In my presentations of the
TTEAM system of training and therapy I am repeatedly
confronted by the perception that it is ‘fluff”;
unnecessary, time consuming , nebulous , touchy
-feely stuff that is fine for people who have a
backyard horse and lots of time on their hands, but
not practical for the rest of us who have busy
lives. It may be worthwhile for the real ‘problem
horse”, but unnecessary for the performance horse or
the horse who is “going OK”.
I began using the TTEAM system in 1989 , after 9
years of working as a professional instructor and
trainer, certified by Merideth Manor as a Riding
Master III. I had a large equine facility at that
time, offering a full range of services, and the
busiest life I could manage. My introduction to the
system was through use of a video “Starting the
Young Horse”. I had bought and bred 6 young Arabs
and Thorobreds, 4 of whom had never been handled.
They were about as wild and woolly as they come, and
I didn’t have time to spend with them. A friend
suggested that I check out the video saying ”it’s
different, but your horses would be a good
experiment.” After viewing the video I agreed, and
set about putting the techniques to use. I watched
the video, worked the horses, watched the video,
worked the horses - and in the week that I had the
video those youngsters became manageable. I was very
impressed by the effectiveness of the methods! At
this point, all I knew of the system was the ground
work. I didn’t even know that it had a phase of
Ttouch bodywork.
My appreciation of the system increased when I
attended a one day workshop that taught me about the
Ttouch and Riding with Awareness. As I studied the
system and began to use it more and more in training
I was able to solve an ever widening and difficult
range of equine challenges and I stopped getting in
fights with horses. After a few years I realized
that I hadn’t had a major injury since I started
using TTEAM techniques. Up to that point I just
accepted injuries as part of the deal. Something
that was bound to happen sooner or later due to
sheer exposure.
Now I know that TTEAM methods make sense for all
horsemen and women because they are inherently safe.
They provide ways to control even dangerous horses
and make them think about whatever is making them
react. They teach novices how to interact with
horses in ways that avoid confrontation, yet get the
horse to pay attention and respond obediently. They
improve the ability of experienced horsepersons to
communicate clearly with the horse and therefore
give the horse a better chance to fulfill requests.
They teach every horseperson to break training
objectives down into the smallest “chunks” to insure
success and prevent horses from “blowing up” in
frustration. The Ttouch work gives people the skills
to find if their horse is “misbehaving” from pain,
and to do something about that pain, again
preventing blow ups. The TTEAM system encourages us
to “ try another approach” when any confrontation
reaches a point when the horse cannot think and
becomes dangerous. And it gives us many tools to do
choose from
so that we have plenty of options.
Another effect of my use of TTEAM that was noticed
first by my students was that all their horses loved
me. I had developed a new understanding of them and
new ways to communicate that made their jobs easier
and conveyed my true appreciation of them. I was
more able to tell when a horse was not cooperating
from pain, from fear or from misunderstanding. As I
began teaching the methods to my students they were
pleased by how the techniques deepened their
relationships with their horses.
In the beginning the use of the Ttouch was a bit
more subtle, but I saw that using it provided the
horses with real relief from pain and that it
reduced inflammation, even in some old injuries.
Since we all have to deal with maintaining the
health and well being of our horses I concluded that
it was an indispensable tool. Ttouch techniques are
quite learnable, and the average person can learn at
least a few of them well enough to produce positive
results in a one day workshop. It is not necessary
to learn anatomy or physiology to do the Ttouches
safely and effectively. This makes them very
practical.
It is true that it takes time to do the Ttouches,
but often this is time saved in less warm up,
greater manageability in working with farrier or
vet, calmness in unfamiliar situations. improved
trailer loading, or less reactivity on the trail.
Ttouch has resolved numerous colic cases by the time
the vet arrives, has saved horseowners dollars by
resolving pain problems, and gives us all the tools
to “do something” in situations where a horse is in
shock or at risk of going into shock after an
injury. I would never advocate Ttouch as a
replacement for veterinary care, but it does give
the horseperson tools to use in addition to
recommended veterinary treatment.
On the “fluffy” side, it feels great! However, I see
this as a very practical benefit because when you
give your horse a Ttouch session it is apprecation
and reward without demand and causes most horses to
be more willing to give when you do make requests.
Think about it. How much would you want to give to
people who never interact with you unless they want
something?
Being a highly mechanically inclined person I of
course wanted to know how something so gentle, so
subtle , something that didn’t require the learning
of anatomy could be so effective. So I did some
research on what science knows about touch in
general and Ttouch in particular. What I found was
just the tip of the iceberg and research on the
effects of touch is just heating up, but it was
amazing.
In research using biofeedback machines on horses and
humans during a session of Ttouch it was found that
all four brainwaves were being produced
simultaneously. Humans usually access one or two
types of thought patterns at a time and up to this
time no one really knew if animals even had thought
patterns. This showed that using Ttouch allowed
animals and humans to access a highly creative and
yet logical state of mind, and that animals could go
beyond instinct. Very useful if you have a reactive
horse on your hands.
Other research into the effects of touch showed that
it had far reaching effects and that certain types
of touch produce greater effect than others. Studies
have shown beneficial effects such as reduced levels
of the stress hormone cortisol, an increase in
correct answers on computational problems, greater
levels of IL-1 (a link in our bodies immune system),
a rise in the levels of serotonin, a boost in the
number and capacity of white blood cells, and a rise
in the sending and recieving of endorphins by
neuropeptides and receptors throughout the body.
Babies who were treated to 15 minutes per day of
gentle stroking gained 47 % more weight per day and
left the hospital 6 days earlier than babies handled
in the normal manner.
Direct links between emotional , mental and physical
well being have also been established. It has been
shown that stress directly affects the functioning
of the immune system. Long term stress that is
percieved to have no escape is the most damaging.
TTEAM and Ttouch provide ways to de-stress
situations and give the horse and the person the
understanding that there is a “way out” of
repetitive stressful behavior. All in all it seems
like a productive way to spend a few minutes with
your horse.
The final phase of the TTEAM system , Riding with
Awareness, offers some of the fastest tools that I
have seen for changing riders on top, and horses
under saddle. Coming from a perspective of a
dressage enthusiast I have always followed the
systematic, slow and steady training scale that
theorectically leads to a calm, relaxed, supple,
willing equine partner, but reality often showed me
that even the best trainers of any discipline found
that not all horses followed the theory. In these
cases, all of the parts of the TTEAM system when
used together can make dramatic changes in a very
short time.
I was privelidged to co-teach a week long TTEAM
Training clinic with Linda Tellington-Jones in
August of 1997 at a Combined Training barn with
several national level horses and riders. Although
these horses were competing regularly and
successfully we found that nearly all of them had
physical, mental or emotional obstacles that were
preventing them from giving optimum performance.
These riders allowed us to work on their horses
daily and used the Riding with Awareness tools and
methods. After one week every horse was more
relaxed, freer moving, less stiff, more cooperative
, better balanced and calmer. The improvement and
the recognition of the mastery of these methods was
emough to bring tears to the eyes of these top level
competitors.
The Riding with Awareness tools and methods do not
require the rider to be advanced and can actually
provide greater balance and confidence to novice
riders. They do require a desire to have some fun
with an open mind. I can’t think of a better way to
approach riding imrovement.
I think you can see that TTEAM is a broad based
system with far reaching effects. Far from being
“fluff”, the techniques are solid practical tools
that no horseperson’s tool box should be without.
There are several books and videos that detail the
TTEAM techniques available through many tack and
book catalogues and directly from TTEAM
headquarters. For more information or for hands on
learning you can contact Penny Stone, certified
TTEAM Practitioner at 512-847-0068