The Approach to a Holistic Being with Horses according to Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling
 All my life I was fascinated in particular with one animal of the whole animal kingdom - the horse. Whenever I had a chance to watch and be in proximity of a horse I would just forget time and place and feel happy and content in their company. The horse had something, something beautiful about it which could only be felt. They seem to come from a different world and life in a different space according to my observations and feelings.
There was something so gentle and spirited about them but also something powerful, real and present. It was almost as they would represent the coming together of two worlds. It also seemed as if the horse could flip from one world into the other within an instance and within that world fall to any place within that range, for example when living the physical world, the horse could be aggressive, downright dangerous, nervous & flighty or simply collected & dedicated. Found the horse itself in the other world it could be dreamy, sad or present & grand.
I instinctively felt that there was more to the horse than people would give it credit for, something much bigger and more beautiful. I observed the people who owned or used these horses. I felt that in many cases these people are not aware of the whole being called horse. The horse had to be obedient, beautiful & performing.
Even though all these qualities were of course appealing to me too, I felt that the horse is about something else in relation to a human being. Most of all I would want to see the horse take on its wings and fly. This was the ultimate dream I dreamt when I was a little girl. And I wished to have one of these beautiful creatures as I wanted to explore this magnificence of this creature.
I would take a very long time until my dreams of being closer to a horse would become true. I was 36 years old when we migrated from Switzerland to Australia (following my heart to the country I had lost my heart to 7 years before when I went traveling with my six year old daughter around the world). She learned to ride in Switzerland, she so much wanted to be with horses and I certainly understood her longing. But at that time the world has had taken a hold on me and I was afraid of horses even though I still hold them dearly in my heart.
After a short settlement period in Australia she wanted to have her own horse which I promised her that she could have, provided she would look after it and bear the consequences of it too. She knew she could not rely on me doing anything for her or that horse in a practical sense.
We went out to have a look at many horses and eventually we encountered the one. This horse had something the other ones had been missing somehow. He had an air of spirit around him. Even though he was a ex-racehorse and was ridden by the owner under a bit and I could feel a lot of pain in him, I felt his compassion for the human being but also a strength which eventually would show in resistance I felt. His joy though seemed to lie in movement, a beautiful movement nevertheless. I felt he was a dancing horse.
The horses coming closer
My daughter looked after this horse on a daily basis. She fed him, she cleaned him, she spent time with him every day without one single complaint ever. He lived in our backyard which was then a 2.5 acre property. And of course she had ambitions, training for dressage shows. She wanted to compete. I watched everything from a distance (a safe distance) and helped when it came to healing or a different approach or understanding of the two fighting against each other. Nevertheless, the horse was a gentleman towards her and only at some occasions she would get to feel that she had massively overstepped a boundary towards him.
She understood somehow that he liked the movement, beautiful movements and thought that he would do well in dressage. But when it them came to showing off at shows, things started to go terribly wrong and it was never really a pleasure but very hard work and anxiety for both rider and horse. What he did in the backyard so graciously and even joyously was now displayed by refusal.
As the time went by I felt that rider and horse are becoming lonely and that they both needed more interaction with the same kind. So the horse was moved to the nearby agistment but my daughter still visited him on a daily basis.
I had a connection of an own kind to this horse. He talked to me in spirit. That enabled me to help him in my own way. I sometimes went and visited him in the agistment as I just still liked to be around horses and watch them. It was then when he gave me the picture of him being on a big pasture, galloping freely in an area where there were hills and green grass. He told me he needs to move his feet, stretch out more and then his ankles would not be swollen anymore. I was always able to give him temporary relieve with this problem by mixing bachflowers for him.
My daughter grew up and wanted to go back to Europe, so she decided to sell the horse. I was not ready to let the horse go as I secretly always wanted to come together with him. So I bought him of her.
My Horse - ups what do I do now?
 He was mine now. I wanted to fulfill his needs and I found a big pasture one hour from where I lived where he could roam with other horses in a herd. He loved it and all seemed to be off to a good start.
I never really had my mind set on riding him. For me he still was the dancing horse I first saw in him. Whenever I visited him, he gave me the pleasure of seeing him roaming & galloping on the pasture. But I knew that this was somehow not enough. I needed to get closer to him and that meant that I had to conquer my fears somehow.
At the time there was a big new star on the Australian sky called Pat Parelli. It seemed to me that this could be the method I was looking for to get results on my quest to create closeness to the horse. So I took lessons but to my surprise it did not really help much as I felt that even though the horse learned quickly according to this method, he did not seem happier or more trusting in me. He trusted the whip which was eventually still used to hurt if the horse would not comply to the human wish. My horse had a sad feel about him and it almost felt like he would say to me, you should know better. But I felt that I do not know anything and I relied on what other people told me, my heart crying as I felt I am loosing my dream.
Drastic life changes led me to decide that I want to sell everything I had, buy a Landcruiser Troopcarrier and do the trip to the Australian bush I have always dreamt about. I would have wished that I would have met somebody to do the trip with but this was not the case, so I packed up all the courage I could find and decided to do this trip all by myself. (Yes, I am writing about these experiences of a sole female traveler in the Australian bush and her encounters along the way in my yet to be released book. For further information please go to http://petrawebstein.com)
Before I left Perth I stayed in my Landcruiser already lovingly called Mr. Diesel for a month on the property where my horse was and spent time around horses, feeding them, watching them and try to train my horse (well, train myself not to shit myself when I was in the same paddock with him and other horses to be quite honest). In my humble opinion I did not succeed, I felt not much step closer, I only knew I had learned some tricks of the trade which would boil down to nothing if the horse would decide he had enough of this game. More and more I felt that all I ever needed was actually in me and that only time and dedication would solve the puzzle not a system which was to follow.
The day before I left to go on my trip I stood at the fence of the paddock. Knowing that I somehow could have done better had I listened more inside me made me feel very sad and regretful. While pondering these thoughts and feelings my horse slowly came up to me and gently pushed his forehead against my chest and frooze in this position for a long time. He was with me, it felt as if we were one. He gave me the biggest and most honest thank you. Time stopped. There was this animal showing his closeness and friendliness to a human who behaved most the time stupidly towards him.
While traveling I had a lot of time to think about my life as a human being in this world. I wanted to come closer to the mystery of the horse. My trip took longer than expected, to be quite honest, I still have not settled in a particular area yet. But at the time of writing this article I am in Western Australia after returning from my trip to Denmark where I had the joy and honour to spend one month in Klaus's seminars learning more about horses (yes, of course but more so about me).
This is it!
I feel I have met a human being in Klaus who is not only the best horseman I would have heard of but more so a strong but humble human being I wish we could find many more on this planet. He in his very very own way (and this makes him beautiful) was able to guide a group of around 40 to 70 people out of the pumping & screeming world into a world of magic and miracles as it seems. As it seems I say because it is not, it is real and life giving, full of trust, respect and love for other beings of this earth. Many of us he was able to guide on the path of healing with the help of the horse as their mirror and his most intuition & compassion. He showed us the way to true happiness and everybody who was willing to see and listen would carry a tremendous gift back home with them.
For the first time Klaus structured the seminars differently.
To build a very strong foundation (see diagram below) he introduced us to the often missed component of the spirit which forms the basis of all life and ties everything to each other much like the mortar makes the house possible. He calls it "Spirit & Energy". The ground work for everything to come thereafter and as we were able to see in the later seminars when new people joined made the difference between heaven and earth to the actual work with the horses.
The next component is equally important. "Body Awareness & Energy" bridges the world of the material (body) to the world of spirit / energy. Seemingly simple exercises developed by Klaus opened even the most stiff amongst us a way of no pain to joyful exercises which enhance the body's flexibility and helps return the joy of being in the now. It opens up the horizon of feeling & perception and introduced us to the world of the horse or better said how the world is perceived by the horse thus creating a better understanding. Preparations for proper body posture, one of which will allow you to enjoy a full life until the end of your days. Proper energy boundaries are discussed and practised.
With all these preparations done only by and for the human himself the "First Encounter with the Horse" or "Borderline" can take place. Klaus has actually done the Borderline as the first seminar to give us a preview and an aim and also an understanding why "Spirit & Energy" and "Body Awareness & Energy" must be preceding actions to be taken before one meets the horse.
This "First Encounter" is about mutual respect, proper boundaries and finding out who the horse is you wish to dance with in the end. It is about developing trust, real trust and healing of wounds so that the new relationship between human & horse can take place on clean and clear foundations.
The next component is called "The Art of Lounging". Together with what we have learned previously we were up for wonderful surprises. It quickly became very clear that people who only just came to attend this seminar were leaps and bounds behind us and struggled with the now introduced art of lounging. Collection, body awareness and emptiness in mind were coming into play and defined the outcome of the meeting with the horse and lunging. Being in the here and now, letting go of anything else started to become a whole different meaning. Finding the right moment and then feeling what is the right thing to do demanded so much but we have been rewarded tremendously.
Wow, I don't ride, so I awaited the next block seminar "The Art of Riding" in a very relaxed attitude. What I was able to witness exceeded by far my expectations. Each and everyone who was called to sit on a horse and ride under Klaus's instructions transformed into a radiating blossoming human being. It felt like the energy would rise up through the horse and through the person melting these two beings into one and like a rising fountain through the core middle the energy pushed far above and over the unity. The human and the horse moved in unison. This was pure magic and believe me I am not somebody who easily dishes out compliments to this extend!
So if you really desire a change in the way you want to be together with your horse, Klaus's seminars are a MUST but expect to walk away with much more than you have bargained for!!! For some it might feel that they really had lived for the first time in their lifes!!!
I never was part of the horse world as it is known but I always stood close to it, observing and feeling, seeing how much time people invest to ultimately find an entrance to the horse which allows them to fully trust and understand. What was remarkable to me throughout all these seminars was that even though people who own horses and are in business with them never seemed to be completely free of fear when dealing with a horse. For the first time I came to understand that my fear is actually not really a fear as such but respect for the creature and its boundaries. I came to understand that I no longer need to pack my feelings away and keep them locked away because not ignoring them is helpful in the understanding and approach / or not approach for that matter. This experience ripped the wall of isolation of me and I understood one more part of myself.
Watching Klaus live and being there has given me the reassurance that my dream which I dreamt as a little girl was real and is doable, not only that but is the ultimate. I still have to go the way of course but my first encounter with my horse after the seminars was very promising. For the first time in my life I stood in a paddock with horses all around me and I felt no fear!
Was it worth the long journey, the monetary expenditure and the time? YES, YES & YES again!
My wish now would be that the work of Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling is to become known here in Australia. Reading the books and watching the DVD's (which are really hard to get hold of in this country too) gives you an initial feel to his work but it never replaces the being there and watching with your own eyes. Only than you can really start to comprehend the difference between his work and the work of others like Pat Parelli or Monty Roberts.
Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling is a fine man, a rare human to encounter and he stands like a 1, 2 & 3 with both feet in this world without missing one single link to the infinite spirit. Gosh - he is for real or fair dinkum as we say here in Australia.
Thank you Klaus for giving all you had and are in the month of September 2008 to us.
Petra Webstein, Western Australia in October 2008
For further information about Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling, please visit his website on http://hempfling.com.au and have a look at various publications on YouTube. |
