Impact of TTouch^® Pain Severity of Patients with Angina Pectoris
Sadegh Mahdavi Pour and Ali Akbar Vaezi

Introduction: Heart pain may cause change of vital signs, increasing of the heart oxygen need and increasing of mortality of patients with heart diseases. There are many on-medicinal methods for pain control, such as massage, and massage if continues by stimulating thick fibers and local provocation of endorphins prohibits pain transfer, so this study was conducted with the aim of determining the impact of frontal chest massage by the nurse on pain severity of men hospitalized patients. 

Published in the World Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Research   www.wjpmr.com

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"Up until four years ago I did therapy visiting with my Golden Retriever in a residential home for the elderly. One of the ladies could not communicate with people using language; she had suffered a stroke and certainly had some dementia. This lady would hang around the neck of Jim (my Goldie) for as long as we would let her. Jim was very tolerant and would nudge this lady very gently.

"When this process had ended Jim would be totally exhausted and I would TTouch to help him recover. But the care workers always reported to me that for two days after Jim's visit this lady could interact with people more than she had been able to before our visit. What I found interesting was that this lady would recognize Jim but not me and she seemed to gain so much from the affection/touch shown by Jim towards her. This may be an example of how touch-starved ill people can be and the benefit that they can gain from simple touch.  Good luck with exploring the research opportunities."
–  Jeanette Atkinson, Practitioner in the UK

A Practitioner finds uses for TTouch^® in Daily life, especially to relax and relieve anxiety.

"I do the TTouches on myself almost everyday, but usually only a few quick circles when I bump my head or stub my toe. I find that the TTouches help me to relax and breathe despite my pain. This benefit alone is enough to make me feel much better. In fact, sometimes I do the TTouches on my stuffed animals in order to bring myself into a calm focus. However, I also find that they help in speeding the relief of pain, reduce swelling, and prevent bruising. I use different TTouches based on how they feel and the area of injury, but I usually find the Clouded Leopard, the Abalone, and the Raccoon TTouches to be a good starting point. For tight muscles or sore limbs, the Python lift has also often brought great relief to me.

"One of the most useful TTouches for working on myself has been the mouth work. I have a lot of anxiety over testing, my heart pounds, I sweat, and I lose my ability to concentrate on the exam, so I decided to try mouth work. I figured if it works on animals' limbic systems and helps their emotional balance, then maybe it would help me. I did circles all over the top of my upper lip, then moved a finger to the inside of my gums, doing small circles all over the upper gums. To my delight I actually felt better. In fact, I survived final exams by doing this work before and during testing and did not even care if people thought I was strange. Now that I no longer have exams I still use the mouth work during times of great emotional stress, and generally get good results. The hard part is remembering to do the work once I am already upset."   

   -  Dawn Costerisan, TTouch^® Practitioner

"I was sitting fairly close to the front of the plane. The woman in the seat kitty-corner behind me complained of feeling ill. She felt nauseous and had pale, clammy skin. The nausea came on very suddenly sometime after we were aloft.

"The stewardess went looking for a Doctor. I got up and went back to her and asked her how she felt, etc. She was pretty uncomfortable and a little out of it. I asked her and her friend that was flying with her if it would be ok if I tried something that might make her feel better. They said "ok." I stroked long ear slides over both of her ears from lob to top of ear for a couple of minutes. She was starting to look and feel a little less nauseous and a little more clear-headed. By that time, the stewardess had returned with a Doctor that she had found in the back of the plane.

"To be honest, I don't remember exactly what the Doctor did, except maybe look at her pupils and probably take her pulse. I had moved back to my seat to get out of the way. He didn't stay with her very long; it seemed as if she was feeling better, so he went back to his seat. Maybe, a half hour to forty-five minutes later, the lady started feeling the same way again and she had her friend immediately ask me if I would try to help her.

"I went back and sat in the friend's seat and she took mine and I did more ear TTouches as well as some circles around the temple area. I still didn't work on her more than a very few minutes, but I did stay and talk to her and her friend. They thought that it had been something that she had eaten earlier.

"After a bit, she said that she felt much better (she wasn't as pale or clammy any more either). Sometime after I was back in my seat, the stewardess came and asked me what I had done. I told her briefly about TTouch^®. She took my name and address for their records and a couple of months later, I got a nice thank-you letter from Southwest and a free ticket."

   - Tom Equin, Tellington TTouch^® Practitioner for Companion Animals shadowhawk@nunntelwb.com

If you've done much work with Tellington TTouch^® Training, you have most likely discovered the benefits for animals - not only for horses, but also for dogs, cats, small critters, zoo animals and wildlife rescue. You may have discovered improvements in health and well-being, a reduction in stress, and often, miraculous changes in behavior. And in horses and dogs you will have been rewarded by enhanced performance and a more flexible, intelligent four-legged friend. Many, who work with the Tellington TTouch Method, report an unexpected deepening of relationship that gives you the feeling you are Dr. Doolittle with the ability to communicate without words, and understand each other in a way you didn't think possible.

However, what is often unrecognized or unspoken, are the effects on you! There is often experienced a transformation in the people using TTouch as well as their animals. We become more flexible and balanced mentally and physically, as well as emotionally. Many adults report a sense feeling of being smarter and more confident.

In classes of school children practicing TTouch on their companion animals, teachers and parents describe similar changes: improved ability to focus and concentrate (just like horses and dogs) with heightened confidence and more tolerance. Children with a tendency to lose their tempers or bully other kids increase self-control and another level of understanding that allows them to adapt and be less reactive. I believe TTouch teaches children what I call "compassionate empowerment®."

What causes these transformational changes in the two-leggeds? I believe the reasons are two-fold:

1. TTouch activates both hemispheres of the brain resulting in Whole Brain learning. The left side of the brain is commonly referred to as the logical side, and the right side is thought of as the creative or intuitive side, although in reality that is not so. The brain is actually an integrated whole. The left hemisphere is more linear and the right is oriented to spatial issues and understanding the big picture.

You wonder how TTouch affects the whole brain?

Each time you push the skin in a circle imagining the face of a clock, the intuitive side is engaged, because imagining or visualizing as well as the actual movement have to do with the intuitive. When you "see in your mind's eye" the numbers on the clock, the logical is activated because numbers have to do with logical thinking.

When you're practicing leading exercises imagining the "Elegant Elephant’s" trunk as the end of your "wand" or whip, the movement itself, and holding the wand and chain in both hands, affects the right brain. And the logical way of holding the wand and chain in two hands awakens the thinking side.

2. The second indication of this whole brain effect comes from the two studies I did in the summers of 1987 and 1988 in cooperation with Anna Wise of the Boulder Institute of Biofeedback. Working with a "Mind Mirror" developed by her mentor, British psycho biologist and biophysicist Maxwell Cade, produced some fascinating results. The Mind Mirror is an EEG that differs from the traditional EEG in that it used spectral analysis to simultaneously measure eleven different frequencies in each hemisphere of the brain. Unlike the normal EEG it has the unique ability to measure beta, alpha, theta and delta brain waves in both hemispheres of the brain.

We measured over a dozen students to determine their brain wave activity while being TTouched, rubbed, petted and massaged. Surprising was the fact that consistently, whether our students were being TTouched or TTouching a horse or a person, there was an activation of all four brain waves –beta, alpha, theta and delta – in both sides of the brain. When the person being measured was petted, stroked, rubbed or massaged, the relaxing alpha brainwave pattern was present, but never beta – the problem solving potential. Only with the circular touches were the beta brainwaves present.

So the next time you head out to the barn remember that TTouching your horse a few minutes a day can reduce your stress, clear your mind, deepen the connection with your horse and dog, and make you smarter. That's why the phrase "The Touch That Teaches" came into being.

Linda Tellington-Jones

By Robin Bernhard LCSW, MED

The universality of Linda’s methodology is unique to TTouch. Linda didn’t have to develop different techniques to teach horses, whales, snakes, parrots, cats, dogs or humans. TTouch works for all species. Through touches that are universally understood, Linda and her students of TTouch, invite their animals to participate in harmonious mutual communication; cell to cell and heart to heart. In her book, Tellington TTouch, Linda states: “Instead of seeing the TTouch as something that I do to animals, which would create separation between us, I view the circles as a way to come into cellular harmony with them, a way of allowing my cells to speak to theirs. At a cellular level, no living thing is alien to any other, and so the sense of connections remains the same whether I’m working with a gerbil or a lynx, a kitten or an elephant.” Both the practitioner and the animal benefit from the mutual communication.

Linda believes that the TTouch practitioner’s intention for healing is communicated from the person to the animal (or person to person) on many levels. These intuitive ideas are now being scientifically documented by The Institute of HeartMath with new research about mind-body communication and the heart. Research at The Institute of HeartMath has shown that we can regulate heart rhythm coherence by holding positive feelings and intentions. Increased heart rhythm coherence produces more alpha brainwaves, enhanced awareness and improved cognitive performance. Alpha frequencies induce a state of tranquility, not unlike the tranquility experienced during TTouch, and interestingly, alpha brainwaves are associated with peak performance. The results of the research at the institute of HeartMath supports the hypothesis “that the changes in brain activity that occur during states of increased psychophysiological coherence lead to changes in the brain’s information processing capabilities. Results suggest that by using heart-based interventions to self-generate coherent states, individuals can significantly enhance cognitive performance.” It would be very interesting to see if TTouch enhances heart rhythm coherence. I suspect that it does.

The heart produces an energy field that can be measured for five feet in all directions. It is quite possible that all species are able to perceive influences from another being’s heart from a short distance. When humans communicate and touch is involved, the brain registers the heartbeat of the other in the EEG, physiological evidence that we are influenced by another’s heart rhythm chaos or coherence. Research has shown that horses are sensitive to the heart energy fields produced by humans and that humans are sensitive to the fields produced by the horse’s heart. The practitioner of TTouch knows well the experience of peace that comes while engaged in the practice of TTouch. Scientific knowledge about the energetic communication from the heart suggests that TTouch practitioners are energetically engaging their animal partners at the deep level of the heart. When the TTouch practitioner consciously holds the intention of healing and a compassionate attitude to generate heart rate coherence within the self, the person or animal being touched benefits from the calming influence of the energy field created by the practitioner’s heart. The research at the Institute of Heart Math suggests that the heart to heart engagement is reciprocal and thus, we have the beginnings of scientific documentation for the experience of healing intention, compassion, respect and positive regard that is part of TTouch practice.

There are more neurons running from the heart to the brain than from the brain to the heart. Some research suggests that the heart directs brain regulation and not the other way around. Linda has stressed the importance of holding a compassionate attitude coupled with the desire to support healing as the correct mind-set for the TTouch practitioner to allow the heart to influence the work. The research on the power of the heart from The Institute of HeartMath documents the scientific basis for what Linda understood intuitively about the heart’s influence on TTouch outcome and the mutual benefit for the practitioner and the animal when the practitioner intentionally generates a genuinely positive heart felt connection between the self and the animal during a TTouch session.

On the other hand, forceful methods generate fear and impede “thinking” as the horse moves into its instinctual fight/flight survival mode. During fight/flight activation, thinking is shut-down in favor of split-second non-thinking reflexive reactions that the horse can’t control. It is often in this fear driven state that horses can’t meet the demands placed upon them, for which they are frequently punished and pushed further into fear, pain and freeze responses. Instinctual reactions may be activated through a dominating relationship, and animals can be managed through such training methods. TTouch does not elicit instinct driven behavior mediated by the limbic system, rather Linda seeks to calm the limbic system and stimulate learning that is mediated by the cortex through a relationship infused with a heart-felt connection.

TTEAM News International May, 1985 Vol 5 No 2 P. 13

I had so many highlights in this trip, I can’t say which is the highest, but the thrill of the self initiation of 150 children and adults into the Animal Ambassadors International^® concept is impressed most deeply in my mind. On Sunday, April 14th, 1 gave a three hour presentation of my interspecies work to members, of all ages, of the Gorky Park Family Club. They had been well prepared for my visit by freelance journalist Andre Orlov. The month before my visit, Andre had presented the dolphin legend to the group and had them accompany the flute of Paul Winter and the howling wolves which Andre had from a personal interview with Paul in Moscow. The universe works in amazing ways. The same week that I had written my vision of the second phase of Animal Ambassadors International - that we humans should be ambassadors for the animal kingdom and speak for them - Andre had presented the same idea in a different way to this group. He told them that American Indians in the past had chosen various animals as protection for themselves. These were their totems. Andre suggested that now we become the totems for the animals. In junior high school Andre was an Indian as part of their school function. He had an American Indian name and his class had a private, locked room which was filled with Indian artifacts and officially recognized by the teachers. Only members of the Indian council could enter the room and the responsibility was passed along very seriously.

That custom still exists in his school today in the central part of the USSR and I intend to take some Indian artifacts back with me to send to the school. If any of you have any Indian books or other material you'd like to send with me to Moscow in July, it would make a wonderful connection.

In my presentation I led the group in doing the TTouch on each other. Since this was not a horse group, each person being worked on decided what kind of an animal he or she would be. I also shared the idea of Animal Ambassadors International and we all closed our eyes and did a dolphin breathing meditation together during which each person chose an animal that they would like to protect. We shared animals and one six-year old asked if I thought a type of minute snail was important enough and if so, how could he do the TTouch on it. I said small beings are as important as the large ones. You can touch these snails with your "mind."

I wore my Indian ceremonial dress and of course shared with them that I am adopted Cherokee Indian, having felt the spirit of an Indian in me all my life. Andre translated the messages from Orca whales which I received last year. Because he has written so much about my work in the Soviet media, he knows the whale messages almost as well as I do. There was an easy feeling of flow as though the translation was almost a non-verbal communication with the group.

I finished my presentation by reading an Indian 'give-away' poem. During the reading everyone closed their eyes and I had them visualize that they were American Indians sitting on the central plains 100 years ago - feeling the whisper of the wind stirring the grass and their hair - feeling the rhythmical breathing of Mother Earth under their haunches as they say upon her - feeling the stirrings of memory in their beings of that American Indian connection to the forefathers who came across the Bering Strait from Siberia many generations ago. Our connections were very powerful and Andre is translating the poem to Russian.

NOTE: TTEAM is an acronym of "Tellington TTouch Equine Awareness Method." Since this article was written, Linda decided to use a brand name for all the facets of the TTouch organization. Currently, that is Tellington TTouch^® Training.

I've just been through a remarkable experience. It actually began last fall, when I did a pilot program introducing Animal Ambassadors International^® and TTEAM to elementary school children in my home state of Idaho. The TTEAM portion of the program was exciting and well received. We could see a wonderful thing happening: children becoming more responsive, more caring. We did not so much teach the children as awaken something they already had within themselves, something that can be very beautiful in a child. I say "we" because it was the animals who were the teachers. The TTouch was the connection that made it possible, but I was as surprised as anyone at some of the "lessons" the animals taught us.

We also demonstrated how an Animal Ambassadors International unit can be used to teach natural history and science. Each child chose an animal to befriend, protect, and learn more about. Many of the children also wrote a poem on behalf of their animal.

The content was rich, the program was successful and yet something was missing: the cross-cultural element Animal Ambassadors International began as an international celebration of the importance or animals in our lives. Linda Tellington-Jones invited American children to send pictures of their pet to her to take to Russia. Many children responded. The pictures were displayed in Gorky Park and the Russians were deeply touched by this expression of friendship.

I tried to introduce an international awareness into my school program, but it just didn't have the energy of the other elements of the program. In trying to analyze it and discover what was blocking the flow I realized pretty quickly that it was myself. I could not project interest in what I knew so little about. I could not make it real for them.

Fortunately a chance came to remedy the situation a little bit. On January 5, Linda organized an Animal Ambassador day for 15 Russian children who made a whirlwind tour of the US with Youth Ambassadors. Out of this experience grew the past two days and some exciting suggestions from teachers that I can hardly wait to pass on. But first let me describe what we did and what happened.

Most of the children had had at least a brief introduction to TTEAM last fall. A few had earned Animal Ambassadors International certificates. So it was a heartwarming reception I got from these children when I returned. The age range was 7 through 13, with most being 8 or 9. They were quite a bit younger than the Youth Ambassadors. But I was to find out they still responded to the Youth Ambassadors as one child to another.

I began by telling them about the Russian Youth Ambassadors in San Francisco. I told them everyday things, for example some of the comments the Russians had made about our food in the Youth Ambassador newspaper, "The Bridge." We looked at a globe to see what an immense country Russia is, and I talked about how the Soviet Union is actually many countries in one. We traced on the globe to find a Russian city exactly opposite us, only to find a city with a name we couldn't pronounce. After a few minutes' discussion I put on a record of Russian music -- explaining"balalaika" as best I could -- and then I taught the kids the dance the Russians had done the night of the concert at the Dakin home in San Francisco.

Fun? The teachers couldn't stand it. Soon teachers and aides -- everybody -- was whirling around. Nobody wanted to stop. The kids could do the difficult steps so easily it was amazing. We all had a grand time. This happened in class after class. In one class it was super because after we stopped the dancing one child said, "I wish we could write to some Russians." What a lead-in. We left the Russian musician and they wrote their letters.

The next day was thrilling because the kids had been doing some thinking on their own. They wanted to know about the Russian alphabet, why we spell their country U.S.S.R. and they write it C.C.C.P. One boy wanted to write his letter not about animals at all but about stopping nuclear warfare. I told him to give it a try if he wished, but he decided on his own that maybe his first letter should be about animals because he really had a super animal story to tell. Last fall he had adopted wolves as his totem animal and this winter he had had a chance to help a wolf. He would save nuclear disarmament for another letter.

It's important to remember that some of these letters are from kids who have never written a letter before. Many of these kids are what they used to call "under-achievers." They don't try. Well, today they tried. They tried so hard. I think they did a beautiful job. I hope it comes across how genuine and honest these letters are. The kids were not being creative, they were just being. They put their hearts into these letters and they did it in their own way, trying to be neat and readable, trying to spell the words correctly to make it easier for the Russian child who would read it. I'm not sure the Russians will understand what kind of dog a "cocker spaniel" is, but otherwise...

I wish I could put into words how important I feel this program is. These kids are not the privileged, some come to school in rags. They may never have another chance to make this connection. Yet in 10 years most of them will be voters. Will they still care about wolves and nuclear disarmament, and will they still be capable of signing "Your best friend" in a letter to an unknown Russian?

NOTE: TTEAM is an acronym of "Tellington TTouch Equine Awareness Method." Since this article was written, Linda decided to use a brand name for all the facets of the TTouch organization. Currently, that is Tellington TTouch^® Training.

TTEAM News International Back Issues, 1990 Pp. 91-92

TTEAM Practitioner and Educator Erika Hull works with a class of Developmentally Delayed students (ages 12 -21) in Bracebridge, Ontario. She has taken a number of week-long TTEAM Trainings with Linda Tellington-Jones and Robyn Hood. She also owns and rides two horses and has a dog and two cats.

About eight years ago, first used the Tellington TTouch on one student who was totally out of control - the student was screaming and could not sit or stand. In "self defense" Erika did a few light-pressured Clouded Leopard circles and the screaming eased while Erika was doing the circles. Since that time, the use of TTouch in her classroom has become, in her words, "a way of being" that is integrated into the rest of her teaching. However, with some students, she may spend a little more time to deal with specific problems.

In January, 1990 I visited Erika to observe, video, and write about some of these special cases, so that they could be shared at the first Tellington TTouch Workshop for Humans held at Esalen Institute in February 1990.

David (not his real name)

He came to Erika's class at the age of 12 years suffering from Cerebral Palsy. At that time, he was violent and disruptive. He had no friends, did not talk, did no work, and had to wear diapers. His head moved constantly, he could not see anything, and was unable to focus. Go could not straighten his arms, and they were always on his chest. He was unable to feel heat, cold or pain.

Erika told him that if he wanted to remain in her classroom, he had to be smart like everyone else, and that his brain was the boss. She began TTouch by working on his arms and hands with the Clouded Leopard, doing Noah's March down both arms, and telling him that he had a telephone connection from the brain to his fingers. This was the "beginning of a new life" as Erika puts it, "he began to get an idea of where his body was."

Two years ago, a hamstring operation was done and his legs were in full casts (from the hip to the toes). His mother was told by the doctors that he would never have sensation or movement in the toes. Erika did Clouded Leopard and Raccoon circles on his toes, working on him for about 20 minutes each day for six weeks while he was in the casts. After the casts were removed, she did circles over the feet and legs. To help him stand, she put his feet in high ski boots. She used the wand to direct the brain signal from the head to the foot, and he is now able to wiggle his toes. He is also able to stand without the ski boots and instead of 100% of his weight on the heels, it's now 60% on the heels and 40% on the toes. He is now able to walk without assistance. By doing TTouch down the outside of the leg David is beginning to be able to turn his feet straighter (instead of out), and is able to walk backwards.

To assist David with his writing and improve his eyesight, Erika did TTouch circles on David's temples. He has learned his letters and numbers, and is now able to write them. He has become very social, has many friends, and can have a sensible conversation with people. He can dress himself, is able to use a urinal, and doesn't wear diapers any more. During the TTouch work, a great deal of emphasis was placed on breathing - because the breathing helps to "unfreeze the neural impulses that direct the muscles". Erika says that David is now one of her host students.

Tara
She has been in Erika'a Class for 1 & 1/2 years. It the beginning she had no speech, and had so little strength or balance that she was unable to got on the school bus. Her speech problem was related to an inability to take air into the lungs. She was unable to rotate her spine, which interfered with her washroom activities . TTouch was done on her feet and legs to improve their strength and she is now able to get on a ladder.

When first TTouched on the back, four months ago, Tara gasped, due to extreme sensitivity probably caused by inflammation of nerve endings. Very light Python Lifts and Raccoon touches were done all over her back to help improve her breathing and enable her to rotate her spine. Tara can now be TTouched all over her back with the Abalone without feeling any discomfort and can use the washroom. Her parents are very pleased with the changes in her.

Bill
Bill was expelled from every school and every school bus due to violent behavior. (e.g. throwing a VCR through the window). His Ontario Student Record is 1" thick with incidents. He was placed in Erika's class in November 89. At the beginning, Erika did not use the TTouch on him, but she used the TTEAM Philosophy of offering alternatives instead of force, as she had learned in TTEAM horse clinic. Whenever force, (in the form of coercion) had been used with Bill, he had exploded (as some horses will). When offered alternatives, he began to be able to cope.

More recently (March, 90) Erika began doing the Python and Butterfly on his arms and hands (his hand would shake,, and he had difficulty writing. She also used Tarantulas Pulling the Plow and Lick of the Cow's Tongue on his back; sometimes she only does Noah's March. If Bill receives some TTouch twice a day, his behavior is acceptable, and he is beginning to be helpful with other students. It seems that Bill possibly suffers from the opposite of tactile defensiveness - he becomes sick if he is not TTouched. When he first came to the class, he could not use the computer with his hands, but would use his nose instead. In March, he began to use the computer with his hands. When the TTouch is done on his arm and hand, he will write. He was not able to do this six months ago.

Erika continues to integrate the TTEAM philosophy and TTouching her students. She has also maintained a delightful sense of humor as she works in situations which can be stressful.

NOTE: TTEAM is an acronym of "Tellington TTouch Equine Awareness Method." Since this article was written, Linda decided to use a brand name for all the facets of the TTouch organization. Currently, that is Tellington TTouch.

Further Thoughts and Observations about the Opportunities that TTEAM Offers to School Children

TTEAM News International April, 1988 Vol 8 No 2 Pp. 1-6

When I began offering Animal Ambassadors International^® educational programs in the schools, I had no idea what to expect. I knew that TTEAM was great for animals. Robyn's files burst with case histories of horses and other animals from all over the world that have been helped through TTEAM & TTouch. I also knew that many of these case histories had been submitted by people who had relatively little experience with TTEAM before they were called upon to use their skills on behalf of some animal in trouble. But these people were mature adults; often they were professionals in some field involving animals. The subtleties of TTEAM would not escape them.

It was different with children. I was confident that hands-on experience with live animals would provide motivation and self-esteem, and I hoped it would be a bridge to right-brain learning. But I was totally unprepared for what was to happen.

"Andy would carry the cat around upside down by the tail. I didn't like it, but I didn't know what to do about it. Then this week I noticed a big change in his attitude. He's more considerate. I'm very pleased."

This comment from Andy's father at an elementary school "Parents Night," after I had been doing a TTEAM-Animal Ambassadors International® educational program that had already run four days of a week-long unit, was one of the first hints I had that TTEAM for children is a two-way street. The benefits flow both ways. The feeling for animals that can come with actually doing the TTouch on a live animal opens up doors for some children. They begin to think in a new way that is more responsive and more caring. Many children have this natural ability within themselves, and it is wonderful to see it awakened in a child.

The key is that it happens without fuss, without preaching. The child just has a new awareness, an added element that changes the way in which he perceives the world. In some children, that is going to make a difference, as it did for Andy.

The first educational programs that I was invited to do were with children in Special Educations. As I understand it, these are children who are considered educable, but they do not learn up to their potential. Emotional and/or physical problems may be holding them back. They may be hyperactive and disruptive. Some are gifted, artistic and imaginative, but unresponsive to the left-brain learning approach favored in most schools. Some Special Ed children score high in I.Q. tests and some don't; but they are all lumped together bottom percentile and an enormous amount of effort is expended in trying to solve their problems.

If I'd had a choice, I probably would have chosen to work with mainstream classrooms or children in the Gifted and Talented programs in preference to Special Ed. However, as it turned out, that probably would have been a mistake. Each child in Special Ed is there because he or she has some kind of a problem - a problem that is considered solvable or the child wouldn't be there. So, working with 40 kids, you are going to have at least 40 problems to deal with, each one different. What an incredible laboratory for TTEAM.

Following are some examples. They are not pretentious enough to be called "Case histories" because teachers do not readily disclose a child's background unless something happens, and then they tell you as little as possible, i.e.. "He's hyperactive. He probably didn't get his pill today." The names have been changed in these examples, and anything else that might identify a particular child, as in Andy's case above. But everything else is real.

I would like to begin with an experiment in poetry writing that we did in one class. This came the day after we did an Introduction to TTEAM (with stuffed toy animals) and an imaginative journey throughout animal habitats looking for a special animal that each child could choose to befriend and protect.

Animals are now used as part of the treatment protocol in a growing number of programs, according to Carolyn Reuben, health editor of the "L.A. Weekly." She cites animals as therapy for abused children, delinquents, women in prison and the elderly. For example, animals helped abused children to relax and talk about their fears.

The last thing we were thinking about in our poetry writing class was therapy. I had read a program Mann Lowenfels does to teach creativity to gifted children and thought it would adapt well to our animal program. Simplified from Lowenfels' program, its objective was to enhance creative writing skills by giving children a simple. formula to produce a poem.

We began this lesson by asking the children if any of them had tried the TTEAM circles they had learned yesterday on their pets at home. Most of them had, and a lively discussion ensued as the children reported different reactions of their pets to the circles. The teacher then used this springboard to introduce the concept of "Feelings". She wrote several different feelings on the chalkboard: happiness, sadness, etc. Then we thought of colors, places and actions that were happy, sad, etc. You put them all together with your chosen animal and you had a poem.

And what poems did we get -- from these children who don't usually give?

Afraid is
an orange cat
In a pumpkin patch
Alone.

This is from a child who was, right then, the subject of a bitter custody fight "with many tears." Within a couple days her mother, with whom the child wanted to be, would lose the battle.

Another child from a troubled home wrote:

Mad is
a brown gorilla
Who is furious
On a volcano top.

A third child who was feared in his neighborhood because he carried a tremendous chip on his shoulder. Yet this child comes from a wonderfully supportive family. He wrote:

Happiness is
A gray wolf
In a den
With her puppies.

I think it might have been an eye-opener to some of the teachers that this child could write such a "peaceful" poem. He was showing a new side of his character, but he as also telling that his home life is okay.

Obviously the kids were projecting their own feelings into the animals that they wrote about. It was a safe way to tell us something about themselves. That may be very important for this group.

I believe now that a TTEAM & TTouch lesson, followed by a lesson in creative writing, may help children express themselves. If something is bothering them. They may choose to express their loneliness or rage in a poem. Children who bristle at the idea of writing a poem are sometimes more willing to do so if the poem is on behalf of their chosen animal. Of course, they can also write stories for their animal, as they do after Alexandra Kurland's presentations. It is possible that the animals, imagery and art all tap the right-brain mode, making for a learning approach that can release stress as well as enhance creativity.

"Animals can be some of our best teachers," Alexandra Kurland tells her audience of school children. "Every time I do a live-animal program, I find a new reason to agree with the truth of this statement. The Tellington TTouch circles that the children do open the door."

For example, a horse must be a huge animal from the point of view of a child who may never have touched a horse before. My mare, Starlite, is actually on the small side, less than 15 hands. She is 26 years old, which means that she does not move around very much. She is very pretty, with dark glowing eyes set wide apart, and a white snip and star on her kindly face. Furthermore, she just loves having TTEAM done on her. At home she has been known to "wait in line" for her turn while I'm working on another horse.

When I take her to a school, I load a portable corral on one side of my stock trailer. Starlite goes into the other aide and Lad, a dog rides in the back of the pickup. The corral is to keep the children out rather than the horse in. Some children are fearless and eager to make contact with the horse. The corral helps teachers keep them in line by setting a boundary. It also frees Starlite's head while I am working.

The children enter the corral one at a time to work on the horse. I demonstrate a particular touch, such as Raccoon circles on the ears, first getting the horse to lower her head. Then a child is invited to come into the corral and do the same thing. Most of the children love it. Their eyes are shining and they try so hard to do the TTouch exactly right. I am usually at Starlite's neck, with my arm under her neck, and I can feel her response to the children's TTouch. It is fascinating, because she seems to feel some children's hands much more than others. She will lower her head into my arm in utmost bliss. None of the children has ever frightened her or made her unhappy. It is just that some seem to reach her more.

I think a horse is the most wonderful animal teacher. Maybe it's the size that commands respect. Perhaps it in because TTEAM was originally developed for horses. The good thing is that even if a child is a little bit afraid, using the TTEAM & TTouch the child has something definite to do rather than just pet the horse and thereby, a different type of learning situation is set up. Usually the fear soon vanishes and the child is elated, with a real sense of accomplishment. Starlite feels that she knows she has given the child that good feeling. Merely petting the horse would not get the same results.

Of course, I give the bolder children a little more challenging circles than I do the shy ones. And herein lies a tale.

Bobbie was good looking, disruptive and proud. He began my day making obscene circles on his stuffed toy animal; his next move was to beat on the kids next to him. He flatly refused to do anything I asked of him and spent his time trying to make the other kids laugh -- at my expense if he could. I felt that this was not hatred but a challenge. There is a difference. I learned that Bobbie was usually taught one-on-one (that is, by himself with no other children present) and that it was only on the occasion of my visit that it was thought he might join the others. I wanted to say, "thanks a lot."

Usually with a week-long program I try to bring the horse on the first or second day. But a snowstorm delayed the live animal presentation until Thursday. By Wednesday, Bobbie was intolerable. I went to bed that night having visions of him jumping on Starlite's back, hurtling the corral and riding off into the sunset.

Actually, the next day he was pretty good. He hung on the corral with the other kids (they were allowed to stand on the first rail), raising his hand and shouting "Me" whenever someone was chosen to enter the corral. I had not worked the inside of a horse's mouth in demonstrations before, partly because Starlite doesn't like it that much, but today I did. I played the piano on her tongue. I could bear the deafening silence behind me, no "Me! Me! Me!" for this one. I did hear Bobbie say, "I'm not gonna do that!" I drew the suspense out as long as I dared and then called, "Bobbie!"

To his credit, he walked into the corral without a word. I let him suffer a moment longer and then asked him if he would like to do "Tarantula Pulling A Plow" on Starlite's back. He never said a word, and I have never seen a more focused kid. And boy, did that tarantula pull that plow! Starlite's neck sank happily into the crook of my arm.

The next day the teacher's aide who had been working with Bobbie popped out of the room, eyes wide. "He sat still for an hour! He even did his work!

Of course this was just one day in the life of this child. And we don't know quite why he was affected in this way. For some thing permanent to happen, a much more imaginative, ongoing program would have to be tried. Actually, Marie Luise van der Sode has done a six-month residential program in Europe at a Youth Farm for troubled teenage girls. She reported that some of the girls who were unpopular on account of being aggressive became easier to get along with (and more popular) after learning TTEAM. The work with the animals had taught them an alternative way of being.

Very few children have been too frightened to touch the horse and the dog. Of more than 200 children, I think only four or perhaps five hung back. One boy, Cody (the only boy who showed apprehension), conquered his fear and did very nice circles on both Starlite and Lad.

At the end of the week, the children spoke of their chosen animals in front of their classmates and other classes, and were awarded with Animal Ambassador certificates. Cody decided he couldn't do this. Cody was part of a group of mixed Special Ed and Gifted-and-Talented. The purpose of putting these two groups together was to raise the prestige and self-esteem of the slower group, to make it easier for them to leave their classrooms each day for Special Ed. Another purpose was to teach the advanced kids to share and care.

Cody agreed to let one of the advanced children read his speech for him while he stood next to the other child, holding a picture of his animal. So the advanced child practiced two speeches. Just as everyone got up to leave the room, Cody said, "I think I can do my own."

The teacher asked, "What do the rest of you kids think? Do you think Cody can do it?"

One of the advanced children started a cheer, and every child in the room took it up: "Go, Cody, Go!

Cody did give his speech, and he didn't do it too badly. As we left the other classroom, I told him, "You were brave."

He grinned one of those tooth-gaped eight-year-old grins. "Yeah, but I liked it a whole lot better being brave with the horse."

These speeches that the kids gave when they received their AAI Certificates were an exciting part of the program. One parent made the trip down to the school twice for her son's five-minute program. It was great that she was a devoted mother to do that for her son, and it also gives an indication of how much this program meant to the children. Non-readers started asking for more animal books to read. One gifted boy elected to memorize his speech, when he could have read it. Then others wanted to memorize. Another child (in Special Ed) elected to redo her project the week after I left. So there were just lots of indications that we were motivating these children.

I've found that dogs have different reasons to teach than horses. For example, Lad, Starlite's ambassador, treats each child as an individual. He'll offer a paw to one, try to lick another's face (just one lick per child), touch another's hand with his nose (one touch). Eddie, a smart, aggressive boy, was determined to make Lad shake hands with him. Before I could stop him he reached out and pumped Lad's paw. Immediately the magic left. Lad didn't exactly turn into a pumpkin, but he lost confidence for a little bit. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn myself and to explain to the children that one big part of communicating with animals is to watch and listen for the signals they give you. Of course this can be a step toward learning how to communicate more sensitively with people.

Incidentally, when I began these programs, I felt that learning care and consideration for animals could be a step toward learning care and consideration for other people. A psychologist pointed out that such was not always the case. Some people who relate well to animals do not always relate well to human beings. The animal in this type of situation are a social crutch.

Frank was a child like that. He had a brilliant mind, four pets at home, and he knew more about some kinds of wild animals than I did. He did a super job with the horse. He was wonderful with Lad. But his teacher said that be was verbally abusive to other children, with sexual connotations.

We tried to provide Frank with an alternative way of being by encouraging him to share his tremendous fund of knowledge of animals in the classroom. Understandably, the other children weren't really crazy about Frank, but by the end of the week he was providing other children with information about the animals they had chosen, and starting some interesting discussions. So in this way the animals he loves could be a bridge rather than a crutch.

When you do TTEAM it is like dropping a pebble in a pond. There is a saying that the ripples will eventually be felt on the farthest star. Lad was a dog I borrowed from a mountain man who was not known for his kindness to dogs. Since I have been using Lad for TTEAM work this man's natural kindness has surfaced. He just had never seen dogs as feeling, hurting beings before. They were curs to be yelled at and cowed into submissive obedience. Now he talks to them.

TTEAM is fascinating because you don't know what the results will be or how far they will carry. Its therapeutic value would be somewhat different that the proven stress-reduction that comes from petting an animal. My personal feeling is that TTEAM provides an ideal whole-brain learning situation. You have much more active, focused communication than when patting an animal because you are asking a great deal more of the animal. The animal is more focused because it doesn't know exactly what will come next. Some horses in particular become quite fascinated. They are so involved and politely interested in what you are doing sometimes it is almost comical.

But while you and the animal are focused, you are also very much aware of your surroundings. You have to be aware when working with a horse. An element of personal safety in involved and a sense of where you are in space is a necessity. Thoughts and movements become more precise and clear with experience.

Experiments have suggested that babies learn beat when they are relaxed, happy and alert. I see no reason to believe that animals don't learn the same way, and human beings of whatever age. TTEAM helps to promote this state where learning can happen.

New Program

This spring I am offering a follow-up program directed toward the intentional aspect of Animal Ambassadors International®. This program takes 1-2 hours. Children are introduced to the culture of a foreign country. They write letters about themselves and their pets, or stories about a favorite any species, to be shared with children in the other country.

Regards, Ann Finley

NOTE: TTEAM is an acronym of "Tellington TTouch Equine Awareness Method." Since this article was written, Linda decided to use a brand name for all the facets of the TTouch organization. Currently, that is Tellington TTouch^® Training.

TTEAM News International October, 1989 Vol 9 No 3 Pp. 21-23

Bonnie Lieuwen of College Station, Texas attended a workshop with TTEAM Instructor, Copper Love who encouraged her to write about how she had been using TTEAM in her special education classroom.

FOCUS: As a special education teacher I am most concerned with my students increasing their focusing skills. As we all know, if a person can focus & concentrate their focusing skills then they can expand academically, emotionally, socially, and physically. Sort of like a snowball effect, expanding in their skills, independence, and self-esteem. In my thirteen years of experience, this was the first year that I taught at the elementary age level (ages six - ten). Due to the students' handicaps, young ages, and extreme amount of energy, focusing was not one of their strong qualities. I tried many different techniques to increase their focusing skills with very little growth for the effort that was expended. It was not until I began using some TTEAM techniques that I started to see notable growth.

Other areas that I saw results from using TTEAM with the students were: body-awareness/use/carriage, relaxation, and decrease in hyperactive behavior. Increase in socialization, increase in behavioral self-control, increased awareness of self, others, and the environment, increase of following directions skills, decrease in aggressive behaviors, increase of willingness and enjoyment of being touched and touching others, the skill of waiting, increased feelings of acceptance, increased feelings of bonding and trust between student and teacher, and more I'm sure.

In special education there are so many variables and different specialists that work with these children (speech, adaptive p.e., physical/occupational therapists, counselors) and everyone has good input into the growth of these children. It is always difficult to pinpoint the most effective techniques and many times it is a combinations of everyone's input. But I do know that when I began using TTEAM, I began seeing exciting changes and other people (plus parents) were reporting these changes too. I will not be working with these students next year so I will have no idea of the lasting effects in their growth. Please remember these are only my observations and feelings. It is my gut feeling that TTEAM had a crucial positive effect on these children.

In the following paragraphs I will briefly tell you about the TTEAM activities and adaptations I used and the five students that received the most TTEAM energy. The time span was about two months, but not on a daily basis. In fact I found myself becoming very frustrated that I did not have the time I wanted to spend doing TTEAM. I saw the benefits and ached with the thought "if I only had more time to spend individually with each student."

In a school setting I thought it might look odd to use my horse wand so I substituted the wand with a drum major's baton. I found it worked well because it has the two white rubber ends and I could remind the kids to look (focus) at the white tips (we called then marshmallows). There are many stick things that would work well (is conductor baton, a painted stick, etc.) I just happened to have the baton.

With the baton we did:

• open the gate
• walk, turns, backward walk, run
• wave to stop
• dagger; this was especially for "J" who I will tell you about later.

Obstacles: I used sticks that were about 6 ft. by 1 inch (they were light weight and easy to arrange).

• Labyrinth (varying the pattern)
• cavaletti (arranged at different heights/distances)
• star
• the "pick up sticks arrangement

Other obstacles:

• a tic-tac-toe design. I would use the baton to point to a square for the student to step into, this one worked very well for teaching them to focus on where the baton point, for increasing the awareness of space and feet placement, and for waiting in one place.
• Box Lids. (I'm sure you have seen when stores cut in half, all the way around, a case of canned soda and each box part is about 2 inches high, well that is what I used). I would arrange the boxes on the floor in varying patterns and again I used the wand to point to the box I wanted the student to step into.

The boxes and tic-tac-toe were terrific for a group because I could direct one student and while the one student learned to wait in one space I could direct another, and so on. This really helped my students that were very compulsive in their movements, They had to think in order to control their bodies. It was a great exercise!

Other things:
Labyrinth - when the students became skilled in these (in the beginning they would plow right through the sticks, absolutely no awareness of the sticks or that they were plowing through) I made the addition of two labyrinth patterns. We used chairs with wheels and without. It was really neat to see the students expand from plowing through, to thinking their own bodies through, to having enough control to push a chair through the pattern.

Flashlight - After they had learned to focus on the baton I would sometimes use a flashlight beam instead of a baton. I would turn down the lights and shine the flashlight to direct them in the obstacle patterns. This is interesting: I had used a flashlight all year hoping to increase their focusing skills, but it was not until they had learned to focus on the baton that they finally were able to truly focus on the flashlight beam.

I did not get a chance to use the following ideas but I thought they might be good.

• Rope: Take a long rope or several ropes to make varying obstacle designs.
• Tires: Substitute the large tires (used with the horses) with bicycle tires or tubes, hoola -hoops, or some other light weight circular shapes.
• Rag squares pattern.
• Pulling a wagon
• Varying the body movements through the labyrinth: while crawling, hopping and running.

And of course I used the wonderful "CIRCLES"!

Students: J., N. , K. , M. , C.

J. (10 yrs, he has a mental retardation handicap, very hyperactive) - when J. came to
my class in late October he walked with his shoulders hunched over, head down towards the ground, and his hands hold in a wrapped position on top of his head. His body language told that he was hiding within a shell. He did not talk, he only made a very occasional vocal sound (but he had Used words occasionally throughout his life). He was shy and withdrawn socially, would not focus on anything or anyone. He would not follow directions and when he was corrected on behavior he would fall to the floor with tantruming, crying and screaming. He frequently hit peers or tried to play too aggressively. He would often, just out of the blue, take off running away from staff. He was very hyperactive and easily over excitable.

I tried many techniques to improve his posture, nothing had much effect. In the month of February I tried doing circles on his shoulders, neck, and back. These areas were extremely tight, by my feel and by his own reaction. It was interesting that while doing the circles he would lower his arms but they would return minutes after I stopped doing the circles. Daily I did circles on his shoulders, back, and neck and daily the length increased that he would leave his arms down. At the end of March, after I had attended a TTEAM clinic, I began increasing circle time/ body areas and incorporating TTEAM activities. With the increase of TTEAM I began to do, J. really improved in all areas. His major growths were truly observable by the end of May. He walked upright, hands down with only an occasional verbal reminder, he learned to walk and stop which greatly helped staff because it decreased the number of times they would have to run after him. He made great leaps in his ability to focus and attend to tasks, and he began using words to state his needs i.e. water, bathroom, ball, play, others' names, bus, etc. Socially he became more aware of those around him and he was interacting non-aggressively. At lunch time all my students had a regular education student for a lunch buddy. Each of my students would sit with their lunch buddy at the lunch buddy's class table. Daily I watched J's interactions with the lunch class/ buddy become more calm and appropriate. He became more calm/relaxed and he definitely increased his ability to follow directions and to accept correction calmly. I feel sure the TTEAM obstacle activities had a great effect on his self-control, focusing, increased awareness of' his environment, and the decrease in his compulsiveness. J. loved the circles so much that he would take my hand and show me where he wanted circles, he also would try to do circles on others. It was a total joy to watch the growth he was making.

N. (6 yrs. mental handicap, slight degree of' cerebral palsy). M. had extreme baby behaviors: he refused to follow directions by excessive tantruming, hitting, spitting, crying, and throwing himself on the floor. He was extremely dependent on others to do things for him. Very low focusing abilities and very short attention span. When N. first came to my class in October I thought if this child learns to remain in his seat for five minutes it will be a miracle. Well N. passed that goal up by far. He made wonderful progress with a lot of physical guidance and verbal direction. He had already come a long way when I began doing TTEAM with him in the end of March. And once again I don't think it was coincidence that this student began to make progress more rapidly when I began the TTEAM. N. resisted the circles at first so I had to stick to the 'flick of the bear's paw" for the first week. After that he was very receptive to the circles and by the end of May he would ask for circles. I feel that N. made a lot of emotional progress in body awareness and use. It's as if he had discovered his body and its movements. N. also grew in independence and in following directions. I could see him improve and feel good about the TTEAM obstacles and learning these simple task directions seemed to carry over into following directions in other areas.

K. (7 years. Learning Handicap, hyperactive). K. was my speed student. He sped through everything just to get it done. His focusing ability was very poor. K. was in my room only in the morning so the only TTEAM I did with him was the Circles and the baton, open gate, walk, stop. I feel this greatly improved his ability to slow down and to focus. I would also let K. run in a circle around me plus focus on the baton and verbal directions. This seemed to be effective in releasing his excess energy, increasing his focusing, and increasing his following direction skills. K. seemed to react to the circles very emotionally. Some days he was very resistive to the touch. He was a child that did not feel comfortable with touch. Several times after I began circles on him he would have crying episodes (not within the circle session, but at later times). I took the circles very slowly with K. in case they were causing the crying. In time he became more receptive to the circles and the crying episodes ceased.

M. (10 yrs., Mental retardation handicap, very cerebral palsy, Used a walker to walk). M. came to my class the last month of school so he did not participate in a lot of' TTEAM. I observed some progress that I feel was a result of TTEAM. M. was not happy in our class when he first came. He had recently moved from another town where he was very happy in his class. I feel the circles helped him feel more trusting and bonded in our class at a more rapid speed than he would have without the circles.

C.* (9 yrs., regular education. student that was placed in my classroom due to severe emotional and aggressive outbursts within his regular classroom. C. is very intelligent, creative, and sensitive.) A teacher's aide worked with him in a partitioned off area of my classroom. I worked with him for 30 minutes a day. We worked on social/personal skills, breathing, guided imagery, and of course CIRCLES! C. loved the circles, especially on his face. He told me the circles made him feel relaxed and peaceful. We used the circles many times when he was feeling upset. Every time he would feel better and refrain from inappropriate or aggressive behavior.

I hope that I have at least been able to cover the highlights of what I feel TTEAM did for my students. I'm not sure who benefited the most from TTEAM - my students or me. I do know that now I have seen the benefits with my horses, with my students, with myself and I thank you for sharing TTEAM with the earth.

NOTE: TTEAM is an acronym of "Tellington TTouch Equine Awareness Method." Since this article was written, Linda decided to use a brand name for all the facets of the TTouch organization. Currently, that is Tellington TTouch^® Training.

TTEAM News International August, 1988 Vol 8 No 3 Pp. 1-2

An Animal Ambassador^® connection made the front page news in Meridian, Idaho. In the last newsletter I reported that I had sent 30 letters from the school children to whom Ann Finley had taught an Animal Ambassador week-long program. The letters went to Moscow with Nancy Grahame, Assistant Director of the Institute for Soviet/American Relations, to be given to three different groups with whom I have worked in Moscow.

The problem was, however, that no answers to the letters could be sent back to the US before the end of the school year the last week of May. The Idaho children were excited about a connection with the Russians but many of them thought it improbable that they would hear anything back. Whoever would think it possible to have a Russian connection with a small town in Idaho? Ann felt it was important that we got some acknowledgment for the kids before they finished the school year. She was attending the advanced training program in Oregon with us and there were only four days left before the kids finished school for the summer.

I put on my thinking cap and called Andre Orlov in Moscow. Andre is the Russian free-lance journalist who has spent many hours showing me around Moscow and has assisted me so many times by translating for my TTEAM clinics that he often receives calls for help with horse problems when I'm not there although he has no other connection with horses. He is responsible for introducing me to the Club Healthy Family back in 1985 and interpreted for me the first time I conducted an Animal Ambassador program in Gorky Park. Andre also created the TTEAM logo - the flying horse with a hand for a wing.

Well, I called Andre and asked him if he could meet with the Club Healthy Family, or one of his other school clubs, in time to give them the letters from the Idaho school children and have them draft a telex to the American kids assuring them that their letters and drawings had been received and that replies would be waiting for them in September when they returned to school.

Andre said he would go one better. That he would meet with a group of children - tell them about the Animal Ambassador program and give them the letters and then telephone the Idaho class the day before school ended. We only had to set up an agreed upon time for them to receive his phone call. Ann called the Idaho school and we agreed upon 10:30 A.M., which was 8:30 P.M. in Moscow. The Idaho teachers were warned that it could take some time to get through by telephone, particularly since it was the week before the Soviet/American summit meeting with Reagan and Gorbechav in Moscow.

Ann and I were waiting on pins and needles on Thursday morning. Sure enough the call came through, and everyone in the whole school heard a 30 minute conversation with a Russian talking to several of the teachers and kids. The local phone company had wired all the classrooms so the kids could hear the conversation over loudspeakers. The local TV station televised the kids waiting excitedly for 45 minutes since the phone lines between the US and the USSR were so blocked with summit business.

The call was a great success and was reported on the front page of the local paper next to the summit news. It was great for me too, because when Ann started teaching the program in Idaho she felt great about the results of teaching the kids the TTEAM work but couldn't see how the Soviet/American exchange could ever work. It was too much of a dream. I had no idea when this phase would materialize but I just kept trusting that when the time was right it would. The following is a letter which Nancy Grahame brought back with her and translated for us.

To Adam Nimmo 1327 W. Carlton Meridian, Id. 83642

My dear friend Adam,

My came is Anya. I live in Moscow. I was very happy when I received your letter. I don't know English yet, so my papa translated your letter for me. I am very interested to find out about your life. I think that it will be interesting for you to learn about me. I am eight years old. I study in school. I finished second grade and can now read and write, and I am going into the third grade. What grade are you in? Like you, I also love animals very much. We don't have any pets at home yet, but mama and papa promised to buy me a kitten or a puppy. But I would also like to have a parrot. I love to draw, and in the fall will start attending art school. We are part of the "Healthy Family" club. In the winter we swim in an ice hole in the river, but in the summer just in the river. We go to the public steam baths and to the swimming pool.

Write me about yourself. I'll be waiting for your letter.

All the best! Anya

This letter is for me another step in the realization of the Animal Ambassador vision to connect children, and adults, from various countries for a better understanding between us, with the animals as a focal point.

I've had many school teachers, and TTEAM people, wanting to know bow they can teach the Animal Ambassador program in their schools. We're working on a brochure and I intend to eventually make a video. Patience, patience! The Animal Ambassador vision has been unfolding for years and has had its own rhythm since I got the first piece of the puzzle in 1969. It's fascinating to see how the parts manifest.

NOTE: TTEAM is an acronym of "Tellington TTouch Equine Awareness Method." Since this article was written, Linda decided to use a brand name for all the facets of the TTouch organization. Currently, that is Tellington TTouch^® Training.

TTEAM News International Summer, 1993 Vol 13 No 2 Pp. 1-3

What on earth were we doing in Syria in April?

Off on another Animal Ambassador journey: weaving the webs of friendship between lovers of animals. Some of you will remember that before the Iron Curtain fell, I was teaching and building bridges-of-understanding between horseman and horsewomen, working with veterinarians, zoo personnel, Olympic riders, and a very special group called the Club Healthy Family.

In 1984, upon the culmination of my first trip to Moscow, the birth of the phase ANIMAL AMBASSADORS, in recognition of the unique role animals were playing in opening so many impenetrable doors inside the then Soviet Union.

Then in 1985, the birth of the Animal Ambassador concept of taking an "inner journey" to find an animal as a personal teacher. In Gorky Park, that spring, I led a group of 165 Russians, ages five to about sixty-five, on an "inner journey" to find the animal who would be their inner teacher, using the Native American model of an animal's totem as protector. My friend, Andre Orlov, translated into Russian for me. It was Andre who added the unique idea that we, in turn, must reverse the role and become "protectors of the animals". We must become their "totems."

Now, that same concept leads me into the Middle East, looking for way, to bridge the cultural gaps in that ancient area of the world, which is currently the "hot spot".

In February, at the suggestion of my friend Joan Ocean, Carol Bentley and I journeyed to Israel to join an international conference: "Prayers for Peace in the Middle East". (Some of you may have read Joan's inspiring book describing her work with dolphins.) We spent several days with my Russian friend, Alya Gurevitch, founder of the Club Healthy Family, now immigrated to Israel to work with Israeli and Arab children.

After spending time in Israeli, we decided that we also needed to meet with the Arab peoples. Having been informed it would take days to get a visa to Egypt, and having been warned travel was somewhat dangerous, a lovely woman attending the conference informed us we could simply fly to Egypt and get a visa at the Cairo airport. Sure enough, we disembarked after a one hour comfortable flight from Tel Aviv, and spent a magical three days in Cairo which, in terms of richness, could have been three months. I was completely unprepared for the welcome, for the hospitality, the friendliness we encountered.

One of the most striking impressions in Cairo was the inordinate number of animals throughout the city. Donkeys, horses, camels and buffalo make up a surprising percent of the population. Most of the horse we saw looked to be in reasonable health, although the image of a 900 pound horse straining with every ounce of his energy to pull a wagon brutally overloaded with metal rods remains fixed in my head. Thanks to Princess Alia el Hussein's influence, the condition of the horses at the pyramids has apparently been considerably upgraded. Princess Alia's Egyptian mother also supports the remarkable Brooks Animal Hospital in Cairo. Injured, exhausted and worn out animals from the streets of Cairo are brought to this hospital: there is no charge for care, and the sympathetic veterinarians sometimes take in animals just for rest. They often buy donkeys or horses who are no longer in condition to continue, and need to be put down out of kindness. They are kept in special "yard" or paddock, where they are fed and loved for a few days before they are sent on to the "pastures in the sky".

Flying out of Cairo, I wondered why this magic carpet trip?

What was I really doing there? I pulled my trusty Macintosh Power Book out of its case at my feet, while forming in my mind the image of a circle of animals which I refer to as "The Animal Council". The screen lit up with this suggestion: I should plan an Animal Ambassador Celebration in honor of the role of which horses, camels and donkeys play in the Middle East with the aim of unifying Arabs and Jews beyond, and outside of politics. I simply began to write about the next steps in the Middle East.

At first, I was shocked by the seemingly impossible idealism of such a task. However, before my first trip to Moscow nine years ago, I was assured that I would never be able to meet the Russian populace, and would have to be content with only reaching government officials. Nevertheless, in complete trust, I decided to simply begin to take small steps: see where the path would lead, and let the animal ambassadors open the doors.

Because of the remarkable synchronicity which so often occurs in my life, sharing some of the steps with you is fun, and I think this synchronicity has a tendency to happen even more frequently when it is acknowledge and appreciate.

Christine Jurzykowski, founder of Fossil Rim Wild Life Center, and a dear friend, is on our Animal Ambassador Board of Directors. Whilst at Fossil Rim in February, working with two of their young and very wild cheetahs, I mentioned to Christine that I intended to go to Jordan and Syria and, hopefully back to Israel in April. So would she like to come? Christine was to speak at a conference in Denmark the day before my scheduled departure from Frankfurt, so it seemed natural to have her join me.

The next pieces of the puzzle were held by Gabriella Boiselle, one of Europe's very best photographers, known for her exquisite portrayals with a very special "feel" - a view which no other horse photographer has managed to capture. During Equitana, Gabriella asked me what I was doing. I told her I was hoping to visit Jordan over Easter, but all the seats were booked due to the holidays. She said, "Don't worry. Princess Alia El Hussein is a friend of mine and would be fascinated by your work. I'll call her".

Two days later, Gabrielle had managed to get the seats on Royal Jordanian Airlines, organized the trip to Jordan and Syria for us; and had contacted a Syrian friend, Basil Jadaan, whom she had met at a WAHO horse show in Cairo.

Basil Jordan was one of the kindest, most hospitable gentleman I have had the pleasure of encountering in a longtime. He is establishing a troupe of pure Arabs which, approved by WAHO (World Arabian Horse Organization), and they are beautifully maintained. He hosted us on the first afternoon, seated in a Bedouin tent on cushions laid upon carpets on the ground, with glasses of hot, sweet tea and the traditional welcoming sips of very black, Arab coffee served, thank goodness, in tiny cups. The horses were paraded one by one in front of the tent, where Gabrielle photographed from all angles; she also got some photos of me working.

Our second day there, Basil's friend loaded up four horses and trucked them out of the city into the desert where we galloped and whirled for Gabrielle's cameras. She is the most entertaining photographer and personality imaginable; a live wire, with beautiful blond often wild hair which charms every man who comes within 20 feet of her. We all had a marvelous time working with her.

We drove from Damascus to Amman, Jordan, crossing the border in the record time of one hour, to keep our first appointment with Princess Alia. Princess Alia is a warm, lovely, intelligent woman.

She was most interested in the TTEAM work. She greatly honored us with a Bedouin meal in a beautiful tent set out in spring-green barley fields near the royal racetrack. Horse after horse was paraded before us prior to sitting down to a traditional meal of boiled lamb on a bed of rice, eaten with the hands. It is a rare occasion to be treated to this ancient way of eating.

We had a long discussion about TTEAM work and some of the horses which I was to work on the following day. We were awakened bright and early by the 5 a.m. call to morning prayers which resonates over the hills of Amman, and we arrived at the Royal Stables in plenty of time to catch the early morning light which Gabriella so loves. I worked with Princess Alia's veterinarian, a young Iraqi woman who was very interested, very kind to the horses, and very intelligent.

Princess Alia has some favorite horses, one of which was a young stallion, a very bad stall walker. And one of the tensest horses I have worked with. He's the first horse whose ears I could not get to in the short time we had; which, to me, is a very good indication of a tense condition in the rest of the body. I left the veterinarian with suggestions for working him, and am invited back to teach a group of veterinarians and horse owners who are gathering for an annual Arabian Horse Show by invitation of King Jussein in September. We're working to see if we can put together a clinic in time to include it with the September show.

In 1969, Went and I organized the first North American Endurance Ride Conference at Badger, California. The Jordanians are interested in endurance riding, so I am working with Catelyn O'Reardon to see if we can get a conference together in time. Catelyn was the executive secretary for the Great American Horse Race from Syracuse, N.Y. to Sacramento, California in 1976, when I was the international coordinator. So, we are going to see what we can arrange in the Middle East with veterinarians and some top, experienced riders from the US and Europe, to join together, rather than competing. Each team of three to be composed of two Arabs from two different countries with an experienced endurance rider from either Europe, or the US.

It's a great Animal Ambassador project which could result in opening many new doors towards understanding and cross-cultural pollination.

LindaTellington-Jones from Fayence, France

NOTE: TTEAM is an acronym of "Tellington TTouch Equine Awareness Method." Since this article was written, Linda decided to use a brand name for all the facets of our organization. Currently, that is Tellington TTouch^® Training.

TTEAM News International December, 1987 Vol 7 No 5 Pp. 5-6

I want to share some of my experiences of the last few weeks: introducing TTEAM to elementary school children. So far I've given four presentations - ranging in length from one hour to a week - to students in Grades 1 through 6. Forty-four children have earned Animal Ambassador Certificates. An additional estimated 200 have had hands-on experience doing Raccoon or Clouded Leopard circles on a horse.

Animal Ambassadors International^® and TTEAM^® were presented to the teachers as ends in themselves and as vehicles for learning empowerment. I wanted to demonstrate that TTEAM can be more than just an interesting sidelight to a school program. It can be a valuable adjunct to the program itself.

To that end the two week-long units that we did were by far the most productive. They gave us time to set specific goals and objectives that addressed both cognitive and effective modes. For example, last week I worked with Celeste Klmerico, who has charge of her school's Gifted-and-Talented and Remedial program. One of the really exciting things Celeste wanted to do was bring these two groups of kids together in a week-long Animal Ambassador unit. One purpose for doing this was to raise the prestige and confidence of the remedial group, to make it easier for them to leave their classrooms each day for "Special Ed." Meanwhile the kids at the other end of the spectrum would be gaining practice in sharing their skills and being supportive while everyone broadened their knowledge of animals and natural history through TTEAM and an imaginative search for a special animal to befriend, protect and learn more about.

Although with each program I realize how much I have to learn. I'm excited about the programs we are doing right now as well as possibilities and plans for the future. Out of the two week-long units a workable, flexible framework has evolved that include the following components.

• Introduction to TTEAM, Animal Ambassadors International and the stuffed toy animals on which they will learn and practice the Tellington TTouch.
• Live animal demonstration with Tehya, a horse, and Bud, a dog – both gentle, beautiful animals who are Ambassadors to the children from the whole vast Animal Kingdom.
• An imaginary, guided tour with Linda aboard a winged horse throughout the animal habitats of the world, looking for a special animal to befriend and protect.

This journey begins at Monkey Mia, in Australia, swimming with dolphins. The children loved making the sound of dolphin-breathing. They journey to the California coast, where sea otters spend almost their entire lives in the surf, rocking to the music of the waves.

On the beach they meet the winged horse, first as a toy animal with wings shaped like hands; with their TTouch it becomes the magical, gentle horse who carries them to Africa, to Australia and eventually back to North America.

The drawings from my coloring book are used to give framework and focus to the imagery. Last week I ended the journey with a recording of wolf howls.

Then everyone rises from their chairs and joins hands in a Friendship Circle while they choose an animal to befriend and protect.
 

• Back to the left-brain mode. Over-night I have drawn a picture of each child's animal. This is not as difficult as it may sound because many children choose the same animal. Last week we had four eagles. The children use library books to research their animal's color, plus several interesting facts about the animal, which they will write down. They'll also color the animal.
• Children who complete the research may wish to write a poem about or for their animal.
• Validation: Children read their presentations before their classmates and are awarded their Certificates.

It is necessary to remember that this program must be flexible in order to meet the needs of the children with a wide range of abilities. For example, last week we had a gifted first grader, at least one hyperactive older child who usually can best be reached only on a one-to-one basis and a gifted eighth grader who chose to design her own project based on the TTEAM newsletter.

In evaluating the children's responses it is important to point out that most of the children we've worked with so far have been in remedial programs. The hyperactive children are tremendously exciting and challenging. They'll wear you out, but when a hyperactive child sits still for an hour - working on his project - you know your program has got to have some strength.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about ways in which a TTEAM-Animal Ambassador program, with additional components of art and guided imagery, can be used in a whole-brain learning approach. A lot of credit must be given to teachers and teachers' aids, who know how to make the most of a program like this. I have learned so such from the teachers!

Every program we've done so far has served as a springboard for further activity, some initiated by the children themselves. Anne Gahley's remedial classes began asking for more animal books to read, an indication that we provided incentive to nonreaders. One child elected to redo her project. Ms. McCathryn's 'Introduction to TTEAM' was the start of a month-long Animal Unit for Second Graders. Dorabeth Adams plans to use our poetry writing venture as a start to help the children develop vocabulary and imagination in creative writing. Some of Celeste Almerico's students may bring their pets to school to give a TTEAM demonstration for the other children. Her 8th grade is working on a special project to send to Linda.

I believe the program is powered, to a great extent, by the live animal demonstration. The children appear to be positively affected by the presence of the horse. Perhaps they are awed by the horse's size. They press close to the rails of the portable corral, watching the TTouch being done on the horse. They are quick to notice the horse's every reaction. When their turn comes to enter the corral, one at a time, their eyes are shining with pride and anticipation. I am amazed and delighted at how much they have learned working with the stuffed toy animals, and at how well they remember the names of the different TTouches.

When they got to the dog there is sudden laughter. They have invented a new name: Lick of the Dog's Tongue.

I would like to conclude with a poem written by an eight year old girl on behalf of' her animal, the elephant.

Freedom
Is a gray elephant
Eating in the jungle.

Happiness
is a burnt umber elephant
With her calf in the rain forest.

Sadness
Is a brown elephant
Asleep In the zoo.

NOTE: TTEAM is an acronym of "Tellington TTouch Equine Awareness Method." Since this article was written, Linda decided to use a brand name for all the facets of the TTouch organization. Currently, that is Tellington TTouch^® Training.