Friday, September 9, 2022
What a journey Bob and I are on with the evolution of Oregon Dream Ponies since moving to our little farm & ranch in 2010! We have learned so much and continue to evolve along the way. Over the years, we have offered a variety of programs and created offerings sharing our ponies with so many. Throughout this next year we are taking on a big transformation as we look to progress along the Pony Pathway offering the next evolution of Oregon Dream Ponies.
Over the years we have offered pony parties, experiences, lessons, group events, therapy visits and more sharing our lovely herd (who we refer to as our “roommates”). Many of you know Paddington, Smokey, Stari, Ruby, Tiny, Sunday and Chili and have shared special time with them over the years…..some for a one time visit, others many visits and still others somewhere in between. The ponies and horses have shared so much with so many for our wonderful benefit.
You see, Bob and I do everything around here caring for the herd and we absolutely LOVE it! We have our own built in gym membership, vacation spot and resident therapists all wrapped up in one spot. So, you would not be surprised to hear we know our herd very well and the herd knows us VERY well. We have felt for a while now that sometime wasn’t quite right with how we were working with the horses. We found ourselves working to put the humans above the horses to create offerings that people (children & their family) like. The ponies and horses have been mostly agreeable but their were signs that their feelings were not being completely honored and at times over looked for the benefit of the human. Overtime, we did acknowledge these signs and make adjustments. Those adjustments were appreciated by the herd. As we made adjustments we discovered more adjustments could me made to create a mutually beneficial connection with the horses and humans. But we were still missing something….. the search for clarity continued.
In July, along came James French of the UK. A sponsored video on Facebook called “I have a Dream!” popped out at me (click here to watch the video on Youtube). This video celebrates the connections that are possible with horses and humans when they share feelings. In the video there are images and clips of James sitting next to sleeping horses, running through the forest with cheerful equine friends following joyfully and riding bareback and without a bridle freely. I had seen this video several years ago and even liked his page at that time. But, something was different watching it this time. I saw the benefit for both horse and human in this video. I saw peacefulness. I saw trust. I saw connection. I did not see even an ounce of fear. I needed to know more. I was ready now.
That morning was the start of a rapid consumption of video upon video of examples of James working with animals at a level I had not ever truly considered. This was a turn in our pony pathway that I wanted to follow creating a mutually beneficial way to share Oregon Dream Ponies.
The time has come for us to offer a new way of connecting with ponies and horses incorporating James’s life learnings called The Trust Technique. This will be a 2 year adventure in evolution. More to come…stay tuned if you like and in the meantime CLICK HERE for more information about James French and The Trust Technique.
More about James French and The Trust Technique:
James and his lovely wife Shelley work with all sorts of animals supporting animals and humans to connect using mindfulness. James beautifully show how animals and humans share feelings.
The Trust Technique is a method of working with animals through mindfulness, thereby resolving problems for the human, for the animal and for both together. The Trust Technique works not by fear, but by bringing the individual and the animal into the present moment and bringing thinking levels down. On a simple level, The Trust Technique recognizes that when you’re in a peaceful state, the animal feels that. The animal will recognize that you are someone that helps them feel connected, so they will want to be with you and work with you. It recognizes that animals and humans share feelings. It takes the negative feared reactions and it breaks the cycles with the use of mindfulness. In the process, it creates trust and confidence for both the animal and the person providing a listening state that takes the relationship to a deep level of cooperation and connectivity.