Tying up is SUCH a big deal that it deserves all this preparation and and whatever else we have to do to make tying up a safe thing for our horse to have done to them.
Because tying up is something that is done TO a horse and as such is a VERY big deal.
This lesson is where your early warning signal that something is Not Quite Right starts to get VERY VERY important.
So many people take tying horses up for granted, but there are physical safety issues involved and if you are not yet clear on HOW you feel Not Quite Right yet, THEN DO NOT DO THIS LESSON AT ALL – only do the video section of the next Lesson 42 if you are clear on feeling AND ACTING ON your early warning signal that something is Not Quite Right.
If you get to this stage in Fast Track and you are not yet clear about your Not Quite Rights or if you are not clear about what to do about them, then I want to hear from you so that we can figure out how to sort that out first – this is a very well supported program and we love you to take advantage of that support. Put your hand up in a Live Seminar for some help – apart from deepening your Feel, you’ll LOVE the feeling of being wrapped in support.
Click here for the alternate recording of this Lesson
Written Version of the Audio
This Lesson is where your early warning signal that something is Not Quite Right starts to get VERY VERY important.
So many people take tying horses up for granted, but there are physical safety issues about it and if you are not yet clear on HOW you feel Not Quite Right yet, THEN DO NOT DO THIS LESSON AT ALL – it is only OK to do the Lesson on the video tomorrow if you are clear on feeling your early warning signals that something is Not Quite Right and if you are in the habit of acting on that feeling.
If you get to this stage in the program and you are not yet clear about your Not Quite Rights or if you are not clear about what to do about them, then I want to hear from you so that we can figure out how to sort that out first.
If you have ANY Not Quite Rights about this Lesson before you do it, then figure them out BEFORE you even think of doing the Lesson.
There are many safety aspects to tying up in general and this Lesson particularly. You are responsible for keeping yourself and your horse safe. And do not go on with this lesson unless you accept that responsibility.
If you have any Not Quite Rights DURING this Lesson, then stop what you are doing immediately and figure them out before going any further.
Have I made a big enough deal about this?
I just about have an anxiety attack at the thought of people tying their horse up to something solid. All my work as a muscle therapist seeing the damage caused by tying up, makes me a great fan of tying up to an old piece of hay string that will break easily.
We are STILL not tying up in this Lesson yet – but if you are tying your horse up at home, do me a favour and re-evaluate you and your horse’s safety now.
For example, if you are tying up to some old hay string like I recommend, is the front gate shut so that your horse cannot get out into danger if they pull back and get free?
In the video part of this Lesson, we are showing you Will learning to be tied up for the very first time. He’s a fidgety youngster who has never been asked to stand still for long periods of time yet. We will teach him how to tie up as if he was tied up to something solid, so that he gives easily to the feel of the halter when he is tied BUT we will NEVER tie him to anything solid – not even when we are comfortable that he is trained.
He will always be tied to a single piece of hay string. We will never ask him to sink or swim by tying him up to something that he cannot get away from in an emergency.
Here’s one of those pronouncements that wants bells around it to draw attention to the fact that I am about to say something very important.
There are three stages of this tying up for those of you who have had horses tied up before.
1. Firstly there is the trauma release stage – where you will back off and stop what you are doing because you feel a Not Quite Right and then you will notice your horse processing old trauma or resistance while you wait for The Chew. They will be doing that zoned out, sleepy kind of look where their muscles jerk and twitch every now and again. They look kind of like they are dreaming. THAT chew will be the most important waiting that you will ever do.
Your horse can release physical damage caused by an old tying up at the same time as they release the emotional trauma. Some of you are going to be awed at the changes that you see.
2. Secondly there is the learning stage. You’ll watch young Will go through that learning stage. At this stage, you use Not Quite Right to know when to stop and allow your horse to think, to know when to take the pressure off them and make it possible for your horse to learn at a speed that is perfect for them.
In this second stage, don’t forget to stop and experience and enjoy the deep feeling of appreciation as your horse learns something new.
This enjoyment is the stage where you can be helping your horse to RE-PROGRAM the task into autopilot. This enjoyment of the feeling of appreciation is also an ESSENTIAL PART of the motivation by GOOD FEELINGS that I have talked about in previous lessons.
Please, please, take the time to enjoy this stage – it’s essential to your horse’s motivation – don’t rush it!
3. Thirdly there is the auto pilot reaction stage. We want our horses “Oh Shit” Zone reaction to be to come off the pressure of the halter softly and easily when they are tied up.
You can actually have your horses co-operation in working on this stage – specially when they can see the benefit of it to them – and when they have the confidence that comes from never being tied up to a solid object.
In keeping with the short and sweet lessons for busy people I have separated the audio and video into two consecutive lessons. So I’ll see you tomorrow with the video part of this lesson. Be comfortable at working on these lessons at your own pace and get that last Lesson happening really well before you start practising the next one.