Opposition Reflex

In honor of my precious Tank, I have decided to share some of the lessons she's taught me. So while I enjoy these last couple weeks with her, I'll share little concepts she's taught me, I hope you enjoy learning from her too, she is the best momma bear.

I'll start with her very maternal "How do you ask?" lesson. If you approach Tank and you want her to move out of your way so you can get by her big booty or to be able to open the door towards her, you need to ask nicely. If you approach her and just push into her, or start being demanding, Tank will give you a dirty look and lean hard into you. "That's not how you ask".

If you want Tank to do something, you walk up to her, make sure she sees you and is aware of you, then you give her the cue, it can be tactile (touch), verbal, visual, situational (opening the door). But she needs to make sure you are talking WITH her, not at her, and asking her nicely. Not just marching up and demanding something of her without consideration to her needs in this moment. Being considerate of Tank's needs will make her more likely to respond lightly and and correctly. Getting into a pushing/pulling/arguing match with her will only make sure you both leave frustrated.

I've come to learn that this is caused an "Opposition Reflex" that all beings do. When pressure is applied to our body, our reflex is to lean into the pressure to balance ourselves and not fall down or get pushed over. It's our body's natural reaction to keep us in balance, when you pull on a horse's head or push against their body, their automatic reflex is to BRACE against this pressure. Without thinking, their unconscious response is to hold themselves up right, to resist being pulled/pushed. While if you make sure they're cognitively connected to you, listening to you, aware of what you're asking, and responding to your touch/tactile cue by their learned/trained response, rather than their reflex. You need to ask their mind to move their body, don't just try to manipulate their body.