Archive for: ’techniques’
90 Percent of my Time
The saying “we spend 90% of our time on 10% of our students” came up again.
And my response was different this time.
Every other time I’ve been at a workshop, or a session, or a meeting and this statement came up I felt anger growing. It gave my frustration a place to hang. What have I been doing wasting so much time on so few? There certainly must be something be wrong if things are not more equal. Why should the minority demand such a large amount of my time and effort.
Advance and Retreat
Advance and retreat is a common training tactic. I’ve used it very successfully with my horse. In fact, with Chiquita, when she doesn’t feel like being engaged, I force the issue a little bit. I increase the pressure on her by walking aggressively. I aim my gaze directly at her and point my body to her hind quarters. “If you want to walk away from me, I’ll make you run.” The strange thing is that when I take the pressure off by turning away and dropping my posture, she’ll turn and begin to walk toward me. She may not respond quickly but after a few tries she usually wants to follow me around.
