animals.
Communication between animals is incredibly nuanced and
relies at least in part on having the proper anatomy. The practice of using dominance exercises with dogs provides a cautionary tale (or tail). Dr. Haug, “Presuming that all dominant aggressive dogs are just normal obnoxious animals that need a
dose of “leadership” is unfair to the animals and dangerous to
the humans around them. Although we are learning more and
more about canine behavior, there is still a paucity of research
on social behavior in dogs. The more we analyze canine behavior, the more we realize how complex it can be. What business
do we have trying to translate and mimic a language that we do
not even understand?
Photo: Sometimes watching males fight is like watching a
game of Twister.
piece of real estate in the pasture. If you are in the process of
setting up your farm choose a pasture for your males that has
hills or areas that provide visual cover for junior males and one
that is either completely hidden or completely in view of the
females.
Why can’t we all just get along?
Is it natural for males to fight all the time? Is it the dominant
male beating up on the subordinate ones? In fact more fighting
is observed between subordinate members of a group than between leaders and underlings. The real leaders of any group
rarely engage in aggressive encounters. According to Dr.
Haug, “Dominance is NOT synonymous with aggression. Although aggression at times is used to establish dominance, agonistic encounters, particularly between familiar individuals are
normally resolved with non-injurious ritualistic behavior. Injurious or escalating aggression is atypical and counterproductive
to group cohesion. In fact in many social species, the level of
aggression shown by a particular individual is inversely correlated with the animals ability to attain high social ranking. Studies in humans show that escalating levels of aggression are correlated with impulse control disorders not dominance and in
fact other humans interpret high levels of aggression in other
humans as bullies not leaders.” Temperament is probably both
genetic and environmental. My own experience would indicate
that the genetic component is more important. Hyper aggressive
males that cannot live in a group with out risk to all members of
the group are a fact of life and I think they are born that way.
Ironically these males are often not very good breeders, they are
easily distracted during copulation and are often more interested in what other males are doing than in breeding. Individuals that are aggressive in every situation are pathological. Llamas that rely on aggression for every situation are almost always the same ones that have difficulty interacting with people.
These males are not confusing humans with llamas they simply
meet every encounter with aggression regardless of who is on
TTEAM Connections
To manage males successfully you must manage their environment and work in a way that doesn’t frighten them into behaving aggressively. Good animal management—laneways, catch
pens, good fences and handling skill are the same things that
make managing males easy too. With intact males these things
are not nice to have they are essential. Cornering an adult male
llama and trying to wrestle him to a stand still will scare him
and he may respond in kind at that stage his behavior will have
nothing to do with dominance and everything to do with selfdefense.
Dominance: The “Dirty” Word by Lore I. Haug, DVM, MS,
DACVB, CPDT, CABC
From the Association of Pet Dog Trainers Chronicle of the Dog
(2005)
Herd Structure, Leadership, Dominance and Site Attachment of
the Camel. Authors Norbert Schulte and Hans Klingel
From Behaviour. Vol. 118. No. 1/2 (Aug 1991)
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Jul-Sept 2010
The Kipper Chronicles
(Installment 3)
…. Kipper Goes to School, Has His First Medical Emergency,
and Encounters a Creature We’d Prefer Not to Meet Again
credible imitation of a truck with a back-up
beeper. Climb a ladder? Speak when he
triumphantly gets to the top. I clearly reinforced it, because he kept doing it. I was
clicking the behavior I wanted, but also the
speak. In our second KPA clinic, he performed his behaviors brilliantly--in conjunction with speaking. The thing about Kipper
is he learns quickly, but unlearning frustrates
the heck out of him. His resilience will only
go so far, he’s only ten months old after all.
I’ve had to start over on a number of things,
and when he gets agitated because he’s doing
something that worked before, I have to stop
and do some quick TTouches on him while
apologizing profusely for my incompetence.
Those of you who have followed Kipper’s
story may remember that we named him for a
cartoon dog who “always has adventures waiting for him.” In the last three months Kipper
has lived up to his namesake, in ways we
couldn’t have imagined.
First, I’ll get the poop-eating report out of the
way: it appears he has kicked the habit. That’s
not to say that if a choice cat poop were to be
found, it wouldn’t be consumed, but at least
it’s not dog poop, and I don’t have to be on
constant surveillance when the dogs go out.
As for horse poop, well, I’m willing to compromise.
When I left off the last installment, we were
getting ready to do our first Karen Pryor Academy clinic. We
had worked hard on our training, but I was concerned about his
behavior around the other dogs since he would need to be on
leash or in his crate. I needn’t have worried. He had a couple
minor blow-ups when dogs accidentally came too close to his
crate (not unreasonable), and when he had to be tethered without me, but nothing like I conjured up in my mind. Isn’t that
always the way! Instructor Steve White, who trains scent detection dogs, gave Kip what I thought was the ultimate compliment. He said that they would love to have a dog like Kipper in
their program because he has drive, but more importantly, he
was resilient. Kip quickly recovered after his incidents, and got
back to work. I see this kind of “recovery” so often in animals
that get TTouch; such flexibility is a hallmark of the work.
One day in May we had a huge windstorm, with many trees
down and power out. I noticed that Kipper seemed a little
“thick” around the muzzle in the early evening. I kept peering
at him with a flashlight, and yes, he seemed to be swelling up. I
gave him a Benadryl, thinking he had been stung by a bee. As I
TTouched him through an ice pack, I wondered how a dog
manages to get stung in a windstorm. We went to bed, but I
couldn’t sleep, so I kept shining the light on him. He was getting annoyed, but I couldn’t help it. At first he looked like a
Shar Pei. Then he started to look like some kind of bully breed,
as his muzzle continued to get wider and wider. He was breathing fine, not in any distress, he just had a really fat face. When
his eyes swelled shut, that was it. I loaded him up and we
drove around tons of storm debris to the emergency vet. As I
drove, I worked his ears with one hand. The staff fell all over
themselves to console the pitiful boy. They got right to work
on him and the diagnosis, as best as the vet could tell, was a
spider bite. Three hours later, with him slightly less fat in the
face, we fell into bed. Well, actually, he fell into bed—I had to
go to work.
Let’s face it, training can be stressful. I’m constantly adjusting
to find the right balance between training and letting him just be
a young dog. The beauty of Karen Pryor Academy is that we
are not just encouraged but required to teach to the dog’s age
level and experience. No one expects him to perform like a
seasoned dog. As I want this to also be fun, I’m picking behaviors that Kip is already doing to shape and put on cue. This
program is challenging for me because I am not an obedience
trainer or trick kind of person. I’ve always taught my dogs only
what they needed to keep them polite and safe. Kipper is very
amenable to all kinds of training--it’s all tricks to him--and unfortunately for him, he’s way ahead of me. He does exactly
what I’ve trained, which means my mistakes are fully visible
for all the world to see. For some reason, which I will forever
regret, I thought it would be fun and practical to teach him to
speak, because then I could also teach him to be quiet and help
manage his barking. Good in theory, not so much in practice. I
captured a funny closed-mouth “who-whoooo” and put it on
cue. But then he started adding it in with other behaviors.
Bow? I must mean speak and bow. Back up? He’s sure I
meant to cue speak and back up together, so he produced a
TTEAM Connections
By Shannon Finch Eq &
Companion Animal P2:
Stanwood, Wash.
I never saw a spider, let alone Kipper hanging out with one, but
he is into everything. He easily could have poked his nose
somewhere and gotten bit. (I feel like I should wrap him in
bubble wrap to prevent him from getting hurt.) Everything is
new and fun for him, and he can make a game out of anything.
He loves to run across the tarp that goes over the horse poop
pile, which makes a loud crackling sound, or grab an end and
bite it. This is funny most days, but not so much when the rain
storm is coming and I’m watching him run away into the pasture, tarp billowing out behind him. The best fun ever is to grab
and bite the hose as I’m trying to drag it around to water the
horses, and especially so when I’m in a hurry because then it
goes along the ground really fast. And of course, he so enjoys
the yelping and one-footed hops we do when he drops his big
bones squarely onto our bare feet with incredible accuracy.
12
Jul-Sept 2010
get in the car, dig it out of a box, and carry
it back. Unbelievable. And a hint of what
this dog is capable of if I can get out of his
way.
One thing I’ve been extremely careful
about is his proximity to the equines.
He has a generally sunny disposition,
and you can practically hear him singing “la, la, la” as he skips around. One
day I let him off his leash because all
the equines were occupied elsewhere,
and looked up moments later to see him
bonking noses with my donkey Claire,
who had snuck up on us. I about had a
coronary. But for some reason, the
donkeys not only tolerate him, they
actually seem to like him. He does not
attempt this behavior with the horses; he seems to know that
probably won’t work out for him.
Kip still needs guidance with a couple of
life skills. One of those of course is walking on the leash around other dogs, and to
a lesser extent, people. He’s better, but he
still more often than not lets loose that
high-pitched bark, and the leaping circus
routine. I’m immune to the embarrassment, (well, mostly), but more importantly,
he has an injured disk in his back, (again with the bubble wrap,
I swear). Thanks to TTouch, I noticed that his hair coat towards the top of his tail was all rough, and he stopped wanting
to jump over things. It appears to be an old injury from early
puppyhood, but it’s rearing its head now, and it’s an absolute
necessity that he walk calmly on the leash, no pulling or lunging. I have the most success using the halti/harness configuration, but it’s been challenging to find a properly fitting harness.
I’m writing this from my parents’ home in Ojai, California.
(That’s 1200 miles of driving, one way, from my home in
Washington state; Kipper is an amazing traveler.) They live at
the edge of the Angeles National Forest, and encounters with
wild creatures are part of living here. Rattlesnakes are common
here, so I keep him on leash at all times when we go out walking. But my parents assured me they haven’t had a rattler in the
yard in a long time. Yes, you all know where this is going. We
were hanging out in my Dad’s railroad garden, Kip and my
Mom’s dog Uchan poking around, when we heard a sound like
someone stepping on a pressurized hose. In one of those weird
slowed-down moments, we all looked at each other. I said,
“What the heck is that?” My Mom said, rather tentatively,
“Kip’s stepping on the hose.” Dad, slowly: “We don’t have a
hose there.” Kipper was standing stock still, cocking his head
at the ground.
I notice too that he is in a very klutzy stage, running into things,
coltish, legs going all different directions. The TTouch Confidence Course is key to helping him get his body organized,
along with a bodywrap. Despite his apparent athleticism, he
can’t walk on a single plank on the ground, or go through the
pick-up sticks without scattering them across the yard. And
forget about the little walk-over. We see this so often with very
athletic agility dogs--take away their momentum and ask them
to slow down in the Confidence Course, and they clunk obstacles all over the place. Given Kipper’s mental state around
other dogs, his difficulty with the obstacles is not surprising;
physical, mental, and emotional balance are all equal parts of
the triangle. When one is out of whack, it can affect the others
too.
On all the nature shows, rattlers sound to me like those big
Rainbird sprinklers, a distinct “ch, ch, ch” sound. This was a
sustained hiss. But I knew in my bones that this was a rattler. I
turned back to Kip and, in a freakishly calm voice said,
“Kipper, come.” He turned smartly on his heel and bounded
over to me. I may have my training challenges but I know the
value of a good recall, and it’s something we’ve worked on
from day one. It may have saved Kipper’s life. The snake was
about four feet long, and could easily have struck him. With
this being a Sunday and the emergency vet a good half hour or
more away, this could have been disastrous. Kipper’s obedience, intentional or not, was key. Also in our favor was that the
snake had clearly just eaten, and was so busy digesting, he
couldn’t move. Later, after the fire department came and removed the snake, (for relocation, not killing) and I stopped
shaking, I marveled at Kip’s behavior. Not all dogs would have
listened. Well-trained dogs are bitten all the time here. So we
got lucky. Had that snake been on the move, given Kip’s propensity for hose-chasing, the outcome might not have been so
good. In any case, he avoided that area for the next two days,
and was still wary about it days later.
Our schedule for the next few months is two more KPA clinics,
with the one in September our final assessment for graduation.
If it doesn’t work out, it’s not a big deal, we take a break, practice a bit more and try again, so there really is no pressure there.
What I’m really looking forward to is the Advanced TTouch
clinic in Portland. I hope to work on Kip’s leash behavior, his
body awareness, and his back issue. I also would like to see
him be a little more appropriate in his playing with other dogs
and stop what I call “bird-dogging,” the constant pestering. He
doesn’t listen very well when another dog says “enough,” and
while I run interference for him (and the other dogs), he’s old
enough at ten months to learn a smidgen of self-control. It will
be interesting to see if there’s a difference in some of those
weird behaviors such as barking hysterically at a table leg he’s
walked past probably a hundred times. Oh, and that little bit of
resource guarding, mainly his toys, as he’s sure that his sibling
Kinsey and the cats want them, which they do not. But try telling him that. I know, this is a pretty heavy list; I can’t wait to
see what ideas a group of like-minded practitioners come up
with.
While most of the time Kipper is goofy adolescent, every once
in a while he does something so advanced--like this snake deal-it gives me goose bumps. I still remember a day when he was
about 4 months old. I was thinking about going for a walk and
got sidetracked. He disappeared for a moment, and came back
carrying his harness. Not a big deal, you say? Well, he had to
TTEAM Connections
13
Jul-Sept 2010
SADDLE SAVVY"
"
...an ongoing series of articles geared to help you
understand how to select the appropriate saddle for you & your horse
By Kaaren Jordan
for the past 6 months. At the suggestion of the Connected Riding instructor, Annalee concentrated on just bodywork &
ground work this past winter with no riding. Her Connected
Riding teacher also wants to try a bareback pad to perhaps give
Salina a different experience in efforts to break her habitual
bracing pattern under saddle evidenced by the following picture.
The following is a case study with pictures, analysis, and suggestions of possible treed and treeless saddles with accessories
that are the best choices for both horse & rider.
HISTORY
Salina is a 14 yo/14.2h Paso Fino mare weighing about 950
lbs. She had traditional Paso Fino training and was ridden in
the traditional Paso Fino style before Annalee brought her into
the family a few years ago.
When Salina was a foal she tore a flap of skin from her side
which was not able to be re-attached resulting in some scar tissue, but no sensitivity. A few years ago, Salina chipped a bone
in her gum with no residual effects. She is trimmed by a Natural Hoof Care specialist as well as having ongoing sessions with
a Connected Riding instructor.
Annalee is 5'/126 lbs. with an average thigh & inseam. She has
no injury history or special needs.
ANALYSIS
Salina has a shorter back length overall with a straighter shoulder. Her withers are medium height with a dip at the base and
longer, ending behind her more forward, longer girth line. She
is also built a bit croup high. Her neck is straight & high set
assuming a habitual bracing pattern under saddle which as a
result, drops the back. This is in part due to her early traditional
Paso Fino training & riding. Her longer girth groove is set
closer to her elbows as well.
Salina & Annalee live in the US Midwest where temps are
freezing in winter with summer temps in the 90's plus high humidity.
Their activities together consist of 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours alternating ring & trail riding 4-5 times a week combined with Connected Riding ground work.
The trail terrain is a combination of rocky scree, hard packed
dirt, & sandy mixed grassy soil. The arena is 2" sand over a
clay base.
Photo 2 & 3: below
Salina has a pronounced "A" shaped pitched back with an atrophied look despite 6 months of consistent Connected Riding
work. Since it sometimes takes a year or more with this type of
ingrained habitual bracing pattern & resulting topline atrophy to
see appreciable positive changes, only time will tell how much
Because of Salina's challenging conformation, they have tried
many saddles including Albetta's, Wintec's, a variety of Western & Peruvian saddles. They also tried a Black Forest treeless
saddle with padding Black Forest sent with the saddle, but Annalee did not find the softer feel comfortable, nor did Salina. Annalee prefers the feel of a treed saddle to treeless.
They currently ride in a CTK custom treed Paso Fino saddle
with a 1/4" custom pad made by the saddler for this horse alternating with a 1/2" wool felt pad.
Since this is a custom saddle and Annalee did not send tracings
of the underside of the saddle or Salina, I can not comment
on the fit of this saddle long distance.
Annalee has had bodywork sessions for Salina as well as ongoing Connected Riding body work/groundwork/riding lessons
TTEAM Connections
14
Jul-Sept 2010
of Salina's topline shape will change & how much is her actual
conformation. Also her angled back pitch does not widen much
scapula to loin area lending to a tubular shape front to
back. This does not make most English treed saddles an option
since most English model panels broaden to almost flat just
behind the twist area.
ANNALEE
ASSETS
Caring & patient
Lighter weight
Appropriate riding activities & times for Salina
CHALLENGES
None
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS & COMMENTS
1) Have an equine chiropractor out on a regular basis.
2) Alternate between two different saddles, a bareback pad & a
saddle, or two different padding systems to give a different feel
for horse & rider.
3) Trying a high whither cut bareback pad like Skito, Christ or
Little Joe over a Skito pad to protect Salina's spine sometimes
can help to break habitual bracing patterns.
4) Look into trying the TTEAM roller bit &balance rein to aid
lowering the head & rounding the back.
5) Sometimes long term muscle atrophy can have a nutritional
component. It may be helpful to look into some free choice
supplements like Advanced Biological Concept or Dynamite.
6) A softer , thin 3/8" shim (Prolite/MLC foam through
Skito) cut to go into an insert pad similar to Skito to fill in Salina's dip behind the withers until Salina's back comes up would
be helpful.
TREED SADDLE CHOICES
Salina's habitual bracing pattern is evidenced in this picture. I
would like to see this CTK saddle placed further back - 2 1/2"
behind the scapula to put it in the proper position and to level
the saddle. The caveat is that unless the rigging can be altered,
the girth placement would be too far back for Salina's girth line
and then the saddle may also be too long for her back. As I
mentioned before, since this is a custom saddle I do not have
tracings of Salina or the underside of the saddle, I can't comment on suitability of fit long distance.
Since most English saddles have a broader pitch to the panels
than the angulations on Salina's back, they are not a possibility. Most of the flex panel saddles where the fitter/owner can
alter the pitch of the panels like Reactor Panel or Free N' Easy
have panels that may be too long for her back. A shorter base
Western or Western underside endurance saddle may be a better
choice if the CTK custom does not work over time. Also look
for rigging on a running "Y" or placement that matches Salina's
girth line when placed appropriately behind her scapula. Make
sure that the tree fork as well as the bars are the correct shape,
pitch AND size for Salina's back WITH the padding system
chosen.
SALINA
ASSETS
A caring , lighter weight rider who is putting much time & effort into helping Salina make positive changes.
Salina has a great cooperative attitude
PADDING SUGGESTIONS
I prefer to see a slow recovery type of foam for this type of
back to buffer concussion & to protect the spine. Skito makes
wonderful insert pads with 100% wool bottoms where you insert the foam thickness & density of choice into the pad pockets. 1/2 " firm Skito foam as the bottom layer with perhaps a
thin layer of 1/4" Prolite or 1/4" felt layered on top in the pad
pockets can give a bit more protection for a prominent spine
like this. Again, remember that the tree fork of the saddle
needs to accommodate the thickness of the padding system you
are choosing.
CHALLENGES
Shorter back length
Pronounced "A" shaped back pitch
Dip behind longer withers
Tubular shape
More forward, long girth line
Slightly croup high
Straighter shoulders
High set straighter neck
Long term habitual bracing patterns
TTEAM Connections
GIRTH SUGGESTIONS
A Sensation Western or wide mohair type girth would be the
most comfortable & will perhaps keep the girth from sliding on
Salina's longer girth line/tubular shape.
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Jul-Sept 2010
TREED BRANDS TO TRY
BAREBACK PAD SUGGESTIONS
Custom made will be the best choice for Salina's "A" pitch
back. SR Saddles
Dave Genadeks
1) Christ pony length with pocket underside over a 3/4" foam
Skito insert pad with 100% wool bottom.
2) Little Joe pony length over a Skito insert pad, 3/4" foam &
100% wool bottom.
3) Skito bareback pad in a custom shorter length than standard
with 3/4" foam.
TREELESS SADDLE CHOICES
Treeless saddle choices are limited because of Annalee's preference for a firmer treed saddle feel & Salina's general conformation..mostly the pitch of her back & prominence of her spine.
All of the above have English billets, so a Sensation English,
self centering/central elastic girth would be the most stable &
comfortable for Salina.
TREELESS SADDLE BRANDS TO TRY
Startrek Comfort or Western models work best for "A" pitched
backs and would suit Annalee's preference for a firmer, treed
saddle feel. For a rider looking for a softer feel, Black Forest
saddles makes a Western model that has a paneling system to
accommodate the more "A" pitch horse with or without withers over an appropriate padding system similar to a Skito insert
pad with 3/4" slow recovery foam with maybe an overlay of
1/4" Prolite or 1/4" firmer felt.
Always try any saddle for at least 10 days before you buy, preferably having an equine chiropractor or bodyworker come in
before the trial period & towards the end of the demo period for
input.
HAPPY TRAILS,
Kaaren
PADDING SUGGESTIONS
Coming next month, a dippy backed, very broad Icelandic
mare with a forward girth line.
With either Startrek model for Salina, a Skito 100% wool bottom pad with 3/4" Equalizer foam & 1 /8" MLC or 1/4" Prolite
shim to fill in her dip behind the withers inserted into the pad
pockets.
For a saddle fit consultation or her saddle savvy
online book contact Kaaren at 805 245-9908 in California. www.kaarenjordan.com
GIRTH SUGGESTIONS
If the Startrek has English rigging, the Sensation self centering
elastic girth would be ideal. If using the Western model Startrek, a Sensation Western girth or broad mohair type Western
girth.
Connected Riding
HORSE EXPO with Peggy Cummings
Becoming one with our Horses
September 12, 2010
10am - 4pm
7 Demonstrations, Hands-on Learning,
Q&A with our Trainers
$25.00 adults, discounts for Pony Club,
4-H, kids 12 and under FREE
Early Bird Registration at www.connectedriding.com
more info call Debby Hadden 610-273-2405
Held at Fat Chance Farm
Coatsville, PA 19320
TTEAM Connections
16
Jul-Sept 2010
Advancing your TTechniques:
#2 Improving Self Carriage Using the Liberty Neck Ring (For Horse & Rider)
By Mandy Pretty TT Equine & Connected Riding Practitioner
For over forty years, Linda Tellington Jones has recognized
the benefits of giving horses and riders the experience of riding
without the constraints of a bridle. In the 60’s Linda and her
students traveled around the United States with Hungarian
warmblood mares and stallions, jumping in quadrille with only
neck rings. In addition to improving trust and communication,
occasionally riding bridle-less has many other concrete benefits.
In The Ultimate Horse Behavior Book, the basic steps to riding bridle-less are clearly laid out and easy to follow. In a
clinic scenario we are sure to have a handler on the ground initially leading the horse, so the transition to no bridle is a safe
one.
Photos 2 & 3: Halting: The stiffness of the neckring allows you
to move the ring up the underside of the neck for halting. Still
using aids with your body give a vibration or ask with the neck
ring and then a clear release. Trust the release as it may take a
couple of seconds for your horse to come into balance to complete the halt.
If you are primarily working alone, and are quite sure of your
horse’s safety, it is very possible to start riding bridleless without having a leader. Obviously you want to do this in an enclosed area, on trustworthy horse, and be a confident, balanced
rider. Initially try the cues to stop and turn with the neck ring,
while leaving the bridle on. Horses are usually quite responsive
to the signals, as long as the rider is clear and can effectively
use their seat and leg aids to assist with the cue on the neck. If
you are unsure about your horse’s brakes it is always better to
be safe then sorry.
With the neckring the first thing you want to be sure of are the
brakes and start this with the bridle and the neckring, just holding the reins loosely. To halt, move the neck ring up the underside of the neck, maybe as far as the throat latch area and give a
signal and release, you may have to repeat the signal, while
applying seat, voice, and leg cues you would normally use.
With some horses I like to add a “crunchy stop” the first time
with a neck ring as my “emergency brake”. To do this simply
have your horse turn its head back, while keeping his feet still,
to take a treat each time you ask for a halt. Most horses are
very quick to pick up on this and it is a great way to reinforce
the halt on a horse with intermittent brakes. After a few times
you needn’t treat with each halt, but instead give him a scratch
or verbal praise.
The second thing you need to confirm is steering. Turning
with a neck ring is similar to halting in that you apply your
regular aids along with an “ask and release” or “meet and melt”
on the outside of the neck just behind the throatlatch. The importance of the release cannot be emphasized enough, and be
assured that it will come up again. Recognizing and avoiding
the opposition reflex is one of the key pieces to having success
with most any being in the majority of situations.
Photo 1: Skid Steer is a 12 year-old QH gelding belonging to
Mandy’s husband, Walt Woodhead. He is a sensitive gelding
who was used for ranch work and has a tendency to have a ewe
neck , get high-headed and a bit forward at times. Walt rides
him bitless and they have a great relationship. Mandy thought
it would be interesting to ride him bridleless and the results
were really positive.
TTEAM Connections
Getting familiar and comfortable with the neck ring, whether
completely bridle-less or not, will give you many new and invaluable tools to work with under saddle regardless of discipline or experience, and will give horses of all training levels a
new level of trust and awareness.
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Jul-Sept 2010
Photos 4 & 5: Turning: Do this exercise first with the bridle or halter
and the neckring. Start the turn by looking in the direction you
want to go, lift the neckring up the horse’s neck and use a touch
and ‘release’ on the outside of the horse’s neck as you rotate
your body in the direction you want to go. Avoid leaning back
or to the inside.
Photo 7: Look in the direction you want to go, open the inside
thigh to allow the shoulder and inside hind the freedom to
move, cuddle the horse’s belly with your inside leg to encourage his ribcage to soften. A touch with the wand on the hindquarters also encourage the turn to come from the back end.
Exercise #1: Finding the bend without the bicep
One of the most common errors in schooling horses is the excessive reliance on the inside rein. Turning, circles, inside
bend, Shoulder-fore, and shoulder-in all typically suck riders
into over-use of the inside rein to achieve the desired movement. With the neck ring, the rider must use her body as there
is no inside rein to over-use.
without a bridle). To achieve this, start by looking to the direction of the turn and allow your entire body to rotate in that direction, imagining that your are swiveling from the seat, rather
than twisting at the waist. As you rotate, allow your inside
knee to be soft and open, as to allow the horses inside shoulder
and ribcage to soften, which will offer more space for the inside
hind to come through. As you rotate your torso, think about
cuddling with your inside calf to encourage the horse to release
through the ribs. Think about your outside calf supporting the
bend and containing the outside movement.
To most effectively use your body, it is useful to become
familiar with the idea of “neutral pelvis” or being “centered” as
described in Connected Riding and Centered Riding respectively. From a Connected Riding perspective, releasing one’s
back and being carried by your core is the cornerstone to the
rider’s freedom of movement, and self carriage, which closely
mirrors that of the horse. When in a “neutral” position, the
rider has the least amount of strain on their body, and can move
in the most bio-mechanically efficient way possible. Once in
this position, the rider will be able to independently move their
limbs, without straining the back, hips, or abdominals.
As you play with asking for the turn, be sure not to pull on the
neckring. As soon as you start pulling you will trigger the opposition reflex and turn the neckring into a plow yoke. Instead;
think about a vibration, an ask and release or a “meeting and
melting” signal, thinking more about a diagonally upward
movement rather than a backward one. Remember that it is the
‘release’ of the signal that allows for response.
Photo 6: The
first step to
helping your
horse find the
bend through
the entire body
starts with asking for some
basic turns. As
your horse’s
head is completely free, the
thought of the
turn does not
begin at the
nose; instead
imagine the
inside hind
propelling the horse through the turn (a useful thought with or
TTEAM Connections
Photo 8: How NOT to turn this shows Mandy leaning into
the turn rather than swiveling as in an office chair.
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Jul-Sept 2010
An important image to remember is that you should imagine
yourself being a carousel pole rather than a Harley Davidson
rider and resist the urge to lean, especially on your horses
weaker side as shown in photo 8. Carrying yourself in the middle of the horse will help your horse continue in balance
through the turn.
Photo 10:
stride almost immediately. He was less rushy and very relaxed.
In addition to obstacles I also use a Connected Riding Exercise to help encourage the horse to let go; the Hover seat. For
this the rider gets into a two-point position with their hands
anchored in the mane. Thinking about folding at the hips and
being sure to release the lower back/sacral area, allow your self
to hover above the saddle. Imagine that your leg is surrounding
the horse, and try to resist the urge to squeeze with your knee
and thigh. Using your calf as a steadying anchor will give you
the freedom to “cuddle” the belly and encourage your horse to
engage its own core muscle and use its back.
Photo 9: Most people use the neckring in the inside hand to
turn but if you find yourself leaning you could try holding it in
your outside hand, or both hands, for turning.
Try different sized circles on both reins, and notice which is
easiest for you and your horse. If you find one direction much
more difficult, try doing circles in the easiest direction and then
change your rotation and ask for a few steps of a turn in the
difficult direction, before returning back to the easier one. By
asking for just a few steps at a time in the weaker direction you
will be better able to help strengthen the less dominant hind leg.
Going into a “Hover seat” at the trot can really allow the horse
to let go of their own backs and lower their head. As you ride
the trot in this position your calf follows the swing of the
horse’s belly and gives the horse the ability to propel forward
with their hind legs. There is a clear release through his neck
and back.
Once you have mastered circles try making circles off of the
rail back onto the rail and continue along the rail with a slight
inside bend, thinking about cuddling with your inside leg, sending the horse to the rail, and encouraging the bend from the
body through to the nose. If you find your horse falling off the
rail, really exaggerate the rotation to the inside and imagine
your inside seat bone is sliding towards the horse’s outside
shoulder. This exercise can then be increased to asking for
shoulder-fore, and shoulder-in, just be sure that it is done incrementally and for only a few steps at a time.
Exercise #2 Encouraging Self Carriage
One of the most striking things about taking off the bridle is
the way that horses tend to drop their heads and really stretch
down. This long and low posture is essential in the first steps
of having horses use their backs and be better able to come
through from behind.
Photo 11: Hover seat—Notice how Skid Steer is more released
at the base of the neck and lifted through the lumbar area, (note
the reduced shadow from the pad’s cantle area) allowing his
hind legs to come through more freely.
Photo 10 - next column: Skid Steer, the chestnut horse in the
photos has a tendency to brace at the base of his neck and tense
his back, resulting in a short, choppy stride. With his head
completely free, Skid Steer let go of his neck and lengthen his
TTEAM Connections
19
Jul-Sept 2010
With or without a bridle this position can be a great way to encourage your horse to stretch down and release their back, often
increasing stride and the articulation through the hind joints.
Riding twenty metre circles, changes of rein on the diagonals,
and figure of eights is a lot of fun and is a great way to improve
your horse’s impulsion, posture and self-carriage. Try switching between the Hover seat and rising trot, doing 5 to 10 strides
of each, and see how your horse changes.
Labyrinth from the ground often have an easier time with it
under saddle as they know what is expected of them, and can
find confidence in its familiarity. For the rider, the Labyrinth
provides a clear parameter that makes it easier to be consistent
with cues, and create a clear mental picture and plan.
Exercise #3 Using The Playground for Higher
Learning
Once you have mastered, or gained some approximation of
mastery, turning and stopping, it is fun to add some of the elements from the Playground for Higher Learning.
Several of the obstacles from the Playground of Higher
Learning can help encourage your horse to let go of their topline. The Double Triangle is an excellent tool and that’s uses
are limited only by your imagination. Riding over “Pick Up
Sticks”, the “Star”, or over uneven poles will also give your
horse the experience of reaching down and lifting the back.
Photo 12 & 13: Shiner, the black horse pictured, is clearly using
his inside hind to help propel himself forward through the corner. Mandy is thinking about rotating and asking for his inside
hind, while using an outside leg to indicate the amount of turn.
To improve a horse’s responsiveness to turning try using
cones, barrels, or the labyrinth. This will also help your precision, timing, and clarity as a rider, which makes the exercise
easier for the horse to accomplish. Your own posture is imperative and will make or break your level of success. Should
you find yourself unable to make or turn, or find that your horse
is “not listening to you” go through this set of self checks:
• Is your back released? Most of us tighten our
backs habitually; think about melting your sacrum
as you lengthen your spine.
• Are your seat bones evenly weighted? Being
aware of your own crookedness will help you
better carry yourself and therefore make it easier
for the horse to carry you.
• Are you releasing the neckring? Triggering the
opposition reflex will get you into a pulling
match; remember that the horse responds on your
release, not the pressure.
• Do you have a surrounding leg? Gripping with
your knees and thighs actually make it more difficult for a horse to bend around a corner and lift
their back. Thinking about being a “frog on a
ball” will help encourage your horse’s self carriage.
• Are you supporting the horse through the
turn? Thinking about having a cuddling inside
calf to remind the inside hind while you support
the belly with your outside calf will help funnel
the horse through the turn.
When riding through the Labyrinth begin by halting before each
corner so you can really organize yourself and your horse.
Think about being balanced of the center of the horse, and keep
yourself released in the back. Use your eyes and your rotation
to help begin the turn, and be sure to think about making a wide
turn, using the entire corner, rather than a sharp “v” shaped
turn. If you find the turns difficult, make the Labyrinth extra
large, so it is easier for you and your horse.
If your horse is consistently falling in and out of balance in one
direction, try a counter rotation through the turn. Counter intuitive as it may sound, often a change in the riders’ rotation helps
remind the horse to use their weaker hind leg and keeps the
rider from inadvertently bracing .
THE LABYRINTH
The Labyrinth, a staple in TTEAM groundwork, is an excellent tool for both horse and rider. Horses that understand the
TTEAM Connections
20
Jul-Sept 2010
Photo 14:
Mandy is using
the neckring in
her outside hand
to maintain an
upright posture
and avoid leaning to the inside
or back.
Drawings show the Double Triangle and some of the ways it
can be used. You can vary the size and space between the
poles depending on what you want to do.
a funnel between your seat bones, elbows, and calves can be a
useful way to help steady a horse, especially if they tend to be
wiggly.
The Double Triangle can also be used to make circles around,
providing a clear boundary for both horse and rider.
When using the neck ring always stay within your comfort
zone. Feeling safe is as important for us as it is for the animals.
THE DOUBLE TRIANGLE
The double Triangle is a wonderful, if underused, component
of the Playground For Higher Learning. It is a great tool to
help horse and rider travel in straight lines, make smooth transitions, and changes of direction. The Double Triangle can be
ridden in a cloverleaf pattern or any number of ways, the only
limitation is your imagination. It is also wonderful gymnastic
training when set up as small jumps, instead of ground poles.
Riding across the poles will encourage your horse to release
the base of the neck and therefore the back. The configuration
of the Double Triangle will help you make a straight line across
both poles, as you will not have any reins to rely on. Imagining
Photo 17: Mandy cantering Shiner, her eight year old Mustang
gelding who used to buck whenever he cantered.
There is a certain amount of control that has to be given up to
take off the bridle which is part of why horses enjoy it so much.
Being comfortable enough to let your horse make some of the
decisions is a huge part of building a relationship and improving trust. Remember that you should not expect perfection your
first attempt, it is more likely to be an approximation, as with
any new skill. Above all remember that a huge part of it is the
fun! Using the neck ring as a break from the regular routine is
a great way to keep you and your horse happy in the saddle,
while improving awareness, balance, and communication.
Photo 16: Before removing the bridle Mandy used the double
triangle to give visual parameters for turning and stopping.
TTEAM Connections
21
Jul-Sept 2010
Becoming Masters of Movement
With Connected Riding
Why is it that most riders are taught to sit up and sit still on a
moving horse? Riders are encouraged to push, squeeze, and
drive with their bodies as they seek the illusive mysteries of
riding only true riding masters achieve. However, many times
these methods lead to inconsistent performance, bridle lameness, injuries and discomfort in both horse and rider due to the
effects of bracing and compression.
We all want to be effective in communicating with our horses
and have a better relationship with them. By learning how to be
‘masters of movement’ with our own bodies, we can support
our horses in finding ease of movement for better performance
and longevity.
From years of research and experimentation, Peggy Cummings
has come to know that a Neutral Pelvis* position, one in which
the hips are free to move independently, and core muscles automatically rebalance the rider's upper body in movement, takes
the work out of balance in motion. Neutral pelvis is the only
posture where the rider's extremities do not have to 'hold on' to
find balance. Once a rider's body is able to buoy and rebalance
freely each stride, the horse is carrying the rider as live weight,
allowing him to engage his hindquarters and lift his back without restriction.
In Connected Riding, riders learn how to synchronize with the
movement of their horses by addressing two fundamental questions:
How do my riding habits affect my horse’s movement?
What is key to connecting to my horse’s movement?
If, however, riders are either Arched or Slumped* in their riding posture, they are dead weight on the horse and unable to
balance in motion. An arched or slumped riding posture compresses movement in the rider’s spine and locks the joints of the
pelvis. This creates a downward cycle of resistance, compression, and restricted movement in both horse and rider, where
mechanical and compressive aids are used to handle evasions
and “fix” the issues. Horse and rider become stiffer, and ease
and enjoyment get lost.
It is optimal for horses to move from their hindquarters when
under saddle. The impulsion generated from the hindquarters
should be allowed to travel forward through a swinging back, to
the shoulders, neck, poll, and mouth, where the energy is received through the reins. To create this “thoroughness” of energy, the horse’s body is shifting weight from back to front,
side to side, and up and down. What happens to the horse’s
movement when the weight of a rider’s body is added?
Connected Riding enables the horse to move and simply follows the laws of Newton:
'In the absence of external forces, all bodies continue in their
state of repose or movement, rectilinear and uniform, unless a
force acts upon it and forces it to change such a state. For each
action there is an equal an opposite reaction, as long as it keeps
in balance. '
If the force we undertake with our own body goes against the
movement of the horse, we block the horse’s movement. Our
objective is to learn to ride with our bones and joints, free to be
in constant movement. Riding becomes effortless and we appear to become one with our horse. A dynamic, free-moving
posture is the key to the mystery in our riding. It is the differ-
As riders, we have ‘worked hard’ by contradicting the laws of
physics, and unconsciously undermining the principles of motion by learning to brace against the movement of the horse to
find our balance. These riding habits actually inhibit the very
things we seek as riders – connection, lightness, ease, and being
with our horse.
Our bodies are assembled with bones, held together by joints,
and strung together with ligaments and muscles. Bodies in
alignment move with a minimum of effort. When muscles are
braced with tension, our joints are stiff, and our bones cannot
move with ease. The muscles work harder to create movement.
TTEAM Connections
Connected Riding Founder
If, for example, the rider squeezes her knees on the sides of the
saddle, this blocks free movement of the knee joints and inhibits movement in all of the corresponding joints – hips, ankles,
and other joints throughout the body. Such “blockage”, caused
by bracing or compression in the rider's body, is immediately
and consequently transferred to the horse’s movement. The
horse receives restriction in the rider's body as dead weight,
which puts an additional load on the horse's back and joints.
"As above, so below" is the principle of comparable parts; what
happens in the rider's body has a corresponding impact on the
horse's body. This principle is the keystone of Connected Riding. As riders learn to continually unlock and sustain the freedom of movement in their own bodies, they consequently free
up and maintain the flow of movement in their horses' bodies.
The correct placement of the rider’s seatbones in the saddle is
the foundation to achieve the cycle of freedom in movement.
Peggy Cummings is a gifted horsewoman and clinician
who generously shares her knowledge with the absolute
conviction that her method, inspired by pilgrims of body
awareness and movement, including Sally Swift, Linda
Tellington-Jones, Moshe Feldenkrais, M. Alexander, and
the martial arts, teaches horses and riders how to move in
synchrony.
•
•
By Peggy Cummings
22
Jul-Sept 2010
ence between learning a rote method with mechanical cues, or
riding in harmony with the biomechanics of the horse. This
promotes safety, welfare and longevity for both horse and rider.
We can each become conscious of how our movement affects
the horse, and how we all have unconscious ways of using ourselves that block free movement in horse and rider. With Connected Riding we become the change that makes the difference!
Photo above: Demo dressage rider in Girona, Spain asking his
horse to come through in his habitual way. He commented that
this horse was lazy. Rider was braced in his body and riding
against the motion of the horse.
Figure 1: The correct cycle of movement
The engagement of the hindquarters, the rounding of the back,
the lifting of the withers and consequent free movement of the
shoulders, and telescoping of the horse’s head and neck down
and forward, are all a consequence of the release of the topline
and engagement of particular muscle sets of the horse. This
creates the posture where the horse has the most freedom in his
movement, while carrying the weight of the rider.
Photo above: Change of body use. The rider was released in
his body and commented that he had not felt his horse this way
ever and that the horse did not feel lazy. The rider was synchronized with the motion of the horse.
Figures 1 and 2 show free movement of the horse, and movement inhibited by compression. In order for the horse to be able
to use its hindquarters and its back freely and naturally, it must
be able to move with the rider’s weight, and the rider must be
aware of the use of his or her own body.
These figures are drawings by Nancy Camp from the book
Connected Riding: An Introduction by Peggy Cummings.
*See Connected Riding: An Introduction - Rider quiz
Figure 2: The movement inhibited by compression
At a quick glance this horse may seem to be the same one as in
figure 1, but it is actually falling on the forehand.
This picture illustrates a horse with a tightened topline. The
hindquarters are not engaged, the back is hollow, the withers
are dropped, and the neck is inverted. This posture results in
lack of free movement and compresses the horse’s spine.
TTEAM Connections
www.peggycummings.com
www.connectedriding.com
23
Jul-Sept 2010
Black Jack - Recovery from a torn Cruciate Ligaments
By Diedre Chitwood - P1
leave a shirt with her odor on it. I said
Amy Hester first contacted me in the
that we wanted to take as much stress off
middle of June last year (2009) about her
B.J. as we could. I then began researching
six year old, intact, male, black Labrador,
Black Jack. Amy told me that B.J. had
torn cruciate ligaments.
injured his right back leg whilst chasing a
What I learnt was that the stifle (knee)
ball about four weeks before. The vetericonnects the femur (thigh bone) and tibia
narian had taken X-rays and found he had
(leg bone) with a patella (kneecap) in
a torn cruciate ligament in his knee. Alfront and a fabella (a small bean-shaped
though the X-ray didn’t show anything
bone) behind. Cartilage (the medial meconclusively his experience and a proceniscus and lateral meniscus) cushions the
dure called the ‘drawer test’ - in which
bones, and ligaments hold everything in
the femur is held with one hand whilst the
position. Two key ligaments, the anterior
fibia is manipulated with the other - sugPhoto: June 2009 - right knee torn cruicate
(front) and posterior (back) cross inside the
gested that the ligament had become deligament.
knee joint. The anterior or cranial cruciate
tached from the bone and would need
ligament prevents the tibia from slipping out of position. When
surgery to be re-attached. He also said that the other knee
the cruciate ligament is torn most veterinarians consider surgery
would need surgery due to the strain that it was now under and
the only treatment that will help.
might also become detached if surgery was not carried out
within a short time. The vet had then prescribed five days of
Amy came back a week later with B.J. He seemed lamer and
Rimadyl, Glycolflex Chews, some herbal supplements and
could hardly put any weight on the injured foot. She said he
strict crate rest for two weeks. As B.J. was in good health in
loved the TTouches and came to her for them and that he had
every other way and at $2,800.00-plus for each surgery, and
stopped tearing things up. I began with Ear Work and then
two small children at home Amy was hoping for an alternative
Clouded Leopard and Lying Leopard Connected Circles on his
solution. I told Amy up front that I was not a vet and that if his
head, shoulders and back. I was amazed when B.J. then turned
diagnosis was correct, that I could not re-attach the torn ligaround and offered me his injured leg, although I had to remain
ment but that TTouch could certainly help to support the healsitting on my chair and bending down to touch him so that he
ing process.
did not feel threatened. I worked first on his healthy knee and
then did circles in the air above the injured knee, and Lying
When Amy arrived with B.J. for his first session, he could not
Leopard on his thigh. When he got up I was able to do Raccoon
put his right back foot down fully to the ground to walk or put
Circles on his ankle. I then did number 1 pressure Raccoon cirweight on it. It was also turning slightly outward but he did not
cles on his injured knee. Most of the tension was in his tail
seem in any pain. When he sat or lay down it was always on
which he was using to help him balance although he was wagthat side to protect it. I noticed that the fur on the hindquarters
ging it a lot in a very happy way. I put a half wrap on him at the
above the injured knee was dryer and brown in color. Otherend of the session for a short while. I suggested Amy seek a
wise B.J. looked in good health; he was from a good breeder
second opinion and gave her the name of my vet and a semiand had a very balanced temperament. B.J.s had found being
retired homeopathic vet who had also been a traditional vet for
crated for two weeks really punishing as he was normally a
40 years.
very active dog. Amy told me that the only behavioral issues he
had was getting into things and tearing things up if she left him
Two days later Amy emailed me to say that B.J. had stepped on
alone for any amount of time.
a toy and it seemed that he had torn the other knee as well. He
was in a huge amount of pain during the night and could not
After making friends with B.J., I began with some Llama
walk on either leg. He was now only able to walk very slowly
TTouches, lots of Ear Work and connected Lying Leopard on
and was limping on both sides. Amy took B.J. to see a surgeon
his body. He was very receptive to the TTouches and rolled
that specialized in torn cruciate ligaments and he confirmed that
over at the end of the session for a belly rub. Amy had brought
they were torn in both legs and that B.J. would definitely need
B.J.’s equipment with her, as I had requested, which included a
surgery. She also contacted the homeopathic vet and was eager
pinch collar, choke chain and a Flexi Leash. I put a step-in harto get his opinion. They had kept missing each other so in the
ness on B.J. and explained that this would be a much better
meantime; Amy suggested I come over to work with B.J. at
option as being pulled on the neck and then jolted by the Flexi
their home.
Leash would add considerable stress and trauma to his body
and leg. Amy could see the logic in this and was happy to
When I arrived he was in better spirits and was following Amy
switch. As B.J. was on a mostly dried food diet I suggested she
around although with difficulty because they had tiled floors.
add a little egg to his diet for protein and vitamin supplements
She said that she had been doing lots of TTouches, especially
and I emailed her suggestions on selected fruits and vegetables
the Ear Work and using the Half Wrap, and she felt it had defithat would offer his body support in the healing process. I also
nitely helped. She had been giving him the fresh fruit and vegesuggested Rescue Remedy to calm him down, a Kong to keep
tables and a couple of bones, one on the day he had injured his
him occupied when she leaves the house, soothing music and to
TTEAM Connections
24
Jul-Sept 2010
would use the Kong to keep him occuleg, and that had really helped his spirits.
pied. Sometimes we worked outside
When I arrived B.J. was walking on tip
on the patio and sometimes in ‘his
toes at the back. He didn’t seem in a lot of
room’. Amy had put down large rugs
pain but was very restless. His hindquarin as many places as she could and
ters and muscles in his thighs were tense.
would move his bed around so he
We could also hear his knee joint clicking
could be comfortable wherever he was
when he walked. When I worked with B.J.,
in the house. During those months I
I was careful to not make him feel threatwas able to teach Amy a lot of the
ened by using lots of calming signals. Amy
TTouches so that she was able to work
helped to keep him occupied and eventually he settled down. During that session I
with B.J. during the week.
worked quite a bit on his thighs and knees
Some weeks B.J’s knees would imbeginning with circles above the knees and
Photo: July 2009 - torn ligament in left leg as prove and then he would seem to be a
hindquarters first with the Lying Leopard
well.
little worse again but this we came to
and then the Abalone. I also managed to do
realize is how the healing process
Turtles TTouches on both thighs. I did more Ear Work and
works.
Sometimes
his
improvement
would reach plateaus and
worked on his tail which was very stiff with Raccoon circles. I
the homeopathic vet would adjust his remedies and we would
suggested she give B.J. another flower essence, Vervain to help
continue. It was a very soul searching and stressful time for
him to settle along with the Rescue Remedy.
Amy. We both kept researching and considering the option of
surgery and would discuss B.J.’s condition together in detail.
A week later, the homeopathic vet made a house call to examWe came to realize that surgery was not a ‘quick fix’ or that it
ine B.J. and I asked if I could be there. The vet said that B.J.’s
would not necessarily be successful. During the later months I
problems had been caused by an immune deficiency from his
also began using essential oils with the TTouches which
early years and possibly initial vaccines. He was very adamant
about changing B.J’s diet to a raw food diet and suggested sevworked well.
eral supplements, an immune booster, two homeopathic remedies Rhus Tox and Arnica as well as Boswelia, a natural antiIt is now over a year later and I see B.J. about once a month.
inflammatory. He recommended limited exercise and to keep
Amy still has him on a raw food diet and supplements. As he
him quiet. He knew about the Tellington Method and was very
began to recover she began walking him for five minutes twice
supportive of the TTouch, and suggested that I phone him after
a week and gradually increased the frequency and the length.
each session to let him know how B.J. was doing as well as
having regular calls with Amy. He was confident that B.J. could
Once his condition was stable we began working in the Confiheal without surgery and had many past clients to testify to the
dence Course with the Labyrinth and different surfaces and then
fact.
gradually progressed to the hoops and ladders. He is now walking like a perfectly healthy dog and there is very little sign of
Over the next several months, I visited B.J. once a week and we
the injury. He takes nice long strides and kicks the earth up with
began the slow journey back to a full recovery. By the fifth
his back legs as if to say ‘look at me’. He is still a little defensession, B.J.’s separation anxiety had completely stopped and
sive of his right knee which we are working on to help prevent
he seemed more content at night and he was no longer followarthritis but he just keeps improving.
ing Amy around the house. He was putting his back paws down
on the ground a lot more and was actually taking steps. His coat
During the whole time, B.J.’s wonderful attitude and loving
had improved and his eyes were beginning to look more serene
disposition kept him winning through and pushing himself to
and content, and his face less stressed
the limits of his capabilities. Amy is a wonderful client and
during the year kept true to her belief that the body can heal
During these visits I worked all his body as when there is an
itself with the right kind of love and care. Although it was ininjury the whole body is under stress. I also worked a lot on his
credibly tough at times, she knows now that she made the right
shoulders as they were taking a lot of his weight. Some sessions
decision not to have the surgery and that the experience has
he wouldn’t let me work on his right knee so I would do Abataught her a great deal. The whole family now claps when B.J.
lone on his thigh and then visualize the touch going to his torn
jumps on the sofa. Amy’s last phone report to
ligament. When I did work on his
me was that B.J. had been swimming and
knees I usually began with circles in
playing in their parent’s pool with no ill efthe air and then gradually worked with
fects - something he had not done since beNo.1 pressure on the knees with Racfore the injuries.
coon, Abalone and later Turtle
TTouches. I also worked a lot on his
Photo: April 2010 - both ligaments healed
paws with Raccoon TTouches and the
False Floor using the soft side of the
jelly scrubber, a brush and a rolled up
Diedre Chitwood is a Companion animal PracAce wrap. I did tail work with Raccoon
titioner 1 who lives in Stuart, Florida.
TTouches and Hair Slides at the end.
Website: www.tendertouch.com
He was often very restless and we
TTEAM Connections
25
Jul-Sept 2010
Minor Mesa
Our “Minor” New Project
By Shelly Moore Equine P2 , Creswell, Oregon
May 10, 2010
My good friend Alise called me to say she had picked up my
new horse for me. I advised her that I was not shopping for a
new horse so that was impossible! After a long talk about this
“new” horse I went to meet him.
Known History
5 YO Bay Gelding, Minor Mesa out of Sky Mesa & Opinionated
Bred and born in Kentucky.
Sold for $170K at the yearling sales in Kentucky
Raced on the turf at Santa Anita Racetrack in California
Placed 4th and 5th in last two races
No history available after he left the track sometime in mid2009
Likely had surgery for roaring sometime in late 2009 or early
2010
Up to date dental stuff - bit seat etc (which is unusual for a race
horse)
Bad farrier work We have a trainer friend who goes to California and picks out
“over the top” TB’s that her coach/trainer has picked up off the
track. Then brings them to Oregon and slowly and very successfully re-starts and re-trains the OTTB's for jumping
(hunters and jumpers) and eventing and some lower level dressage as well as easy trail riding.
Well, first impressions cannot always be trusted. He was leaping, rearing, bucking and jumping around like a horse gone
wild. As I took the lead rope and tried to get him to lower his
head and take a breath I realized I must be an idiot or just plain
nuts.
This horse was not really chosen but came up with a few others
she had picked out but at a time when her life is changing he
needed to go immediately but no one wanted him so he was
basically given to us.
He was underweight, sore footed and going to take a lot longer
to rehab and she knew she did not have the time, energy or
money to do it. So there you go....Mesa is here now.
After about an hour of can you lower your head from a signal,
go forward a step at a time and not loose your mind I found a
sweet little horse under this explosive exterior.
TTEAM Connections
26
Jul-Sept 2010
May 11 – 14, 2010
Grooming, walking with a lowered head and turnout! This has
been pretty much been his mantra for the past week! Bodywork
is still out of the question but he is starting to recognize the
pattern of care.
May 14, 2010
He is finally calm enough for me to work with his feet. I pulled
his hind shoes one nail at a time. There were nails that were
never clipped and crimped floating around in each foot. I saved
the worst offender!
May 15 – 22, 2010
Well, getting the hind shoes off helped a little but he is still foot
sore. He is starting to get less reactive and actually seek attention. He likes Clouded Leopard on his forehead and along his
neck. When we get to the wither area he tends to leap about.
His legs are starting to look better they are not all stocked up
any longer and the heat is dissipating.
June 2 – 6, 2010
Mesa’s health seems to be improving. He is shedding out –
which is unbelievable to me as he was pretty slick coated. He
went through a scruffy period and now seems to be starting to
shine.
May 23 – 28, 2010
Started to teach him to lunge. He is a willing horse. We can
get almost two circles before he has a blow up. He holds his
breath then just when he can’t hold it anymore he bucks and
takes in a new breath. Since we figured this out we do less
more frequently, as I believe that 10 good steps are better than
40 mediocre steps!
June 7 – 14, 2010
Bridle fitting – the boy has a deceptively large head! 5 ¼” bit
fits, but we need and oversize bridle to accommodate everything else. He was so nervous during bridle fitting. Luckily he
had the week off as we had Jane Armour here for clinics all
week. She liked him and thought he had “potential” to be a
hunter prospect or dressage prospect. He pulled his front shoe
on Saturday hanging a leg on the fence. He pulled the second
shoe on Sunday – same thing. Front legs are a bit rashed up.
May 29, 2010
Mesa meets the farrier. Lynn pulled the front shoes – one nail
at a time and found several nails in each front foot that were
“hot nails” in the white line area. The poor horse nearly fell
down due to the sensations he was experiencing. But, with
patience, kind words, Clouded Leopard on his face and some
sweet alfalfa and timothy hay we were able to get the job done,
get his poor quality feet trimmed and finally get him outfitted
with new Epona shoes.
June 15 – 20, 2010
Pulled his hind shoes again so he is bare all the way around. I
guess he will have to toughen up a little in the au’ natural state.
The Epona shoe offered him support and padding so without
them he is extremely foot sore.
Well, saddle fit is huge….. I have nothing that slim! This boy
is slab sided! He needs a narrow tree. But, discovered he is
very nervous about saddles. So, TTouch to the rescue. Our
new routine is saddle him, but do not girth him up. Do Clouded
Leopard and Python Lifts on his neck all the way to the shoulder then Abalone TTouch along the mid-line. We do this for as
long as it takes for him to take a breath and stop sucking his
tongue. Sometimes all it takes is a minute or two and then
sometimes I just don’t look at the clock.
May 31, 2010
Mesa comes home! He was a bit skeptical of our trailer but did
get in very quickly. Not much pressure from us just a person
clapping hands behind him. He arrived bathed in sweat but
outwardly calm. His slight respiration and pounding heart gave
away his true feelings.
He met the vet for a proper “pre-purchase” exam. Dr. Pelton
opted not to do too much as he was so nervous. He was examined and we discovered he had an abscess from a surgery that
was likely to correct “roaring”. He had been in quarantine for
nearly 3 weeks so he was going to only have to be quarantined
for another week here.
June 21 – 27, 2010
Lynn the farrier came out to look at his feet again and help fit
him with the new Renegade Boots. They seem to fit him and
he walked away much more comfortably than we expected. I
guess he will “live in them” while out during the day.
We started hot packs and antibiotics. He is good about all of it
and slowly started to relax this evening.
Saddle him and bridle him each and every day, we are down to
about 5 minutes before he is really calm and the heart rate is
normal. Then he starts acting like a horse and looking around
and being interactive. Then I follow up with a quick leading
exercise of, “can you go between a couple of ground poles?
June 1, 2010
To the sand paddocks for most of the day. He did very well
with his confinement. He could see other horses just not touch
them or get close.
TTEAM Connections
27
Jul-Sept 2010
We are working up to half a labyrinth. This boy is so behind in
many ways he is like a yearling and then the things that I think
will freak him out do not even cause him to look. This is very
interesting.
August 9 – 15, 2010
Mesa has been doing well. We felt “safe” enough to leave for
the weekend and have a house & horse sitter come in for 2
days. Everything went fine. All of the horses, cats and dogs
adored her and it was wonderful to be gone for a couple of
days!
June 28 – 3, 2010
Backed him for the first time on Thursday. Scot led me around
the back of the barn for two loops. He did one startle but
quickly regained confidence. We are getting ready for a large
July 4th party so he was very interested in all of the goings on at
the farm.
July 4th
What a lovely day for a party! Backed him in the afternoon
again – this time without incident. Got some video tape of it.
Not pretty but he is willing. He is still really foot sore and it
shows!
July 5, 2010 – July 11, 2010
Same old thing. Tried more actual bodywork with TTouch all
over his body. He is getting much more receptive and starting
to breathe and relax. He even urinated while I was working on
him. His leading exercises are coming along better and better.
He still gets “stuck” and he still has reactive moments but he
seems to try to do what is asked.
Photo: The first day he arrived, his coat was in poor condition
and he was thin.
July 12 - 18, 2010
We are actually lungeing! It is not real pretty as he is still foot
sore….(will that ever end???) But the boy is willing. Walk and
trot are pretty good canter is disastrous but hey, we are still just
in the learning phase. I am happy with his progress. He loves
being bathed! He loves the sprinkler!
July 19 – 25, 2010
I had hopes of having him in the Jane Armour August clinic but
I realize we will not be ready as he is still pretty sore. He is a
willing horse and though our progress is so slow it seems to be
progress. He has gained over 300 lbs and he finally actually
looks like a horse. I tried on a medium tree saddle and with a
shim it fits nicely! We still do not have any muscle but we are
no longer skeletal.
July 26 – 31, 2010
Mesa has lost a couple of good friends. The Friesians who he
lived with went home to their mom’s new ranch. Mesa seemed
a little depressed and did not eat his supper all the way for two
nights. This is pretty unusual for him to miss a meal.
Photo: This photo was taken August 1, quite a change from
when he arrived in May.
August 21st update: He had his first "clinic" experience yesterday and did very well. Pretty nervous in the beginning just being
tacked up with people around him talking, but his clinic lesson was lunge work and he did very well. He invented a new
gait we call the Grunt. Canter, Grunt, Grunt, Grunt. Canter,
Grunt, Grunt, Grunt.
August 1 – 8, 2010
Well, we have been just chilling out this week. The week has
been very busy with getting hay and trying to get everything
ready for winter. I feel like we should be farther along but I
realize that is just “ego” talking and Mesa will take as long as
Mesa takes to rehabilitate and be rideable. He just looks so
good it is hard to wait.
TTEAM Connections
Editor’s Note: Shelly is going to continue with her
diary and keep us updated on his progress.
28
Jul-Sept 2010
Letters From Readers
My Hip Story
TTEAM as a Complement in the Rehabilitation of Horses with Neurological Deficits
By Linda Hoover
TTouch Prac-in-training
As a (newly minted) TTouch Practitioner in Training for
companion animals, I have witnessed first-hand, some of the
wonderful things TTouch equipment and touches can do for
animals. I've seen posture and gait change, I've seen shy, nervous, or reactive animals become calmer and more balanced. But, last week at a class in Utah, I experienced what
TTouch can do, myself. It was so profound, that I really want
to share it.
Editor’s Note: This booklet is available for $14.95 from both
websites and is very helpful in the rehab of any horse as it has
short lessons to follow.
My Icelandic horse, Magic, was diagnosed with EPM in the fall
of 2008 and the booklet TTEAM as a Complement in the Rehabilitation of Horses with Neurological Deficits was recommended to me to use as a tool in his recovery. It worked very
well and was so useful—especially the Worksheet in the back
of the booklet—that I thought I should use it for groundwork
for all my equines following Magic’s recovery.
I've had trouble with my right hip all my life. I have a slight
case of scoliosis, and my right leg is about a half inch longer
than my left; my right hip is higher than my left. Most people
wouldn't notice it when I walk, but I am aware of it, and it periodically causes problems. At the extreme, upon occasion, my
hip will go slightly
out of joint with an
audible POP. I must
then pop it back in
immediately, which
I can. Yoga has
helped me with
that. More commonly, as happened
last week, something like sitting on
a hard floor for too
long can cause a real
ache. I don't know
whether it gets out
of place by a millimeter or 2, or
whether the arthritis
that I have there
flares up. But the
result, over the past
2+ decades, is that
when it happens, I am in for not less than a week of unpleasantness. In the hip itself, it isn't so much a sharp pain, as a relentless, ever-present grinding ache. It doesn't matter whether I sit,
stand, or lie down, nothing helps; it's just that some things make
it worse.
I found this booklet to be so useful because it has very clear
pictures and explanations of each technique or exercise and
each step of the worksheet refers you to the correct page in the
booklet if you need help.
When I was working with Magic, I did the exercises every
other day and sometimes took an extra day off, but rarely. Now
that I do the exercises with our two other horses and our donkey, I tend to do them only once or twice a week—so each animal gets a workout maybe twice a month or so.
I don’t know if it would work for some people, but I do much
better if I have some kind of structure and the worksheets,
along with the booklet, provide it for me.
Ferne Fedali, Point Arena, California
I had spent nearly an hour sitting cross-legged on the floor, as
Instructor Debby Potts was showing us some things working
with various cats. When I started to stand up, I groaned inwardly, because I realized I had really blown it. It was only the
second day of class, and I had just done something boneheaded
that was going to interfere with my ability to work the rest of
the week. Not to mention, I was going to be hurting, with no
relief, for probably a week; and the 2 days driving home over
the mountains were going to be miserable.
Over the course of the day, it worsened, and I got little sleep
that night. Even when I could doze off, if I moved at all, the
Photo: Ferne’s Icelandic ‘Magic’ doing one of the groundwork
protocol from the booklet.
TTEAM Connections
29
Jul-Sept 2010
Over the next few hours, I continued to wear the wrap off and
on and she showed me how to do it for myself. That evening,
we went out to eat, and sat on metal patio furniture. It wasn't
till the end of the evening that it even registered on my brain
that I had, indeed, been sitting comfortably on a metal chair-----normally, on the day after a hip problem started, I'd have been
hard-pressed to sit even on an upholstered chair for any length
of time. That night, I slept soundly, and woke up feeling quite
good. To my amazement, the ONLY indication of what had
happened was a very small, specific familiar tenderness on the
side of the hip itself, and that was so minimal, I only mention it
in contrast to what would normally have been a second miserable morning in a row. I kept moving all day, with only a minimal awareness of my hip. Toward the end of the day, we were
sitting outside on some flagstones, and after a while, I did have
to stand up and flex my leg and shift my weight back and forth
slightly. These are things I 'm used to doing for relief, so it's
kind of automatic, but usually I'm trying to make an extreme
ache go away (unsuccessfully), and in this case, I was just
maintaining flexibility.
ache woke me up. I got up the next morning, limping, and
really ticked off at myself. When I went to class, I asked
Debby if she could wrap me. Having been wrapped in classes
before, I knew it could be soothing, and in my mind, that was
what I was hoping for. Perhaps just some slight pressure
against my hip might lessen the ache, it seemed.
It was a hectic day, with other groups sharing our space, so the
morning passed before the opportunity arose. By then, my leg
was going slightly numb, as usual. I hadn't been able to sit
much, mostly kept moving around. If I did sit, I had to stretch
the right leg out, and try to take pressure off the hip joint.
Debby started the wrap at my shoulders, checking to see which
position I preferred and went around my torso and hips, then
down the right leg. She asked if I wanted to stop below the
knee, or go to the ankle. It seemed like a good idea to go all
the way down, so that's what she did. Then she asked if I
wanted to do the left side also. Because of my yoga experience,
I prefer to be balanced; what is done on one side is also done on
the other. She concurred, based on her experience. So, with
me wrapped me my feet, checking to be sure the wrap was
comfortable. She asked me to walk around, or do whatever I
needed to do, and she resumed class.
I had another great night's sleep, and the next morning, to my
utter astonishment, there was NO ache in my hip WHATSOEVER! This has NEVER happened in all my years of dealing
with this. And, since I am now older than I have ever been, it
would not naturally get better on its own; it should be taking
longer to get over it. I have never gotten over an episode like
this (from initial hurt, to all the aches ebbing away) in less than
a week. It has taken longer, even. I just kept beaming from ear
to ear every time I reported on my progress to Debby and the
class. To quote some folks, "This stuff really works!"
I walked up a couple steps, and down a hallway. Within seconds, I was stunned by the information that came flooding in. I
immediately realized that I was barely bending that knee. The
next thing that registered was that I was also not flexing my
ankle and foot. I assume that I was instinctively trying to protect my hip from jolting with each step. But what was happening was that instead of the problem being JUST in my hip, it
was now involving my whole leg. I went back and reported
that. Even with a fairly good body awareness from yoga, I
had never picked up on that before. Debby was pleased, and
told me to keep moving. I could then, because of that increased
awareness, bring intentional movement to the knee, ankle, and
foot, and, in so doing, the discomfort began to diminish, just
that rapidly. As it began to diminish, my walk became more
normal.
Has this fixed what's wrong with my hip? No, the structural
issues are still there. However, when it happens in the future, I
will be able to remedy it myself with wraps, and having it happen will no longer be a week-long sentence. And having experienced it myself really brings another dimension to my understanding of just what it is I can bring to the animals I work
with. To know that I can genuinely make a difference, and
know how it feels (not just head knowledge), has taken
my concept of what it means for me to be a TTouch practitioner to a whole new level, and I am a better person (and practitioner) for it.
I took the wrap off when we needed to go to another location to
work with cats. When I walked into the building, I could feel
my stride lengthening and becoming more normal, and the discomfort continued to lessen. I forgot something in the car and
went back out to get it. Returning, there was about a 2' drop
from where we parked to the sidewalk, and without even thinking, just from the joy of less painful movement, I hopped down,
instead of going around, as before, and trotted into the building. When I got inside, Debby was looking at me with a grin,
and gently reminded me not to overdo it! I really didn't even
realize what I had done---I was just moving normally! I found
myself moving more freely and energetically, as more time
passed. We did take a picture of me in the wrap; my regret is
that none of us thought to take a "before" picture, because I
know my stance and posture had to have visibly changed. I
never dreamed there would be a need for a "before" picture,
because I didn't expect a significant "after!"
TTEAM Connections
Linda Hoover
Colorado
Editor’s Note: I have used body wraps on people for a variety of
reasons including hip injuries and replacements. The results
have been very positive and often quite surprising. Remember
to leave the wraps on for short periods of time and that might
include while you are riding or walking your dog. If you have
experiences you would like to share please write or email.
30
Jul-Sept 2010
TTouch For Companion Animals - Workshops 2010
Location
Dates
Whitehorse, Yukon Sept 9-ongoing
Clinician
Type of Workshop
Contact
Kelly Magill
4 evening classes
Kelly Magill 867 393-4397
[email protected]
Italy
Sept 16-21
LTJ
Introduction & Ongoing Practitioner
Training
Valeria Boissier [email protected] or 335
543 8462
England
Sept 18-23
Sept 26-Oct 1
Robyn Hood
Introduction & Ongoing Practitioner
Training
TTouch UK - Tilley Farm
[email protected] 01761 471182
Germany
Sept 18-23
Sept 25-27
Edie Jane Eaton
Intro & Ongoing Practitioner Training
Advanced Training
Bibi Degn 49 2682-8886 [email protected]
Chapel Hill, NC
Sept 18-23
Debby Potts
Introduction & Ongoing Practitioner
Training
TTouch US 800 854-8326
[email protected]
Worchester, MA
Oct 3
Leea Foran
TTouch for dogs workshop
Theresa Gagnon 508 757-7953
[email protected]
Kanab, UT at Best
Friends
Oct 4-9
Edie Jane Eaton
Introduction & Ongoing Practitioner
Training
TTouch US 800 854-8326
[email protected]
Lake Elmo, MN
Oct 8-13
Debby Potts
Introduction & Ongoing Practitioner
Training
TTouch US 800 854-8326
[email protected]
Danville, NY
Oct 9-10
Wendy Fast &
Frances Smith
2 days of TTouch for dogs
Frances or Wendy 585-3353439 [email protected]
Dayton, NJ
Oct 15-20
Edie Jane Eaton
Introduction & Ongoing Practitioner
Training
TTouch US 800 854-8326
[email protected]
Switzerland
Oct 16-17
Oct 18-23
Kathy Cascade
Introduction & Ongoing Prac Training
Advanced Training
Lisa Leicht [email protected]
Rupert, QC - near
Ottawa, ON
Oct 23-28
TBA
Introduction & Ongoing Practitioner
Training
TTouch Canada - 800 255-2336
[email protected]
Portland, OR
Nov 1-5
Edie Jane Eaton
Introduction & Ongoing Practitioner
Training
TTouch US 800 854-8326
[email protected]
Calgary, AB
Nov 6-11
Kathy Cascade
Introduction & Ongoing Practitioner
Training
TTouch Canada - 800 255-2336
[email protected]
Sydney, NSW
Nov 6-10
Robyn Hood
Introduction & Ongoing Practitioner
Training
Andy Robertson [email protected]
www.ttouchaustralia.com.au
Netherlands
Nov 12-17
Nov 18-21
Edie Jane Eaton
Intro & Ongoing Practitioner Training
Advanced Training
TTouch US 800 854-8326
[email protected]
Austin, TX
Nov 13-18
LTJ
Intro & Ongoing Practitioner Training
Advanced Training
TTouch US 800 854-8326
[email protected]
Melbourne, VIC
Nov 13-16
Robyn Hood
Intro & Ongoing Practitioner Training
Advanced Training
Tim Munroe [email protected]
Kona, HI
Feb 6-11,2011
LTJ
TTouch for you and Your Dog
TTouch US 800 854-8326
[email protected]
TTouch For You - 2011
Kona HI
Jan 31-Feb 3
TTEAM Connections
LTJ
TTouch for You
US Office 1 800 854-8326
[email protected]
31
Jul-Sept 2010
TTEAM Equine Workshops - 2010
Location
Dates
Clinician
Type of Workshop
Contact
Vernon, B.C.
Sept 11-12
Mandy Pretty
2-Day TTEAM Connect workshops
TTouch Canada - 800 255-2336 [email protected]
www.ttouch.ca
Udine, Italy
Sept 8-12
LTJ
5-Day TTEAM with horses
Massimo Da Re [email protected]
England
Sept 10-15
Robyn Hood
6 Day TTEAM with horses
TTouch UK - Tilley Farm
[email protected] 01761 471182
Netherlands
Sept 11-16
Edie Jane Eaton
6 Day TTEAM with horses
Germany
Sept 24-28
LTJ
5 Day TTEAM with horses
Anke Recktenwald 0177 6035807 [email protected]
Edmonton, AB
Sept. 25-26
Sue FalknerMarch
2 Day TTEAM workshop
Contact Darlene 780-554-5090, [email protected]
Lakeland, GA
Oct 22-27
Edie Jane Eaton
3 Day & 6 Day TTEAM
Cindy Pullen 678 773-6826
[email protected]
Joburg, South
Africa
Oct 22-26
Robyn Hood
5 Day TTEAM with horses
Eugenie Chopin [email protected]
Twin Cities, MN
Oct 29-31
Edie Jane Eaton
3 Day TTEAM with horses
Tanya Welsch, 952-472-2422 or
[email protected]
Los Alamos, CA
Nov 5-10
LTJ
6 Day TTEAM with horses
US Office 1 800 854-8326
[email protected]
Sydney NSW
Nov 6 & 7
Mandy Pretty
2 Day TTEAM Connect
Rebecca Booth [email protected]
Melbourne, VIC
Nov 18-21
Robyn Hood
Peggy Cummings
Equitana Asia - Demos and booth
Melbourne, VIC
Nov 23-28
TTEAM Connect
Robyn Hood
Peggy Cummings
Sue McKibbin (03) 5626 8226
[email protected]
Canberra, ACT
Dec 1-5
Robyn Hood
5 Day TTEAM Connect
Brigitte Heyer (02) 6238 2141
[email protected]
Sydney, NSW
Dec 8-12
Robyn Hood
3 or 5 Day TTEAM
Rebecca Booth [email protected]
(02) 4631 1308
Kona, HI
Feb 20-25, 2011 LTJ
TTouch for You & Your Horse
US Office 1 800 854-8326
[email protected]
Websites & Online Stores - U.S. www.ttouch.com
Canadian Website www.ttouch.ca
TTEAM Training
5435 Rochdell Road
Vernon, B.C. V1B 3E8
TTEAM Connections
Canada Post Publication Mail
Agreement #40038796
32
Jul-Sept 2010