The Mane Event

Our Masters cohort was going on a field trip, to be honest though, I wasn’t too sure about the whole endeavor. As I drove through the torrential rain on Saturday morning out to Chilliwack for a Trade Fair on horses I have to admit that I reminded myself several times to keep an open mind. The reasoning for our trip out here was still unclear to me. Exactly what health education and cowboys have in common I remained unsure about, but if nothing else it would be a nice change of pace from yet another classroom that I would otherwise spend all week and most of my weekend in.

As I walked about the exhibition grounds I was definitely not disappointed in my assumption that I would see cowboys. As I passed person after person and stall after stall of Stetsons, boots, and buckles, the only thing that seemed to stand out against the western backdrop was me. As I found my colleagues and took a seat on looking the Round Pen (yes its name is an exact description of the arena) I still has no idea what to expect.

We were here to watch the Trainers Challenge which is a competition between three clinicians who are given three very similar untrained horses and four one hour sessions in front of the audience to train their horse, while being judged. We were set to watch session two and as the horse and trainer entered the pen it became quickly evident what an undertaking such a feat would be.

As I watched I was struck be three things. The first was how powerful, animated, and unsure the horse was inside the pen was. The second was that though many of the stereotypes I had about cowboys were true, there was definitely much, much more to horse training than I had ever considered. The third and most striking observation was how many connections I was making between the trainer’s work with his horse and myself as a teacher and the work I do with my students.

While both clinicians had very different methods the training sequence was the same. From what I saw, both trainers had the same 4 over arching principles. In order to train the horse you had to know your horse, be consistent with your horse, believe in your horse, and celebrate with your horse. Replace horse with students and my own teaching philosophy spilled out before me inside the pen as the trainer and horse worked together to realize the horse’s potential.

Each of the four steps resonated with me and it’s place within my teaching practice.

Step one - know your horse:

Just as the trainer noticed the movements of the horse’s body, its face and ears, when it whinnied or if sweat appeared on its body, much of the information I use to asses and gauge my students comes from non verbal cues. When working with young children who often don’t yet have the vocabulary to express their feelings wants and needs, body language becomes one of my greatest indicators of my student’s interests, feelings, and thoughts. In order to teach my class I need to know if they are ready to learn or if their non verbal cues are telling me that they are to anxious, overwhelmed, upset, fidgety, or uninterested to engage in the learning process. If so, it is then my job as teacher to honour their feelings and guide them to a state of readiness for learning before my lesson can begin. Each time the horse’s cues changed the trainer adapted with him. The state of learning and trying something new is a vulnerable and often scary place and without taking into consideration how your charge feels no meaningful teaching can begin

Step two – be consistent with your horse:

While a good trainer or teacher values the feelings of their charge, it is still imperative for the trainer – horse relationship and teacher – student relationship to have boundaries, expectations, and consistent follow through. The trainer establishes a task and works with the horse in a firm and consistent way until the horse is able to meet the challenge. The trainer and teacher give many chances, try different strategies, and recognize all small steps in the right direction, but the expectation remains constant and the horse or student thrive under consistent expectations and feedback.

Step three – believe in your horse:

One of the most memorable things I heard one of the trainers say was “I wouldn’t have asked him [the horse] to do it if I didn’t know he could.” Teachers need to believe in their students as much as a trainer needs to believe in their horse. If a teacher asks a student to do something they cannot do, the student will only learn failure from the experience. But also if a teacher asks a student to do something that they think they should be able to accomplish, but then gives up on it once it appears difficult or time consuming, the student again libelearns only failure. Trainers and teachers need to pick realistic goals and believe that your charge can accomplish them, even if it takes endless strategies, scaffolding, time, and faith.

Step four – celebrate with your horse:

Victories big and small are worth celebrating and whether they are an applause in the pen, or a sticker on the back of the hand, both horses and children deserve recognition of their accomplishments. Too much praise, unspecific praise, or praise to early can be as problematic as no praise. Using praise wisely is one of the most effective tools in a teacher or trainer’s arsenal. Used appropriately, praise helps foster esteem and pride in the student or horse.

After watching these two trainers I was astounded by the incredible connections to teaching and how much insight I gleaned about my own practice as a teacher. The day was not over yet however, and the afternoon’s billing of Jonathan Field and his “amazing horses!” seemed intriguing.

Jonathan Field calls what he does with his horses “Liberty Training” This whole concept of liberty seemed odd in cowboy context because whenever I hear the word it reminds me of John Stuart Mills and his essays “On Liberty” which of course have nothing to do with horses, pertaining instead with the sovereignty of an individual within society. But as I watched Jonathan interact with his horses, liberty, as it pertains to horses, citizens in a society, or students in a classroom began to appear increasingly similar. Jonathan didn’t just train his horses; he developed a relationship with his horses. He had such faith in his horses, and his training that he is able to let go of absolute power and let respect for his horse and their liberty reign supreme in his interactions with them. Just as Fields and Mills advocate the necessity and right of individuals and horses to liberty, how do our student’s right to liberty play out in the classroom? Is taking a child by the hand and sitting them down when every verbal and non verbal cue they are giving speaks to their discomfort or unwillingness any different then using a whip or rope on a horse? How can a teacher or trainer manage what we feel is the greater good for the child or the horse over their liberty?

Watching Jonathan and his horses makes me wonder how much my actions or management strategies value the liberty of my students. If I assess their needs, teach them what they need to know, and set realistic boundaries can I simply let them go and try in on their own, accepting that they way bolt or run or not do what I’ve asked? Watching Jonathan’s concept of training with liberty in action may have raised more questions for me than answers, but this concept of liberty in my classroom is one that will not be leaving my mind in the near future.

The Mane Event was an incredibly powerful experience for me. To see the power of no verbal training and teaching in action has greatly raised my awareness of its power in my classroom and my responsibilities to it as a teacher. A deeper understanding and respect for such beautiful, intelligent, and powerful creatures is still yet another reason to be thankful for the experience.