We learned Awareness from the horse. They know how they feel, and they live in the moment. Their very existence has been based on the ability to stay ahead of situation.

“Teaching is demonstrating possibility, learning is taking ownership of the possibility.” Author Unknown

As we mentioned in the previous blog a clinic/workshop experience should leave you feeling empowered and able. Not set expectations for yourself that make you feel like you’ll never get there. We treat our human friends with the same level of respect, thoughtfulness, and acceptance that we would our horses, cows, dogs, and family.

There’s no need for you to have your horse straight up in a bridle, performing all of our aspirational intricate maneuvers, or even accustomed to cattle, to try something new or experiment with the next step in the progression; whether that be roping, moving cows, trying an advanced piece of headgear, or what have you.

There are a few factors that will help you to ensure that these experimental ventures will be fruitful for you and help you take ownership of the possibility.

Awareness, Empathy, and Presentation are foundation of Lifemanship, and you’ll hear them repeated and explained may times in our workshops. Today we’ll breakdown what Awareness means to us here at The DX Ranch and Project H3LP!.

Awareness, like the other concepts, has multiple levels. We constantly try to improve our Awareness. It’s a function of time and circumstance, but really it starts from within. How do you feel? Are you in this series of moments with your horse, or are you thinking about the bills you have to pay, or the rotten day at work, family squabbles, or the million other things that may seek your attention?

We learned Awareness from the horse. They know how they feel, and they live in the moment. Their very existence has been based on the ability to stay ahead of situation. I’ve been a victim of their better Awareness many times. About 5 years ago I was riding a real nice colt, helping a neighbor gather heifer pairs. I rode up to get a baby calf up, but I got too close, and put the baby calf in his blind spot, and got behind the situation when he reacted to the calf bumping him from an unseen position. Now if you listened to the podcast (link); you know I’m not, nor have I never been, a bronc rider. Consequently, a concussion and a broken finger further convinced me that my Awareness can continue to improve.

I was in that moment, my mind was on my horse and how well he was doing, and he was , but my Awareness of external circumstances was a bit lacking; i.e. calf in blind spot.

Awareness of our self, making sure we’re in the moment, giving as much of our attention as the horse is giving to us, can help us get to the next step. Empathy. After we next discuss the difference between aware and alert, we’ll dive into step 2 —  Empathy.

Smile and Ride!