Post on 07-Dec-2014
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Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
1 © Equine Learning Experiences Australia 2012
Finding Futures Equine Learning Program
Class of May 2012: Billy Jo Curle, Jake Plover, Ashley walker, Miranda Pugh, Brodie Foster, Emma Rose, Brannon McDonald. Program Director: Emily McVeigh Co Facilitators: Matthew Thomas, Cindy Jacobs, Paul McVeigh, Sally Slew, Razzle Dazzle, January Jones, Maddy
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
2 © Equine Learning Experiences Australia 2012
Equine Learning Experiences Australia’ and ‘Finding Futures’ participants have come to the end of their first 10 week equine learning program. And to celebrate the fun and learning that has come about, ELEA and the participants have taken the time to document their experiences and the personal development that has come from the program.
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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Finding Futures Equine Learning program
Billy Jo Curle -‐ May 2012
“The equine learning program covers a lot of skills and activity’s that I wish I could have participated in three years ago when welfare first took my two girls (Billiska and Cheryl) off me; I think this course would have helped and can help the other people out there who are going through the similar problems as I am going through, I think the course would have had worked a great deal more back then but it’s better late than never and the equine learning program has helped me quite a lot over the past ten weeks, I have a better understanding of thing that are happening around me and to me, I have a lot more confidence now then I had when I first started this course if something is bothering me I deal with it or I say what’s on my mind ( being congruence matching my inside feelings with my outside feeling,).
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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People may not like me for it but it saves me from bottling up my feelings and doing something stupid, I have also never been good with working in groups or team work, I was always picked on when I was younger but that changed very quickly with this course by the second week in my small group were having a lot of fun working as a team, problem solving and even looked at me for leadership which I had never been before and the most I have gotten a lot of things out of this course is my writing and a lot of confidence.”
Billy Jo Curle
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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JAKE PLOVER
FINDING FUTURES EQUINE LEARNING PROGRAM Feb -‐ May 2012
We work with the horses for ten weeks. We did grounding with the horses to learn about the 5 senses. I learnt to feel more of my environment other than to think, this means we can get a lot more from our environment. We also did work on leadership skills; I learnt that a good leader needs to be supportive, honest and loyal. I then practiced using these leadership skills on ‘Sally’ around an obstacle course.
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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When we did the grounding exercise I said I was relaxed but I was not being congruent and even though I said I was relaxed I was feeling a bit annoyed about my TV breaking that morning. Sally then reflected off that and bit poor ‘January’. Emily asked me what was going on and asked me to be congruent, I then told her what I was really feeling and that ‘Sally’ was just reflecting my annoyance. Emily explained that being congruent is important. We learnt about honesty, teamwork, congruence. We did problem solving we did clear communication, empathy we did work on authentic self voice and false self voices.
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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Authentic self voice is when we really believe something. An example would be ‘I am a good person’. An example of a false self voice would be ‘I am an idiot’, these are things that other people have told me. Emily explained this is someone else’s opinion and is a false self voice. We worked work on body language, I learnt that people read a lot from the way our body is. For example if our shoulders are tight, then people can think we are worried about something. If we are relaxed our bodies are relaxed. the biggest learning I will take from the program and use in my life is asking for help.
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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Brannon has learnt that if he wants the horses to connect with him he needs to ground himself and be mindful to the present moment. He has also learnt that applying force to get a horse to do something will not work. He is learning that his body language and energy will have a direct effect on how the horses respond to him. Brannon is now going to start applying this increase in self awareness to both his personal and professional relationships. -‐ Brannon McDonald -‐
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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Miranda Pugh
One on One Activity- entrainment
While stroking and engaging with Razzle I felt warm, peaceful, relaxed and at ease with her. My body was relaxed without any tension. Breathing was steady and I was completely focused on her. I felt connected to her, didn’t want to leave her side. Felt completely accepted, this made me feel emotional and teary. This feeling stayed with me as I drove away from session. I felt loved. Just wanted to keep cuddling and stroking Razzle, I felt distant from the outside world. She wanted to be near me and not run away. Felt warm and fuzzy for the rest of the evening. Razzle is so precious. I felt something being released from me, not sure what! Didn’t want to return to reality. Razzle was so warm.
While focusing on leaf alone my eyes began to ache and my body became tight. I started feeling tired, it became hard to stand and stay focused on leaf. When I could focus on my whole environment I was more relaxed, calm, peaceful and warm. Grounding myself calmed my mind down; I felt warmth around my body. Got a little startled when horses made a noise.
False and authentic self-voice- We need to be true to our feelings. We don’t need to do something just to impress someone. Being false leads to unhappiness. Team Work- working together to complete a task. It involves clear communication and being open to suggestions from other people. Including everybody, regardless of their abilities everybody’s contribution is valuable. Observations VS Interpretations- How each person views the world and their circumstances is different. What I interpret as cute someone else might think is ugly. But they can’t dispute the colour of something unless their colour blind. When we set up the obstacle course without instructions people did the course the way they felt comfortable to do so even if it was meant to be done the opposite or a different way.
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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POEM
Let it go, let it out
Let it all unravel
Let it be and it will be
A path on which to travel
The horses were so loyal to us, week to week. They seemed to want to keep the connection with us; they drew us near to them. I felt a bond with them and they seemed to feel the same. Our personnel boundaries need to be flexible depending on situation we are in. Our personnel space is the area an arm’s width or so around us. I have also become more aware of what I value and what I need to protect in my life. It’s ok to stand up for myself.
Anchoring Activity
My highlight during this activity was having Maddie watch my every move; I felt connected to her, and didn’t want to move to far away from her. I found it interesting how she just watched me with no desire to move. I felt safe around her and drawn back to her when I strayed too far. While grounding myself I felt peaceful, my body felt warm and my feet felt like they were being pulled or drawn into the earth. I felt steady. I felt energy being released from my back and legs. I wanted the horses to come closer so I could stroke them. I learnt we can have a connection to people from a distance without being in their face all the time. There’s some sort of energy, not sure what.
It’s like I’m becoming free or freer.
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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This week I really enjoyed heart activity where I connected to Razzles, I didn’t want to leave her side. She seemed to want to be near me to which made me feel attached and drawn to her. I became lost and in a trance, time felt like it stopped for a while, all I wanted to do was to keep stroking and hugging her. Couldn’t feel her heart beat, but then again I can never find my own pulse but I must have one somewhere. My heart was drawn to her, she was pulling me in. Once finished and I let her go, I noticed she followed me back to the group watching me the whole way. When I sat down she was still watching me. I kept thinking “you can leave now, but at the same time didn’t want her to.” I felt loved, special, accepted and drawn to her.
Boundaries Our personnel boundaries need to be flexible depending on situation we are in. Our personnel space is the area an arm’s width or so around us. I have always had trouble with this either invading people’s space or letting people walk all over me. I seem to have no boundaries then get hurt so I end up with a 6 foot fence around me and don’t let anyone in including people I trust most. I put myself out for people and they take advantage of me and I feel intimidated and used. Working with the horses has helped to improve my understanding of boundaries. I have also become more aware of what I value and what I need to protect in my life. I have a right to feel safe. It’s been great to get a visual of what I’ve been doing experiencing for as long as I remember. When the horses invaded my world I felt unsafe and became protective and defensive. At the same time felt I want to welcome them in and give them a hug, felt compassion for them and a little guilty.
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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Not understanding this concept in the past has made me feel isolated both in the workplace and in general life. I don’t remember not being scared to some degree in any job, fear of losing job has always been there no matter how well I seem to be doing or what people tell me. I’ve always felt different to everyone else, like I’m missing something. More recent years have seen me find some true friends who seem to accept my faults in this area and use looks or phases to pull me up. For the 1st time in my life I can be myself without fear. When my boundaries are violated my whole world suffers, I become distant from everyone in my life even if they had nothing to do with the reason. Whenever I stand up for myself, I am told that I am mentally ill in need of serious help from a psychologist. Most of the time it takes me ages to build my confidence up to do this, when it goes wrong I shut off completely. This results in me developing my own little world where I rarely interact with others around me on a meaningful level. I tune into my music and most people close to me can tell if something has happen by the music I have playing in the car. If I am happy motivating or silly songs are playing but if something has happened angry or depressing songs or songs of resilience or revenge are playing. I hope to change this cycle and the horses have given me more of an understanding. I am learning that what I want counts, and that people need to respect me as much as I need to respect them. I am worth at least this. It’s ok to stand up for myself.
Overall my equine learning experience has been an amazing journey of self discovery. My self awareness has greatly improved. My confidence and self-worth has improved. I loved feeling the connection with the horses. The learning I have gained has been invaluable in my life. I feel more equipped to keep a job in the future. Grounding would be helpful because it would help me see the bigger picture in a situation. Knowing I am able to make a valuable contribution will increase my confidence to see myself as an equal in the workplace and make worthwhile contributions to a team. I feel freer and walk with a spring in my step. I realised my contribution and view of the world is valuable and can help others in their journey. Sometimes the best things can come along when you’re at you least expect and willing to try anything.
Miranda Pugh – ELEA participant May 2012
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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Learning! Equine Wellbeing We did a lot of work with the horses (Razzle Dazzle, Maddie, Sally and January!) Before any activity that we did for the day we did grounding and the horses calmed down a lot and sometimes joined in the gathering with us while we where grounding ourselves. The other activities we did where clear communication, body language, congruence / Incongruence, leadership, false self voice / Authentic self voice, problem solving and overcoming obstacles in your life, team work, observation vs interpretation, laser eye vs soft eye, mind body method, and boundaries. But to the end of the courses I learnt a lot from Emily in the ten weeks and I can use everything for the 10 day period of time.
Brodie Foster -‐May 2012
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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Ashley Walker
On Thursday we all go to the horse program to work with the three horses we brush them and we get to paint them and i felt like i didn’t want to leave them and razzle she look like she was going to go to sleep we walk are around the yard she made me felt so calm to be there and maddy she love it when i brush her then there was sally she was calm when i got to work with her she love it trust her with razzle i had so
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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much fun working with her she made me feel so happy and the last day i felt like crying cos it was so sad to leave to all the horse hope someday meet again. When i felt uncomfortable around maddy because i didn’t want her to step on my foot i felt emotional .After that happened i felt better and more confident around horses and people . Emily explained that i had entrained with the horse and that was a good thing . I can take what I have learnt with the horses to help me in different kind’s of work. –
Ashley Walker 2012
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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Emma Rose Through the equine learning program I have learnt quite a lot about myself through the horses. The main subject we covered which really stood out for me was ‘Authentic self voice’ and ‘False self voice’. I have learnt to listen to and trust my authentic self voice rather than my false self voice (which is how others perceive me and think I should act or feel about certain things), being true to myself and not just going with everyone else’s expectations of me. The grounding exercise has also helped me a lot in everyday life. I tend to overthink and stress about everything however mundane, so using the grounding exercise has lowered my anxiety and helped me relax a little. I have really enjoyed spending time with the horses each week and always leave feeling content and relaxed.
Equine Learning Experiences Australia May 2012
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This magazine has been proudly compiled by ‘Equine Learning Experiences Australia’ and the ‘Finding Futures’ participants, Miranda Pugh, Emma Rose, Brodie Foster, Billy.Jo Curle, Jake Plover, Ashley Walker and Brannon McDonald.As the writer , developer and primary facilitator of the program , I feel humbled and proud to be part of the growth and development of such an amazing group of people over the past 10 weeks. Each week I was met with eager and happy faces. A group of people with a willingness to learn, laugh, cry but more importantly to grow. Thanks so much to the ELEA herd of horses for your amazing wisdom and authenticity. Even when we could not see the truth, you were able to kindly and graciously point it out!!
A huge thank you to my husband Paul of which this program would not be possible without all your support and input to so many components of ELEA. To the team of co-‐faclitators, Paul McVeigh, Cindy Jacobs and Matthew Thomas . And last but not least to Tracy Landt from Unicorn Park Equestrian Centre for your wonderful facilities and support.