Right brain, left brain and our approach to natural horsemanship

I can't for the life of me get her to go clockwise!!!

Heh. Interestingly enough I would say I go by feel with regards to horses more so than an exacting formula given the fact that each responds differently and at different rates.

Interesting thread Mike.

Very weird. I can see her going clockwise but I am known as a really really left brain person...which doesn't fit. Then, when I used "soft eyes" to look above the spinning picture, I could see her going anti clockwise. The second I focused on the picture again, she started going clockwise again. Wow.

Look at her, find which leg you naturally thing is her standing leg, then imagine how she would look with the other leg being the standing leg and she will just flip the direction of her spin! It's amazing. And this from someone who CANNOT see the thing in those wierd things you are supposed to stare at for a few minutes and see. I NEVER see them.

Personally, I think it's about a balance of both. From my experience, it's not a matter of whether to use the 1-2-3 logical steps or the 'feeling' approach, it's WHEN to use them- they've both been just as important to me in my interactions with horses... and people, lol.

I envy you!! I can't do it! I'm still trying haha

And as for the dancer, I've been switching directions freely, so it all makes sense now, lol. Just look at the foot, that changes it.

Nope, still trying!!! I'll be old and grey by the time I get her going the other way, and they will be caused by me probably being almost blind :P

Yeah I'm with you on the Kayty.. I used to be able to do it a little better. But that was a few months back.

I agree, I think since left side thinking comes more natural we have to focus more and work harder on using the right side to balance them out. The 1-2-3 steps are fundamental to all NH. What's interesting to me is how much more emphasis is put on the feel aspect by Hunt and Dorrance, over the manuvers themselves.
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Alright, you've got me going, lol. Here are my thoughts on this, overall.

IMO, that emphasis is because of too much right brain, which is why both right and left are necessary to me. The problem is that some people focus so hard on their right brain that they only flip the problem, where it's all right and no left... which is what makes me wonder about these training methods- do they TRY to avoid the left brain, or is it natural, and so different from the normal left-brained thinking that they are more noticed than, let's say, training methods that use both?
Making a horse carry out a maneuver requires analytical thinking- praise the horse when he does well, discipline him when he does something bad. Give and take. My issue with this is that the ending for this is a horse that is a machine. Specified to one thing or the other. Logic says that this is what you want. On the flip side, the feelings, which associate with the right brain, make you not want to push the horse, not want to discipline him, let him get away with things to make him comfortable. As long as the horse is happy, it doesn't matter. The best trainers generally have some sort of a mix between right and left- because it's absolutely necessary. When a horse tries to bite you to get his grain, you don't let him do it to make him happy, which is what pure feeling would mean- you discipline him, which is a left-brain concept.
I'm not sure if I'm making sense, since these are just my garbled thoughts that I typed without correction... oh well hope I didn't bore anyone.