Full Transcript for #5 Relationships Matter: Lessons from a Half-Ton Teacher

WEBVTT 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:16.960 Welcome to Radical Pamphlets Here and Now, an audio production of the New Perennials Project at Middlebury College. 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:25.199 For centuries, pamphlets were utilized to demand reform, equality, and justice. 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:30.320 Sadly, it is the necessary work that must be taken up with every new generation. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:39.920 Our pamphlets are rooted in the local and written by teachers, farmers, students, artists, community caretakers, and neighbors. 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:46.799 They offer common sense and practical advice to slow down and attend to the here and now wherever you are. 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:48.079 Enjoy. 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:17.200 A few who had bad experiences with horses in their youth groaned. 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:24.560 One, named Sue, was overwhelmed with fear and fell to the ground in a heap of tears. 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:33.599 She refused to enter the barn and remained outside as her colleagues greeted the horses stall by stall. 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:41.439 I stayed with Sue and let her know that the day's activities were challenged by choice. 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:45.840 She could participate or simply observe as she felt willing. 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:54.640 Sue stood in the paddock where she could watch her colleagues take turns grooming a few horses in the rustic converted cow barn. 00:01:55.200 --> 00:02:05.040 Occasionally, she diverted her gaze towards the pastures and the sweeping vistas of Vermont's green mountains and the stretches of Lake Champlain. 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:11.280 There was a clear blue sky with a slight breeze on that warm September day. 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:21.439 Many have commented over the years on how the setting encourages a sense of peace, helping visitors to relax and to be present with the animals. 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:27.680 After a while, Sue tentatively joined two other teachers while they groomed a dozing horse. 00:02:27.919 --> 00:02:33.599 I admired her bravery and curiosity as she brushed through her fears. 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:39.840 Neither Sue nor I had any idea of the courageous act she would attempt later in the afternoon. 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:47.520 But by the end of the day, we would all learn about a horse's capacity to teach us how to be even better humans. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:50.800 Horses are my students and my teachers. 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:54.319 For more than 40 years I've had horses in my life. 00:02:54.639 --> 00:03:05.919 Mostly, my horses are my pets and partners, but I've always wanted to share with other humans the wisdom and gifts the horses offer day by day and year by year. 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:15.840 Now I use my herd to give workshops to groups such as veterans and educators about the profound experience of linking nurturing with nature. 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:28.240 Sue and 16 other teachers had come to an in-service day called Staff Mystery Fun Day, an annual event for the staff of a nearby children's center. 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:36.879 They would board a bus in that morning, and only the driver and the center director would know where they were headed and what they would be doing for the day. 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:50.000 This day, after they groomed the horses and learned some leading techniques, the participants joined me in the arena for a team-building obstacle course to be navigated while blindfolded. 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:52.800 There were no horses present for this activity. 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:56.879 Everyone was quite game to play, and they took great care of each other. 00:03:57.120 --> 00:04:00.639 By then, Sue was laughing and cheering on her companions. 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:04.960 Teaming up with an emotionally sensitive horse. 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:09.439 During the lunch break, the teachers were divided into teams of four or five. 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:12.719 I assigned each team a horse. 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:17.600 There was Team Pride, Team Yuli, and Team Hannah. 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:23.600 I gave each team a picture of their horse and a description of the horse's challenges and behaviors. 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:36.480 They were to read the information and strategize about how they might establish a relationship with their horse and take on the challenges of moving with the horse through an equine obstacle course. 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:40.399 Sue asked, Who will be blindfolded, us or the horse? 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:44.639 I assured everyone, for this there will be no blindfolding. 00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:47.600 The teachers immediately engaged with the challenge. 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:56.319 As they planned their approach, I visited each group, urging them to consider safety first, for the humans and for the horse. 00:04:56.560 --> 00:05:02.800 They were to think about what success meant, given their horse's particular biography. 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:17.120 They could use a halter and a lead rope, they could use carrots, rubs and scratches, praise, and the signals I had taught them earlier in the day, such as come forward or back up or turn your hindquarters away. 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:20.480 Sue was on Team Hannah. 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:25.920 Hannah's bio read: Hannah is a high-energy, sensitive horse. 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:37.759 Her response to fearful stimulus is to snort, puff herself up, her fur stands on end, and then she runs back and forth, facing and roaring at the scary object or situation. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:44.720 She wants to trust humans and accept their leadership so she can be part of their herd, but emotions can get the best of her. 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:50.079 When I first met Hannah, she had been kept in a round pen for a day and a half with no food or water. 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:56.079 Her owner at the time used the round pen treatment to tire her out and get her to stop running and puffing. 00:05:56.319 --> 00:06:06.560 The