THE CENTRAL
RECORD
APRIL 25, 2002
Horses
Teaching "How To Be A Better Person"
8 Year-Old Abbey Worley's Life Has Improved
Since Working With Horses At Pine Knoll Farm In Bryantsville
"Teach
a horse to fish, allow yourself to fly" is a mix metaphor
which conjures up intriguing visions worthy of a Confucius'
saying that is both meaningless, but full of understanding.
How can
a horse make you into a better person?
That is
the approach that horse trainer Bruce Anderson is pursuing in
working with horses and, more appropriately, with people at
Pine
Knoll Farm in Bryantsville.
His approach
fits in nicely with The Four Harmony Foundation at Pine Knoll
Farm whose mission is to provide facilities and educational
programs to enhance the health and performance of participants,
both equine and human.
"Horses
can teach you about your inner person," he said. "They
allow you to see yourself."
Anderson
uses a round pen in working with horses and people. He stands
outside of the pen observing while the individual works the
horse inside.
In the
round pen, he said, you bare yourself. It is just you and the
horse. All of who you are is exposed - both the goodness inside
of you as well as your demons.
"Within
twenty minutes", said Leslie Worley about Anderson, "he
knew more about my daughter than the doctors understood in six
months."
She brought
her eight-year-old daughter, Abbey, to Pine Knoll Farm's Kid
Camp last year.
Abbey,
who goes to Camp Dick Robinson, has a learning disability and
two years ago was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD).
"We
noticed it in the first grade," she said.
She had
a hard time processing things. She didn't want to go to school,
was sleeping all the time, never smiled, and had difficulty
in playing with other children and making friends.
"Since
horse camp last year, she has been a different child,"
her mother said. Although she has setbacks, she is happy, smiles
much more, and is doing much better in school.
"She
just beams," said her mother about her daughter coming
back to the farm and working with horses.
"Compared
to three years ago, it's not bad," she said.
Last year
at Kids Camp, Abbey was one of 8 girls, ranging in ages up to
14 years-of-age.
Immediately,
Anderson noticed how naturally Abbey worked with the horse.
When he asked her to change the direction of the horse, she
turned in the correct direction.
Afterwards,
he asked each of the girls ten questions.
He intentionally
left out question #2 to see if the girls would notice.
He asked
them if they noticed something not right.
Abbey,
who answered all the questions right, was the only girl to notice
that there was no question #2.
Because
of her illness, Anderson said Abbey had to work harder and to
break things down more.
She had
to become a better listener to deal with her life, he said.
In working
with the horses, she found a place for herself. The illness
she has worked to her advantage, he said.
Her self-esteem
rose. She was able to move this powerful, strong, fast animal
by not even putting her hands on it.
"If
I can do it here, I can do it there," he said, and it transferred
over to her home, school, and friends.
The Round
Pen
In working
with a horse in a round pen, Anderson said there are five rules:
1st - There
are no rules. (It simulates life.)
2. Your
safety. (Don't put yourself in a position to be harmed. If you
get hurt or injured, the horse will be the one that suffers
the most.)
3. The
horse's safety.
4. Conservation.
5. See
rule #1 (No rules).
In going
into the round pen, your whole mindset needs to change, Anderson
said.
Instead
of approaching the horse with the attitude of "do what
I tell you" to "how can I help you."
"You
become the 'Alpha'", he said.
Your body
is your reins. You put pressure on the horse by your movements.
You must
understand the horse's territory and know how to apply pressure
and know when to release it.
"By
listening to the horse, it will tell you," he said. The
moment you get emotional, you lose it."
Your first
goal in the round pen is to get the horse to move, then direction,
rhythm (riding the horse without being on the horse), and tracking.
If the
horse doesn't learn discipline, the horse will not survive,
Anderson said.
Same as
with your children. With no discipline they will suffer.
In the
round pen, working with the horse, the child learns about discipline
- that it is necessary for their safety, and how to be in control
without being controlling.
"It
helps them to see life as their parents," he said.
The round
pen can apply not only to children, but also to the corporate
world, Anderson said.
By working
with horses, employees can learn how to work together instead
of competing with each other.
"Doing
the round pen is mind work," said Anderson. "The more
you give, the more you get back."
It is an
approach to life that can change you.
Anderson
sums it up in an old adage: "Give a child a fish, feed
him for a day. Teach a child to fish, feed him for a lifetime."
For more
information about Bruce Anderson or about the Four Harmony Foundation
at Pine Knoll Farm, contact
Pine Knoll Farm at (859-548-2628) or log on at www.4harmony-foundation.com.
|
