Farah DeJohnette Horsemanship: Down Unda fun!

I am back from down under and I had two great clinics where yet again, the horses and people were incredible and fun!

I went to Australia first and I love this particular one because we actually have 4 rings going at once on the second day and it is is so interesting to see all the different levels of horses and people working at the same time. Our class pony Oscar, offered his own unique lessons in Liberty. He was a fabulous character. One of his best lessons was though he was cheeky, there were times when he offered valuable insight into how to approach him in a way which didn't feel confrontational. It illustrated how a horse can show many expressions of communication with his face, body and ears and it is important to be able to read why those expressions are there and not just dismiss them as dominance, or cheekiness.

Oscar and I conversing

I also had some outstanding sessions with several horses including a young filly who didn't want to be touched on her face. She had a halter on and it couldn't be removed. In one hour at liberty she went from no way to loving being touched by her owner, myself and another person! I also met two mares who reminded me about the why I am so drawn to the soul of a horse. I did nothing with them, Just enjoyed there presence while I worked with the filly. This to me is the essence of my connection to horses.

In New Zealand, I got to work with some horses that I have been working with on Virtual Coach (http://www.fdhorsemanship.com/#!services/vstc1=virtual-coach) and in Clinic. I was pleased to see how these horses had come so far. I also saw many new horses and had the pleasure of meeting a horse named Chesi. Chesi was an interesting horse because I was told he was was very backed off people, sensitive and did not want to be approached. I met him the first day at Liberty and through one simple exchange in a matter of minutes Chesi and I made a great connection! So great that in fact he and I were doing some Liberty dressage dancing almost immediately. It showed how a horse and person can dance together spontaneously when the energetic inflection is right. I told everyone that I normally didn't go so far with a horse so quickly but that Chesi was offering and who was I to turn down a dance with a beautiful horse! He is an extremely sensitive and intelligent horse and he was an example of a horse that just needed to be understood.

Another fun lesson was with a returning participant who brought two horses. I suggested we play with them together and it was soooo fun. They were both cheeky and one was experienced in Liberty and the other was a new horse for the person. We were letting the more experienced horse show the other one horse to do the exercises and then we would play with whoever wanted at different intervals.

I am always bringing new exercises as much as possible to further people's connection and communication with their horses. I introduced the concept of Energetic Inflection at the New Zealand Clinic.We practiced on each other with one person being a horse and the other being the person. We did several different approaches to illustrate how it would feel to the horse when we change our Energetic Inflection. It was clear to everyone after practicing on each other how this subtle shift could make a huge difference to a horse and how they received your communication.

By popular demand, I did a short demo of Selection at both clinics. Because I have the unique ability to travel and try this in different countries and horses, I have had fascinating variation in choices made by horses. I have learned so much also from seeing what deficiencies or issues horses are struggling with regionally.

I want to thank my organizers Shaunna, Christin and Bek for helping make yet another successful trip and clinic. Thanks to the horses for being a constant source of inspiration and for all the magic they bring. I wish everyone Happy Holidays and I have lots more videos, Clinics and classes coming up in 2014. Also remember you can join FDH Virtual Clinic to get continued support post clinic, see exercises from the clinics and more, as well as group Skype check ups with members. See more pics below!
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