Tea Time with Elsa

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 80

Chatting about: Hyper-focus…
In this episode I talk about the function and dysfunction of hyper-focus. In Freedom Based Training™ we prioritize reinforcing focus changes as we want to build the horses’ self confidence and thinking ability. Changing focus and thinking is more functional in freedom than with dominance, as we work with the horse at a lower stress level and the horse has the freedom to do whatever feels right to them so they’re less likely to get overwhelmed. I look at the dynamics of hyper-focus and the advantages and disadvantages when working with hyper-focus in different training styles.
Originally aired on: February 16th, 2021

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 79

Chatting about: Stress variables…
In this episode I talk about the variables that cause changes in horses’ stress levels and how we can impact them. There are hundreds of variables within the integral friends, forage, and freedom components of horses' lives that can affect their stress. We can gain valuable information by noticing the changes in stress and finding patterns that help us predict when our horses' stress levels might rise or lower. Horses experiencing changes in their stress, though it may affect our relationship with them, is not necessarily bad, as long as it’s not negatively affecting their health. Stress creates contrast and variety in their lives. The more variations of stress that a horse experiences, the more confident they can become.
Originally aired on: February 9th, 2021

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 78

Chatting about: The contradiction of Freedom Based Training™…
In this episode I talk about how the goals and techniques in Freedom Based Training™ may contradict those in the types of training we are accustomed to seeing. In Freedom Based Training™ we don’t expect the horse to do anything, we accept them as they are. In the regular training techniques we see, the intention is to cause and expect change as swiftly as the horse will allow. In Freedom Based Training™ it’s about changing our own behavior, expectations, perceptions, and judgments.
Originally aired on: February 2nd, 2021

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 77

Chatting about: Stress as a good thing…
In this episode I talk about the way stress impacts our learning and our ability to remember. Stress is the way we learn the fastest. The lower the stress, the lower the intensity of learning and the harder it is to remember. The higher the stress, the higher the intensity of learning and the easier it is to remember, but also the higher the potential that it is a bad feeling being remembered. In Freedom Based Training™, we aim for a functional level of stress that is low intensity enough to allow the horse to think and process and stay under the threshold of concern, while being just high enough to increase awareness, create a good feeling and a memory. This favorable level of stress is curiosity.
Originally aired on: January 26th, 2021

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 76

Chatting about: Observe, respond, assess…
In this episode I talk about the ways that we observe, respond and assess in Freedom Based Training™. When working with our horses we observe the behavior offered by the horse, respond to it by either reinforcing it - being the same as the horse, or opposing it - being different to the horse, and then assess how that affected the relationship - whether it made the relationship feel better, or whether it made it feel worse. When we observe, respond, and assess we can learn about all of our horse’s preferences, the things that they find easy or more challenging, what their instinctive reflexes are, and what happens before the stress goes up so we can learn to predict when it’s going to happen. We gain valuable information that will benefit our relationship with our horse and the progress we make.
Originally aired on: January 19th, 2021

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 75

Chatting about: The environmental impact…
In this episode I talk about how horse's stress levels are impacted by the environment. I explain how we can read the horse's response to the environmental changes to understand if it has made the feelings better or worse and how we can predict the fluctuations of stress in our horses as the changes happen. I also talk about the advantages and disadvantages of contrasts in the environment, and the skills that we can help our horses develop to set them up to be able to cope with the ever changing environment, manage their own stress and improve the feelings they experience.
Originally aired on: January 12th, 2021

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 74

Chatting about: Testing progress…
In this episode I test the progress my two stallions have made in their playing, yielding, and thinking ability while interacting with each other at a slightly higher level of stress. I explain how I have developed each skill needed for emotionally intelligent socialization individually, in low stress moments so my horses build good associations with the skills and become intrinsically motivated to use them in higher stress moments.
Originally aired on: January 5th, 2021

Teatime with Elsa - Episode 73

20_12_29
Chatting about: Sina’s interview with Elsa…
In this episode I explain the foundation of Freedom Based Training and how I developed this way of being with and training horses that is based on building trust, good associations, and intrinsic motivation.
Originally aired on: December 29th, 2020