Teaching with Acoustical Guidance (TAG) is marker-based teaching that uses positive-reinforcement and focused communication skills to enhance skill and behavioral development for students and teacher. The efficiency of this system depends on the use of a distinct non-verbal, marker signal and a step-by-step system for building behavior. This sound becomes an acoustical binary message that is quickly processed by the brain and speeds muscle learning. TAGteach is attracting forward thinking professionals from competitive and recreational sports, special education, physical education, physical rehabilitation, general classroom and management. In this introductory seminar to TAGteaching, attendees will learn the foundation skills they need to bring TAGteach back to their field and begin using it. Participants will be eligible to earn their Primary Certification.  

In addition to the current TAGteach Primary Certification curriculum Dolores Arste, Certified TAGteacher and CEO of Zen Guidance, LLC presents  TAG and the Power of Positive Thinking: Shifting Perspectives. This presentation will focus on how shifting perspectives via tagging/clicking thought will lead to a more harmonious life for folks of all ages.

The focused, positive nature of this method yields immediate and stunning results that are clearly evident. See for yourself with this terrific Video CD - TAGteach Dance CD-ROM Set

Read Lexi's story one teacher's success using Tag                     Watch how it works (lo-res)

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 February Book Recommendation

Horsemanship Through Life by Mark Rashid

I first met Mark just before his book “A Good Horse is Never a Bad Color“. We brought him here for the first clinic to be held in our new arena. It is so fascinating as his journey has so much paralleled mine. Different but at the same time so much the same.  

Who would have thought that just a year later I would be dealing with Cadbury and struggling to understand him. And from there to find clicker training, tag teaching and the spirituality that comes from understanding the power of the universe and trusting and letting go. 

This new book is a walk through life. It shows us that we always call to us the horse or horses that will teach us what we need to know at just the time we are ready to learn. I just loved reading about his journey. I have once in awhile corresponded with him with regards to clicker training and I was happy to see a reference to it in the book. I was also pleased to see that he noticed the limitations that some people put on the clicker at the point that they are evangelists about clicker training. Haven’t we all been evangelists about one training method or another at any given time? That is until we find the glass ceiling in the method and are driven to find the answer, which is really within us 

“Seeing things from a different perspective is an extremely important concept for ant horse person. It is widely agreed that one of the biggest assets in successful training is the ability to see thins from the gorse’s point of view. If we can do that one thing, it’s a whole lot easier to accomplish goals with the horse, using the least amount of energy on everybody’s part. “ 

“I think teachers can lose sight of the fact that learning something new can be excruciatingly difficult for their students“  

“When we listen to our horses, we get an education. When we don’t, we get experience“   You can find out more about Mark Rashid visit his website:  http://www.markrashid.com/  

Purchase this book and others at: http://www.zenhorsemanship.com/ 

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For all your clicker training wants and needs visit: http://www.zenhorsemanship.com/7501.htm

What are you waiting for Get Started Now!  Getting Started Clicker Training for Horses Kit

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 "Most people don't really need advice. They just need support and discipline in doing what they already know works."-Marianne  Williamson

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 Simply Horse Training – Dolores Arste

Does it really all come down to Motivator, Spot, Direction, Reward?  Understand yourself to better understand your horse. 

People often try to explain a horse’s action by comparing and rationalizing them to how a person thinks. Others try to explain a human’s action as if he were a horse. I’d like to submit that, after all a horse is the only expert on the horse, we can only have a second opinion because the horse can’t confirm what any of us think is absolutely right. 

Horses have no value for material things; they have no greed. A dog will bury a bone to have later, a squirrel will store food for winter, and people store goods and valuables for later. People, probably more than any animals are so greedy they hoard treasures and money they may never use. The horse lives entirely for the present moment. Enlightened humans share this thought as well and we would do well to follow the horse’s example in this. 

The horse looks to satisfy their immediate needs, if they can find shelter when needed and satisfy their nutritional needs they can be content. If they have stored excess energy they have a need to exercise. When they feel threatened they respond with whatever means of self-preservation they feel is necessary. The larger share of the horse’s actions come down to these few basic needs. Horses don’t care what the Jones’ down the road are doing. Their peers do not influence them; their appearance doesn’t change with the new styles. They grow long hair for the short days of winter and short hair for long summer days. Their decision-making isn’t based on bettering their future, just taking care of the present. 

A person’s ego is probably one of the horse’s greatest enemies. Horses are non-judgmental, honest mirrors.  Working with horses helps you become aware of confusion, anxieties and limiting beliefs that inhibit your ability to reach your goals.  Working with the horse as a dance partner will clarify your vision and give you words and actions to reach your goals. Training the horse as an employee or slave will give you none of these. 

Horses naturally and primarily use their bodies to "know" the world, and training methods that respond to their socio-sensual way of being are the most effective. Although human beings at this time in history rely heavily on language, we are still wired up, as our ancestors were, to learn things through our bodies that can only be described in language after the fact.  Some examples are: sensing danger, reading the wind before a storm comes, and responding to the look on a child's face.  

Horses are intuitive beings who can show us in an instant when we are fooling ourselves and when we are on the right track. As herd animals who, for their survival, are tuned in to the slightest inconsistency in their environment, they mirror back to us inconsistent behaviors we may not have been aware of -- behaviors that stop us from moving forward in life or moving deeper into our own authenticity.   

Basically horses are motivated by comfort, security. Comfort and security come in all sizes. If you are cold, a warm blanket is comfort. But, if you are hot that same blanket can be torture. You have to keep horse training just that simple. What makes training hard is when you let everything else interfere, other people, other horses, noises, moving objects, etcetera.  

Operant conditioning [OC] is a concept that describes how something the horse does (simply termed behavior) and the environment interacts. Operant behavior exists because it has repeatedly been followed by something in the environment that reinforced it. Or simply put; it worked or it didn’t.  

The reinforcers may be delivered from the fingertips of a clicker trainer, or release of the rein, the realization of leg of the seat or the things that are ongoing in the world may deliver them. A baby’s smile usually results in a mommy picking him up. A friend’s intimate confidence results in attention from her friend. Coins inserted in a soda machine result in the delivery of a soft drink. A lover’s kiss results in arms being wrapped around his neck… or maybe more!

OC occurs everywhere and anywhere there is an organism with the ability to do anything. Look at your spouse or roommate or child. There is OC operating in their interactions with their environments. Look out your window. See that squirrel, that grackle, that sparrow? There is OC at work in those organisms as well. Your dog, your cat, your parrot? There is OC there. See that cockroach, that worm, that ladybug? OC is also guiding their behavior. Even amoebas and germs learn by operant conditioning. Unattached muscle tissue learns by OC. Experiments have demonstrated that muscles in human bodies can be taught to twitch through reinforcement without the owner of that muscle being aware it is happening.  

Look in the mirror. There is OC in the behavior of the person you see there. And, so horse training does become that simple. As Dr Phil is fond of saying “How’s what you are doing working for you?“

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Horses of Gettysburg

Humans have relied on horses since the dawn of time, but there is no stronger bond than between a man and his horse on the battlefield.

Narrated by Ronald F. Maxwell, director of the epic films Gettysburg and Gods and Generals, Horses of Gettysburg captures the relationship between soldiers and their horses that they so desperately depended on for survival.

Filmed in high definition with charging horses, battlefield panoramas and no "talking heads," this cinematic documentary tells the story of the 72,000 horses and mules that fought at the Battle of Gettysburg and uncovers the strategies employed to ensure that the millions of animals in service with the North and South remained healthy and well-trained for action.

Horses of Gettysburg celebrates the honor and courage of these four legged warriors and their critical role in shaping the United States of America that we live in today. Order your copy today

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Be at peace with yourself – Release the resistance. – Find peace with a horse – Dolores Arste 

We often forget that in order to help others thrive and be whole and be the best we can be that we must first be thriving, whole and at the best we can be. To be at our best we must first put on our own oxygen mask and then attend to others.  

The very first thing to do is to stop. Allow your body to be still. Take yourself outside to your horses and find an attractive place in which to be still. Ask permission to visit. Feel the consent, get comfortable, and just be still. Even if your mind is demanding and restless and urging you to "get things done" allow yourself to be still. Give yourself 20 minutes of stillness at least once a day.  

And if you are feeling a bit on the wild side go for 20 minutes of stillness twice a day. When you are outside in a natural place and are still, you are being resynchronized as you entrust yourself to the supportive and loving embrace of nature. Nature is the repository of the common ground of wholeness that you both share. She will replenish and rejuvenate you if you simply place yourself in her presence and allow yourself to be still letting her reconnect you with the wholeness that is inherent in both of you. You don’t necessarily have to do much else. Be there. Be still. And you will recognize again this common place of wholeness. So many things are trying to turn you outward. It is important for you to find a way to turn inward. This inward turn is needed to reconnect with your intuitive, mysterious, magical, soft and brilliant side. It is the light of those qualities that will enable you to love, tend and care for those you wish to nurture into wholeness. This inward turn is what affords patience. It is what internalizes your focus. As you allow your energy to move inward and downward, you concentrate your power and become orderly and efficient as you hold your direction. Allowing your pace and rhythm to match that of the natural place surrounding you lets you experience your peace and wholeness. Be still. Be patient. Be at peace. Be powerful. "We have forgotten what we can count on. The natural world provides refuge…each of us harbors a homeland, a landscape we naturally comprehend. By understanding the dependability of place, we can anchor ourselves just as trees in the pasture. 

It is from this place that the best horse training will occur.

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And, Don't forget to contact us for all of your saddle fitting needs - Saddle Fitting by Dave

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Just remember - "keep it light - and in the light!" and have lots of FUN!

" And that's the way it is ...unless it isn't."  - Dr. Mary Lynch
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Come visit us at:  Pa Horse Expo - Feb 24 - 26, 2006

3-Days 3-Horses 3-New Presentations

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Exploring Rabbit Holes and Investigating the Impossible
(Click the Universe)
Mar 4, 2006 - Galway, NY
Visit http://www.zenhorsemanship.com/  for details.

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MAKE YOUR WILDEST DREAMS COME TRUE.
This is a great time to hire a coach to get support in clarifying and making your dreams come true. Our Energy Mirroring and Coaching will help you to create a life free from fear and worry. In this process you will be supported while overcoming all blocks and beliefs that no longer serve you. You can wake up every morning with a smile and the energy to create your day.

email dolores@...