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David Castro - Official NHE Representative in Argentina
skype: davidcastroarg
"The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight. They had thought with some reason that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor.” Albert Camus
Drawing back "veils" and seeing what is behind them generally makes us face realities that we find much more hostile, violent, inhuman and ferocious than we imagined before inquiring deeply and honestly in to what we are concerned. Opening our eyes on this search leads to pain, but remaining blind keeps us away from a "meaningful" task.
During my past life with horses I learned, studied and taught various techniques and methods, always within the so-called “Nonviolent methods.”
I started with Indian taming, and the rescue of the concept of indigenous peoples on how to relate man to nature and other living beings.
Then I went to Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling and his approach of body language and the work of collection with the horse from the ground.
Next I studied Carolyn Resnick and her ideas on leadership and work at liberty.
My search for knowledge about horses took me by many methods and techniques, study of the behavior, ethology, etc. I’ve tamed and trained horses many years, working in round pens, with pressure-release techniques, natural horsemanship, groundwork, Body language, Liberty training, and so on. I was always “very successful” in achieving what was expected of the horses according to these guidelines and methods.
Finally ... I found “Nevzorov Haute École”.
I was struck by the words of its creator, Alexander Nevzorov, “No gentle relations exist. There are pathologic ones and normal ones”
At first I felt his words were arrogant but, it left a great impression on me; made me feel uncomfortable ... moved me deeply.
Living with horses is for me a way of recognition and exploration in two directions: inward and outward. The same force that drew me in search of a better understanding of the horses, inevitably leads me to my inner self. Thus, this task has resulted a process of learning with horses.
Beyond the success in my career as a tamer and trainer, I had in me a feeling of discomfort, an internal “noise”.
Gradually, I began to understand with the help of my hoses: I longed to achieve relations of friendship and confidence, but I approached them with methods of "inequality" that always included and were based on various forms of control: manipulation, coercion, taxation, etc. The primary illusion in all this is “respect”, and their real interest is based on the control. Sometimes it is difficult when you are well known, and everyone around you congratulates you for your work, to say, “Wait, this is not the way; I was wrong”. But as I’ve said, for me it has been a path towards myself and a true relationship with horses.
It took me much effort and some years of self-criticism to understand and accept what those words from Nevzorov mean. Then, I started with passion the path on which I am now - Nevzorov Haute École.
David Castro
Photos courtesy of the author
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