October 26th Radio show on NHN

Join DC and I for another fun informative show October 26th at 7pm eastern standard time. We will be discussing Liberty work and how important it is and my experience with Carolyn Resnick's Waterhole Rituals.

Listen to Nhn on Blog Talk Radio

Mercury and me ride bridless for the second time and...

This is my second attempt at bridless riding on Mercury. We did Awesome! I achieved my goal of Bridless jumping! I just can't believe we did it on our second try! This is only the beginning...

October 30-1st follow up Waterhole Clinic Info

Hi all,



Here is a summary of the clinic schedule and outline. There's also links to accomodations and a list of things to bring if you are attending with or leasing a horse. We are offering 3-4 lease horses to work with on site for a fee of 50.00 in addition to the 250.00 clinic fee if you can't bring a horse but would like to work with one hands on. It will be completely beneficial to learn this method on any horse even if it is not your own. You will learn to apply it to any horse you may work with in the future. PLEASE let us know if you plan to lease or bring a horse as soon as possible so we know how many spots are filled and lease horses available.



Friday:

Please arrive in time for the start of the Lecture and demo at noon and to settle your horse If you are bringing one before that, It is important to get the horses as settled as possible before we start working directly with them on saturday. If you are leasing a horse from us, you will be paired with your appropriate horse for your skill level. You will work directly with your own or "leased" horse on the second day. Friday we will observe herd dynamics, watch demos and discuss theory and practice of the Waterhole Rituals.



Saturday:

We will work in our designated pens with our horses on the first and most important ritual Sharing Territory, Liberty grooming, and Reciprocol Movement. Some may proceed on further to Saying Hello and beyond. some may spend more time on this stage.





Sunday:

Continued work from the previous day, each day starts with "Sharing Territory" to renew connection. Then saying Hello, Taking Territory, Eye Contact, Leading from behind, Companion walking, and Liberty Dance, Go Trot



What you should bring:
Whatever feeds you normally give,
Any foul weather gear, Warm clothes, gloves ( there is a lot of slow work so dress warm! you can always take off layers) a Horse blanket or warm blanket
Some type of extra special treat like carrots or apples chopped at least 5lbs (if you horse has special dietary needs please bring something else) something they can eat a lot of safely
Some type of light folding chair
A book or note or drawing pad
A dressage whip, driving whip, long twig, or reed, Bamboo
Some type of good curry grooming tool
Hay for your own horse




Here is links to accomodations in the area:



http://www.bbonline.com/ma/plainfield.html



Hotels.com

put in Plainfield, MA in the search at Hotels.com



Here is the Barn info:



Back Acres Farm

27 Broom Street
Plainfield, MA 01070
Phone: 413-634-5686



for more info or questions contact:

Farah

fdt@fdhorsetraining.com

Upcoming Clinic! October 30th-1st Waterhole Ritual based Liberty work

Hey all! I am pleased to be putting on the first in an on going progressive series in the spirit of Carolyn Resnick's Waterhole Rituals. Christian Gundermann will be co-hosting with me at Back Acres farm in beautiful Nothern MA. Christian works with Parelli Natural Horsemanship and is also a graduate of the Waterhole Rituals Insider circle. Back Acres farm offers a number of very progressive clinics including James Shaw on October 17th and 18th. Check out their site for events. They also offer boarding, an indoor and plenty of turnout. On October 26th at 7pm eastern, I will be doing a radio show on my experience with the Waterhole Rituals with DC from the Natural Horse Network on her Horse Talk Radio show if you'd like to hear how this method can improve your connection and horsemanship on every level. Your horse will want to be with you and work with you in a way you never thought possible! This method is the foundation to all other methods and training and should be done as a prerequisite for any discipline you pursue. Watch the videos that I post here to see what can be achieved when you learn to Dance with your horse! I was able to not only dance with my horse, but also ride bridless for the first time! Clinic space is limited to 6 horses and owner combos and unlimited auditors. Participating with your horse will be just $250.00! plus $25.00 day boarding for the 3 days and $25.00 a day for auditing or $60.00 for the 3 days. You can chose to ship in if you are local. If you are interested please contact me to reserve your space and get the questionaire to fill out. Please no stallions and it is strongly suggested that you bring a horse you are comfortable with and you find easy to work with. More info to come...stay tuned...

FDT

New Video! Liberty Clipper Training

Check out a new video on my Virtual Clinic Blog on Clipper training at Liberty
Click here to go to the Virtual Clinic

The Training Scale series 2: Relaxation

I know I started this series a while back but I wanted to get back to it. I talked about Rhythm previously and posted a video example.
Often with rhythm steadiness and consistency, Your horse will naturally start to relax. He will lower his/her head set a little or a lot depending on how soft they are naturally. I work on Rhythm with a completely loose rein first (if you don't trust your horse yet here, don't do this) You can work on a medium loose rein if you are more comfortable.
When I feel relaxation and consistency melting together and my horse starts to relax his neck position down, I know not only are muscles more warmed up but, the mind and body is relaxed too. A horse cannot lower his head naturally until he his in a calm relaxed state. This can be done with a bit, without one, in a sidepull or rope halter. I can do it in any of those. If you have a hot horse (quick rhythmed horse), or an unbalanced horse (this can manifest as quickness to) you can use serpentines and spiraling circles to relax the rhythm down and or help him balance himself up. Bends and circles naturally cause a horse to balance without you doing much. If you have a more sluggish horse, stick to straighter lines and larger figures. Relaxation may not be as much of a problem in this type but consistent rhythm might. He may not want to keep the trot or canter or walk for that matter. This can cause the back to be tight and body to lose relaxation due to lack of impulsion and connection. I usually work with all these things at Liberty and on line first to introduce the concept before riding.
Once I feel that my horse is warmed up and relaxed, I may go to a shorter but still slightly slack rein. I will then repeat the Rhythm and relaxtion work to get the same feel on the working contact. Every horse is different so listen to him when he is communicating things and ride with a feel for the individual not the exercise.
FDT

New Video: Crest Releases Part 2 (Hunters, Jumpers, Eventing)

There's a New Video posted on my Virtual Clinic Blog. Part 2 of the Crest releases series Click here to Check it out!