Tea Time with Elsa

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 104

Chatting about: Counter offers or ‘no’ answers…
In this episode I talk about the differences between counter-offers and "no" answers. In Freedom Based Training™ the horse has the freedom to decide how they want to respond to our actions. Saying "no" using fight or flight does not feel good for the horse or the relationship. Counter-offers allow the horse to say "no" to something they don’t want to do and suggest something they would prefer to do, while keeping the peace and connection. We aim to nurture our horse’s emotional maturity to the point that they are able to respond with a counter-offer, in ways that feel good to the horse and the relationship, rather than react with fight or flight.
Originally aired on: August 3rd, 2021

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 103

Chatting about: Time and timing…
In this episode I talk about how variables like stress levels, patience, and attention to details affect the quality of our timing and the time that it takes for us to develop with our horses. The more accurate our timing is, the clearer our communication to our horse is. The clearer our communication is, the more we nurture the development of trust in our relationships with our horses.
Originally aired on: July 27th, 2021

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 102

Chatting about: Feeling safe…
In this episode I talk about the feeling of safety versus the reality of safety with our horses. I talk about the compromises and trade-offs that we make with our horses when we choose to prioritize the feeling of emotional and mental safety or when we choose to prioritize the physical health and safety of our horses.
Originally aired on: July 20th, 2021

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 101

Chatting  about: The answer is always simple…
In this episode I talk about simplifying the problems we face with our horses. The short answer to any problem we have with our horses, is that something was too much, too soon. Once we generalize the answer to the problem by understanding that something was overwhelming, we can review each of the steps that we take to see how we can break them down further to help the horse feel more confident with the speed of progression.
Originally aired on: July 13th, 2021

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 100

Chatting about: The consistency paradox…
In this episode I talk about consistency versus variety on a spectrum. Consistency creates a feeling of comfort and safety. Variety creates a feeling of novelty, excitement and awareness. Different horses prefer, and benefit from, different ratios of consistency and variety. As we learn about our horses we can understand which is their preference and what their threshold for too much of either one is. I elaborate on the advantages and disadvantages of consistency and variety in our horses’ lives and the ways that they each affect horses differently.
Originally aired on: July 6th, 2021

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 99

Chatting about: The five senses…
In this episode I talk about helping horses develop comfort and confidence in each of their five senses. The more that horses can rely on the use of their senses to help them be aware and feel better, the more confident the horse will be, the more skills they will have to lower their own stress levels and the more they will have the ability to enjoy the experiences of life. I speak about how we can work with each of the five senses to help the horse develop their confidence and enjoyment.
Originally aired on: June 29th, 2021

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 98

Chatting about: Matchmaking…
In this episode I talk about my experiences integrating new horses into herds to help them communicate their needs with each other in a way that is successful in achieving those needs, while keeping everyone safe. I explain the theories of herd dynamics that help us better understand what horses want from each other, what can cause friction between members of the herd and what we can do to improve the relationships between our horses.
Originally aired on: June 22nd, 2021

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 97

Chatting about: When dominance is helpful…
In this episode I talk about when dominance is useful when working with our horses. When horses lack emotional intelligence and maturity, making their own decisions can feel overwhelming. Horses that don’t have the skill set to change focus to help themselves feel better may hyper-fixate and escalate their stress levels. We can use dominance to support horses that find making independent decisions overwhelming to help keep them safe and build a habit of changing focus when they begin to get concerned. We can also use dominance to make the horse change focus to something that will help them feel better, to de-escalate and lower the stress level when they hyper-fixate. I explain how we can use dominance to set the horse up in a way that will help them develop the emotional skills they need for life and will help them be able to learn in freedom safely.
Originally aired on: June 15th, 2021