TELLINGTON TTOUCH TRAINING distance they had to trot was about 100 feet and marked with a shaving...

Volume 9 Issue 4 Oct-Dec 2007

Tteam connections

From Linda’s Desk 1-7

Lara’s Story-Overcoming Fears

8

History of the Wand 9

Spinal Injury-case study 10-11

Milo 12-13

Windfall-Personality 14-15

Safety First 16-17

Starting A Young Horse 18-20

Is Your Dog Afraid of the Veterinarian

21-22

Imprinting-Origins & Evolution

23-26

Animal Hospice—Spirits in Transition

27-28

Workshop dates 30-32

Inside this issue:

TTEAM-USA P.O. Box 3793 Santa Fe, NM 87501 1-800 854-8326 [email protected] TTEAM-Canada 5435 Rochdell Rd. Vernon, B.C. V1B 3E8 1 800 255-2336 [email protected]

My life is always exciting and fully packed, but this Septem-ber and October trip in Europe may take the cake for highlights. I decided to leave three and four–day spaces between my trainings in Europe and the U.S. this year, to allow for time for unex-pected events. It’s been excit-ing to see what pops into my life when I leave the space. This has certainly a change from the last two decades when I have been “training-hopping”, often teaching for eight weeks straight, leaving only a day between for travel. Sooo, I left a week of September to take some down time before teaching, and wound up with several very special events between trainings during the fall: Dresden, Germany Sight-Seeing & Opera We spent three days in early September in the spectacularly restored old-town of Dres-den, Germany with Gabrielle Boiselle and her mother. Gabrielle has been the photog-rapher for many of my book covers and my Ultimate Horse Training book. A major delight for Roland was our evening at the Dresden opera house for a very modern performance of The Magic Flute. After Dresden we did a spur of the minute photo shoot for the new cover of my original Pen-guin paperback book that is being reissued.

Put a plug for the cover in your prayers because I’m hoping to convince Penguin to allow me to update the book like the German ver-sion that has many colored photos and more stories that were not in the original book, including my work with Keiko, the orca from the movie, Free Willie. (Check out Gabrielle’s website at www.editionboiselle.and skip the intro to find details in English).

TTEAM Training Germany We had absolutely delightful graduation training in mid-September for TTEAM students. It was the sixth weeklong train-ing of the fourth 3-year TTouch for Horses. We had super horses with chal-lenging issue of fear and they made great strides. One of them is the story of Lara, brought to the training by Anke Reckten-wald whose story is later in the newsletter. We were blessed as we so often are, by sun and lovely weather after a rather un-pleasant German summer. A highlight for me was graduating Melli Tischner with her certification as a TTouch Practitioner for horses. She has no sight in her left eye and only 15% in her right eye, and yet to watch her in the stable yard you could never believe she cannot see normally. During her prac-tical exam for her TTEAM/TTouch practi-

From Linda’s Desk

TELLINGTON TTOUCH TRAINING

Linda & Roland dressed for the opera

TTEAM Connections 2 October-December 2007

tioner a part if the test required students to trot their horse in hand from the right side – not an easy exercise. The distance they had to trot was about 100 feet and marked with a shaving bale at the end of the trot area, but Melli could not see the beige plastic bale against the sand. So in her brilliant way, she measured the number of running steps without the horse. When she led the horse in the test I was astounded and deeply impressed with her control and balanced strides. I have watched hundreds of horses being trotted out for veterinary checks at endurance rides, or being judged in hand in horses shows, and Melli’s posture, confidence and bal-ance was in a league with the best professional handlers I have seen over more than 50 years. Melli is an inspira-tion and one of my heroes. The Wolf Pack Leader Without A Tail Two weeks after Melli’s graduation Roland and I were touring the Zurich Zoo with Ewald Isenbugel when we came upon the pack of Himalayan brown wolves that included a female without a tale. She arrived at the zoo with no explanation for how she lost her tail, and a graduate student was assigned to observe her interaction in the pack, expecting her to be rejected or harassed by the others. Much to everyone’s amazement, she became the leader of the pack!!! When I heard this I thought of what an inspiration she could be to humans who have a disability. She reminded me of Melli who has not let her lack of sight handicap her but rather seems to have de-veloped special qualities that give her brilliant qualities for leadership. Netherlands Horse Expo Sept 18. A day at the Paard Horse Expo in the Nether-lands where I gave interviews to six magazines – both horse and dog, a thirty minute TTouch and riding demo, a two hour book signing of my Ultimate Horse Training and Behavior Book in Dutch, a 30 minute Meet & Greet session with a couple who had won the chance to bring photos of a problem horse and get advice. The day ended with a dinner with many of our Dutch TTouch teachers and then we drove three hours back to Germany to join 100 plus people gathered to celebrate the 85th birthday of Ursula Bruns. Wooden Horses Attend 85th Birthday Celebration of Ursula Bruns On September 17th more than 100 people gathered at the Reken Test Center to celebrate the achievements of Ursula Bruns. She received the rarely awarded highest honor given by the German Equestrian Federation for contributions to the horse world. She was the first to promote pleasure riding in Germany through her maga-zine, Freizeit Im Sattel (Free Time in the Saddle). She was tireless in her support and education of Icelandic Horses from the beginning of their importation into Ger-many. She fought for public trails tirelessly for decades. Her books sold many millions of copies and her 10-Day

Mission Statement

Animal Ambassadors International is an educational organization dedicated to sharing the TTEAM philosophy and techniques in order to develop a deeper understanding of animals and ourselves, and to heal our relationships with each other, nature and the envi-ronment.

TTEAM Philosophy

• To honour the role of animals as our teachers.

• To bring awareness to the importance of animals in our lives.

• To encourage harmony, cooperation and trust between humans and animals amongst humans.

• To recognize the individual learning process of every human and animal.

• To respect each animal as an individual.

• To teach interspecies communication through the TTouch

• To work with animals using understanding instead of domi-nance.

Founder Linda Tellington-Jones

Editor & Publisher Robyn Hood

Contributing Writers: Ella Bittel, DVM Martine Broeders Edie Jane Eaton Sarah Fisher Anke Reckenwald Toni Shelborne Julie Taylor-Browne Daniela Zurr, DVM Photos by: Gabrielle Boiselle

Editorial & Subscription Office: 5435 Rochdell Rd. Vernon, B.C. V1B 3E8 Ph: 1 800– 255-2336 (P.S.T.) Fax: 1 250 545-9116 Email: [email protected]

TTEAM Connections is published quarterly. Checks payable to TTEAM or payment by Visa, MC Subscription rate: U.S. $30.00 US per 4 issues in US

In Canada: 25.00 Overseas: $35.00

Reproduction of any materials without written permission from the editor is prohibited.

Copyright Linda Tellington-Jones 2007

Printed in Canada on Recycled Paper


Course for Beginning Adult Riders was revolutionary. She developed the Reken wooden horse (named Hektor in the mid 1970's. Hektor has been teaching beginning adult rid-ers to mount, post at the trot, practice the Forward Seat style of riding for cantering, hold the reins and neck ring, and dis-mount. I was looking forward to intro-duce her to Valen-tino, the horse that was developed a few years ago by Andre Znidersic from the Slova-nian Animal Am-bassador Center operated with his wife Darja. Valen-tino sits on three huge springs and has a movable neck and head that responds to slight movements of the rider’s pelvis and hands. He won the Golden Award for Innovation at one of the biggest Austrian expos. The day following the 85th birthday we took a tour of the school and I was able to show "Valentino" to Ursula (on the right) and Margrit and Bernd Schmidt. The Tellington Method has been taught at the Reken Test Center since it's beginning in 1975 and it was Ursula who insisted I develop my intuitive horse training into an easily teachable logical method. Ursula took thousands of photos of 20 problem horses enrolled in two trainings over a 5– week period in Reken. She also gave me invaluable guidance and advice as she sat me down at the typewriter each day. (Hard to believe there were no computers back then). Because Ursula had written many best–selling horse books, finding a publisher was not an issue with her as my co-author. Margit and Bernd were two of the amateur adults chosen to work the horses through the ground exercises and non-habitual body movements and are featured in my first TTEAM book entitled An Introduction to Tellington Equine Awareness Method. Although the Tellington Method has de-veloped far beyond these original concepts, the book still has invaluable descriptions of the methods we used to solve the variety of problems the horses had ranging from running away, including bolting, kicking, bucking and spooking. Following that 5–week experience at the birth of TTEAM,

Margrit and Bernd attended a 6-week TTEAM training near Seattle, Washington and the following year spent another 6-week training with me at Nacimiento Ranch and Research Cen-ter that I co-owned with my business partner, Elinor Islinger. Margrit and Bernd were two of the first TTEAM Instructors in Europe and in addition have taught the 10-day Course for be-ginner Adult Riders that Ursula Bruns pioneered in the 1970's which was inspired by her visit to my California Pacific Coast School of Horsemanship in 1973. For more than a decade Bernd and Margrit have owned and operated a riding vacation Finca in Spain. From Germany we headed to Switzerland to teach the Ad-vanced Companion Animal Training and I co-taught the first two days of the Swiss Companion Animal class with Edie Jane Eaton who had just come up from our fifth certification training in Italy. Teresa Cottarelli and Lisa Leicht organize and co-teach the Swiss trainings and make them really special. The training is held at a lovely resort hotel in the mountains of Switzerland in rolling hill country where we were serenaded by cowbells and stimulated by the beauty of the countryside. A few days before we stayed with Ewald Isenbugel and his family at their home on Greifensee, near Zurich. You may re-member from my last report that Ewald is the retired head vet-erinarian for the Zurich Zoo (although he still has an office at the zoo working with fund raising and publicity) as well as be-ing a retired professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Zurich Veterinary School. We spent a very enjoyable three days that included a private evening demo for the students of Barla Isenbugel, Ewald’s daughter, and a private tour to visit some of my favorites at the zoo. We enjoyed an early lunch at the zoo and set off to visit some of my favorites. The Snow Leopards in their enclosure that looks like the high mountains of Mongolia with Tibetan Pray flags fluttering in the wind and a winding stone path that could be in that part of the world. I’m always hoping for glimpses of the spectacle bears who have a large 3-section all natural area with 60 places where they must search for their food each day. This time the extremely rare Golden Lion Tamarind monkeys were playing in the bushes and actually coming very close. Much to the shock of many zoo people, these small primates run loose at the zoo, jumping from branch to branch and walk-ing above visitors on an overhead cable that allows them to move safely and freely around the zoo. The family of gorillas with a silverback, four mature females, two babies under 2 months old and a young female have much to amuse them all day and next year will be moved into their new home which will have several acres. They all know Ewald, of course, and the silverback came running over to him and Ewald bowed his head in submission. I took several photos because Ewald is always the photographer and never has photos of himself. For the first time the Spectacled Bears from South America were in clear view. They have a most stimulating environment. Each day 60 different hiding places for food keep the bears engaged and a bridge across a moat is opened at random times so they have to wait to go into the next area where fresh food has been hidden. Bamboo shoots are stuck in huge “vases”

Hector the wooden horse used at Reken.

Linda on Valentino.


each day. Honey is dripped down from far up in the trees at different times. A pile of brush holds hollowed out bamboo with raisins and nuts and figs stuffed in them. And there are a variety of berry bushes and fig trees that they browse on at vari-ous times of the year. Reducing Stress in Charolais Bulls Being Shipped to Market On our way to the Companion Animal Training, we stopped at a farm that raises Charolais beef cattle, for a meeting with three women from the Research Institute for Biological Farming (Forschungsinstitut Feur Biologischen Landbau). Johanna Probst, from Fachgruppe Tiergesundheit is doing her Masters thesis on the reduction of stress in bulls going to market. I TTouched one of the yearling bulls who had his head locked in a stanchion. He had never been handled and at first he was very afraid of me. I began by sitting about four feet away and very slowly worked closer – stroking him with a white “wand” (stiff dressage whip) under the neck. It took about 20 minutes to be able to use various TTouches on his face to help him settle but by the end of my session his eye was soft and he actually leaned forward into my hand a little, eating quietly. At one point I gave him hard bread, which he enjoyed. Several other young bulls came close to watch. It is Johanna’s idea, with which I concur, to gentle a few bulls who will be transported together and have a quieting influence on the others.

I was asked how I feel about gentling an animal and gaining their trust and then sending them to slaughter and we had an in-depth discussion. I believe it’s important to honor the animals who provide our food just as the Native Americans and Eski-mos have done for centuries. Another subject, of course, is the environmental issue. I can’t do so much about that except eat less beef, but I believe honoring the animals and thanking them contributes in a positive way to the world. And I fully believe the basic premise of Rupert Sheldrake and Bruce Lipton that the thoughts of each one of us has an influence that spreads around the world.

Changing the World One TTouch at a Time Abridged version

By Robin Bernhard and Sandy Rakowitz TTouch has been changing the course of therapeutic healing with animals and people around the world for over thirty years now. This ground-breaking work, developed by pioneer, Linda Tellington-Jones, is being studied by Robin Bernhard, LCSW, a psychotherapist who owns and runs the Virginia Neurofeed-back, Attachment and Trauma Center in Charlottesville, Jessica Eure, Med, Ed.S., a new counselor who specializes in neuro-feedback with Bernhard at VNATC, and by Sandy Rakowitz, a practitioner of Energy Healing Medicine and TTouch, who owns and runs One Heart Healing Center for People and Ani-mals, also in Charlottesville. Both Bernhard and Rakowitz have over twenty years of experience in their areas of practice, and together, they are making headway in the use of this spe-cialized touch to help with people who have suffered from brain injuries. Bernhard and Rakowitz would like to see Charlottes-ville become a center for TTouch research and training. Just last year, they did a study which showed exactly what they and others have been concluding all along – that this specialized work can improve brain function. So, what exactly is TTouch and how does it work? ? TTouch is a gentle non-invasive system of bodywork comprised of spe-cialized circular touches, lifts and slides that promotes commu-nication throughout all levels of one’s being. Linda Telling-ton-Jones states that the intent of TTouch is to activate the heal-ing potential of the body at the cellular level. Last year in Scottsdale, Arizona, Bernhard and Rakowitz used an EEG to study the brains of volunteers applying these spe-cialized TTouches to themselves. At first they weren’t sure what they would find. They knew from earlier EEG studies done by Linda Tellington-Jones and Anna Wise in the 1980’s that both horses and humans developed an “awakened mind” while ex-periencing TTouch. Anna Wise describes the “awakened mind” as a specific activa-tion of delta, theta, alpha, and beta brainwaves, and a particu-lar kind of mental processing that enhances intuition, creativity and insight, that can only occur while the body is completely relaxed. Amazingly, TTouch simultaneously relaxes the body, helping to release muscle tension, aches and pains while acti-vating the thinking mind so that new information is readily ab-sorbed. In the Arizona study, volunteers agreed to have a total of three EEG assessments to record the effects of TTouch. The first EEG established a baseline of brainwave activity for each person. The second EEG evaluated the effects of the circular TTouch called the Clouded Leopard TTouch, and the third EEG evalu-ated the effects another TTouch called the Heart Hug. All as-sessments were completed at one sitting through out a two-hour period. The practitioners performed the TTouches on them-selves.


The baseline EEG of some volunteers showed brainwave pat-terns that were likely the result of horseback riding falls. Brain-wave patterns are altered by injuries, and show different acti-vation patterns than healthy tissue. Even so, the results of the study demonstrated that the Clouded Leopard and the Heart Hug TTouches helped to re-balance and normalize brainwave patterns for these individuals with prior head injury. Over all, the TTouches also appeared to reduce the de-stabilizing effects of the areas suspected of brain injury. When an area of the brain is injured, EEGs may show spikes of activ-ity, general over activity or suppression of activity, as the brain attempts to work in spite of the injury. Neurofeedback practi-tioners have been using brainwave biofeedback to improve the cognitive function of brain injury survivors for a number of years, and have found that brainwave patterns following injury are not so easy to change. When the Arizona study suggested that both TTouches could change the chaotic, out of sync pat-terning typical of brain injuries, and bring them closer to a balanced state in which the brain could function more effi-ciently, both Bernhard and Rakowitz were elated. And Rakowitz, having such familiarity with TTouch, immedi-ately saw the potential for TTouch to improve the lives of those suffering from brain injuries. Only a few months after return-ing from Arizona, she put together another small pilot study for individuals with brain trauma and asked Bernhard and Eure to assist in the EEG assessments. The participants learned TTouches they could do for themselves to reduce the impact of many common symptoms associated with brain injury such as: problems with pain, mobility, motor function and coordination, concentration and memory. People with head injuries often feel isolated by the invisible effects of the neurological difficul-ties, so each participant was asked to bring a helper who would learn the TTouches along side the participant and help them to practice at home. This study is underway, and so far there have been many exciting changes with pain reduction, improved mo-bility, focus, concentration and emotional well being. Brain Maps that show the remarkable balancing effects of TTouch in the left and right temporal lobes of a volunteer in the Arizona study, can be requested from [email protected] since they are in color and do not show up in black and white. Photo 1. Injury on the right seen during baseline study shows activity in the right temporal lobe is almost 7 times higher than on the left side. Photo 2. After two minutes of Clouded Leopard TTouch, move-ment begins to occur in the left hemisphere bringing the brain closer to a balanced state. Now the activity in the right tempo-ral lobe is only 3 times higher than on the left. Photo 3. After two minutes of the Heart Hug TTouch following the Clouded Leopard, the left and right temporal lobes are al-most completely with a left right differential of only 1.27.

All of the promising results from both the Arizona study and the group for people with brain injuries have encouraged Bern-hard, Eure and Rakowitz to continue additional TTouch and brainwave research with head trauma survivors. They are looking for grants to fund these projects. Using Self-Applied TTouch to Reduce Pain Re-sulting from Brain Injury Sandy Rakowitz report: We had our second follow-up for our Brain injury group today. Once again, amazing things are occurring. People are continu-ing to find great usefulness with the TTouches as time passes. One woman commented that she was able to go away last week on a short vacation for the first time since her accident three years ago. She feels that TTouch is what has allowed her to be able to travel, and to enjoy herself! She also continued to comment that TTouch has dramatically changed the quality of her life in the last months. Her head does not hurt nearly to the extent that it used to. She said the pain used to be so intense she wanted to bang her head against the wall. That has only happened once since she began TTouch. Another person fell recently and ended up in the hospital. She was strapped down on a stretcher for five hours while they waited for the results of the x-rays. She was claustrophobic, panicky and in intense pain during this time. She realized that she could imagine doing the TTouches on herself. So, she imag-ined doing TTouches over her whole body for two hours. She said that this helped her deal with the situation and the pain. The all do TTouches before they go to bed. Two of them use the head wrap and find it very helpful. All use the Heart Hug at various times for calming and comfort. All use the TTouches around the head to help reduce head pain, and continuously find this helpful. We spoke about and did Ear TTouches. One woman reflected afterwards that the heat in her head redistributed and things quieted down in her head. We all continued to notice that her speech patterns have improved since last month. We also discussed and did Mouth TTouch. Everyone loved how this felt. We had a lot of fun, joking about all sorts of things. They came up with the idea of doing Ear work and Mouth work before they go into the supermarket to help them deal with the over stimulation that they find in going into the market place. There is a great sense of community and connection that has developed among us all. It is quite a gift. . Heart Hugs, Sandy


gratitude. Keep the prayers coming, and if any of you are interested, I made many notes to share about details that family members need to know for hospital care, even when the care is good because hospitals are apparently understaffed all over North America. I don’t know what someone does in a hospital without a close person to take care of so many details that can slip through the cracks.

Body Wraps to Im-prove Riding Veronika Wellendorf is a riding teacher enrolled in the German certification training TTouch for You. She sent me these photos to show how she uses body wraps for her riding stu-dents. This rider felt weaker on one side of her body. She could not sup-port her horse as well on the weaker side and the signals didn't come

through to the horse. She was very surprised how much more balanced she felt with the wrap and noticed a continued im-provement. She reported that many other riders have found the wraps to be a simple and very effective tool in her les-sons. Order Christmas Presents for You and Your Friends Finally my book for Health-care Professionals is ready and it’s really good. TTouch for Health Care: A Practical Guide—see page 29. Hawaii Calls – TTouch for You & Your Horse For those of you who have been dreaming of swimming with dolphins, 2008 will be the last time it will be legal in Hawaii. Join us for the 3rd annual TTouch for You & Your Horse Training is January 20 through the 26 that includes two days of TTouch for You – for self-help or TTouch for your family; three days learning TTouch to take home for our horse; a day riding on a 6000 acre ranch in the mountains, and a day with dolphins and whales on the marvelous boat “Ohane Nui O Nai’a”. It meaning “Spirit of the Dolphin”, and she always has brought us to a pod of hundreds of dol-phins. Go to the website, www.sunlightonwater.com to hear the dolphins and be inspired. Call Holly at 800 854 8326 to register.

Follow-Up from Robin Bernhard Dear Linda, Sandy's group has ended, and I am speechless. I feel so blessed to have been a member and to have a role in offering such a gift to our group members. Our last meeting was so moving, to hear what this group has meant to everyone. One member said that a worldwide online Apraxia support group is listening to hear about the project's outcome because the medical commu-nity has not given them anything to assist in their mobility since their initial rehabilitation following head injury. Jessica will be doing the post group assessments, and we have tons of videotape. The taping was absolutely essential to show the beyond amazing changes in people from the beginning of the entire group, and simply from the beginning to the ending of each session. After we allow the members to spend a number of months inte-grating the TTouches and adding to what they have learned, we will introduce the Low Energy Neurofeedback. I feel the com-bination of TTouch and LENS for this population may be wor-thy of a Nobel Peace Prize (my son suggested that). I am not kidding. To see phenomenal changes in people who've been told by their physicians that their stuck-status is what they can expect for the rest of their lives, which was literally a death sentence, and to see how TTouch has empowered them, and offered new hope and happiness for a future. It is beyond amazing to have been involved in this project. We will defi-nitely be making another DVD. Robin and Sandy’s DVD of their neurofeedback study with Robin’s Arabian mare, Grace, is ready to order!! Call 1 800 854 8326 or email [email protected] TTouch for our Mother Marion Many thanks for all of you who have been sending prayers to our 94 year old mother, Marion Hood. She has been in an Ed-monton hospital since the end of September. She broke her fe-mur and then had the complication of testing positive for the bacteria MRSA. Actually that turned out to be a gift from God, because it landed her in a private room with a view and good care. Her nurses are really wonderful and we have managed to have one of our family or Chris Hillas who is like family, with her most of the time. Thank Heaven I was in Santa Fe when it happened and could be with Mother for two weeks. Our sister Susan is with Mother much of the time, and the rest of us are spelling her. I’ll be back for another week in November and Robyn will be back and forth from Vernon. Actually, Mother is not in pain and we are, of course, doing lots of TTouch, which she loves. She also says she loves being pam-pered which is a treasure. I am so grateful for this time and for TTouch. I was with Marnie Reeder at the Companion Animal she organized in Austin, Texas in November and she reminded me that TTouch brought her close to her mother in the final stages of her life for the first time ever. It makes me smile in


Hawaii TTouch for You February 10 through the 15th is our ninth annual retreat to learn self-help for yourself, your family and for your clients if you are a health-care professionals wanting new modalities. This week is a marvelous opportunity for relaxation, rejuvena-tion, distressing, recharging and inspiration. We have thousands of anecdotal cases showing the benefits of self-help for pain relief, stress reduction and enhancement of well-being. And now we are gathering invaluable scientific proof using neuro-feedback and the HeartMath FreezeFramer. As usual there will be a dolphin and whale trip with an opportu-nity to swim with free dolphin in the ocean. This week in Ha-waiian Paradise will give you a boost that will last throughout the year and for a lifetime. The gift is in your hands. This train-ing will count toward certification as a TTouch for You practi-tioner. We have many exciting trainings planned for next year in North America with our brilliant Instructors, Robyn, Debbie, Edie Jane, Kathy wonderful practitioners spread all over the U.S. and Canada. Check out our website at www.ttouch.com for a train-ing in your area, or plan to organize one yourself for a TTouch teacher of your choice. I’ve had so much fun teaching in the U.S. this year that I am going to be doing more for first-time TTouchers for workshops for horses, dogs and 2-leggeds so keep your eyes on our calendar to find a training that fits you whether you’re an experienced TToucher or a first-timer. And start planning for the TTouch Family Gathering back in Scottsdale, Arizona at the delightful Millennium Suites. Advanced TTouch Training for all beings November 3 – 6, 2008 TTouch Family Gathering with fascinating and informative seminars November 7,8,9, 2008 My Present to you is a reminder of 4 acts that can create miracles: • Forgiving ourselves and all whom we imagine trespass

against us. • Learning to see the half full glass as half full. • And giving thanks for all the gifts you receive. • Counting five blessings each day. May your Christmas Season be joyous and blessed. Much love, aloha and Heart Hugs, Alohananielele (aka Linda TJK ) And Roland and Rayne

The Gift of Poems by HAFIZ was given to me by Penny Stone at the Texas TTEAM training. I want to share one of his poems

I Hold the Lion’s Paw

I hold the Lion’s Paw Whenever I dance.

I know the ecstasy of the falcon’s wings When they make love against the sky,

And the sun and moon Sometimes argue over

Who will tuck me in at night.

If you think I am having more fun Than anyone on this planet You are absolutely correct.

But Hafiz

Is willing to share all his secrets About how to befriend God.

Indeed, dear ones,

Hafiz is so very willing To share all his secrets About how to know the

Beautiful One.

I hold the Lion’s Paw whenever I dance, I know the ecstasy of your heart’s wings When they make love against the Sky,

And the sun and moon

Will someday argue over Who will tuck you in at

Night!


Lara is a 13 year old Icelandic mare who has been owned by Andrea Cornely for the past 3 years. She is an exceptional friendly horse that has a strong connection with people. With TTEAM and my help Andrea has made great strides with Lara who was very fearful of surfaces that were of different colours, she had to jump low borders on the ground, hated being loaded into a trailer and once she was inside she was so scared that she could not be tied safely and she could not be ridden away from the herd alone. Today she jumps right into the trailer, learned to stand quietly tied with the TTouch, is fine about going on a trail ride by herself, walks quietly through dense bush and jumps low tree stumps. She has made a strong, trusting connection with her riders.

However, whenever Andrea takes her for a riding lesson Lara is unsure. She does not want to step over the rails in the arena and startles at the different surface color, jumps into the air when her feet touch something and startles. Therefore Lara came with me to a recent 5 day clinic for Practitioners.

Photo 1: It is too much for her to walk underneath some-thing. She is trying to be brave and tries, but then shoots for-ward.

Andrea could not believe what she saw, how precise and qui-etly her horse stood and worked when 7 people stood around her practicing TTouches and how she was able to teach the groundwork to visitors new to TTEAM. Supported by Linda’s saying that there are no bad horses, only horses that have old, bad experiences she happily took home a “new” horse. She knew she was on the right path on the way to more success.

Thank you Linda from the bottom of my heart. Your words touched me greatly, it has been an honor.

Lara’s Story - Overcoming Fears By Anke Recktenwald - translated by Christine Schwartz

Photo 3: Andrea came for a visit on the 5th day of the training and was excited how calm and precise Lara mastered the pick-up sticks without touching a rail., something she was previously so afraid of.

Photo 2: Lara has learned to master the different obstacles with a trusted handler. She can now stop underneath the pool noo-dles.


For the last edition of the German TTEAM newsletter I was asked to write a report about how the TTEAM “wand” came into use.

As I remember, my use of the TTEAM “wand” dates back to the 1960’s when I gave a seminar for 200 or more horse enthusiasts at the University of California at Pomona on the subject of Training a Young Horse to Jump willingly - without running out or refusing which was very common back in those days. The same evening a California trainer was demonstrating Trailer Loading using s 4 foot whip to tap the horse on the croup. It was the first time I had seen this method used and it looked very simple. It was common to either attempt to scare a horse into a trailer by whipping it or scaring it with a rake or broom, or pulling it in with a longe line behind. I really liked the non-violent use of a whip in this way, and began to use it myself for trailer loading, with much success.

When I first began teaching weekend and 10-day workshops for riders with problem horses in Germany in 1975 I discovered the dressage whips made by the Dobert Company. They had a unique balance and stiffness that horses responded to very differently than more flexible black whips I had been using previously. They had also the practical side that a white wand lying on the ground in an arena could be found much easier!

It didn’t take me long to realize the effectiveness of the wand for calm-ing horses who were afraid to be touched on the front or hind legs. It was safer than using the hand and thus we began thinking of the wand like an extension of our arm. At this point - and I believe it was al-ready in 1975 with my first weekend clinics in Germany – that I began using the term “Zauber Stab” meaning “magic wand” for two reasons. First: It worked like magic to overcome fear in a horse and Second; When it was called a whip many people were reluctant to use it to stroke a horse because of their bad memories of past experiences when they had seen a horse whipped or had used the whip for punishment.

It was remarkable how quickly horses overcame their fear of the wand when they were first stoked on the underside of the neck, over the chest and down the front legs. When a horse was nervous and moved away, I found that I could stroke both front legs at the same time and the horse would stand still. Once horses became calm from stroking the legs many other fears seemed to melt away like magic.

Several seemingly miraculous effects of stroking the chest and front legs reach out to me across several decades. I was giving a seminar on TTEAM and TTouch at the Ohio State Veterinary Convention some-time in the mid 1980’s and had to bring a very skittish horse up an elevator several floors into a conference room that was packed with standing room only. This horse was very spooky about her legs and her flanks being touched and there was considerable concern on the part of the organizer as to how I could safely take this horse out of the elevator and lead her between the chairs up to the front of the room. Before entering the elevator I stroked her for several minutes quietly down the neck, chest and front legs and gently tapped her hooves – then ran the wand down the inside of the back legs several times. In

less than three minutes she lowered her head and relaxed and walked calmly onto the hotel elevator.

As I entered the room full of people, I stroked her on the neck and chest rhymthically and toned to her all the way down the isle to the front of the room. She didn’t make a bobble and you can believe there were a lot of impressed people.

Another example that stands out in my mind was a story from Robyn about a TTEAM clinic in Florida when Dr. Peggy Fleming was attend-ing. On evening during the middle of the week Peggy had to acupunc-ture a horse who had broken the arm of the veterinarian who had at-tempted to treat the horse some days before. Peggy entered the stall of a very reactive mare and began stroking her front end with the wand. Within minutes the horse was calmed and Peggy was able to needle her safely and without a fight. That’s when she began using the wand as a regular part of her approach and has taught this to many veteri-narians in her acupuncture courses.

It was another veterinarian who shed light on the reason that stroking the front legs to the ground is so effective. In the early 1990’s I taught a 3 week TTEAM training in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico with participants from Germany, Switzerland, Canada and the U.S.. We had a 17 hand retired jumper in the clinic who was among the most high-headed, reactive horses I recall. Dr. Betsy Adamson, a veterinar-ian from Redlands, California, was attending the clinic and gave us all two invaluable insights into reactive behavior that I have shared with thousands of horse owners, and I have not seen this information printed anywhere else.

She said that when a horse is in a state of fright, in preparation for flight (or fight) there is a chemical response that inhibits blood flow to the limbs apparently giving more strength to the muscles (as I remem-ber the explanation) so that the horse can run faster. As a result it seems there are also less neural impulses in the legs. As we all know who work with skittish horses, nervous horses don’t normally like their legs to be touched, and sometimes they are so fearful that they kick when touched on the hind legs. By stroking with the wand, I believe we are activating the feeling in the legs, encouraging blood flow, calm-ing the nervous system, and over-riding the flight response.

Now we actually know what happens in the brain as a result of the stroking, thanks to the recently released study by human therapist Robin Bernhard and TTEAM Practitioner Sandy Rakovitz, reported in the TTEAM Connections newsletter from fall of 2006. With the com-puter software BrainMaster the brain images validate what we have been seeing for so many years. It is slow, calm stroking from the neck, chest and down the front legs with the wand that turned a high-headed, unfocused, reactive mare named Grace, into a calm, cooperative part-ner. Having this validation is an invaluable gift to understanding the behavior of our horses and a testament to the effectiveness of the magic TTEAM wand.

The History of the TTEAM Wand By Linda Tellington-Jones


Spot’s spinal injury happened in November 2006 and for the first 10 weeks he had been cared for at his local veterinary prac-tice and then Medivet Veterinary Hospital. He suffered an in-tervertebral disc rupture between C4 and C5 but he had a previ-ous injury around L1 in November 2005. In January 2007 he was transferred to Greyfriars Rehabilitation Referral Centre near Guildford where he was receiving 24 hour specialist care. The prognosis was poor but the expert staff at Greyfrairs were determined to pull him through. The agreement was that Spot would stay for an initial two weeks to see if they could show enough improvement to make it fair to continue with Spot’s treatment – the alternative was euthanasia. This case study only looks at the Telling-ton TTouch, one aspect of his recovery. As well as TTouch Spot received acu-puncture, physiotherapy, laser therapy, hydrotherapy and conventional drug therapy for inflammation and pain relief. The holistic recovery programme was very much a team effort with each mo-dality playing its part. Attitude towards Spot also played a very important role with all of us being very upbeat and when safe to, really encouraging him to do as much as possible for himself. This case study looks at Spot’s progress with the TTouch over 19 sessions covering 5 months. Sessions were either once or twice a week and lasted for 1 hour per session. I was first asked to see Spot in January 2007 by Greyfriars’ owner Angela Griffiths. Spot’s prognosis was very cautious and the team were seeing little improvement in him. He had no movement in his legs and could only lift his head up for short periods of time before it flopped back down. His right hind leg and left shoulder were locked and had no movement, all feet were ice cold, in fact he had socks on to help keep him warm, the left hand side of his body was tight and he also had tension in his back, being guarded around the lumbar region. Spot’s right hand side was better than the left but still tight and he was extremely guarded in his head and muzzle area. This was possi-bly due to sores inside his mouth were he had bitten the inside of his cheeks at the vets. Spot got extremely distressed if left and would bark constantly. The inside of his mouth was in-fected, which he was on treatment for. Due to this need for physical contact (you had to be physically touching him or else he became distressed) 24 hour care and supervision was given. He also had a healing pressure sore on his right hand shoulder. In the first session I started off working very lightly with feath-ers, paint brushes and a sheepskin mitten. I went on to use aba-lone all along his back to start gently releasing the tension in his whole body. Other TTouches used were harp seal, snails tail, turtle, python lifts, zig zag and ear work. Spot was suffering from a sense of disconnection so to help with this I used an ace bandage to wrap down all his legs and connected them down his back for a whole body connection. Throughout the session it

was obvious that Spot was happier to be worked on his right hand side and (also spending some time in the change over from one side to another) on his back with his legs up in the air. By the end of the hour long session he was much more relaxed and only had a few areas were he was still guarded. The team at Greyfrairs know some of the TTouch work through staff training session with me so I was able to leave instruction for them to work on him between sessions. Three days later when I saw Spot again he was already much improved, wanting to sit up in a slouched sphinx position which he could do with support, he was more alert and had

started to reach out with his neck for tit-bits when offered. There had also been small but significant movements in his front paws which had not been seen be-fore. In fact they had stopped swimming him due to getting no movement in any of his limbs in the pool. Although Spot was still guarded around the ears, head and face I was able to work much more down his legs. I started the session using differ-ent materials on him again, like the sheep-skin and a jelly scrubber but I could

quickly progress on to TTouches with my hands and concen-trated on connected TTouches down his legs and lifts to help start opening up the shoulder, creating space between his fore legs. Gentle lifts with an ace bandage were very useful for this. By 31st January Spot certainly had more zest for life and much improvement was being seen. It was starting to be obvi-ous that on the evening or day after a TTouch session Spot was making significant progress. The 72 hour rule of latent learning for the nervous system is so important, not only for seeing changes in behaviour, but also for spinal and other injuries. Spot now had normal movement in his neck, his ears were warm and the whole head area was less reactive to touch. The only area now cold and reactive was his paws. He would often become very vocal when I worked in these areas so I had to find a way of doing that with out over stressing him. In the rest of his body I was starting to be much more up beat, not having to work so cautiously. Instead I was aiming for waking the nervous system up with energising TTouches like flick of the bears paw and doing faster circles. I contin-ued to wrap Spot in as many different ways as I could, some-times in a version of a half wrap to encourage space between his forelegs and other versions to give him a full body con-nection. By the fourth session Spot had flicking movements in his hind legs and could push against you with his fore feet. Some of the TTouches used in this session included tarantula, `pulling the plough, inch worm, rain drops around his head as well as lots of different connected circles and lifts all over his body and especially down his legs. I also discovered that if I put leg wraps on him, not only was he happier about me

Case study – Spinal injury By Toni Shelbourne - P3 England


handling his feet but by the end of a session they would be warmer. It is very important that, when medically appropriate an animal is helped to stand up for short periods on a regular basis. It is also important to increase an animal’s confidence in their movements and to challenge their range of movement. Greyfri-ars use theraballs tucked under the abdomen/thorax to help with assisted standing. When I arrived to see spot for the 5th session at the end of February he was up in a sitting position, although aided so he didn’t fall, and reaching forward and creeping in to a down position for cheese. In this session he was happier to have his feet touched and I got some flicking of the fore feet and lifting of the left fore leg. All dogs going through spinal re-covery rehab have a bleep at some point and in early March Spot had a bout of diarrhoea. This can sometimes be due to prescribed medication or because of a weak-ened immune system. He was very down when I saw him, shaking and uncomfortable. Although the diarrhoea was now under control, he had not defecated for three days and the team was anxious for him to do so. Due to his condition I concentrated on calming, warming, comforting TTouches and especially worked his belly and hind quarters. By the end of the session he had brightened up and looked like he might defecate soon. When I left him he was calm and quiet and I’d had a nice push through from his hind legs while I was working. Later that day he defecated and recovered quickly after that. To the teams surprise Spot was back to the same point within a week. Throughout March we had very promising movements in all limbs and by the end of March we had movement in all four legs in the pool and he was being fitted for a doggie wheel cart. He was also being encouraged to walk a few steps with support. He was trying to move himself and if something really inter-ested him he’d even crawl. In fact you had to watch him as he’d try to take off when he saw his favourite people Angela or Kir-sty - one of them always stayed with him overnight. Of course with more exercise the body becomes tired and a little tight but we could support this through the TTouch work as well as stimulating his body to the next stage of recovery. After an Easter break at home with his family, Spot returned a little unsettled and sore but he was still making great progress. He felt better throughout his body and had more range of move-ment. For the first time when I flipped him from one side to the other he did most of the movement for himself. At the end of the session he got up and tried to crawl to Angela so we walked him out side. He walked using all 4 legs with us reminding him which ones to use and supporting him. He even stood unaided except with us touching him lightly to help keep his balance and for confidence. When I turned up for his 13th session he was up and walking with the team, in fact they were having trouble keeping him

settled he was so active, wanting to be outside, starting to play and be cheeky. He was crossing his forelegs over in front of him a lot so we wrapped him at the shoulder and put leg wraps on to bring awareness to this. At the end of the ses-sion he got up and made his way over to Angela again. By the end of April he was doing really well in his wheels, going home regularly at the weekends and only had a couple of weeks before he would be discharged. With lots of inten-sive work on and around his chest and shoulders I was start-ing to see more movement and space between the forelegs. In preparation for him going home it was time to teach his peo-ple how to do the TTouches so they could carry the work on once he was home.

The last month at Greyfriars Spot went through days where he was sore due to working so hard and days of great progress. The decision to dis-charge was based on Spot progressing to the point where one person could take him out for toileting fairly easily. Once home, Spot returned regularly for hydrotherapy. TTouch sessions continued until his people were comfortable with the work. At home he was now walking up and down a specially constructed ramp and moving more confidently and trying out new movements every day.

With spinal injuries, if there is a possibility that an animal can heal, the best course of action is to be very proactive. It is no good trying just one modality at a time, if they work well together then try as much as possible. It could possibly take months to recover but for some animals recovery is possible even though they may be left with some form of disability. What you aim to achieve is a good quality of life and to give the animal the choice whether to recover or not. Vets may be negative about prospects but the best piece of advice I can give you through my experiences with spinal injured animals is to ask the animal if they still want to be here, they will al-ways give you an honest answer. Toni Shelbourne NB: Greyfriars owner, Angela Griffiths has no doubt of the value of TTouch. ‘’Doberman, Spot, was an inpatient at Greyfriars for five months after he lost the use of his legs due to spinal disc problems. Looking after Spot was both physi-cally and mentally exhausting because of his distress and noise levels if left, even for a few minutes. Spot overreacted to any stress or stimulus and his muscle tone would stiffen. TTouch was vital to reverse these effects and we all looked forward to a more relaxed Spot following sessions with Toni Shelbourne – both he and the team benefited. TTouch was used on Spot regularly with dramatic results – after each ses-sion his ability to move improved and this convinced me of the benefits. He is now home with his family who have been taught the TTouch techniques to help his continuing rehabili-tation’’.


Editor’s Note: As part of the Tellington TTouch for Horses Practitioner program students must do case studies on a number of horses. Here is one of Julie Taylor Browne’s that I thought was really good. I have included my comments and sugges-tions in italics and parenthesis. Julie is also a Camelid Practi-tioner. Milo is a 15 hand five-year-old gelded Fell Pony. He was sold to his current owner when he was three having been broken to ride and to harness. He is a very solid, chunky pony. He works well in harness and seems to be very well behaved when he has his blinkers on. Issues identified by owner.

• He has bitting issues and is very resistant to having his bridle put on. He likes to be groomed but is sensitive about his head and ears and doesn’t like his forelock combed.

• When ridden Milo is a rather spooky pony who tends to start rather unpredictably at some things some times and not at others. He has a tendency to nap (freeze) and then bolt when taken to wide open spaces. He is also frightened of tractors and can be dangerous on the road should he meet one.

• He has a tendency to stop dead on a ride and refuse to go on. Only the rider dismounting and bribing him with treats can make him go forward. He has thrown his rider twice by bucking her off, both times when she asked him to do something he didn’t want to do.

Facial Observations: Milo’s facial characteristics indicate that he has the potential to be a dependable cooperative horse of average intelligence, although he has a refined soft muzzle indi-cating a sensitive horse. He also has a floppy bottom lip that wobbles when he feels unsure and a very tight stiff upper lip. Observations: Milo frequently rests his right rear leg and that when he comes to a halt when walked in hand he finds it diffi-cult to halt squarely. Session 1. Body work:

• Head work. The first thing I did was to get Milo to lower his head. He was quite suspicious and there was quite a bit of head tossing, but he got the idea and soon lowered it more readily. At first he was very resistant to mouth work and hand in mouth and tried to bite me, but becoming used to the idea. Did mouth work, nos-tril work, and some clouded leopards round the TMJ and eyes. He liked the work on the upper lip. He did-n’t like forelock slides or pulls to start with but began to get the idea. His owner reported that he had had to have quite a bit of dental work done which could ex-plain the resistance to mouth work. Initially, he didn’t like his ears being touched with ear work but was

content to have them stroked back against his head. • • Wand stroking. At first nervous of wand but soon

happy to be stroked all over with wand. I did some Boomers Bound, with large semi-circles reducing to smaller ones touch his ears. We finished with Dingo and Cueing the camel to ask Milo to take small steps to organise himself better and stand more squarely.

By the end of the first session – (15 minutes long) he had a firmer lower lip and a looser upper lip. He was more relaxed with a softer eye Session 2. 1 week later Milo was again resistant to lowering his head, but got there eventually. His top lip seemed slightly softer and he seemed more happy have mouth and nostril work done. One he had thoroughly investigated the poles that made up the labyrinth he worked through it well, halting well and squarely apart from the back rear leg. However, he yawned and licked and chewed constantly and shook his head and his whole body, something he does when he is out riding and something which precipitated his bucking behaviour. We reviewed Boomers Bound which he was much better at and allowed the wand to touch his ears without freaking out. We also asked him to walk forward and stop using Dingo and Cueing the Camel which he did very well. As Milo has a ten-dency to fall in towards me we attempted Dolphins flicking through the waves but Milo freaked out when the point of the wand came anywhere near his nose. (Homing pigeon can really help in these situations – when fearful of wand, head tossing, coming too close to handler.) At the end of the session we did a bit more body work including tail work and leg circles. The right rear was more resistant to the circles compared to the other three. Milo attempts to bite and nip whilst this is going on, possibly because he is looking for food. (While this could be true about looking for food I would think that it was more about showing his concern about the task.) The owner had previously tried clicker training and bribery to train Milo. We finished the session with a bit of mouth work and ear work. Milo enjoyed for the first time his ears being circled. (Mouth and earwork are helpful with bit-ting issues also working the poll area as this can be another reason for bitting being difficult.) Session 3. We started the session with some mouth and ear work and progressed to tail work and then some leg work in-cluding python lifts and octopus on his legs to bring awareness to them and some tail work He was happy about his rear legs being touched, but less so about the front. During the leading work, Milo was much better behaved and didn’t toss his head, shake his main or bite nearly so much. He lowered his head and tried to follow the wand, however he was very frightened of

Milo by Julie Taylor-Browne


walking over poles and needed much encouragement by way of mouth work to give him the confidence to do so. Raised poles were too much for him initially as was walking between two jump stands. I moved the stands much further apart and lowered the half jumps to cavelletti. Milo managed to knock every pole with his hooves making me think how uncon-nected he is with his body. I thought there was a considerable improvement in Milo’s general de-meanour but I will definitely be try-ing body wraps, face wraps and leg wraps with him. If there were hoof wraps I would be getting these as well! His owner went riding out on him and reported that for the first time since she had owned him he walked through puddles in an unconcerned way whereas previously he had been scared of, and avoided them! (Excellent and it really shows that you don’t have to deal with the exact problem to make a difference.) Session four. I put the body wrap straight on Milo at the be-ginning of the session, he ‘asked’ for the mouth work and enjoyed it and now enjoys ear work. He is quiet when doing leg work which is a considerable improvement and hopefully should make farri-ering easier. He walks in hand without yawning, mouthing or biting, but is still reluctant to go over poles, ( try stroking the legs and tapping the hooves – even stroke the legs as you are walking over the poles) though content to go through them, e.g. in the labyrinth. He will also walk through quite narrow spaces when made with jump stands. Session five: We used the driving lines today. Milo knows and enjoys working in harness so it felt right to do something he is good at. We started with neckline driving and pro-gressed to ground line driving. We kept the body wrap on and Milo felt confident enough to walk over the poles! He asked for and received TTouches on his muzzle and mouth a num-ber of times. Session six: Started session by putting on body wrap and do-ing some tail work, mouthwork and leg work including leg circles, python lifts and the octopus. We tried to do some ridden work with him, as soon as a rider mounts Milo lifts his head and rolls his eyes a little. (Sounds like a saddle fit issue as well.)

We worked on asking him to lower his head by me on the ground and the rider working on his neck. This worked well and he started to listen more to the commands being given. I also gave the rider a wand and showed her how to ask for a walk on and a stop with wand from his back. Milo behaved well until we asked him to walk over a pole.

(Not likely he could walk over a pole with the rider if he couldn’t do it without one – tapping the hooves helps a horse get over the fear of the sound of the poles. ) He clunked it with a hoof, spooked and threw the rider. Session seven. The brave rider was willing to have another go at ridden work and we changed Milo’s bit for a Lindell. This had the interesting effect of making Milo lower his head instantly and he obviously enjoyed

the sensation. ‘Steering’ him wasn’t particularly easy, as I need to put more holes in the noseband to make it a bit more snug. Milo went really well, when he raised it, the rider asked him to lower it which he did nicely. He worked well with the wand but refused to go near any

poles! We decided not to ask him to do this any more. I have checked Milo’s tack and think that he needs to have the pads changed in his Wintec saddle as I think they are impeding his shoulder movement. The saddle seems to fit ok over the spine. The owner has ordered a Comfort bridle and when it arrives we will try the roller bit on it. (Good work, easy to read –

just be careful to watch that a horse can do something without a rider, then with a saddle and then with the rider. Start tapping his feet with the soft end first and very lightly. Maybe a couple of taps or strokes down the hoof. Progress to being able to tap all over the hooves with the button end of the wand. Great job with horse and rider.)


These photos of this 17 hand Dutch Warmblood were brought to me by a couple who had won a drawing organized by my Dutch publisher. The prize was a thirty-minute consultation about a problem horse. The couple who won the drawing brought these four photos hoping for help with their four year old gelding they hoped to make into a safe, sound performance driving horse. However, he is spooky, reactive and uncoopera-tive. It’s no wonder looking at these photos! My very first impression I had when I looked at the four photos was the lateral stance. Yikes! In all three photos we see, Wind-fall is standing laterally. In photo 1 his left foreleg and left hind leg are forward, In photos 2 and 3 the right foreleg is forward and the right hind also forward. To be in balance he would ei-ther be standing with the front leg on one side forward and the hind leg back or standing square with the front and hind legs under the shoulders and hips. This lateral stance tends to make a horse unbalanced not just physically but also emotionally and mentally, as indeed, Windfall is. Now for another sign of lack of balance. In photo 1 the hind legs are together and his front legs appear to be wide set. They should be under his shoulders and hips. In my book Getting In TTouch: Evaluate Your Horses Personality correct conforma-tion is clearly shown. Head Shape Photo 4 Windfall is narrow between the eyes and his face is narrow below the protruding cheek bones. These two characteristics are in-dicative of a slow learner. It usually takes a horse more time to figure out what you want of him. The pronounced bump below his eyes signifies a tendency to block if he can’t understand what’s being asked of him, or if he was punished or pushed hard, he will not be able to respond. These horses are often labeled stubborn or resistant or stupid. I think he would be very willing to cooper-ate if the handler can chunk down the lessons and help him un-derstand.

Another characteristic is the long, close-set ears that are very upright. This would make him reactive and hot if he becomes fearful. Look at photo 2. What do you see? Ears that slope up-ward and stiffly forward. Even when he wants to cooperate he will be easily distracted. In photo 1 We see a sloping muzzle over the nostrils. It will be easier for Windfall to cooperate with one person, but he may be resistant to every new person until he develops a special rela-tionship with that person who will get much more pleasure with this horse if he or she appreciates and understands him. We’ve got more problems in this head shape. His head is long and narrow and the eyes are set high in the head. It will make learning a real challenge for him and his handler, and he will tend to forget easily, lessons already learned. Now to conformation. Yikes! In Photo 1 we see a horse that is drastically out of balance. The head is held very high. I never judge head position from one photo, but look at photos 1, 2 and 4. In every case the head is high. This tends to make horses reactive and easily spooked. Drop a plumb line from the middle of the forearm. It should pass through the middle of fetlock but it’s actually in front of the fetlock so he’s standing over his front legs and the hind legs are very tucked under. If you drop a plumb line from the point of the buttock it should drop along the back of the hock and the back of the fetlock. Check photo and we see he is standing more correctly here. What I look for is how many times does he tend to stand as in photo 1.? Before we had all these tools to help this horse learn how to cooperate and think rather than react, I would say there is no hope for this horse to be a trustworthy, happy horse. However, with all our exercises in the Playground for Higher Learning and TTouches, and our understanding of how we can influence behavior by coming from the heart and helping this horse BE ALL HE CAN BE, I believe he could be a fun and fancy part-ner. In spite of all these challenging inborn characteristics, I think Windfall could learn to be a star, because there is something about him that is charming. I think he has a kind heart and mind. With the help of the Playground for Higher Learning so he con-nects to his feet, Cha-Cha Dance, Labyrinth, Chest Driving with a person leading him to lower the head, leg circles, Half-Walk with lowered head, Neck Release, Lick of the Cows Tongue, Pick up Sticks, and lots of connecting circles along with Ear TTouch, etc, etc. you could bring Windfall to a place of mental, emotional and physical balance that he is missing innately. It could be a lovely journey if you think of the process and not just focus on the destination. Take a copy of my Ulti-mate Horse Training and Behavior Book and Sarah Fisher’s Know Your Horse Inside Out down to the barn and get started.

Personality Analysis

Windfall


Can you imagine being afraid of the dark? Trying to overcome this fear, you venture out of your house at night, leaving the front door open behind you. Bit by bit, you get further away from the comforting light of the door-way. But then the door closes, and you hear the click of the lock turning! How brave do you feel now? This is an example I give to students when they are work-ing with their animals’ fears. It is often thought that we can place an animal in a position where it doesn’t feel safe, and by feeding it treats, providing comfort, or jollying it along, we can help it discover that life is fine in this scary situa-tion. It may seem to work in the moment, but is it an effec-tive way of helping animals learn how to deal with stressful situations? Wouldn’t it be better for them to learn that cop-ing is possible, and they can learn how to do it? The ability to learn requires certain conditions. Modern studies of stress and its effects support the general ideas of Abraham Maslow, who in 1947 propounded what he called the “Hierarchy of Needs.” His theory is that humans have certain basic needs that must be met before we can attend to ‘higher’ functions such as learning, self-awareness, prob-lem solving, etc. This model seems to hold just as true for non-human animals. The most basic needs are the physio-logical requirements we need to live - food, sleep, breath-ing, etc., and following hard on the heels of these is the need for a sense of safety. However, there are times when the need for safety can outweigh physiological needs, as we see when frightened animals won’t eat, so for all practical purposes (and in the context of this article) think: Safety first! Safety may be first - but not alone. What prompted me to write this piece was an article in the New York Times magazine of October 8, 2006, entitled “An Elephant Crack-up” by Charles Siebert. He speaks of how elephants are suffering from stress, and how they are being helped to recover. He writes, and several researchers agree, that “... we now understand that elephants hurt like us, [and] we’re learning that they can heal like us as well.” These are com-forting words to those of us who use human experience as our best approximation when we seek to understand rea-sons for animal behaviour - much as I do when speaking of fear of the dark. Of the work of the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, he says: “Great pains are taken ... to afford the elephants both a sense of safety and freedom of choice - two mainstays of human trauma therapy...” The sense of safety and freedom of choice are also main-stays of the Tellington Method (TTEAM and TTouch).

Safety First! By Edie Jane Eaton

Photo 1: Windfall is drastically out of balance. The head is held very high, his chest is well out over his front legs and his hind legs are also well under him.

With a sloping muzzle over the nostrils it will be easier for Windfall to cooperate with one person, but he may be resistant to every new person until he develops a special relationship with that person, if he or she appreciates and understands him.

Photo 3: Even though his feet are more balanced under his body there is still the tendency for him to be standing laterally.

I never judge head position from one photo, but look at photos 1, 2 and 4. In every case the head is high.


They are requirements in the process of helping animals move beyond instinctive and protective responses to learn-ing how to learn - which is one way the work is described by its originator, Linda Tellington Jones. Many years ago in Germany, I was teaching a TTouch class in which there was a very shy white German Shepherd, and I demonstrated a technique developed by Kathy Cascade, one of our instructors, which helps dogs with separation issues. This technique requires the conditions mentioned above - a sense of safety and the freedom of choice. The “rule” is that the dog is always free to return to the safety of her person if she chooses. I threw some treats on the floor to encourage the dog to move away from her person. The class was sitting in a cir-cle, and she was being asked to come into the centre, while people made a point of not staring at her. She came about three metres and returned to her place beside her person. The second time she came just one metre before turning back, and the third time I threw treats she got up, but did not come towards me at all and instead went behind her per-son’s chair, to lie down facing away from me! I knew enough German to know that to many this exercise appeared to be a failure - but I was pleased: she recognized she had a choice and had acted upon it. The apparent result of this process was amazing! The next morning, we began the class with the same exercise, and this time she immediately came out into the circle, looked around, ate the treats, and went calmly back to her person. From then on, her interaction with others in the class was entirely changed. A similar situation involved a police horse at a clinic in South Africa. He had a hard time being away from another horse, and it was a constant fight for the rider to get the horse going on its own. I suggested that whenever the horse wanted to go to the other horse he be allowed to do so. Ac-cording to all the horsemanship I had been taught since childhood this was complete heresy! It triggers age-old ar-guments about the horse learning he can win, etc., etc. Luck-ily the rider was willing to give it a try - he had had several unsuccessful battles with the horse in the past and he was open to trying something new. Well, guess what? After a few times of being allowed to go back to his friend, the horse was willing to be on his own. The importance of safety and freedom of choice was brought home again by a little Morgan mare I met last sum-mer. She had another way of expressing her concern: she grew roots. Her safe choice seemed to be to do nothing. She was small enough to push around, and in order to get things done and move her from one place to another; she had had her fair share of being pushed. So, what did I do but suggest - heresy again! - that she be allowed to stand there for a while before it was again gently suggested to her that she move. It took some time - and several repetitions of the

process - before she was able to move on easily, but some-thing must have grown through those roots because during the remaining days of the clinic she moved forward will-ingly, looked brighter and, as an unexpected bonus, became easier to catch! These concepts belong also in the Feldenkrais Method, of which I am a practitioner. The Feldenkrais strategy which relates to this idea of “safety first” relates to a quote from Moshe Feldenkrais: “When you know what you do, you can do what you want.” Although the practitioner’s ulti-mate intention may be for the client to do something in a new and different way, the process might begin by helping the client learn more about what they are doing already, and learn how to do it better and more easily. As a result, the client becomes braver about exploring new and strange (though more useful!) ways that may initially feel wrong, or weird. This strategy is far more successful at effecting useful change than is “making” them do what-ever we feel is best for them. Echoes of the German Shep-herd, and the horses - no? So whether safety is found in hiding behind a human, being with a friend, staying where one is, or moving in a familiar way - making safety available as a choice means this: the door stays open between the known and unknown, the house and the dark. We can go back and forth, and eventu-ally venture out with confidence. Editor’s Note: Edie Jane Eaton is one of Instructors who is also a Feldenkrais Practitioner. You can also visit her web-site www.listeningtowhispers.com.

From Robyn’s Desk

As this year comes to an end I feel like I am just getting caught up with my life. The July-September news-letter presented big problems for me because of some glitches in Adobe. This resulted in having to copy the issue instead of printing it, conse-quently the print was lighter and smaller, but it was the only way I could get it done before going away.

I spent September in England where I spent 3 weeks teach-ing a wonderful group of 2 and 4 leggeds. After the AH-VMA conference, it was back on a plane to South Africa. I taught a TTEAM/Connected Riding 6 day which was very rewarding and then a TTouch for Companions with a super group of people and their animals.

I am putting together an article about using TTouch with laminitis and would love to hear from any of you who have experiences and also what type of trimming or shoeing you used.

Blessings to all of you over the holidays.

Robyn


Starting a horse under saddle is extremely rewarding. The knowledge that you are helping to develop a confident, safe, ridden equine that is happy in his work is one of the many highs of working in the equestrian field. However, as well as being extremely satisfying the art of educating any horse is a huge responsibility. Creative thinking and patience are two key ingredients. Train-ing at any age and at any level should be fun for all con-cerned. The horse should enjoy his education and be a will-ing, keen participant. Resistance comes from resistance and horses that buck when saddled or go into freeze are usually carrying tension around the girth area, through the neck and shoulders and across the loins. Foaling, rough play, slipping in the field and so on can set up tension patterns right from birth which can influence how the horse responds to the sad-dling process. The growth rate will also affect the natural balance of the youngster and with more demands being placed on horses at an ever decreasing age, he is adapting to changes in his mouth, feet, and posture at the exact time that he is being asked to accept a bit, saddle and rider. By observing how the horse moves and how he is developing both physically and emotionally steps can be taken to reduce tension through the body. This will diminish the chances of the horse developing unwanted behaviour. Fear, pain and tension limit the capacity for learning and it stands to reason that horses that are tight and braced through the body will be more reactive under saddle. They are more likely to spook, nap, rear, freeze, shoot forward and buck than horses that are supple and relaxed. It is far easier incorporating techniques that stop unwanted behaviours from developing than spend-ing time later on addressing learned and established reactions to being ridden. In an ideal world, horses should really be started later rather than earlier allowing time for the adult teeth to come through

and for the skeleton to mature. Time spent working in hand using TTEAM exercises and body work that help to improve mind body awareness is invaluable and dramatically shortens the length of time it takes to introduce the rider. Working in hand helps the horse to develop true self carriage and is men-tally stimulating without being over taxing. During the pe-riod of ground work, the horse can be taught to negotiate a variety of patterns of poles laid on the ground, can be taught to walk over a variety of different surfaces such as wooden boards, plastic sheeting, rubber matting, and soft surfaces, can be led from both sides, and can learn how to use his body in a more effective way without having to compensate for the balance of the rider on his back. Skeyton Matthew is a stunning seven year old Shire stallion owned by Steven and Tracey Haines of Newton St Loe, near Bath. He came to Tilley Farm to be started under saddle in January 2007 and we were asked if we thought there would be any chance of him being ready to compete at the Shire Horse Society Show in Peterborough in the middle of March. This gave us just eight weeks in total to prepare an un-backed horse for two ridden showing classes and if possible, a dres-sage class. Observations Watching how the horse moves is a vital part of understand-ing and addressing any difficulties they may have. Having been shown in hand for the majority of his life Matthew was very one sided. He carried tension through the right side of his neck and as a result was short on the left fore which is typical of horses that are handled primarily from one side. He found it genuinely hard to soften and release his neck and asking him to flex to the right resulted in a pinning of the ears and a swishing of his tail. Horses that respond in this way are not being dominant. They are merely expressing their

STARTING A HORSE UNDER SADDLE By Sarah Fisher

Photo 1: Matthew is a 7 year-old Shire stallion who had been shown in hand but never trained under saddle.

Photo 2: Using the Journey of the Homing Pigeon, a handler on each side of the horse, teaches the horse about spatial aware-ness to avoid crowding, giving information to both sides of the horses brain and encourage straightness.


concern, confusion or discomfort and getting after a horse for this behaviour is unfair. At eighteen hands high, entire and fully mature it would have also been rather unrealistic to ‘show him who was boss’ and TTEAM adopts the philosophy that it is far better to work with a few pounds of brain than half a ton of body weight. By having a handler on both sides it was possible to teach Matthew how to organise his body in a more appropriate way and enabled us to work through the ground exercises without being squashed as he had a tendency to fall into the handler on the left side. Crowding and barging are linked to poor spatial awareness and lack of co-ordination. As co-ordination and confidence are linked, improving self-carriage in the young horse is a vital part of starting the horse under saddle. Leading Matthew between two people also enabled each person to take it in turns to work on his neck and shoul-ders with a combination of TTEAM and Connected Riding body work exercises. These exercises can be done whilst the horse is stationery or on the move. It can sometimes be more appropriate to work on a horse whilst he is moving if he is easily triggered or aroused by body contact. Teaching any horse to lead between two people is a very beneficial exercise. It not only habituates a horse to be led from both sides but can encourage straightness and balance. It teaches horses to walk in their own space and not follow or lean on their handler for support and enables people to work with reactive horses safely and quietly. In addition it is also useful for horses that are concerned about walking between narrow spaces, horses that have concerns about being handled by more than one person, teaching a horse to stand quietly in balance and improving handling skills and communication. Matthew was worked in hand for the first week. We incorpo-rated a variety of pole work into his ground work routine and taught him to work through the labyrinth, a simple and highly effective exercise for all horses made with a pattern of six poles laid on the ground in a specific way. The horse learns to release through the poll, neck and ribs which in turn helps the hindquarters to engage. Naturally it was hard for Mat-

thew at first but he quickly learned to negotiate the poles with ease. As he worked through the labyrinth his confidence in his ability to turn right began to grow and he became quieter and more settled when handled from the right. This exercise is usually the first one we teach the horse as it also has a very calming effect allowing a busy youngster (or distracted Shire!) to settle and focus when he is first taken into the arena. It is an exercise that is used throughout the starting process as leading the horse back through the poles once a saddle has been introduced will give you vital infor-mation as to how he is truly accepting the sensation of carry-ing the saddle. If the horse has any level of concern he will rush, panic or freeze as he is asked to negotiate his way around the poles even if he was able to move happily in a straight line or circle when saddled. It is far safer and kinder for all parties if these worries are noted before the rider at-tempts to get on board. Every time we introduce any equipment to the horse we influ-ence his balance and the series of ground work exercises en-able you to see at which point the horse begins to struggle. When the horse says he won’t do something it is because he actually can’t. Listening to the horse helps to establish trust and enables you to understand the horse on every level. By watching for the smallest signals of concern you can stop what you are doing or asking the horse to do, give him a break, go back to something that the horse understood, or make the exercise easier. This will have far reaching bene-fits and a good foundation is paramount for a happy confident horse. TTEAM uses a unique approach in teaching horses to work on long lines. Instead of attaching the lines straight to a bit or head collar, we start with two long lines attached together around the base of the horse’s neck. This teaches the horse to balance by drawing his centre of gravity backwards and re-leasing the neck and back. Long lines are heavy and can encourage a young or unbalanced horse to work behind the vertical if they are attached to the horse’s head in the early days. As Matthew was so habituated to working in hand and listening to the handler by his head, the chest line driving was

Photo 3: The sliding saddle pad helps the horse overcome concerns about things sliding on his back. The horse is asked to stop as the pad starts to slide and is given a bit of food off of the pad.

Photo 4: Once a horse is comfortable with the pad sliding off of both sides it can then be slid off of the hindquarters. It is done carefully so as not to scare the horse.


a method we could use at every stage of his training when re-quired to teach him to move forward from a signal on his sides. Teaching the Sliding Saddle Cloth is another useful step in the backing process. With one person leading the horse, a second person walks next to the horse. The saddle cloth is pulled gen-tly from the horses back and is dropped to the floor. A small amount of food is placed on the cloth and the horse quickly learns to stop and turn to take the treat. The saddle cloth is pulled off from both sides and also over the hindquarters and this exercise teaches the horse to stop calmly if he ever feels the saddle (or rider) slip backwards or sideways. By the end of the first week Matthew was carrying a rider and the ground exercises were repeated with the rider on board. The ridden sessions were kept short for the first fortnight and he continued to go from strength to strength. Matthew was happily hacking around the farm by week four. His balance under sad-dle was perfect and we alternated between ridden work, body work and ground work for the remainder of his stay at Tilley

Farm to ensure he stayed supple, comfortable and happy in his work. Matthew went to the Shire Horse Society Show and ridden by Lucinda Stockley took first and two seconds in his classes. He behaved impeccably throughout the two day show and gained many admirers. He went on to win the Ridden Cham-pionship – not bad for a horse that had only been ridden for seven weeks! Matthew has continued to do well in his ridden classes and won his first affiliated Dressage competition in April. He is the perfect gentleman in hand and under saddle and is the first Super Premium Shire Stallion to be competed under saddle in the UK. For more information on Matthew and his Shire friends visitwww.ellstonshires.co.uk.

Photo 5: Neck line driving is used to help teach the horse to stop through his body. Since Matthew could easily come behind the vertical this helps him learn to open his throatlatch and lengthen his neck.

Photo 6: By The end of the first week Matthew was carry-ing a rider. Sessions were kept short for the first fortnight.

Photo 7: Matthew was a star when ridden out in the fields.

Photo 8: Seven weeks after he was started under saddle Mat-thew, with Lucinda Stockley on board, competed in the Shire Horse Society Show and won a first and two seconds in his classes. He is the first Super Premium Shire Stallion to be com-peted under saddle in the UK.


Many dogs that are fearful in the vet clinic will also be con-cerned if examined in their home environment. Therefore it is useful to not only practice at the clinic, but also prepare the dog at home. The following steps have proven to be very helpful: Try different TTouches to find your dog’s favorite. Many dogs prefer Clouded Leopard or Lying Leopard TTouches and ear slides. Start by relaxing your dog with its favorite TTouches. Then practice some typical examination techniques your veterinarian would use by breaking them into small steps. Remember to praise your dog when he displayed the desired behavior. If the dog reacts fearfully you proceeded too quickly. Return to the step where it was comfortable and ask less. Scolding or punish-ing the dog for being fearful will only make the problem worse. Avoid punishment or force of any type. Ear examinations Stroke the ears. In-between the strokes lift one ear, take a look inside and con-tinue stroking. Gradually increase the length of time of ear strokes. If your dog is quite sensitive around the ears start with some TTouches at the base of the ear and continue with Connected TTouches along the ear. Teeth exams Start with TTouches on the out-side of the mouth. Take the lips and make circles with the lips on the gums. Make sure the dog’s gums are wet. If they are dry wet your hands before touching the dog’s gums. Examining the body By stroking the dog’s entire body with long flat handed strokes you can check if there are areas it does not like having touched. If there are areas of sensitivity you can gradually work your way towards those body parts using zig zags. Start TTouching the dog in an area it is comfortable and gradu-ally add a few TTouches in the

uncomfortable area, always returning to a part of the body the dog enjoys. Taking temperature Start by TTouching the dog’s hind-quarters and the base of the tail, working your way to the top and bottom of the tail. Before inserting the thermometer use it to make some circles at the anus. Continue the TTouch while taking the tem-perature.

Preparing for your visit When your dog has reached a level of being calm and relaxed during the TTouch and basic examination done by you, add a second person, preferably someone the dog does not know. Besides practicing at home it is helpful to also practice in or near the vet clinic. Don’t wait for a medical emergency to visit the clinic. Stop by for a cookie and pet and a routine exams for which you have already prepared your animal. Before your pet’s next exam visualize the different steps and evaluate which areas you are uncomfortable or nervous about. Picture yourself breathing and relaxing during the exam and your animal will copy your calm demeanor. Depending how fearful your dog is consider the following steps:

How to Eliminate your Dog’s Fear of the Veterinarian Visit

By Daniela Zurr, DVM translated by Christine Schwartz

Use Clouded Leopard TTouches around the hindquarters as you work towards the dog’s tail. You can pick up the tail and gently circle it and slide down the tail.

Bodywrap: The half-wrap bodywrap helps settle many dogs. Use it while you are at home doing TTouches and then when you go to the vet.


1st step If your dog is already nervous as you are approaching the vet clinic walk or drive past the clinic a few times. If you are walking stop a few times, TTouch your dog for a few mo-ments and continue walking. Stay far enough away from the clinic to keep your dog calm and close the distance a little more every day. If you drive to the vet let someone else drive so you can con-centrate on the dog. Stop near the vet clinic, TTouch your dog and drive past the clinic once it relaxes for a few days in a row. 2nd step Step out of the car with your dog and walk towards the clinic. Every time the dog shows concern reassure it with its favorite TTouches until it relaxes. When your dog is especially quiet turn around and go home. Depending on the dog’s level of fear you may need to repeat this step for several days in a row. 3rd Step When the dog can stand relaxed outside the vet clinic it is time to go into the waiting room and TTouch the dog. Please call ahead so the staff knows you are coming and what your intentions are. They will ignore you and your dog at this stage. Once the dog relaxes the staff will carefully toss some treats to your dog from a safe distance. If it is a picky eater or

requires a special diet bring its own treats along. 4ht Step After you have visited the waiting room a few times and the dog is relaxed there and takes treats from the staff you can take it into the exam room. Remember to breathe and not carry your own tension. The dog will be ignored in the exam room, but will receive a treat if it initiates contact. 5th Step The dog will be petted and TTouched and gradually small com-ponents of a general exam added as it can tolerate them. Of course you can continue to TTouch your dog during the exam for reassurance. If it is still concerned about certain aspects of the exam they can be practiced more. These steps sound quite time consuming, but are well worth the trouble. Remember that in case of an emergency your animal can be helped much more quickly and efficiently if it is not afraid of being touched and examined.

By Sarah Fisher Reviewed by Christine Schwartz It is not by coincidence that there was standing room only at Sarah Fisher’s talk about tension patterns in dogs at the TTouch Cell-ebration in Arizona last year or that her first book Know your horse Inside Out was sold out within hours. A year later the long awaited sequel, Unlock your dog’s potential, How to achieve a calm and happy canine fi-nally hit the market. Sarah’s easy to follow writing style and unique knowl-edge of TTouch combined with Chinese Medicine and the Five Elements has been a favorite in TTEAM newsletters for many years. Her new 128-page book is a jewel in photography and great ideas. Chapters include Improving your dog’s life, Understanding the

basics, asses your dog, taking steps to help your dog, key skills, working on specific areas, holis-tic dog care. Each section on the TTouch in-cludes tips of what to do if your dog does not like a particular TTouch or obstacle. Assessing your dog by looking at the pattern of his coat, wear of his feet, the way he sits, walks, carries his head and tail, swings through the rib cage have schooled my eyes and make a trip to the dog park a brand new experience. The case histories interspersed throughout the book are encouraging and supported with great pictures.

The colourful soft cover book is available at the Canadian TTEAM office for $20.00, at www.tteam-ttouch.ca and we can get you a copy before Christmas.

Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from the book TTouch & Its Use in Veterinary Practice by Daniela Zurr which was first published in German. It has been translated by Christine Schwartz and will be available in English in the Spring 2008.

Unlock Your Dog’s Potential


The concept of imprinting describes a phase-sensitive (age or life stage) learning process through which an animal learns the characteristics of a certain stimulus, which get imprinted on the subject. A more contemporary definition by Bateson and Bolhuis (as cited in Bolhuis, 2005) defines it as “a learning process through which the social preferences of young animals become restricted to a particu-lar stimulus or class of stimuli” (p. 128).

In 1518, Sir Thomas Moore described in his book “Utopia”, the phenomenon of what was later called filial im-printing, a form of imprinting in which a young animal learns the characteristics of its parents and follow them around. It was further investigated in the 19th century by the amateur biologist Douglas Spalding with domestic chickens, and in 1911 by early naturalist Oskar Heinroth. 20 years later, it was described in detail by Konrad Lorenz, who also gave the phe-nomenon its name. During his experiments with greylag geese, Lorenz showed how incubator-hatched goslings would imprint on and follow the first stimulus they saw during the 36 hours after hatching, which was in this case Lorenz him-self or more specifically his wading boots. The experiment suggested that the goslings had made an irreversible bond with Lorenz, treating him as their mother or even a possible future sexual mate, and ignoring conspecifics (Bolhuis, 2005). Lorenz thought that the process of imprinting was unique for three reasons: that unlike other learning it did not require any reinforcement, that it could only occur during a specific development period called the critical period and lastly that it was irreversible (Bolhuis, 2005, p. 128).

His first reason has been contested by other re-searchers. Whilst there are no obvious reinforcers such as food, it has been argued that the imprinting stimulus itself may be the reinforcer, and that the process, albeit under dif-ferent circumstances and with different characteristics, is a form of associative learning like operant conditioning (Bolhuis, 2005, p. 129). Studies in a more controlled lab en-vironment have shown that imprinting is not really restricted to a critical period (Cardoso et al., 2001) and this term has been replaced by sensitive period, which allows for more flexibility in time. The statement that imprinting is irreversi-ble was later on refuted, or at least softened by consequent research: Bolhuis (2005) mentions numerous studies by Sal-zen & Meyer and Krujit & Meeuwissen showing that animals don’t forget the object that they were initially exposed to, but that they may show social behavior toward novel objects; both filial and sexual preferences were reversible even though certain circumstances could bring back the original preference (Bischof, Bateson, as cited in Bolhuis, 2005).

Lorenz was also under the impression that the main outcome for imprinting was learning the characteristics of a future mate. Today, however a distinction is made between filial and sexual imprinting since the preferences are ex-pressed at a different age. Filial imprinting is not just about an increase in following but refers to the acquisition of social preferences (Sluckin, as cited in Bolhuis, 2005). In a natural

environment, the first object a bird usually sees is its mother. But research on filial imprinting shows that the hatchlings can imprint on other animals, surrogate mothers and even on inani-mate objects such as colored balls (Bolhuis, 2005). Bolhuis (2005) further describes that “movement, brightness, contrast and sound all enhance the attractiveness of the imprinting stimulus” (p. 129), and that therefore the effectiveness of one stimulus versus another varies. Sexual imprinting expresses itself at the later stage of sexual maturity and courtship, as op-posed to the early stage with the filial process, and as such the time during which these preferences are imprinted is much longer.

After behavioral development was finally recognized as an important part of behavior analysis starting around the 1950’s, imprinting has often been looked upon as a showcase for behavioral development in animals (Bolhuis, 2005). Instinc-tive animal behavior is mostly genetically programmed with little influence by learning, other forms of behavior are a spec-trum of different mixtures of genetic and learned or environ-mental influences. Imprinting represents a very interesting ex-ample of the latter (Cardoso et al., 2001). The true grey area between instinct and learning, because the tendency to imprint is instinctive, but the imprinting itself is learning (www.scienceclarified.com). Most research on both types of imprinting has been conducted with precocial bird species. It is considered rarer amongst mammals because many newborn mammals are altricial, meaning they are relatively helpless at birth due to an immature brain that takes months to develop (Cardoso et al. 2001). The mother is the main caretaker and the bonding happens via processes other than imprinting.

Modern Application with Horses Unlike most other mammals, such as cats and dogs,

foals are born with their eyes open and can stand and run quite soon after birth. Hence, imprinting does seem to occur in horses (Houpt, 2005). Attachment onto the maternal figure nor-mally occurs during the neonatal period, which is during the first few hours of a foal’s life (Mills, 2001). During that time the foal will start following any large moving object, which could be another animal or human if the mare has not yet risen after foaling (Houpt, 2005).

While young horses in the wild learn social communi-cation from their herd, it is important for a domestic horse used for recreational and sport purposes to learn a form of social communication with humans. The way humans keep, care and use their horses can present challenges for an animal that is a social, and natural flighty animal, so people have been search-ing for ways to improve training techniques and create better communication between themselves and their horses. The last decades have seen the popular rise of natural horsemanship, horse whispering and imprinting, just to name a few.

Equine imprinting: Imprinting: Origins and Evolution by Martine Broeder


Imprint Training Technique Handling of new born foals is not a new idea, some

Native Americans who relied upon their horses, spoke to them in utero and handled the first few days after birth (Probst, 1999). About 20 years ago, a Californian equine vet-erinarian Dr Robert Miller, popularized this process by mak-ing it a systematic technique referred to as imprint training (www.robertmiller.com/imprint-trainng.html). He advocates that this form of training “offers a singular opportunity to permanently mould a horse’s personality”, referring back to the idea of a particular, short critical time period as did Kon-rad Lorenz, during which the newborn foal is extremely re-ceptive to learning fast. The early intensive handling involves a programmed approach during which the neonate foal is handled by humans and introduced to domestic procedures and equipment (Diehl, 2005). Dr Miller describes in his pri-vate literature four advantages of following his technique.

Firstly, create a bond between the foal and the im-printer: Dr Miller claims that foals bond simultaneously with the dam and people handling it at birth, resulting in the foal seeing that human as a fellow horse, not a predator.

Secondly, create a submissive horse: during imprint, the foal cannot escape exposure to frightening stimuli. Hence it will see the trainer as a dominant horse or leader. Submis-siveness created by dependence, not by fear, is described as the ideal relationship between man and horse.

Thirdly, desensitize the horse to most sensory stim-uli, by touching the entire body including all openings. Flood-ing is used until the foal is beyond the point of habituation to all types of stimuli like loud noises, fluttering objects and being touched everywhere.

Fourthly, make the horse sensitized to performance related stimuli so it responds to head and flank pressure. This will allow control over both head and hindquarters.

Dr Miller believes that if his technique is applied correctly, it teaches a horse proper manner making it easier to train and handle and it increases its responsiveness to stimuli which will improve its performance.

Discussion of Pro and Contra Views Without going into the effects of the technique, there

is one point made across the literature without doubt about Imprint Training: it is not imprinting as defined by Konrad Lorenz and studied by ethologists. The reason why people decided to use this terminology may be twofold (Hiby, 2001): on the one hand, what the imprinting on foals is trying to achieve is desensitization and acceptance of human handling. On the other hand, there is the knowledge that at birth a foal’s brain is at a particular stage of development that lends itself well to the development of long term memories. The human element and the birth timing is probably the rational for bor-rowing the term of imprinting.

The classical imprinting of a foal onto an inappropri-ate object such as a human may even lead to the redirection of both filial and sexual behaviors toward the imprint object (Bateson, as cited in Mills, 2001). Although no research was

found to back this statement up, it would be easy to see how having a full grown horse consider a human as a conspecific could create safety issues simply by sheer difference in size and the lack of proper communication. Some problems have been seen with hand-raised orphaned foals.

In her 2005 research paper on the subject, Nancy Diehl points out that the classical term of imprinting refers to a “specific kind of learning during a sensitive period of a young animal’s life”, and that it is used to describe the devel-opment of social preferences, more specifically recognition of kin and future mates. This is not really what Imprint Training, which she refers to as early intensive handling, is about: firstly, a sensitive or critical period for foals has not yet been clearly defined (Williams, et al., 2002), and secondly assess-ing the effect of imprinting by a subjective application such as training falls outside the bounds of social and sexual rec-ognition linked with classical imprinting (Diehl, 2005). In her paper, Dr Diehl critically reviews some of the studies that have been done on early intensive handling, which are all reporting to have found no profound differences due to early handling. She concludes that the studies are based upon strong assumption, that the required strict protocol with re-gards to timing, substance and duration of imprint training was not followed and that the control group of unhandled foals may not really have been true controls; those foals still had consistent daily contact through husbandry routines, and they could have made positive associations between feeding and humans.

Between 1999 and 2000 a study was conducted on 139 foals to test the effects of imprint training on 6 month old foals. The researchers claim that the timing and types of han-dling resembled Dr Miller’s technique. At 6 months old the foals were tested, and the researchers found no benefits of the handling in the foals (Williams et al., 2001).

Simpson, Williams and Friend as cited by Dr Houpt (2005) did find that imprinted foals were friendlier to hu-mans, but were not easier to handle. Both studies used pas-tured mare- foal teams, which raises the question if it was the imprinting or the pasturing that made a difference.

Dr Houpt (2005) mentions that imprinting is often used incorrectly and confused with socialization and she be-lieves that Dr Miller’s technique is habituation and probably learned self helplessness. She feels that the foal does not really imprint on humans, and cites a study done by Mal et al. that shows that handled foals did not approach humans more than routinely handled foals (Houpt, 2005, p.274).

Classic imprinting in the spirit of Lorenz’s work involves young birds imprinting onto a human or object in-stead of their mother. No cases are reported where they im-print on the biological mother and a human at the same time, like it is described in imprint training with foals. Whilst ac-knowledging the importance of social learning, taming and handling of foals, imprint training is not imprinting but rather socialization, and the concept and effect of the life long at-tachment of the goslings to Lorenz’s boots cannot simply be superposed onto foals handled for a few hours in the presence of the dam (Stookey, 2001).

A legitimate point was brought up by a breeder in


response to the demand for imprinted foals: if all of this is done to make the horse easier to handle when it is older, why are owners having trouble in the first place? “If a person has prob-lems with youngsters, year after year, the problem is with the handler or his techniques, not the animal. I feel very uncomfort-able with an approach that seeks to "rewire" an animal on a very basic level, in order to compensate for what is actually the handler's deficit” (Coffman, 2001).

There are no studies showing that the benefits achieved by handling foals can only be achieved by handling them when they are very young; the fact is that the more foals are handled regardless of age, the better they will respond when they are older and enter training (Judd, 2006).

The latter statement carries through in studies where the focus is not so much on the handling at birth or imprinting, but in the handling of foals in general and the effects of that later on. Lansade et al. (2003) did a study on the handling at weaning instead of during the neonatal period; they found that the period of weaning, was safer for the handler, less interfering with the bonding process, and because it is a time of stress any-way it can be a period of special sensitivity to external stimuli. They reported that the positive effects of the handling lasted at least up to 18 months, which was longer than the effects of im-printing done at birth done in another short study by the same researchers.

A Danish experiment (Sondergaard et al., 2003) inves-tigated the reaction of horses to humans with a focus on the separate but interactive effects of handling and housing. The horse studied were handled after weaning and housed either individually or in group:

From the results of the present study and the literature it is concluded that group housing and handling exert a positive effect on the behavior and emotionality of young horses. However, the composition of the group and the time spent in a group versus alone may influ-ence the behavioral development of young horses. Likewise, the content of the training scheme rather than the time of handling should receive more focus. (Sondergaard, 2003) The last two above mentioned studies bring attention

again to the fact that there is no clear definition of a critical or sensitive period in a young horse, which is one of the main vari-able elements in the many studies on the effects of handling. Since the early handling technique is not really imprinting, it seems that the period to socialize a foal to humans and various other stimuli is relatively wide, unlike for dogs where there is a much clearer defined sensitive socialization window. And with both species, lack of that socialization when young will result in more difficult relations with humans that will require longer and gentler training and handling when the animal is older.

Aside from the discussion on whether Imprint Training is imprinting or socialization, reports and anecdotal evidence seem to confirm that most people including researchers, do not have a solid understanding of the technique of Imprint Training or do not carry it out as defined by Dr Miller, which could be a large contributor to the unsatisfactory results in studies (Diehl, 2005).

Dr Miller himself forewarns that imprint training can create the opposite effect if done incorrectly, making the horse more difficult to train as it grows up by fixing an im-proper behavior during this critical period. For example, by releasing the foal when it struggles against the short handling sessions, a handler may imprint on the foal the idea that if it struggles, it gets released. This idea may become difficult to extinguish later on. He especially cautions against improper technique with dominant or willful foals, which was experi-enced during a study using Icelandic foals by Sigurjonsdottir and Gunnarsson (as cited by Diehl, 2005).

An important distinction about the limits is brought up by Dr Scoggins (as cited in Probst, 1999). He cautions against handlers who desensitize their horses to too many things, making the foal over submissive and in doing so, they “get the horse desensitized to life”. An overly submissive horse loses its natural protective mechanisms, but some of those such as the flight reflex are used in normal training to make a horse go forward or make a race horse sprint out of the gate (Dr Scoggins, as cited in Probst, 1999). Anecdotal literature talks about trainers who claim to recognize horses that were imprinted as foals. They find that these horses are somewhat dull and unresponsive, in the sense that they need more stimuli to respond. This view is shared by some who feel the imprint training seems to rather create learned help-lessness (Beck, 2001); however, upon looking at the exact definition of learned helplessness, even this term may be in-appropriate to define this socialization process in young foals (Sherwin, 2001).

A reasonable concern is often brought up about the effect of this early intensive handling on the health of the foal itself and the bond between mare and foal. There certainly have been anecdotal reports of injury when handlers go over-board with aggressive, restraining tactics that will have a po-tential harmful effect, as Dr Miller warned. A research study done with Quarter horses did not find any detrimental effect of the imprinting to the foal’s health, nursing capacity or its bond with the dam (Diehl et al, n.d.). However, problems can occur when people try to imprint by taking the foal away from the mare, or even tie her to the wall where she cannot see what is being done to the foal (Scoggins, as cited in Probst, 1999). A Danish team handled foals for the first 2 days after birth, and reported that it did affect the relation in that the dams of handled foals were less busy keeping the foals close. It also altered the foal’s perception of humans at a later age (Sondergaard, Jago, 2001).

A final common reluctancy amongst some horse owners is the belief that foal imprinting will create too much of a “pet” foal, and an adult spoiled horse that becomes indif-ferent to stimuli. A secondary comment made by researchers, breeders, scientists alike, is that when handling of young foals is successful in that the adult horse is easier to handle and friendlier, they find that the handler is generally someone who has a very good understanding of the nature of the horse, applies many other gentler techniques and has good hus-bandry skills. So when an imprinted horse gets labeled as spoiled, there are more then likely many other factors causing this aside from the handling itself.


Conclusion There is no doubt that handling young horses has a

positive effect on their later life as athletes or companion ani-mals in a human world. The question whether imprinting a foal works or not, does not really have a simple answer. There are still many questions about the details of imprinting and its long term effects.

Even if more extensive research is done on the differ-ent assumptions underlying imprinting in foals, such as the ex-istence of a sensitive period, and the actual learning ability of foals handled intensively, there will remain a subjective ele-ment in describing the effects on training later on in the horse’s life. It is difficult to have consensus on what constitutes good manners in a horse, or what level of reactivity is acceptable.

What certainly came forward from the literature, re-ports and practical anecdotes is that when imprinting, or early handling does not have the desired effect, or even causes behav-ioral problems, the cause may lie more with the human apply-ing the theory rather than the technique itself: many of the ex-amples cited also seem to show a lack of understanding in horsemanship, husbandry besides improper training in the tech-nique. Aside from that, it also seems that the expectations of imprinting are not realistic.

Early handling of a foal is merely one of many tools available to horse owners or trainers. It is by no means a substi-tute for proper training which requires time and patience. Some people have the misconception that a few hours of handling at birth can do away with the lengthy task of building a mutually respectful relationship with a horse through time and training.

References:

Beck, A. (2001, Aug 21). Re: Foal imprinting: why should it work? (23:40:28.43.) Message posted to http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/ae/archives/aug16-31.01

Bolhuis, J.J. (2005). Development of behavior. In J.J. Bolhuis & L. Giraldeau (Ed.), The behavior of animals: mechanisms, function, and evolution, (pp. 119-145). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Cardoso, S.H., Sabbatini, R.M.E. (2001, November 4). Learn-ing who is your mother: the behavior of imprinting. Brain and Mind. Retrieved June 21, 2007 from http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n14/experimento/lorenz/index-lorenz.html

Coffman, A. (2001, Aug 22). Re: Foal imprinting: why should it work? (06:10:34.43) Message posted to http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/ae/archives/aug16-31.01

Diehl, N.K. (2005). Review of research on the effectiveness of early intensive handling of foals. Paper presented at 51 Annual convention of the AAEP. Seattle, WA

Diehl, N.K., Egan, B., Tozer, P. (n.d.). Intensive, early handling of neonatal foals: Mare-foal interactions. Retrieved on April 29, 2007 from http://www3.vet.upenn.edu/labs/equinebehavior//hvnwkshp/hv02/diehl.htm

Hiby, E. (2001, Aug 22). Re: Foal imprinting: why should it

work? (03:25:55.37) Message posted to http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/ae/archives/aug16-31.01

Houpt, K. (2005). Domestic animal behavior. Ames, IO: Blackwell Publishing Judd, B. (2006). Imprint training of foals. Retrieved on June

22, 2007 from http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2459&S=0&SourceID=69

Lansade, L., Bertrand, M., Boivin, X., Bouissou, M. (2003). Effects of handling and weaning on manageability and reactivity of foals. (Electronic copy). Applied Animal Behavior Sciences, 87, 131-149.

Mills, D.S. (2001). An approach to behaviour problems in the horse. Ippologia 12: 43-52 Probst, S. (1999). Imprinting: shaping your foal’s disposition

for life. College of Veterinary Medicine, Pet column. Retrieved on June 23, 2007 from http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=79

Sondergaard, E., Jago, J.G. (2001). The effect of early han-dling of young foals on their subsequent reaction to humans, novelty and the foal-mare relationship. In Garner, J.P., Mench, J.A., Heekin, S.P. (Eds.). Pro-ceeedings of the 35th congress of the ISAE (p62). Center for Animal Welfare, UC Davis: FL

Sondergaard, E., Halekoh, U. (2003). Young horses’ reac-tions to humans in relation to handling and social environment. (Electronic copy). Applied Animal Behavior Science, 84, 265–280

Sondergaard, E., (2003). PhD Thesis by Eva Sondergaard (Electronic copy). Doctoral thesis, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark. DIAS rap-port Animal Husbandry. 55

Stookey, J. (2001, Aug 21). Foal imprinting: why should it work? (18:56:24.26) Message posted to http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/ae/archives/aug16-31.01

Sherwin, C. (2001, Aug 21). Re: Foal imprinting: why should it work? (02:57:34.86) Message posted to http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/ae/archives/aug16-31.01

Williams, J.L., Friend, T.H., Toscano, M.J., Sisto, A.M., Nevill, C.H. (2001). The effects of an imprint-training procedure on six month old foals. Poster presented at the 35th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology.

Williams, J.L., Friend, T.H., Toscano, M.J., Collins, M.N.,

Sisto, A.M., Nevill, C.H. (2002). The effects of early training sessions on the reactions of foals at 1, 2 and 3 months of age (Electronic copy). Appl.Anim.Behav.Sci, 77, 105-114


The typical perspective in today’s society is to quickly put an end to what we perceive as our pet suffering and having lost quality of life. However, there are other ways to view nature’s way of bringing closure to a lifetime in a body. Consider the common suggestion of putting a horse down when it no longer eats. While a slowed appetite may have been ob-servable for months or years before the actual dying process starts, in the last days of physical life it is normal for the dying to stop eating entirely. From our perspective, it may seem as though they are starving, but from human hospice we know that the sensation of hunger simply ceases to exist. When the body is not going to use the energy provided by the food anymore, why would it want to bother eating? If there are signs of dis-comfort in the digestive tract, several healing modalities can be used to prevent or soothe colic symptoms, including homeopa-thy, acupuncture, herbs, probiotics and essential oils. Pain and the Will to Live Fear of making our beloved horse friend suffer in pain is the number one concern haunting us and causing us to euthanize. What is overlooked when we are so preoccupied with this noble concern is that many animals would rather be in pain than no longer be alive. We probably all know humans who are in con-siderable pain, yet that does not automatically mean they want to die right away. Indeed, it is often the witnessing observer who is suffering the most. Senior Care is Essential Anyone who has taken care of an aging horse knows this can be quite involved. Hospice care can be even more so, though the timeframe will be much shorter. Actions required can change from day to day and hour to hour. It will pay off to have gained experience with and confidence in therapeutic modalities such as acupuncture and homeopathy, and to have found profession-als who support us in choosing the best approach for the indi-vidual circumstances. We may need to separate our elderly horse from its buddies to ensure it will get all the food it wants while eating more slowly than anyone else in the herd. Supplements and therapies consid-

ered “high maintenance senior care” are often what is necessary for a horse to reach the age when it can die naturally. A horse who is unable to get up on its own (due to structural issues such as arthritis) presents a major logistical challenge leading to euthanasia, even though the animal’s internal organs, including the heart, may still be working well. The extra TLC invested to maintain physical mobility can pay off greatly, adding months or years to our horse’s life. Hospice Explained When all the great care has made it possible for your horse to reach its full life span, eventually the horse is likely to stop eat-ing. This can go on for a number of days in which the body tends to use up all its remaining reserves, oftentimes resulting in a marked decrease in weight. Unless there are signs of dis-tress, no further action may be required for as long as the horse is still getting up on its own, other than making sure your horse stays dry and warm, can easily get to food and water IF desired, and is not bothered by bossy herd members. Make sure your horse has sufficient and clean bedding in which to lie as com-fortably as possible. Hopefully, you can spend some quality time just being with your animal, expressing your love and gratitude for all it has brought to your life. Oftentimes, however, we go into emotional turmoil instead. It is engrained in our being to want to provide nourishment for our animal friend. Unless you have familiarized yourself with the natural dying process, chances are you won’t let the horse get past this stage, even though it may be going right along with the process, with no desire to die any sooner than it would on its own. There seems to be a common notion amongst those inexperi-enced with hospice that dying should go faster than it does. We may find ourselves thinking, “Why is this taking so long?” Life in a body is rather complex, and unless the heart fails, leading to a sudden death, it can take some time to bring all physical and subtle energy processes involved to a closure. Hospice Can be Learned Caring for the dying is an art, and unless we prepare for it ahead of time, chances are we won’t feel up for the task. It will seem daunting to us rather than sacred. Whether the caretaker is aware of it or not, much happens in the last days and hours of a dying human or animal, in terms of getting ready internally for the great passage. It is a privilege indeed to wave our loved one off, not holding it back, not trying to rush it, embracing the process and the farewell.

Leaving this Life, in Rhythm with Nature by Ella Bittel, Holistic Veterinarian

If we can let go of our preconceived notions of what a life still worth living ought to look like, of how quickly dying ought to be happening ... if we can let go of all of that and more, it brings us closer to perceiving what the animal’s preference is.

Hospice care for pets provides natural alternative to euthanasia

This article was first published in the Holistic Horse Magazine—reprinted with permission.


It only looked like a slight nosebleed, when I picked up my dog Momo from the sitter. Somehow though, the red fluid slowly collecting until it was licked off appeared like precious ink be-ing used to give me notice that our blessed time together was running out, drop by drop. I observed my panic kick in, recognized the mind’s struggle to, in its educated way, locate anything of value regarding this situation—after all, I am a holistic veterinarian. And yes, that had contributed greatly to Momo having lived for 17 good years in this German Shepherd-sized body—enough of a bless-ing. Enough? The days following were filled with attempts to stop the merci-less countdown of life force trickling out of Momo’s body. Cer-tainly I was grateful for having had all this time with her, and no, I was not going to be one to try holding my loved one back when her time comes. But had it come? What was it she wanted? In my mind I laid out the situation to Momo, wanting to know her take on whether it was too bothersome to stay in this body, or if she wanted me to help her get well one more time. I re-ceived no message that felt like she wanted to be euthanized, my signal to pull the strings of modern and alternative veteri-nary medicine. Momo died a month later, shortly after her third blood transfusion.

I was left with knowing intellectually I had tried everything I could. There was no guilt, just a vague sense that in spite of all my actions I may have missed something ... It took more than a year, then it struck me one day—I had overlooked the obvious. In the options I had laid out to Momo, between trying to get her well or to put her down, I did not give her a third choice: Simply just to die in the pace she would on her own, without much interference. In this instant, I knew that was what she had wanted. How could that happen to ME? Way before it had become fashionable, already as a student of veterinary medicine, I had focused on looking at the WHOLE picture. How could I have missed thinking outside the conventional box here, in my own life, with my own companion animal? Why had only the two choices—to treat the animal, or else euthanize it “to relieve its suffering”—occurred to me? It was staggering to fathom the extent of my well-educated ignorance. Nothing in my extensive training had ever cov-ered how to provide for the special needs of animals dying naturally. Worse, in all those years of education, I had failed to notice this gap in the curriculum. There was no excuse nor comfort in the next moment’s realization that clearly, even inside my profession, I was not the only one unprepared to provide for an animal what hospice provides for people.

Embracing Death’s Journey with Our Animals by Ella Bittel, DVM

Sunny down Sandy Rakowitz of One Heart Healing Center, Virginia, came close to euthanizing “Sunny” several times last winter. Instead of going with the standard considerations and putting the senior gelding down, she chose to provide hospice. With the use of essential oils, homeopathy and TTOUCH for palliative care, the horse’s loss of appetite and thirst, as well as arising colic symp-toms, reversed. (Photo by Anne Buteau, courtesy of Sandy Ra-kowitz)

Palliative care provided to allow Sunny a natural death instead made it possible for Sunny to recover and celebrate his 36th birthday this spring. Though one should not hold hopes for a recovery when providing hospice, this is one obvious benefit of doing it: If we misjudged what the life force can still do in terms of healing, it won’t necessarily be lethal. (Photo by Ellen Broomfield, courtesy of Sandy Rakowitz)

Sunny’s 36th Birthday


Given that our companion animals have become family mem-bers to us, surely there would be books out there, and tons of easily accessible information on the internet. Yes? Well no, not really. Our focus has been to come up with a thou-sand different ways to try to keep our animals well and have them live a happy life. Death does not fit in that picture. But is death that unacceptable? Is it really something we need to “protect” our animals from by euthanizing them (unless our animal happens to be one of the few who indeed dies in its sleep, as everyone hopes for)? Isn’t dying a way to get ready for the great change for all involved—the one transitioning into the realm beyond the physical, and the ones caring for this beloved traveler? My experience with Momo’s passing was a wake up call for me. Since her passing, Animal Hospice has become the passion of my life. Most of the reasons we have for utilizing euthanasia would crumble and vanish if exposed to a more encompassing investigation. How many dogs are put down because of trouble getting up and walking? Would that be the case if people knew how well acu-puncture can help that condition? A dog may even be paralyzed behind, yet happy to use a doggie wheel chair to get around. The animal may refuse food. How often have I heard that sen-tence “I KNOW it is time (to euthanize, but we skip that word, don’t we), when my animal stops eating.” Fasting is a natural preparation inside the transition process. From the human field we know that the dying just don’t feel hungry anymore. It’s the wise way of nature—the body knows it can no longer properly digest, plus it won’t be using that fuel provided by nutrition anymore. The bottom line is this: the physical condition of an animal isn’t all decisive, but rather its internal state. Does the animal still want to live? Animals are blessed in a way. They don’t compare their current condition to the strength and vitality that was available to them in the past. They don’t look into this gloomy future of never again being able to run around as they used to. They tend to go with the flow of things without questioning them. In fact, they even deal with pain of-ten quite casually. My neighbor’s dog still chases trucks with the same vigor, whether or not his one knee gives him pain to the point that he can’t put weight on it anymore. Even at the end of an animal’s life, being in pain does not automatically equate to no longer wanting to live. In this as in so many areas, we tend to get lost in our own ex-perience. It often is painful for us to witness our animal friend’s health decline. Because we are unfamiliar with the natural dying process, we’re not good at prioritizing in the end time of life. Sensing that the essence of our loved one will survive may lessen our

grief, but it barely reduces the helplessness we feel in dealing with practical challenges. Too often, driven by our concerns about letting the animal suffer, our final decisions are made from a state of fear—the least wise of our guides. Though our society tends to separate the act and fact of dying from everyday reality whenever possible, that is not the case in many of the great traditions, including Zen, Tibetan Buddhism and Shamanism. In these, life is seen as an opportunity to pre-pare for the great transition called dying. When viewed this way, daily life provides us with many chances to practice let-ting go. We can learn from such wisdom and not confuse our willingness to let our animal go with having to let it be neces-sarily euthanized. If we can just let go of all of our preconceived notions of what a life still worth living ought to look like, of how much time we can afford attending to the dying animal, of how quickly dying ought to be happening—if we can let go of all of that and more, in recognition that all of these concepts have nothing to do with what is best for our animal, THEN we are ready, or at least close to ready to perceiving where the animal is at for itself. And isn’t that what counts? Caring for the dying is an art, and unless we prepare for it ahead of time, chances are we won’t be up for the task when it is upon us. The experience will seem daunting to us rather than sacred. Whether the care taker is aware of it or not, much hap-pens in the last days and hours for a dying human or animal in terms of getting ready internally for the great “change of ad-dress”. A privilege indeed it is to wave our loved one off, nei-ther holding it back, nor trying to rush it. Coming to peace with the “real life” process of dying, versus some theoretical concept of it or its distorted TV mask, can let us discover its incredibly life enriching value. Animals can teach us about this if we let them, giving us a last priceless gift from that relationship of person and companion animal Specializing in holistic treatment options for animals for more than 20 years, Ella Bittel is a German veterinarian who lives and works in Santa Ynez Valley, California. Veterinary Acu-puncture, Chiropractic, Craniosacral Work, all interspersed with TTEAM/TTOUCH, are among the modalities she offers. Her special passion is hospice care for animals, which led her to create the weekend seminar “SPIRITS in Transition,” for people interested in providing end-of-life care for their animal loved ones. For event dates, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.spiritsintransition.com or see page 30.


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Kanub, UT June 25-29 TBA Foundation Training USA Office 800 854-8326 [email protected]

Rupert, QC Near Ottawa

July 19-24 Robyn Hood Ongoing & Foundation training Comp.Animal


Calgary, AB August TBA Ongoing & Foundation training Comp.Animal


Rupert, QC

Near Ottawa

November Edie Jane Eaton Ongoing & Foundation training Comp.Animal


Vancouver, B.C. October TBA Ongoing & foundation Training


Rupert, QC Near Ottawa

July 25-27 Robyn Hood, Edie Jane Eaton, Lucie Leclerc

Advanced Training Cdn Office 1 800 255-2336 www.tteam-ttouch.ca

TTouch For Companion Animals - Workshops 2008...continued


Rupert, QC January 12 Edie Jane Eaton 1-Day TTouch for You [email protected] www.listeningtowhispers.com

Kona, Hawaii Feb 10-15 LTJ TTouch for You 800 854-8326 [email protected]

Virginia May 9-11 LTJ TTouch for You 800 854-8326 [email protected]

July 6 - 10 LTJ TTouch for You Certi- 800 854-8326 [email protected]

TTouch For You - Workshops 2008

Mark your calendars: 2nd annual TTouch Forum in Scottsdale, AZ, November 7, 8 & 9, 2008

Preceded by - Advanced Training—November 3-6, 2008

Websites & Online Stores - U.S. www.ttouch.com

Canadian Website www.tteam-ttouch.ca

Canada Post Publication Mail Agreement #40038796 TTEAM Training

5435 Rochdell Road Vernon, B.C. V1B 3E8

TELLINGTON TTOUCH TRAINING distance they had to trot was about 100 feet and marked with a shaving...

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Transcript of TELLINGTON TTOUCH TRAINING distance they had to trot was about 100 feet and marked with a shaving...