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						<title><![CDATA[Horse Sense for People - The Art of Horse Human Communication - Blogs]]></title>
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					  <title><![CDATA[ACE Horse Sense for People course Term 2]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.horsesenseforpeople.com/blogs/8/ACE-Horse-Sense-for-People-course-Term-2.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[MAY 2008I have just completed my Term 2 course with ACE.&#160; This course as every course had its own dynamics and focus, the special something about this group was their complete willingness to be present to themselves with the support of the horses.This gave everyone huge opportunities to discover key information about themselves, i.e. their beliefs or repeat patterns of behaviour and how they create the results they do in their lives.The discoveries of what they do in relation to situations was not much of surprise to most, what was surprising was how when interacting with others or focusing on projects not realising the impact their thoughts and behaviours have on others involved with them.&#160; They simply did what they thought they should do regardless of others around them.&#160; This lead many to question whether how they acted created a positive, nuturing environment, where everyone was valued for their input.In playing with the horses participants acted out their patterns and actions while the horses reflected back to them how they were doing.This gave everyone wonderful opportunities to experiment with new ways of doing things to see if that worked better or not.&#160; What they all realised was as long as they were mindful of how their intentions towards others and the project at hand impacted each moment, they were able to create mutually enjoyable situations that were inspiring and motivating.Heres what some of the participants had to say about what they liked in the course:&#34;Louise did a great job of holding the space as did the horses, Fabulous!&#34;.K McGilchrist&#34;A thorough, clear and amazing course.&#160; The break throughs made with self&#34;T Webb]]></description>
					  <author>Louise Kropach</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Horsemanship Lesson of the Week]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.horsesenseforpeople.com/blogs/7/Horsemanship-Lesson-of-the-Week.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[I thought the other week during a very interesting lesson with a client that it may be of benefit to others to share what happened in the lesson so you too can glean some ideas that you can incorporate or try with your horse.&#160; From now on I will pick one lesson during my week and share it here in this blog.&#160; My intention is that it will inspire, educate or get you thinking of how these ideas could benefit you and your horse.&#160; Please enjoy and leave comments or suggestions.&#160; Louise xxIndy - 30 JanTodays lesson with Indy was about personal space and the bubble around it.Indy is a new horse for my client and can be described in horseinality terms as right brain reactive.&#160; Everything Indy does is from a basis of fear so his instincts kick in very quickly to flee the scene.&#160; What my client discovered today was how Indy's opinion of humans and what being with them entails is dismal. When trying to play the circling game it can only be played in a contained fashion.&#160; In other words Indy says I will tolerate you as long as you don't come into my bubble and you must stay very quiet, almost sneaking around.&#160; As soon as you apply energy or pressure Indy's lid blows and he has left town 100% in his mind, body and spirit.How can we play any ground games when Indy's terms are so contained?&#160; Basically we can't and stay safe!Forgetting the games we began our session with helping Indy get braver, calmer and think.&#160; All left brain stuff.&#160; To do this we had to play approach and retreat to find Indy's bubble.&#160; My client discovered it was huge!&#160; Probably about 20' around his whole body.&#160; Once we understood where his threshold of comfort was we began to ask permission to enter his bubble.&#160; Again my client played approach and retreat.&#160; This meant that when we asked permission to enter his bubble and he reacted by saying no we retreated.&#160; This was kept up until Indy said yes.&#160; Then once in Indy's bubble the approach and retreat started again until he would let his human touch him all over his body.&#160; This was especially important as Indy was very protective of his body and would always turn and face you blocking you out with his shoulder.&#160; This gesture alone was valuable information for my client to have registered that Indy was not happy when a human was touching his body, he was a volcano waiting to explode. Now my client was in Indy's bubble with him relaxed and calm.&#160; We needed to wait until this time before even attempting a game because we would then be back to square one in the blink of an eye.&#160; Why?&#160; Because Indy would not in his left brain, which is the thinking side of the brain.&#160; Only in this side of his brain can he learn.With Indy calm and relaxed and engaged with my client, we could try a game.&#160; We chose the friendly game as a place to start.&#160; Indy was great, he stayed calm and relaxed without moving his feet.&#160; With him confident with this on both sides of his body, we progressed to asking Indy to walk out into a circle while playing the friendly game.&#160;&#160; This would be the test for Indy.&#160; Because he was still in his thinking brain he was able to keep working with my client and not blow up and take off.&#160; You could literally see Indy figuring it out - that he was just fine and his human was ok too.&#160; The interesting thing about reactive horses is how people misunderstand their reaction i.e, when they move there feet people tend to think the horse is moving forward.&#160; This is not the case.&#160; They are running away in their right brain.&#160; When you get a reactive horse to start to think, a funny thing seems to happen.&#160; They get unsure about how to move their body let alone how to go forward! The other interesting thing about right brain mode is that horses don't seem to lick and chew a lot.&#160; In their left brain I seem to observe the horse doing this a lot more frequently. Maybe its about feel and timing too.&#160; When you give comfort to the response from the horse.&#160; Anyway lots of food for thought!This is what Indy was trying to figure out, how to move forward and have lots of energy around him with the friendly game going on.&#160; The good thing was he was in his left brain and thinking.&#160; So he began experimenting, does my human mean go forward, or do I need to stop? He started asking questions and engaging.&#160; By reassuring him and communicating clearly how the game was played, it was game on! Now we could get excited because Indy was really making fabulous progress!&#160; When he figured the game out which didn't take very long.&#160; It was time to QUIT.&#160; Always quit while you are ahead.While my client and I were reviewing what happened in the session, Indy was so relaxed and you could see how pleased he was with himself and what had transpired today.&#160; He stood quietly, content. With his head low his eyes had a beautiful soft twinkle and his body totally relaxed.&#160; Wow what a fabulous feeling to be able to help Indy find this way of being in himself.Over a period of time incorporating these concepts into a programme with Indy, he will get braver and calmer and confident with his human and what is being asked of him.&#160; This is not a quick fix scenario, it will take whatever time it takes because Indy will say so!Cheers Louise]]></description>
					  <author>Louise Kropach</author>
					  <pubDate>Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Horse Sense for People course in June]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.horsesenseforpeople.com/blogs/6/Horse-Sense-for-People-course-in-June.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&#160;Horse Sense for People Course in June/July 2007I have to say that the recent course completed in conjunction with ACE Byron Shire was a very very special course for me.As the 3 weeks of self discovery unfolded, course participants made quantum leaps in connecting mind body and spirit with their daily lives.The openness with which everyone was willing to share and support each other touched me deeply.&#160; This small group were very special in that each brought gifts of life experiences and willingly shared from the heart to give all of us wonderful insights into ourselves and also our lives.&#160; WOW!Participants grasped concepts of how to communicate with our beautiful horses effortlessly - like they had been doing natural horsemanship all their lives!&#160; They also learnt how to hold their space with no strings attached, just the art of being fully present in the moment, this was probably where the most awesome discoveries where made by everyone.&#160; Seeing how participants confidence and physical appearance changed and simply blossomed when mind, body and spirit harmonised,&#160; was so exciting for me!In the next session we explored how to create respect while lovingly holding personal space and communicating clearly from the heart.&#160; This seemed very daunting, however everyone got into the spirit of the games and before long successful outcomes were enjoyed by all particpants.&#160; It was a real thrill for me to see how focused each person was not on the outcome, but on the journey.&#160; We had lots of laughs even though mental and emotional exhaustion prevailed as a result of a very intense and focused sessionFinally the last session was upon us - the 3 weeks went so fast!Putting all that had been practised from the previous weeks together in a game created challenges for everyone to say the least.&#160; The information each one received from the horses about how they were doing moment by moment had everyone really busy experimenting with their thoughts and then changing their actions to create the desired result.&#160; Confirmation of thoughts and actions reflected back from the horses to each participant,&#160; gave each person incredible insights into their coping mechanisms, beliefs and patterns of behaviour that was to some unbelievable and others astounding in their truth.This was such a powerful session for everyone to finish with!&#160; Armed with a whole new awareness of themselves, new tools and strategies in handling situations, the dynamics of relationships etc etc., gave everyone lots of new experiences to use as a point of reference for the future and ways to build the life of their dreams.It was an honour for my horses, myself and my two wonderful support crew to be a part of this amazing journey for each of you.&#160; THANK YOU VERY MUCH!Love Louise]]></description>
					  <author>Louise Kropach</author>
					  <pubDate>Sun, 22 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Experimenting with Change]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.horsesenseforpeople.com/blogs/5/Experimenting-with-Change.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[Thanks to you all for your feedback from the Effective Leadership Workshop!There were a few things I got out of the workshop that I would like to share -Firstly, when experimenting with change, how it is sometimes very difficult to process how to break down the situation into smaller chunks by ourselves. Often it is easier to just put your hand up and let someone else give you ideas.&#160; Why is that??&#160; Is it because you cannot 'see the wood for the trees'?You have gone into a bit of a mental or emotional paralysis at the enormity or pressure of the situation?Is it because you have never had much confidence in yourself and maybe have strong beliefs about how you handle situations?Or is your level of skill lacking in certain areas to warrant assistance?Maybe it's a mixture of all of the above and more!!!Is the above just a reflection of leadership skills and challenging the comfort zone around this skill?I am still pondering how to support the process in the workshop, to encourage participants to explore ideas themselves.&#160; This for me has been the most powerful way I have learned not only life lessons but also developed my horsemanship skills.&#160; Our sense of using intution to guide us in everyday life is not as frequently engaged as I thought!&#160; Maybe I am an oddity in this sense!!&#160; Tapping into intuition as a guide is the only way to have the utmost confidence that the right decision can been made.&#160; Because the decision without fail in my experience ensures the result is for my highest good.&#160; (I might not like or get the result I thought I was going to get, however it has always worked out for the best in ways I could never have imagined at the time!)Being an exploratory workshop and focusing on effective relationships through congruency, confidence and communication the format of how the games were played and the outcomes achieved were left up to each individual to create and enjoy their results.&#160; This was a pretty huge leap of faith for everybody and I congratulate everyone on their willingness to give it a go!&#160;  I felt so excited by the breakthroughs I saw and how the interaction with their horse improved markedly when creating fun and using imagination in the games.&#160; Well done to you all. Louise]]></description>
					  <author>Louise Kropach</author>
					  <pubDate>Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Feedback from Effective Leadership Workshop]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.horsesenseforpeople.com/blogs/4/Feedback-from-Effective-Leadership-Workshop.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&#34;The big surprise was not only is there a change in how I relate to my horse but I feel more balanced in my relationships with friends/family&#34;&#34;To step outside my boundaries I had set myself....to let go memories of past experiences that were negative........to balance energy, patience, observation, response, intuition and gratefulness&#34;&#34;The practical work = play;&#160; experiencing how my horse and myself cope with different circumstances and having fun!&#34;&#34;Sharing of ideas, experience, fears, concerns, joys and of course the play with the horses.&#160; Also the assistance I received, was highly beneficial - thanks Louise!&#34;&#34;Putting the theory into practice.&#160; Oh Equus, you challenge the predator disposition!&#34;&#34;The ability to experience and experiment was awesome!&#34;&#34;Many Many Thanks - enjoyed the sessions immensely,,&#160;&#160; still balancing the new void....PS..Love the &#34;By Line&#34;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Amazing Adventures in Self Awareness using the Horse as Mentor&#160;If you're not living on the edge&#160;you're taking up too much room&#160;Another that I also love (above).....and the horses certainly allow much for me, I am grateful.Take Care &#38; Be Well&#34;]]></description>
					  <author>Louise Kropach</author>
					  <pubDate>Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Effective Leadership Workshop - May 2007]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.horsesenseforpeople.com/blogs/3/Effective-Leadership-Workshop---May-2007.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[Workshop participants gathering the horses!Last week we finished our Effective Leadership workshop with everyone totally inspired and thrilled with how, over the two sessions everyone experienced new ways of thinking and communicating.What is Leadership:&#160; Taking charge with a dependable, consistent confident attitude. Be assertive without threatening.Here is an excerpt of some of the theory behind the practical games we played during the sessons exploring Congruency:The focus for the workshop was:&#160; Congruency, Confidence and Commitment to CommunicationWe explored the subjects individually to understand how they can then be applied personally and professionally - assisted by our trusty gang of horses Bravo, Chevy, Fi, Dawn and Badger. Some clients brought their own horses - Anais, Peppy, Elmo and Stella who had an absolute ball with their owners!THE THEORY Congruency &#8211; having our mental, emotional and physical being in harmony.&#160; Or simply a mind/body/spirit connection.&#160;I believe the ultimate reason for practising congruency in our lives, is it allows our INTUITION and HEART to guide our decisions and life.&#160; These decisions are always right and perfect for our highest good.Having a constant biofeedback loop with horses gives us an experiential way to feel how to be in the&#8216;congruency zone&#8217;, the effortlessness of seeming to come together as &#8216;one&#8217; with the horse, experiencing a very special magic and joy in the moment.&#160; Knowing that all is perfectly understood between parties and a safe, trusting atmosphere ensures a beautiful outcome for success &#8211; every time.&#160;&#160; The first step is to learn how to pay attention to ourselves.Horses have an amazing ability to be able to read how body, mind and spirit is connected in each other and in the humans in their lives.&#160; Each part of our&#160; body, mind and spirit needs to be developed equally to be able to constantly move forward as balanced centred human beings.&#160; The surest way to develop the necessary attributes of Mental, Emotional and Physical harmony is by having a MOMENT by MOMENT honest awareness of self.This honest awareness needs acknowledgement of what we are thinking and feeling &#8211; the good, bad, indifferent and ugly!&#160; Then and only then can we give ourselves permission to be who we need to be for our horses and self.The beauty of horses is they are able to read the TRUTH OF OUR SOULS, in conjunction with the PHYSICALITY OF OUR EXPRESSIONS.This is such a huge subject and one that is explored as a workshop topic in itself!.&#160;&#160; The basic ideas here were discussed and then applied in some very simple games for course participants to experiment with.The general experience from playing with the horses was how participants doubted themselves and the seemingly impossible thought of how they could get the horse to play with them in the first session.&#160; The temptation to then MAKE the horse play the games became much easier to succumb too when things didn't go too well!&#160; Workshop participants soon realised, the cost was a lost connection and harmony with the horse.&#160; Trust was totally compromised.&#160; This left everyone wondering how in their own lives their loved ones, colleagues etc., felt when participants 'made' things happen????? Wow a very big question to ponder!In the second session after these realisations participants found a quieter sense of self and kept working on the harmony of their connection and to most peoples amazement the game just seemed to happen!!!&#160; This is the beauty of experiencing &#8216;being in the moment&#8217;, it is so effortless and can be SO much fun.Stay tuned for next week when I will share the theory and how the group went experimenting with Confidence!Happy HorsingLouise]]></description>
					  <author>Louise Kropach</author>
					  <pubDate>Sun, 27 May 2007 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Confident Horses]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.horsesenseforpeople.com/blogs/2/Confident-Horses.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[What does the word Confident mean?It means &#8211;Firm trust The feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or somethingA state of feeling certain about the truth of somethingA feeling of self assurance about ones abilities or qualities&#160;&#160; Therefore confidence is &#8216;a state of being&#8217;When it comes to helping our horses be confident with us and in any situation we may want to be with them requires the ability for&#160; horsemen and women to &#8211; Multi taskHave composureBe decisiveHave consistencyPatienceBe proactiveYour success or failure depends on you having the above qualities, demonstrating a level of skill in yourRiding and Horsemanship appropriate to where your horse is at and your beliefs. &#160;This ensures that for a successful outcome with horses you come from a place of personal integrity NOT ego! Confidence is a great motivator and inspires horses to try harder, get excited and more involved with their human.&#160; Once this is clearly demonstrated from human to horse and the horse happily responding back. The sky is the limit in what is possible with horses.&#160; Confidence creates a special bond based on love, trust and respect.&#160; Let the fun begin!Leadership cannot happen without being confident, confidence cannot happen without having an unshakableknowing that what you are doing is fantastic and great for all parties involved.&#160; This cannot happen unlesswe become proactive in our interactions with horses.&#160; This means having the ability to think on ones feet about creating solutions to situations or problems and ensuring that we have a positive attitude throughout.When situations have us reacting this absolutely shatters confidence and chaos and crisis management then kick in.&#160; Creating more chaos and short-term band aids to the problem or situation.&#160; Often feeling stuck, with our mind in a whirl brings us and our horses into a temporary state of paralysis.&#160; Have you ever had your horse blow up and then not be able to move its feet???&#160; This is a classic reaction!What does a reactive or unconfident horse look like?Right brained &#8211; mentally and emotionally left town!High head running on adrenalineTight, tense body Unable to move feet or very unbalance and unsteady on feetGlazed eyesHow does a reactive horse feel like?Leaning on the halter so the lead rope is very heavy in handDefensive with certain parts of body i.e. shoulders coming towards you, heavy on front feetHow can we help our horses and ourselves become more confident?Firstly WE have to find this state of being in ourselves.&#160; Then and only then can we help our horses.The response can never be manufactured or made to happen we need to proactively help our horsesfind confidence within themselves just like we need to do within ourselves.Strategies that may help include:Using approach and retreat until we are Mentally, Emotionally and Spiritually in the right space, thiscan also apply to our horse.Setting up the solution so the horse thinks they have &#8216;found&#8217; it themselvesGiving the horse responsibilities or jobs to do.&#160; This demonstrates a trust and belief that &#8216;we&#8217; can do this togetherPlaying a game the horse and human know very well and both enjoy to regain composure, lines of communication and confidence.Have fun and keep trying!&#160; If you don&#8217;t try because of whatever reason how will you ever know and explore just what fun the journey with our horses can be.]]></description>
					  <author>Louise Kropach</author>
					  <pubDate>Sun, 13 May 2007 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Rythmn and Flow]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.horsesenseforpeople.com/blogs/1/Rythmn-and-Flow.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&#160;&#160;&#160; THE RHYTHM AND FLOW OF LIFE AND HORSESAs the Horse Sense for People clients progress their skills it has been interesting to observe lately howbeing in the flow of the game has led to important new discoveries about goals and desired outcomes.While the Horse Sense for People clients tried to figure out how to keep in the flow of a game or exercise with one of the horses, time and time again the qualities of leadership, clarity of intention and commitment to the activity were reflected in the horses body language and level of participation in the game.What does it mean to have rhythm and flow?To me it means being able to take yourself and/or others willingly along a path of least resistance to achieve a particular goal or outcome.&#160; How is it achieved?My interpretation and understanding of this is to keep the goal, plan or desired outcome in mind, but not the be all and end all, risking a train wreck on the way!&#160; Having a desired outcome or goal so huge can leave people quite overwhelmed when thought of as a whole and enough to make most people give up before they have even started!Simplifying the process by breaking the plan down into chunk sized pieces will ensure that at least each chunk has a good chance of being successful even if the final outcome isn&#8217;t.&#160; This encourages our commitment and persistence to each chunk as our self-confidence doesn&#8217;t feel so overwhelmed and the horse isn&#8217;t trying to second guess or make decisions for us.&#160; If we can put one hundred per cent effort into each chunk our self-belief isn&#8217;t thwarted and our communication will stay grounded in the present moment and our communication will also remain congruent.&#160; This congruent (congruency means having your mental, emotional and physical sides communicating the same thing) state of being, like magic, seems to then allow the leader of the game to communicate from a place deep within, using intuition or gut instinct to direct the flow.&#160; If there are any hiccups along the way in this flow, the leader can effortlessly redirect the horse, partner or team, without loosing the momentum and flow of the game, movement or task. The pitfall most experience when experimenting with rhythm and flow is trying to &#8216;make things happen&#8217;, manufacturing outcomes and micro managing the situation.&#160; This blows our congruency or alignment out of the water and leaves the horse to question our direction and leadership abilities; they are able to see right through the smoke and mirror tactics! A vital part of keeping in the flow is allowing it to just be once it has been communicated and set up right.&#160; The art of doing less to achieve more is experienced totally when playing these types of games with horses as the practical &#8216;live&#8217; feedback is our reality gauge.&#160; This feedback is invaluable for clients willing to acknowledge and change these limiting patterns.Once clients have discovered the power of being in rhythm, the deep connectedness felt with the horse is very exciting and special.&#160; It makes the goal or desired outcome seem irrelevant because the journey is such fun and joy!&#160; This is called being totally in the moment, or in the zone. In this wonderful state of being I will often then suggest to a client to now try to put the game together and see what happens.&#160; Clients quite vocally express their complete disbelief when the &#8216;impossible&#8217; goal is fluidly and easily achieved!&#160; All our clients experiencing this process have received a massive confidence boost and understand how being in RHYTHM leads to a deeply personal and practical experience of EMPOWERMENT.]]></description>
					  <author>Louise Kropach</author>
					  <pubDate>Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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