Managing Stress With Horse Sense, 12 Steps to Integrity With Your Horse!
In-teg-ri-ty (noun)
1. the quality of being trustworthy, sincere, decent, honorable, fair.
2. the state of being whole, together, in unity.
Horses are herd animals and experience stress when separated from others, it's their survival instinct, dangers lurk away from the protection of the herd. How do you get your horse to trust in your safe leadership in your herd of two?
Take a grounded and spiritual approach to leadership! Here are the 12-steps:
* STEP 1 - BE HONEST ABOUT YOUR FEAR *
* STEP 2 - KEEP STRESS FROM HOME OR WORK OUT OF THE BARN *
* STEP 3 - LOVE IS MAINTAINING GOOD BOUNDARIES *
* STEP 4 - UNDERSTANDING HORSES AS FLIGHT ANIMALS *
* STEP 5 - RISK MANAGEMENT AND ACCIDENT "AFTERCARE" *
* STEP 6 - LEARNING NON-VERBAL HORSE COMMUNICATION *
* STEP 7 - EVOLUTION OF THE HORSE AND CAUSES OF EQUINE STRESS *
* STEP 8 - DOMINANCE AND WHO MOVES WHOM *
* STEP 9 - HOW TO HELP YOUR HORSE WANT TO COME TO YOU *
* STEP 10 - SPOOKING, LOOKING THROUGH THE EYES OF A HORSE *
* STEP 11 - HERD HIERARCHY AND LEADERSHIP *
* STEP 12 - STRESS RELIEF FOR THE IDEAL PARTNERSHIP *
Why a coloring book? Research shows that focusing on something that's concrete and repetitive (coloring), relaxes the portion of the parietal and frontal lobes in your brain, the same areas connected to spirituality and those that are associated with meditation and prayer. Coloring not only decreases anxiety, it's opens your connection and relaxation to help you with problem solving.
If you are a new horse owner, or seeking to increase your confidence around horses, or perhaps interested in the equine assisted activities and therapy industry, then this book will help you discover how to display leadership when your horse steps into your space, problem solve why a horse pins his ears, and give you ways to display confidence when you're not feeling that way.
Judging your horse as behaving badly leads to acts of punishment. Whereas thinking of your horse struggling to handle a difficult situation encourages you to go into problem solving mode.
12 Steps To Integrity With Your Horse is a different type of adult coloring book with a learning purpose focused on deepening your relationship with horses. It is a coaching book, a teaching book, and a personal journal. The book is short and to the point (less than 50 cents a page), each of the 12 steps has a page of description and a coloring page. The result is a whole brain learning activity designed especially for adults (and teens too) ... to assist in becoming a trustworthy and fair partner in unity with your horse.
Rebecca Cook is an Occupational Therapist and Equine Professional with over 30 years of experience in the arena. She is also the author of The Brown Pony Series.
What books are available in the Brown Pony Series?
- Book One: Introduction to Hippotherapy
- Book Two: Risk Management and Safety in Hippotherapy
- Book Three: Considering Hippotherapy in Your Career Plans
- Book Four: The Business of Hippotherapy
PLUS these companion book titles ...
- Barn Rules
- Tally Up
- Safe Horse Handling
- Incorporating Games in Hippotherapy
