I stumbled upon an article, completely unrelated to horses, the other day and as is usual I've found a way to relate it to horses! The theme of the piece is about leadership, but that is not where my mind focused. Instead it was the remarks made about the creative spirit that is not only encouraged but nurtured and brought to astounding levels. I encourage you to read the article first, then refer back here…
Without having attended Burning Man myself, I have friends who have gone and have heard tales galore of the many wonders to be found at this yearly event. An entire city is created, in the middle of the desert no-less, from nearly zero framework or preexisting structure. Not only that, but rules are not present but merely guidelines to help make everyone's experience pleasant. What I see is this amazing network of people who are motivated to both individual and common causes who are willing to put forth the energy (and personal investment) while knowing they will receive zero monetary gain.
And participants flock to this event with trepidation!
Sounds too much like a utopian fantasy? Perhaps not. This is something I strive for in relation to working with horses. There is minimal structure and what is present is merely that which is necessary – nothing extra, the absolute bare bones and simplest base. From this an entire education can be built with the horse – a language, curriculum, exercises, etc.
Rules which are hard and fast are ONLY those in which injury can be directly inflicted – i.e. no biting, kicking, striking. Of course the causes of those types of reactions are what interests me more than saying the horse cannot do them; he is after all trying to communicate SOMETHING useful to me if I only take the time to listen.
I want to make the horse's experience pleasant and therefore I do not intentionally create situations which are painful, frustrating or impossible. I want him to succeed and therefore I make sure that I do all I can to help him do just that rather than getting in his way to prove he will do what I ask no matter how difficult (or complain later that he is stubborn, stupid, a jerk, etc when he gives up from the difficulty).
My horses receive no monetary gain, meaning that I do not bribe them with treats. Everything they need is provided but true creativity comes from a desire to do, not from a desire to receive.
There is an interesting remark made in the article about what truly motivates creativity. I want my horse to interact with me from a place of creativity – from wanting to be involved with me. From that place we can continue to inspire each other back and forth and the quality of the relationship is next to none! I remember having people remark from time to time about horses they had bought from me, that they were so keyed into people. They were not dull, they did not ignore a single signal given and were very fast to respond. That is the creative spirit in them!
Creativity is not merely painting a picture, sculpting a statue or composing a musical piece. Creativity is a part of intelligence, a morphing of thought with desire and energy or motivation. Those are all traits I want in myself, and I want in my horse.
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