Tellington TTouch^® as a Complement in the Rehabilitation of Horses with EPM and Neurological Deficits

The manual has been given to several veterinarians for the use of their clients and has been found very effective. Additional study and documentation required.

A study of the rehabilitation of horses with neurological deficits, using TTEAM, started through the efforts of Dr. Mark Meddleton and his wife, Becky. Becky's horse, Jewel, was severely affected by Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM) and Dr. Mark was trying all the forms of experimental medication. During the times that the medication seemed to be working, Becky decided to try TTEAM to rehabilitate Jewel. Becky applied her basic knowledge of TTEAM and was impressed by what she was observing with Jewel.

Becky and Mark came to a TTEAM workshop at Galisteo Creek Farms in April, 1999 to learn more and to talk with Linda to see if TTEAM would cooperate in a study of rehabilitating horses with EPM. Becky explained to the group that initially she had thought that only the ground exercises would help, but after talking with TTEAM Instructor Carol A. Lang, she tried the TTouch and realized it too was a key element.

To initiate the study, Linda and Carol met with Dr. Mark and Becky at a client's farm. A neurological exam was performed by Dr. Mark on three horses. TTEAM techniques were shown the horse's owner and Dr. Mark set up a basic schedule of rehabilitation with instructions the owner was to follow. In a few weeks, Carol met with Dr. Mark and Becky at this client's farm. Dr. Mark reexamined the horses and both he and the owner agreed that improvement had been made. Carol taught the owner more TTEAM techniques and Dr. Mark scheduled another evaluation of the horses.

In June of 1999, Dr. Mark, Becky and Carol worked with Jewel and Mark's horse, Dugan, who also had been diagnosed with EPM. Dr. Mark did a neurological exam of each horse. Then, as they did TTEAM and TTouch^® with both horses, Dr. Mark, Becky and Carol discussed which techniques were working, the timing of the sessions, the sequence of TTouch^® and the work in the TTEAM Confidence Course. They also made a first draft of a checklist for the owners to keep track of their horses rehabilitation program.

Carol accompanied Dr. Mark and Becky on visits to at least three clients who had horses with neurological difficulties. Each owner was shown TTEAM techniques and Becky recommended the rehabilitative process. Dr. Mark's scheduled follow-up neurological checks in order to track progress. Becky reported that the percentage of improvement of the trial horses was very high and that the owners were very satisfied with the results.

To continue the development of a protocol that Dr. Mark planned to present to the AVMA, Carol met with Dr. Mark and Becky and TTEAM Practitioner, Kirsten Henry several times over the next year. They filmed a video demonstrating how to do TTEAM techniques specifically for rehabilitation of horses with neurological deficits and developed a modified Confidence Course.

They did many trials with TTEAM techniques, in particular the use of wand and lead, the TTEAM body wrap and TTouches.

Carol prepared a booklet of TTEAM techniques to be distributed to participants of the study. Dr. Meddleton reviewed this booklet and made suggestions from his perspective as a veterinarian.

Hoping to receive a grant, Dr. Mark presented this protocol to a veterinary conference in the fall of 2000. The evaluation and advice offered about their study gave Dr. Mark and Becky new insights and direction. However, Dr. Mark's veterinarian practice was expanding so much that their time for continuing this study was curtailed.

In March, 2002 Dr. Mark reported to Carol that he could not proceed with the study of a protocol for EPM/neurologically impaired horses. He offered to share his and Becky's work with any veterinarian that Linda might find who would be interested in continuing.

We know that TTEAM has been very effective in helping horses rehabilitate from neurological deficits. We offer this booklet as a guide to TTEAM Practitioners and others who will use TTEAM and TTouch to facilitate their horses' rehabilitation.

Carol A, Lang, TTouch Instructor
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Purchase the Booklet in our Shop.

NOTE: TTEAM is an acronym of "Tellington TTouch^® Equine Awareness Method." Since this article was written, the brand name for all the facets of the TTouch^® organization is Tellington TTouch®.

Dear Linda Tellington-Jones, 

About five years ago I saw the your video. I had just adopted a Miniature American Eskimo "Becky" from a breeder I found in the paper. I didn't know anything about breeders, (or dogs to say the least). Live and learn...  I immediately started to use the knowledge shared on the video with Becky. It was amazing how IT ACTUALLY WORKED! I was shocked that this simple touching and breathing method really did work with Becky. Becky's submissive urination stopped, and she actually obeys our vocal commands now.

I liked the video so much I gave it to family and friends that had dog or cat issues that they were having trouble dealing with. Needless to say, the video has been passed on and on, and I haven't seen it since.

I work in a Humane Society facility. TTouch^® works quickly with many of the dogs and cats when I'm showing them to potential adoption families. It is amazing how the dogs and cats respond in their suite with the potential clients looking on! I find myself referring adoption clients, and folks that call with pet behavior issues, to the Tellington TTouch^®  website. I have been visiting the site myself to see what help is out there for people and their pets.
– Chuck Mather

In the 1980s, Equus Magazine dubbed Tellington TTouch® Training "The Touch That Teaches" and said participants will learn how to see and embrace their horse as an individual and through observation, patience and TTouch®, find the best ways to assist it in its training.

The second T in TTouch stands for "Trust" and building trust is what we aim for since it is the foundation on which everything else rests. With trust, horses learn to achieve enhanced levels of physical, mental and emotional balance.

Who Should Attend?

• Professionals of every level and from all disciplines, as well as amateurs, can benefit from learning a training philosophy and methodology devoted to working with horses using empathy instead of force - down to the cellular level. Linda's approach focuses on working with horses' minds and intelligence as much as with their body. The same is true of her work with riders.

Why Should You Attend?

• To improve your horse's rideability and performance without stress using holistic and humane groundwork, bodywork and ridden work from the Tellington Method and Tellington TTouch® Training.
• To create a long term training program that will help you develop a horse that is confident, willing, mentally and physically healthy, and capable of meeting your training goals regardless of discipline.
• To enhance, repair or deepen your relationship with your horse through the Tellington twin philosophies of "Change Your Mind & You Can Change Your Horse" and "Change the Posture and Change the Behavior."

What Will You Learn?

• Participants will learn how to identify, soothe and resolve discomfort in horses' bodies using TTouch. With the Tellington special ground exercises called the Playground for Higher Learning, they will learn how to help horses develop better patience, balance and suppleness as well as increase their confidence and self-reliance. They will find out why, when and how to enhance their horse's performance under saddle with the Promise Wrap, Liberty Ring, Balance Rein and Lindell, and why, when and how to ride bridleless and more.
• On day one, participating horses and riders will be assessed under saddle to determine which of the TTouches, the Playground for Higher Learning exercises and Tellington riding equipment can be helpful.
• Over the next two days Linda will teach specific TTouches and Tellington techniques appropriate to each horse's situation.
• Participants will be broken into small groups and will practice with the horses under Linda's close supervision and with the help of her experienced team of instructors.
• Participants will also experience TTouch and the Promise Wraps for themselves. Linda will share the importance of heart coherence and breath work in achieving internal balance and a closer partnership with horses in and out of the saddle.

What Will You Take Away?

Susan Gibson, publisher of Trail Blazer Magazine, reported that she left Linda's training with the "ability to see her horse with new eyes." Cristiane Pravaz from Quebec wrote after attending the Tellington Training in Hawaii; "I tried the Balance Rein with Comrade today for the first time, and I received my first half walk and a lighter trot than ever before, and when we were finished with the session, Comrade moved his head near mine and with his lips, he touched my nose and just turned like you would do to somebody to let her know that you like her and the way she rode this afternoon!!!"

Our hope and the purpose of this training is that participants will take home a different awareness of themselves and new ways to assist their horses.

"This line of work has opened up a new world of alternative  training which is sympathetic and supportive to the horse. The results were outstanding and immediate."
   – John

"TTOUCH has awakened me to a whole new (wonderful) world. I feel things and look at things (animals, people, etc.) in a renewed and understanding way. I myself feel different too. When in a situation I handle it much differently than before. I have stopped blaming the animal/person and begun to search for the real cause of the problem."  
   – Sharon Crement

"A novice can do the Tellington TTouch Method It's easy to make changes very quickly even for a novice person that doesn’t do the work as effectively as an experienced person. It’s not necessary to know the work perfectly.

"It's truly amazing to be able to make changes in an animal’s behavior, physical being or mental state, and have a reciprocation take place. For every animal I see being helped by TTouch, I always feel I have learned and changed in the process as well."   
   - Amanda L.

"The Tellington Method teaches me to be a partner with my horse so I can learn to be a team. It gives me the tools to LISTEN, OBSERVE, COMMUNICATE and then give back information to our animal friends so that they can teach me to become more effective. TTouch brings joy to my horse and me."
   – Amy Kendis

"This workshop has totally changed the way I view myself as a partner to my horse, our relationship and the relationship of the people and horses around me." 
   – Whitney Knauer

"The evening the clinic ended, my daughter was riding her Appaloosa mare (not at the clinic) in a drill team practice. The horse was a bit antsy and would not stand quietly. Rather than disciplining her as I have in the past, I spent a few minutes doing mouth work and some touches along her neck. She settled down immediately and stood quietly."
   – Denise Schoenladler

"Thank you for the marvelous lessons, ideas and awareness you’ve brought to my life.  My animals,  family and I appreciate what I’ve learned from your lessons, patience, carefulness etc. I enjoy meeting new horses and watching, reading and understanding them because of what I’ve learned from 'Getting in TTouch' and being able to help relax, soften and relieve tension from horses whose caretakers haven’t had the chance to study and use your methods."
   –  Terri Rexroad

"The TTEAM Newsletter is my “life line” to keep in touch with all the stuff you people get up to. Every now and again there is a surge of interest here in New Zealand, but for me it just keeps on getting better and better. Results mostly happen in minutes for me now, and people are amazed.

"I am always getting asked when I am going to compete my horse even though people cannot believe his age is 24 years old. Tellington Method had done so much for him.  He had an accident 12 years ago that left him quite crippled and without the Tellington TTouch method, he would not be with me. He has taught me so much and given me some amazing experiences and may lovely rides.

"Thank you for sharing TTouch with me and many other people too.  Animals, worldwide, love what the Tellington TTouch Method brings to them.  And never let us forget the great job Robyn has done for so long bringing the written word to all of us TTouch people."

   – Coral Boulton in New Zealand

"After seeing Instructor, Edie Jane Eaton’s demonstration, I have been using the Tellington TTouch exercises for two weeks and my l9 year old advanced dressage thoroughbred’s back is definitely more supple. And engagement is becoming elastic. He was stiff, and I have had problems getting him to use his hind-end to engage without getting stiffer in his back. No more!"

   – Philippa Morrell in the UK

TTEAM News International Spring, 1995 Vol 15 No 1 Pp. 1-2

My Israel trip was a miraculous happening, the primary purpose of the trip being an Animal Ambassador presentation to 40 Arab and Jewish children through a program sponsored by the Tel Aviv SPCA and sanctioned by the Department of Education. While I was there I did a fund-raising demonstration for the ILPH - the International League of Protection of Horses; gave a morning demo to the Therapeutic Riding group on a kibbutz south of Tel Aviv and a demo to 50+ horse enthusiasts at Galilee; worked on an orphaned elephant and chimp at the Jerusalem Zoo; and met with Avi Lourie, a senior zoologist raising and releasing endangered species into the desert of Israel.

I had a wonderful time meeting so many special animal loving people, but the highlight was the work with the children because it was expected to be difficult and the teachers were not sure of the outcome.

I taught the TTouch to 40 Jewish and Arab ten year olds at the SPCA on Sunday afternoon on January 29. The program is inspired by the work of Nina Natelson, director of a Washington, D.C. organization called Concern For Animals in Israel. The teachers were thrilled at the outcome. These kids were from two separate schools and had not interacted much at all in their first gathering a week prior. After I demonstrated on a dog, I had them work on each other - first within their own group and then interacting between the two groups. They loved it. Many came up to me to be TTouched for assurance they had it "right." Several Arab boys refused lathe beginning but ended up all lining up for their turn under my fingers. The kids got really quiet and concentrated while practicing the TTouch on each other.

After a break and work on a cat it was back to working on each other with the ear strokes. Several of the boys spontaneously lined up one behind the other and started working on the ears of the child ahead of him. Like a grass fire igniting, the entire group of kids fell into line in a circle around the room working on the ears of the child ahead and then started a snake dance -through the chairs - around and around - yelling and screaming and laughing in a Congo line as though they had known each other for ages.

The afternoon was a great success and I'm looking forward to returning. I ran into an intriguing story while on a two day break in the south of Israel at Eilat. I was told about a lone dolphin who hangs out at a beach by a Bedouin village on the Egyptian shore of the Red Sea about 90 kilometers south of Eilat. Her mate was killed several years ago and she became very friendly with a young Bedouin fisherman who is deaf and mute. They began playing in the water together and one day she followed him to shore. Now she swims back and forth - back and forth - on the same path - waiting for him to be with her on the shore of die village. Her movement is not healthy and the feeling I got was one of intense loneliness. I spoke with Maya Zilver, a trainer at the Dolphin Reef research park in Eilat about her. Maya has spent 5 days in this village on two different occasions observing her. Apparently the villagers are very protective of the dolphin, believing her to be a messenger from Allah. The Bedouins also believe that people who are handicapped are special and are honored - so it is a very powerful combination and very touching. The interspecies bond is fascinating. Those who think dolphins respond only to food reward need to take note of this story.

When three years ago I attended a WOMAN'S PRAYERS FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST CONFERENCE I followed it with a trip to Egypt. I put out a question on my trusty computer musing about what I was really doing there. The response was to bring together Arabs and Jews around horses. I felt a little like John Denver in the movie "Oh, God" and I thought "Right. GIVE ME ANOTHER ASSIGNMENT". However, I persisted step by step and made two trips to Jordan and Syria teaching that year with a very successful connection to Princess Alia el Hussein in April. She brought me back to Jordan a second time in September to teach veterinarians. Now the Israel Equestrian Federation is inviting this same veterinary school to my demonstration in March in Galilee at the Vared Hagalil (Rose of Sharon) guest ranch owned by Yahuda Avni. I visited this ranch in 1979 on a trip around the world and was amazed that they remembered me.

It's fascinating to see how once again the animals open doors. During my visit with Avi Louri I was able to work on a hyena (one of the most responsive, heart-warming animals I ever TTouched) ; a member of the world's smallest desert fox whose ears are almost as big as his shoulders, and a very depressed mountain goat who is a member of the original species of die domestic goat. The goat is part of an extensive menagerie living on a Kibbutz near Haifa. After an injury, he had a section of bone removed from a leg and had not recovered. His hooves were too long, his thigh muscles atrophied and he was very reluctant to move. I worked on him for quite some time, establishing a connection to him, and suggesting the hoof trimming for a start with lots of TTouch to give hint a new lease on life. I'm hoping to bring him to my horse clinic in Galilee when! return so we can give him some real attention.

I also did two sessions on an African grey parrot belonging to a veterinarian who had come to blows (bites) with each other. "Max had been raised from a chick by Gaddy Follweiler and they had been bosom buddies until Gaddy went to Europe for an extended stay. Upon his return Max was very aggressive and bit badly and refused to be handled. The two had never resumed their friendship.

I recognized this behavior as Max being ticked off that Gaddy had left him and he wanted to express his anger. That is exactly what my cat Sybil used to do after I would return from a trip. First she would ignore me and when she would come she would roll on her back and bite and scratch my hand and arm until she was satisfied that I got the message of her disapproval Then we would become best buddies again.

As I did with Sybil, I suggested Gaddy wear gloves and push his finger into Max's open beak - gently - when he bit I put on gloves and wrapped him in a towel leaving only his head out. After working for 20 minutes he relaxed, stopped attempting to bite and closed his eyes. The second session he thoroughly enjoyed being once again in the towel with several of us visiting in the living room while he reveled in the TTouch.

I hope this renewal of lost friendship between the Gaddy and Max will mirror improved relationships between Arabs and Jews that will develop through the Animal Ambassador TTouch program in Israel.

The work with the chimp and elephant was intriguing. Zoologist Tamar Or was given a copy of my book, read it overnight, and called me to say she had to meet with me. Ihad not a minutes time, I replied, but when she insisted that an elephant calf and a orphaned chimp "needed me" of course I couldn't resist. So I shortened my demo at a Kibbutz which is the home of Therapeutic Riding in Israel, promised I would come back again, and headed for Jerusalem. The primary keeper for the elephant was in Thailand so all I could do was make some suggestions of the necessity of providing some company for this very disturbed and lonely elephant calf. The chimp, however, was a cinch. His problem was a lack of grasping reflex. If he wasn't held firmly by his human he would fail to hang on and fall. It looked to me as though he had been held like a baby under the buttocks and not been taught to grasp. It took only 20 minutes of Raccoon TTouches and Python Lifts up his back - over the arms - and on every centimeter of his hands and fingers until he "got the hang of hanging on". Tamar and his keeper were delighted.

There was the same feeling of magical and Divine Intervention on this trip that I experienced in Moscow when I was told the American! Russian interaction could never happen as it did. I'm looking forward to returning to Israel. The Israeli Equestrian Federation is organizing a demo for me near Galilee inviting veterinarians and horse people from Jordan and Egypt. Dr. Geora Avni, representative of the Israeli Equestrian Federation and a teacher at the school for veterinarians is organizing the trainings. He is delighted at my interest in the Arab/Jewish connection for peace and communication through the medium of horses and other animals.

I've also been invited to teach a two-day TTouch training to a group of Palestinian women in Gaza who wish to help children and adults who are traumatized by the current level of tension and fear. I was planning to return in March and teach with the assistance of Alia Gurevich and several Jewish women I worked with in Moscow and "TTEAMsters" Nena Norton and Jane Ellen Kovacevich. However, I have too much going on here in the U.S. so Jane Ellen and Nena will be working with the TTouch and the women and children's programs. Janet Kahn, who has been working in Israel with conflict resolution and Jewish/Arab interaction for many years, will be organizing the programs in Gaza and Jerusalem. We worked together on this trip and its thanks to her connections that the TTouch will be brought to Palestinian women. This is a big step as there is much fear and shutting down of communication at this point in Israel, and great fear of entering the Gaza territory.

I've also promised to do a fund raising demo for the Jerusalem SPCA who will bring together another group of Jewish and Arab children. As you can imagine I'm in a great state of gratefulness and looking forward to my return. You can make a difference by sending your prayers and holding a positive image that an improved and peaceful solution will be worked out in Jerusalem and through out Israel for an understanding and acceptance between the Jewish and Arab cultures.

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 December, 1986 Vol 6 No 5 Pp. 3-5

One of the highlights of my October trip to Moscow was awarding the first Animal Ambassadors certificates. In Moscow a translation to Russian had been prepared so I took 100 blank certificates to have them printed in Russian, but the Club Healthy Family thought it would be nicer to receive them in English. Many of the same children who participated in the very first meeting for Animal Ambassadors International® attended the gathering. I had thought I would give certificates to all the children who had chosen their animals to protect, but the club adults felt they should have to earn them and are making a proposal for me to consider on my next trip.

We did agree, however, that two of the children there had earned them and the first certificate was given to the 10 year old boy who had chosen a type of tiny snail to protect. His sister received the second certificate, and interestingly enough had chosen horses as her animal.

I was so pleased to show the certificates to our American Ambassadors in Moscow, Arthur and Donne Hartman, who have followed the unfolding of the concept since the beginning. Ambassador Hartman was very pleased with the name Animal Ambassadors. He chose the fox as his animal (one of my totems, as those of you who have seen my fox ring know) and Donna Hartman chose the bear.

At the meeting I had with the Club Healthy Family one of the adults, who is a teacher, asked some important philosophical questions about animals. "What should a child do if they find a stray or injured animal on the street?" I was reluctant to give an answer without more thought so I answered that it was a question which needed consideration. On Friday afternoon I taped an answer to be translated for their club.

I find it always best for me to answer from a personal base of experience instead of from the theoretical. I often see stray animals on the streets and have no opportunity to take them with me. To turn away and ignore them would be a way of protecting my feelings of helplessness or sorrow, but I do not think that is a good idea. That kind of reaction tends to harden our hearts. I like to take some minutes of my time and sit and visit with them. It may mean momentary pain, but then that is a part of the path to appreciation of joy.

I have been greatly influenced by the philosophy of The Little Prince who advises that it is much better to have a friend and leave him than to never have experienced that connection. Khahil Gibran's chapter on Sorrow and Joy has influenced the past 25 years of my Life. As I remember it, "The self-same well from which your sorrow flows, will also flow your joy." When I read these words during a very challenging time in my life I was exhilarated. "Come on tears," thought I. "The more sorrow I experience, the deeper this well will some day be filled with joy."

I have not been disappointed. Realizing that an experience that may hold sadness can also nurture appreciation of Joy is a gift worth receiving.

The image of a small dog on a cold night in Tblisi, Georgia in the southern part of the USSR, often finds its way into my mind. I saw her huddled up on a piece of newspaper late one night as I was returning by foot to my hotel. I squatted an the deserted, windy street and visited for a long while, gently working on her ears, talking to her and doing the TTouch over her whole body to strengthen our connection and companionship. I wrestled with the possibility of taking her with me somehow, considered the difficulties of getting her veterinary papers through friends in Moscow and realized it was impossible for me to keep her since I am on the road constantly. I mentally flipped through the names of friends who might be willing to adopt a Russian animal ambassador.

The difficulties finally became too obvious and I resigned myself to simply enjoying our camaraderie. I think of her frequently and send her my love through thought-form. I can be as strong a connection as a physical touch, with practice.

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 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.

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 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.