New Series: How Liberty work helped me with riding

This is the first video in a series I wanted to do on the link between Liberty work, riding issues and how you can overcome them. I am sharing my journey with my mare Phoenix who has been a challenge from the get go. I feel like it is important to share the links I am finding with my horse to our riding issues. My hope is for people to understand the deep importance and role of Carolyn Resnick and the Waterhole Rituals to your mounted work.
If you are unfamiliar with the Waterhole Rituals, They are 7 exercises which progressively build Bond, Trust, Willingness, Focus, Respect, Connection, and Desire in the Horse and Person Simultaneously. And yes, I said it builds these qualities in the person as well.

Through the exercises, you learn how to emulate and step into the role of a "Lead" horse versus a Dominant horse and the difference. A lead horse makes requests of other horses. A Dominant horse seeks to Dominate other horses. You become a Leader you horse WANTS to follow because he chooses to.

The exercises teach you to slow down, and be present when working or riding your horse and eventually be more present in general. They are not meant to be something you do and then once you learn them you stop. They are meant to be a permanent addition to your practice and a continual method to build better and better communication, feel, and connection. The Connection will literally keep getting better and stronger. This work has brought an aspect to my Training that has increased my fun, joy and understanding of horses as well as creative problem solving to common "issues".

If you love your horse but you are not sure your horse feels the same towards you, Carolyn Resnick's Waterhole Rituals will help your horse feel toward you as he does toward his favorite pasture/herd mates (if he has them). If he doesn't have "horse" friends. He will learn to relate to you as a likeable "Lead" Horse.

The applications of The Waterhole Rituals are literally endless and are only limited by your imagination. You can "Technically" Train a horse all you want, but if he doesn't WANT to work for you, he's not going to. These exercises help your horse want to work with you because he chooses to. Not because his choices are do it or else. In the world of competition, I would feel much more trust in a team mate who wanted to give me everything he had then one who was afraid of the consequences of not doing so.
If you would like to know more about this Method and the extraordinary woman who founded it go to Carolyn Resnick's Blog to find out more.

New Video: Highlights from our Liberty Demo

Here is a small glimpse of the demo we did at BackAcresFarm.com a full DVD of the 2 days is available Click here to contact me

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

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

Me and Mercury Ride Bridless for the first time

Me and Mercury try out Bridless riding for the first time ever. Mercury is a 5 year old Dutch Warmblood I have had since he was a yearling. Bridleless Jumping has been our goal and we are working towards this. To appreciate the magnitude of this trust it must be known that this colt was one of the biggest buckers I have ever started and he is thin skinned, sensitive, Playful and can be spooky and hot! He is also one of the smartest and hardest try-ers I've ever had.
FDT

Working the Waterhole Rituals...

I wanted to relay my experience with using the Waterhole Ritual exercises from Carolyn Resnick's training program. I know everyone I work with is on some level looking for what Carolyn's program and work is about. Unfortunately, I see some people going about it in the completely opposite way they should.
I train a lot of people's horses for them and I like to try to have a good relationship with them in spite of not owning them. I also deal with a lot of behavioral issues and have to be able to effectively help people deal with them. I found Carolyn's program irreplaceable in my program to achieve these things. It not only improved the relationship I have with my clients horses, it improved my relationship with my new surprise foal from spring last year. She was only the second one I had had from birth in a long string of young horses I have owned and worked with. She was also quite dominant and disrespectful from birth. In all the babies I had seen and worked with, she was the most dominant I'd ever had. The Rituals proved to be the perfect work for her. I especially like them for babies as they are all liberty and I prefer not to put too much "Technical" training on my babies. I found You don't need much "technical" training with this program. I believe that is Carolyn's point. When you have a bond of trust and communication with your horse, The communication is quite easy. It is as if they know what you want and they are quite willing to follow you as you have proven yourself to be worthy of taking direction from. Or just a plain good Leader. I have proved this to myself by applying these exercises to several different horses in pasture/herd situations that I work with. I have been able to get all the horses to willing follow me away from food, their herd and friends with no halter or lead to the barns to get ready for riding or ground work. Even the most dominant and antisocial ones!To understand the true impact you must know that I have been able to achieve this in minutes (not because I was in a rush but because they work that fast, done correctly and with all the horses I worked with) with horses I have never done it with and with my clients and there horses. The most important part of this to me is I like that the horses are choosing to go with me to train, not me going and getting them to train. I feel like the quality of our relationship is much better and our time together is fun and interesting for both of us. You should only do these exercises if you feel reasonably safe with your horse unless you are a seasoned professional. Otherwise I would seek someone to assist you who knows the system. Here is a link to Carolyn's site to find out more and Purchase her DVD's or books. I highly recommend them.

Don't Miss Upcoming Radio Shows on Natural Horse Network on Flower Essences

Don't forget February 16th to tune in for a another great Natural Horse Network show with DC on Flower Essences! Also tonight don't miss Carolyn Resnick and Liz Mitten Ryan Wow!