Tea Time with Elsa

Chatting about: Recommendations…

In this episode we talk about sources of information. I would like to encourage everyone to learn primarily from their own horse. I believe we need to adapt training to the horse in front of us. There are many trainers who can give us suggestions to think about, however, only your horse can tell you if that information is useful in your relationship.

Originally aired on: March 26th, 2024

Chatting about: Pattern Recognition…

In this episode we talk about our ability to see patterns and reinforce the specific patterns that make relationships better. If we see patterns that are making the relationship worse, what are our alternative choices?

Originally aired on: March 21st, 2024

Chatting about: Entertaining One’s Self…

In this episode we talk about the tricky moments when the horses choose to ignore us. If we are going to train in freedom the horse is allowed to ignore us and the way we respond to those situations (entertaining ourselves) builds more and more potential for positive interactions in the future.

Originally aired on: March 13th, 2024

Chatting about: Environmental Pressure…

In this episode we talk about the part environmental pressure plays in the relationship between horse and human. When stress is too high we will see more fight and flight behaviors. In Freedom Based Training® we work in situations where pressure and stress are low, strengthening their nervous system to a point they can thrive and cooperate with others even in the occasional situations of higher pressure.

Originally aired on: March 5th, 2024

Chatting about: The Contagion of Curiosity… 

In this episode I talk about curiosity in both human and horse and how the expression of curiosity in one tends to stimulate curiosity in the other. Curiosity is like a magnifying glass for gathering more information to live life better together.

Originally aired on: February 27th, 2024

Chatting about: Contrast…

In this episode I talk about contrast and the place it holds in training. Often people say stretching the comfort zone requires discomfort, I disagree! Expanding the comfort zone does require some sort of contrast. Contrast is on a spectrum with the intense side of the spectrum creating faster change, the less intense side of the spectrum creating gradual smooth change. Let’s talk about what that looks like.

Originally aired on: February 20th, 2024

Chatting about: Training horses and training people…

In this episode I talk about the different levels of training and the art of asking for collaboration. We talk about the idea that we, horses and humans alike, want more of what we don’t have enough of, and less of what we have too much of. I explain how I set up my training so that my horses want more of the things that I want too, and how I stay engaged, curious and interested in the training so I can show up for my horses as the best version of myself.

Originally aired on: February 13th, 2024

Chatting about: It doesn’t matter why…

In this episode I talk about the question why. As a teacher, people ask me why all the time, and as a researcher I love the question why. We can simplify the question “why” versus the question “what” by looking at our time frame. What is an in the moment question. “With the information that I have, what are we going to do now?” Why is a reflective question. “Why did my horse do that?” When we have all the time in the world we can ponder “why” forever. But when we are in the moment we ask what response do I take to best suit this situation. When we question “why” too much we can find ourselves analyzing the past. When we think about what, we often find ourselves in the present, ready to respond to our horse in that moment, to show them we are listening. When our relationship with our horse feels like it’s getting better, on an improving scale, the question why doesn’t matter. When our relationship feels like it’s getting worse, on a degrading scale, we can ask why to understand what is not working and then what we can do to improve the situation.

Originally aired on: February 7th, 2024

Chatting about: Apologies…

In this episode I talk about reflecting on the moments that we have experienced with our horses where we feel that we could have done better. As we know better we do better, but before we know better we have to do the best that we can. As we know better, our actions speak louder than words. We can put in our best effort to learn what actions we can take to prove to the horse that we do know better and that we are learning and striving for improvement. When we show our horse that we know them really well, it’s a form of an apology for all the times that we didn’t know them that well, or we didn’t know how best to respond to them, before we had a common language. Don’t get lost in all of the things that we have done wrong. Our job is to apologize and move forward, proving that we do know them better and we can do better.

Originally aired on: January 30th, 2024

Chatting about: Triggers and glimmers…

In this episode I talk about the reactions that we generate from the memories and associations of certain stimuli in our own lives and our horses’ lives. We rarely can improve a situation in the moment it is happening as there is already an excess of information entering our horse’s nervous system. All of our training is contributing towards future glimmers or future triggers. In Freedom Based Training®, we aim to build positive associations and memories so that in the future when we repeat those things it stimulates glimmers, moments of enjoyment due to linked memories of good feelings from similar stimuli in the past.

Originally aired on: January 23rd, 2024