The Pyramid of
Natural Foundation.
From The Ground Up Horsemanship
As some of you may be starting to plan for the next “show” season with your horses or making goals for starting up the pyramid of training for this year…. I hope you don’t lose sight of the first floor…the foundation, because in the end, what would you be left with if you did skip this most important level?
I would hope for most of you…it is the trust bond that you are striving for, the trust, that we want with our horses….a deeper knowledge that speaks to us on the feeling that we get, learning how to communicate with these beautiful animals. To address this with students I use my Pyramid of Natural Foundation because. It is the reason that I get up every morning for my horses and the reason that it feeds my soul. What do you get up for every morning?
I am in the business of helping people from the ground up, before riding, as this is where I believe true partnership begins. It is where the perils of fear are dissipated, sometimes for the human and more often for the horse. It is where horses that have “problems” learn to trust a human, some for the first time, out of unity. not just submission. A strong foundation becomes the framework of everything else, every discipline, every level.
Never compromise your "Principles" because your horse will know
For me, competing at the highest level of anything isn't worth it without the relationship. There is no colour of ribbon that is as meaningful than the feeling of asking and allowing, dancing with my horse, feeling that intimate communication between my body and his, and knowing when it's time to stop what I am doing and give my horseback to his herd. It is the best feeling because we have both have had a silent conversation that no one could see and have shared heart and mind energy together.
Don’t get me wrong, I think competition isn't bad, in fact it is a great tool for anyone to set goals, to have a purpose, to move outside of their comfort zone, and to aspire higher, but when it is put ahead of the relationship then we lose sight of what it was that we started with.
I see this all of the time in the competitive world, particularly when adding
a timed element, or a feature of a bigger prize or both. The language sometimes changes from asking and allowing to making and getting. The first floor of the pyramid is then lost.
Each one of these levels takes time, patience, being humble, and a sense of humour and each one is as important as the one above and should never be skipped.
You can't get mind connection unless you have heart connection and you can't ask for emotional connection until you have mental connection and then and only then should we be asking for our horse to change his natural physical state into lateral or longitudinal positions.
If you want to learn more about the Pyramid of Natural Foundation, I would be more than happy to help. ~jg~
Remember, everything grows better from the ground up!
Judy Griffiths
