Asd “La via del Cavallo,Un posto felice”

13/02/2024

E così devi accettare che non puoi
spegnere il male del mondo da solo.

Ma ogni giorno puoi avere cura
del pezzo di creato che ti ospita,
del presente che stai vivendo,
dello spazio in cui cammini
e di chi lo abita con te.

Non puoi fermare una guerra,
ma costruire un piccolo riparo
per un fiore,
per un gatto randagio,
per un ramo fratturato
che ha ancora la vita dentro,
quello lo puoi fare sempre,
se impari di nuovo a vedere e a sentire.

Ed è il compito più grande che abbiamo:
amare quel che c’è,
sentire che la vita è una,
dentro ogni cosa.
-Giulia Calligaro.

02/02/2024

❤️

The horse world is yet again attacking each other from all sides in response to a recent highly scored dressage test where the horse really didn’t look like they were having a very nice time.

‘Professional’ riders are claiming that they’re being bullied and trolled, and I’m sure some feelings of humans have been hurt along with those of the horses.

This is what I believe is happening.

There IS a ground swell of change occurring and the voice of lowly people without the wealth and status of the equine elite are being heard. Without a doubt there is a class and hierarchy issue sitting behind this. The aristocracy don’t like it when the peasants revolt, we’re a messy and annoying bunch.

AND, more importantly than this, and the part that gives me hope is this. Those riders who are feeling criticised and coming back all guns blazing, are in their teeny tiny heart of hearts, scared we might be right. And the scariest thing for our ego is the realisation that it may have hung it’s hat on the wrong stand.

I’m holding on to the belief that all of us - when we plopped into the world - didn’t want to do things which were hurtful or harmful to others. That in our souls we know we are all interconnected and each of us - horse, human, tree, spider, star, lichen - are all equally worthy of love and respect. And that this growing voice of ‘Hey, this doesn’t look like you’re being very nice to your horse’ is tweaking that bit right in the middle of them, and it’s making them feel uncomfortable.

And as we’ve been trained to look for comfort wherever we can, we will do whatever it takes not to feel uncomfortable. And right now that’s being expressed as a big fat ‘F**k off’ from the equestrian elite. They’ve gone into full scale defensive mode which includes both claiming victimhood and shaming and mocking everyone else,

My great golden hope is that the reason they’re so rattled is because a bit of them they can’t quite remember, maybe the part of them which as a 2 year old exploded with giggling delight at the sight of a horse, also doesn’t want to make their sides bleed or stop them being able to breathe properly or have to use a huge amount of painful traction on their jaw to ‘ride a medium trot’. That it’s that tiny child right in there who’s saying, ‘Hey grown up me, is this really what we wanted to do to horses?’

At the moment, it’s all coming out as vitriol or self pity, but maybe one day they too will stand up to the system which has caused this and say ‘Let’s not do this to our friends anymore….’

05/07/2022

❤️❤️❤️

Being disliked sucks, but you know what sucks more?

Not being yourself. Holding your self back.

Do you ever bite your tongue because you’re scared to offend? Have you ever recoiled from expressing a passionate truth that’s deeply important to you, because you feel like you’ll get attacked for expressing it? Cancelled? Shunned? Pushed away?

Just like horses, humans are social beings. Our bodies crave acceptance, protection and kinship of a tribe. We can and should practice pro-social and cooperative communication

But!

If your honest, deeply caring loved truth causes your tribe to aggress upon you, they were never your tribe in the first place. You were in the wrong place.

It would suck to live our lives through the narrow prism of the disease of the need to please because we are scared of not being liked.

Because you’re then robbing folks of the opportunity to know the real you. Your strongest, purest most vibrant self.

To live our lives in a state of permanent diminishment and accommodation of the rules of a community that doesn’t suit us would be a wretched way forwards. And it would show up in your horsemanship too

Horses who struggle to connect with you deeply. You’ll find it difficult to transcend technique and reach that magic place of communication without cues or aids. You’ll struggle to set boundaries; certain horses may recognize you as a diminished version of yourself with a personal bubble available for violation… or a personal presence they cannot see, feel or acknowledge. Just an empty shell

I know what it feels like to change yourself to fit in. Change your clothes, your speech, your choices… and even modulate the sound of your voice so that nobody identifies you as ‘the other’ and the one ripe for outcasting. I am slowly, steadily recovering from that. I know who I am. I just lack trust in the world to embrace that

Perhaps you feel this way too. You’re tired. Avoid crowds. Cancel community events. Choose solitude. I see you. I know why you do this to survive.

It is your birthright to claim your most authentic and vibrant self, and to find the community that embraces you for it

24/05/2022

A tutti voi "alternativi" dell'equitazione che siete costretti a sopportare giorno dopo giorno i bigotti cafoni che vi parlano dietro.. dicendo che siete pazzi perchè montate senza imboccatura, perchè tenete il cavallo scalzo, perchè ritenete che chiudere tutto il giorno un cavallo in un box da solo sia un abominio, perchè non vi fate passare nemmeno per l'anticamera del cervello di vendere il vostro compagno per "salire di livello" perchè siete ben coscienti che NON CI SONO CAVALLI MEDIOCRI, MA SOLO MEDIOCRI CAVALIERI.. Voi che venite derisi per la vostra integrità morale e la vostra voglia di imparare.. presi in giro da chi a cavallo ci va solo per darsi un'aria, per uno status sociale, per vincere una gara non avendo altro modo di soddisfare se stessi...

Voi che venite chiamati "strani" solo perchè ragionate con la vostra testa sulle cose che fate, voi che siete davvero diversi in un mondo di gente che vuole credersi speciale omologandosi alla massa... Voi che testardi e pieni di ideali resistete.. Voi che colmi di amarezza non sapete più come incollarvi le braccia cascate troppe volte.. Voi che subite, sopportate e tirate avanti per la vostra strada, aprendola a fatica in un immenso campo di spezzacavalli di varia razza, nonostante tutte le difficoltà e gli sguardi torvi.. Siate orgogliosi. Siete il lupo nel branco di pecore. Siete la speranza di ogni cavallo e dell'equitazione. Siete il futuro, e presto vedrete le pecore tentare tutte insieme di ululare. Per questo continuate così, e non demordete, non abbattetevi, non lasciatevi abbattere da chi non ha nemmeno la metà della vostra coscienza morale, della vostra sensibilità, della vostra lungimiranza e della vostra voglia di migliorare.
.E quando vi capiterà per l'ennesima volta di essere derisi per le vostre "strane idee"... ricordate che al mondo vi sono moltissimi stolti che belano insieme alla massa, e che non tutti possono avere il privilegio di emanciparsi da quest'ultima ed avere una propria voce indipendente, con proprie capacità critiche. La massa belante resterà sempre lì, ad aspettare di essere condotta dai pochi capaci di decidere per conto proprio.

Fonte”Monta in libertà “

10/05/2022

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

🧠

08/05/2022

It doesn't actually come down to how harsh or gentle you *think* your hands are.

This is because dressage riders put three times more pressure on the reins than the horse would choose themselves.

"The influence of the rider on the horse’s mouth via the reins can represent an aversive stimulus, which can be used in negative reinforcement. To determine the absolute values of rein tension as an aversive stimulus, rein tension measurements were performed."

I’d also suggest any pressure the horse is choosing to put on the reins may be attributed to something called the punishment callus.

This small study confirms what many of us already know - it's not about your hands at all and most riders do not have "gentle hands".

There is a lot of traditional (aversive) training that advocates driving from the leg and seat, into the holding hand and it’s just not necessary and gives confusing mixed messages.

Riding with a bit and trying to control or “communicate” via the bit is not necessary at all.

"In conclusion, horses exercised in a dressage frame adopted a lower rein tension without a rider than with a rider. Higher rein tension was associated with a higher frequency of behaviours indicating discomfort and/or stress. The results indicate that the higher rein tension may be primarily generated by the rider."

Wow, that's sad! Causing the horse pain so we can ride with a bit and compete or do what WE want to do.

A summary of the study here:-

https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/06/15/dressage-horses-rein-tension-riders/?fbclid=IwAR3xP0adePvbZKs7Vt1qsxSYG4wH_I9YdOn249wJSLMyPklgf0EH-UlYewU

The full study here:-

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/6/321/htm

08/05/2022

Se parli con gentilezza
Alle piante le aiuti a crescere.
Pensa cosa succede
Quando lo fai con le persone e gli animali …

08/05/2022

Improve your work with horses by remaining NATO.

In sports psychology, NATO means not attached to outcome. If an athlete is fixated on the outcome it can cause anxiety and result in poor performance. They begin to focus on the wrong things, like their mistakes and other factors at play that could negatively impact their performance like the wind or the grass and this in turn affects their ability to hit the ball correctly. They become tense and unable to engage in a process of learning by being in the present moment. Sometimes even a person's self worth can become connected to a certain outcome which adds even more pressure and makes performing that much more difficult.

In our sport, we don't play with a ball. We play with another sentient being with a mind of it's own and it's own set of emotions that, by the way, is able to pick up on *our* emotional state. In one study, researchers found that horses' heart rates mirrored their handlers.

"The heart rates (HR) of horses and the people leading them (10 horses, 20 people), and riding them (17 horses, 17 people), were recorded in an indoor arena. The horses were Swedish leisure horses of mixed ages, s*x and breed. All except two of the people were female and all were of mixed age and riding experience. Each horse-human pair walked or rode between points A and B (30m) four times on each test occasion. However, just before the fourth pass, participants were told that an umbrella would be opened as they rode, or led, the horse past the assistant. The umbrella was not opened, so this pass was no different to the previous control occasions, but nevertheless there was an increase in HR for both the person (leading, P=0.06; riding, P