Playing with Bridless Dressage

Here is another video of my exploration of Bridless Dressage, The Natural Outline and Ground Play with my Liberty Rein. Hope you enjoy it!
http://youtu.be/8r15fCoYkXk
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Inspiration...

Mercury says palying in the snow is fun!
Look how happy he is!

At this time of year sometimes it's hard to be inspired. It's cold, the ground isn't always safe and we can't always think of things to do with all those limitations.

Well as a very creative person and someone who has not always had the perfect places to play with my horses, I have lots of ideas on what can be done to amuse, connect, and even practice some good foundation exercises which will improve things when the weather is better and you can do more.

First of all, when it's cold out, active Liberty play is a GREAT way to build connection and bond AND stay warm. It can be done virtually anywhere. If the footing is better for slow work, do that. If the footing is good for more up energy work, do that. Snow is actually quite good to work in if there is no ice layer underneath. Here is a list of exercises that can be done to keep you and your horse going!

1. Liberty Grooming: Get the rubber curry and go out in the paddock and get all the good spots. Not for cleaning purposes but for getting spots he can't reach and where another horse would groom him. If he tries to groom you back, It is up to you to how to handle this. You can gently make a boundary or allow it on your boots or chaps which is safer.

2. Leading (Herding) from Behind to Companion walking working on precise transitions and staying up at your shoulder on the Off and near sides. Off (right side) is harder and winter is a good time to practice for short periods if your horse is ready to allow that.

3. If your Companion exercises are good than try some beginner Liberty dressage movements. You could introduce Turn on the Forehand at Liberty, Side Step, and Turn on the Haunches. Also precise size and shape circles. If the footing is good try some at the trot. Spanish walk is another fun one.

4. Send and Draw at slow speeds or if the footing is good at the trot and canter.

5. Horse Yoga stretches with treats.

6. In hand work with a Halter and line or Liberty Rein. Play with Leg Yields, Turn on the Forehand, Turn on the Haunches, Side Steps, Shoulder in, and Backing up with the lightest possible Communication. This is a good time to also play with Touch Training to work on Soft communication.

7. Eye contact exercises: LOVE these they are soooo important to advanced Liberty and Focus! Excellent for spooky and distracted horses and can be done stationary or moving as you both get better at maintaining it.

So I hope these give you some ideas to play with and inspire you. It has actually been a pretty mild winter here in New England so it's been easy to work outside without too much trouble. It was 55 degrees the other day! Hope it stays that way. Have fun!
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Confident Horseman exercise part 3...Change your mind, Change your horse

Riding Mercury Bridless requires me to be completely focused on what I want to have happen and not what bad and dangerous things could happen...

I will be offering for those who want to participate, a Flower Essence mix suggestion for a new approach to dealing with fear in the horse and person. It will complement the next exercise which has 3 steps to it, is the hardest but also the most powerful.

The next part of the exercise is:

Step 1: Learn how to identify fear coming up in yourself as it starts. Then recognize the fearful or negative thoughts that follow.
Example: "Oh my horse is scared of dogs, and hear comes one" the next thought may be "oh he's going to spook and I'm going to fall off!"
So this is how the fearful mind starts to gain power or the situation.

Step 2: Recognize the the thoughts coming up and make a choice to change them to a positive thought.
Example: "I am now changing my mind about this" We are walking calmly past the dog, and nothing is going to happen" You'll note I said "we" not the horse is going to. "We" is a team, a partnership. You can add calm deep breathing to release your own fear and tension and mirror to your horse. Two other very powerful exercises is to visualize you and your horse doing exactly what you'd like. So I'd see me and my horse walking calmly past the dog together. I'd see that picture in my mind and hold it and breath. Some of you may find it nearly inpossible to not visualize a bad experience so instead, I want you to visualize something calming and soothing that may have nothing to do with that moment. Examples would be a sunset, A beach, doing yoga, a hot bath, even a glass of wine! Hold that though until you can own it and the moment has passed. This takes practice but it does become a new thought pattern with time.

Step 3: I consider an advanced exercise and a goal to set for yourselves. It involves getting to the point where you don't even get to a place of fear anymore when a possible situation arises. This is when you have mastered the power of the mind.
Example: You are riding toward the dog and you immediately send a picture of the two of you walking calmly passed the dog. In this scenario you exhibit what I call Calm Leadership. You recognize the horses concern and using positive visualization. you "Lead" your horses mind to a calm place with yours. You maintain clear focus and your horse has confidence in your Leadership and guidance. We don't want our horse to feel like he has to take over every time he is afraid because we get just as frightened as him.

One other scenario I want to talk about is "Real" fear, necessary, sensible, self preservation fear. This is the voice that says "We are in real danger and we need to get safe. That is the time to listen to your instincts and stay as clear as possible. Try to learn the difference between your gut telling you the truth and your mind taking over control of clear thinking.

As for the Flower Essence part of this. There are Essences that can help release the grip of fear and "Stuck Thinking Patterns" I am offering to help anyone who may feel they need additional help of Flower  Essences to help release a really stuck pattern in themselves and or their horse. Respond in the comments section. Let me know how your confidence is improving!
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From Fearful to Confident Horsemanship...

Mercury has been a very good teacher to me about Calm leadership , focus and clear thinking...

Carrying on the theme for the last post of using positive thought patterns and breaking stuck thinking patterns, I want to continue with more ideas for working through and past fear. We cannot be seen in a leadership position if we are mirroring fear to our horses all the time.

People often want a trainer to make the horse fearless so they can be less afraid. But at the same time we need to work on our fears because a horse will mirror back whatever you are feeling. An example is a horse being calm when I work with him because I am exhibiting Calm Leadership. This same horse can be given back to his person who is afraid and the horse begins to mirror the person he is with. Horses are in the moment with whoever they are with. Some horses are generous and confident of nature and not as bothered by a person being fearful around them. Others are too un-confident themselves to have a person be the same.

If you find yourself in this situation, It is good to start breaking down the issues into little achievable goals. The first thing to do is to get an idea of what your fears really are.

There are three fears I see when working with people. 1. I am afraid of certain things but my horse is actually quite confident. In this scenario, you are working on your own fears and your horse may actually build confidence. 2. You are afraid of your horses behavior because you have had an accident or you think you could have one with him. So you are actually afraid of your horse. 3. You are afraid and your horse is afraid as well. You both need to work together to become more confident as a team. It also ok to find another partner if it seems like a better situation for both horse and person. Sometimes this is the best option.

So if you thought about those 3 categories and thought you might fit in one, you are on your way to becoming a more Confident horseman.

The exercise is to write down a list of what exactly you are afraid of and also what you are not afraid of. Be as detailed as possible. Also write down what you would like to be able to do as a goals that you are afraid to do now. If you would like to share these lists in the comments section, please do so as we can all learn from each others experience. I will post the next step in the next post.
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Thought

Mercury and I are thinking the same thought here...

Energy follows thought...."Think" about that. What it means is, what you think, dwell on, worry about, or visualize is drawn to you and broadcast back out like a radio wave.

This week, the theme in lessons and training was overwhelmingly, change your mind, change your experience which of course goes right to your horse.

I caught myself not helping my situation with Mercury where he was spooking and I got mentally "stuck" on the behavior and it kept happening at the same spot in the arena on each pass. After about the 3rd time, I said to myself " why aren't you thinking about him going past this point calmly and thinking of the destination after the scary spot. As soon as I did that, He went past the rest of the ride with minimal fuss. Thank you Merc for the reminder to stop focusing on what was happening and think about what I would like to have happen.

A phrase I often say is "If you are not happy with a current situation, think about how it would look if it went the way you wanted."

Another statement I give to new riders is, If you think about falling off all the time, you will think it into reality. The horse will keep getting this mental  "text message" of you hitting the ground. And....he will think that is where you want to go! If you think about your horse spooking all the time, he will think about spooking etc.

It's human nature to get caught in negative thought cycles and also to want perfection and a feeling of being totally safe. So what if we went to the barn every time we saw our horse and said "We are perfect" and "I feel safe with you" or "My horse and I are not afraid" Every statement has the ability to move you toward the place you want to go or hold you in a "stuck" pattern.

Here is a list of examples of how you can switch your thinking which in turn will send a positive message to your horse.

1. "I am not a good/confident rider." Positive: I am becoming more confident all the time, I am a confident rider. Horse hears " I am not a leader" or I am becoming a better leader.

2. "I am stiff" Positive: I more flexible, balanced and strong everyday. Your horse hears "I am a good rider and getting better all the time"

3. "That transition was bad, my circles are horrible, I am terrible at "X" etc. Positive: These transitions are improving, My circles are so much better than 6 months ago, We are really improving "X" Your horse hears " I can never get it right no matter what" Or "We are having a good ride/liberty etc!"

I could go on but you probably get the point. The exercise is write down all the "Negatives" you say about anything especially goals and then write a positive statement that reflects the outcome of what you'd like to see REALLY happen. How ever long it takes. More oats for thought! : ) Let's hear some thoughts in the comment section!

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Conversation

Mercury and I having a Lively Conversation! The most fun ones!

As I have become more experienced in my approach to horses, I have learned the value of a Two way quality Conversation with a horse as I value a good conversation with a person.

I often see in my travels, People shouting, talking over, and cutting off their horses side of the Conversation. I look at it like a bad conversation with a person. I wouldn't like it if someone asked me question, then before I had a chance to reflect on it, asked me three more questions then just when I was about to "Try" to respond, cut me of and yelled at me (so to speak) for not answering quick enough and getting the answer right. I would start to not want to be in that conversation anymore.

 Being good with a horse has as much to do with Being a good Listener as it does to a good conversationalist and being a Quality "Leader".

My conversation would look something like this. I'd let the horse start by telling me some things and then I'd come in with an "I understand" and "I see your point" and a "I could definitely see how you could see it that way" and then a question like "How about if I asked you to do "X" "How would you feel about that?" and then I'd leave space for him to tell me how he felt about it. Good or bad.

So what does a bad Conversation look like? Well for starters it looks like "Talking or Making orders" too quickly with not enough space in between for your horse to read what you said, respond positively or try to change the subject. Trying to change to subject means just that. Your horse saying "Hmmm I hear what you're saying, but maybe we could eat grass instead or "fill in the blank"...

It could also look like your horse not being clear about your request because it was too fast or too complicated and needs to be spoken slower and maybe spelled out one letter at a time. Meaning break it down to very small steps.

And my personal favorite is Are You Speaking Clearly AND Thoughtfully. If you are unclear about how to explain your request to your horse, Don't expect him to be clear about it either. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to do it if you aren't clear. It just means be as clear and precise as you possibly can so your requests are easy to follow. Imagine someone trying to explain a concept to you in a foreign language but they're not quite sure how to get it across....Sounds tough right?...Exactly.

I often look at the different incarnations of Natural Horsemanship and Traditional Horsemanship and they all are some sort of "Horseglish" or "Eqglish" if you will. You will understand if you've ever heard the term "Spanglish" It means no matter how good you speak "Horse", you'll speak it with a human accent and the accent of the place you're from and throw in a few Human words when you need them. That actually means our horses learn to understand "Horseglish" as well.

So Training or your time with your horse should be a great conversation. One that stimulates both of you, makes you both think, laugh, sometimes a whisper, sometimes loud, and sometimes lively and animated. But you both walk away feeling like you listened to each other and made strides to wherever you may be going together. Also remember, a conversation that seems firm and about yours or your horses "likes" and "dislikes" (if you know what I mean) can lead to a better working partnership just as it would between you and another person. More food for thought....
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St. Vincent's Clinic: Last day and overview

Here is the last video clip and installment of the Waterhole Rituals, and Rituals and Yoga for Riding Clinic.

I met Stina through Carolyn Resnick as I have met many great people through her work. I knew I had to go to St. Vincent as soon as I saw Stina's videos. Who doesn't think that! I couldn't remember exactly how we connected but I do remember her asking me about doing a clinic about a year ago and I said YES immediately! Where do I sign up?, how do I make this happen?!

There are times in your life when you "know" something is meant to be and you are not sure why but you just know you are supposed to do it and it will be a great experience and you trust that.

This first clinic was exactly what I envisioned and so much more! Stina and I share a vision, passion, and spirit that was inspiring, fun, and magical to create around. Her herd was incredible to work with as I got to know each one during the clinic by working with them on various Rituals and Exercises. Darling, her lead mare was especially wonderful to have as a teaching partner and I dubbed her my Caribbean horse partner! The people that attended the clinic some of which were students of mine and some which were new to me, were a wonderful mix horse lovers who share the same ideas about how we want to be and work with our horses.

We inspired and learned from each other and the horses. Once I studied the environment and mix of people and horses I had, I was able to let the students and horses guide the lessons and teaching. As always I learned by staying open and flexible, valuable lessons presented themselves in each moment and we explored them as such. I could not have done this without having such a great combination of participants because although we had a program, we had some great spontaneous activities woven in too which added to the magical fun.

I know we throw around the word Magic a lot and I'll tell you why it was magical. Time seems to stand still there, it allows us to fully explore things in the moment, the environment is so beautiful, it soothes you mind and soul. The freedom of the horses to express who they are and participate in the class as willing teachers makes the exercises a joy and full of unexpected surprises and offers from them. It shows me yet again the Magic that horses bring to all those who are blessed enough to share their lives with them.

Once Stina and I got together it was clear that we had kindred spirits and vision and an insatiable appetite for fun and adventure! I knew this was the first but certainly not the last clinic. In fact, I think we came up with about 900 plus! I had to tell her to write them down because we kept coming up with so many! So we'll keep you posted on our next one which could be as soon as November 2011. Please contact me if you are interested at this link http://fdhorsetraining.com/Contactfdt.html

http://www.carolynresnickblog.com/

http://stinaherberg.wordpress.com/clinics/

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St. Vincent's Clinic: Video clips of Day 5... Play day!

Engaging horses in games!

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St. Vincent's Clinic: Video clips of Day 4...

And the magic continues...



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St. Vincent's Clinic: Video clips of Day 3...

Video clips of Day 3 on the Waterhole Rituals, Yoga, and riding...it just keeps getting better!



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http://stinaherberg.wordpress.com/clinics/

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St. Vincent's Clinic: Video clips of Day one and two...

http://stinaherberg.wordpress.com/clinics/

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Greetings from St. Vincent's! First installment

Jack, Elena, and Darling in their pasture overlooking the ocean

So I am in paradise with all these great people and these great horses that Stina Herberg has done a beautiful job with. I don't want to rub it in but it is soooo fun and soooo beautiful, I can barely call it work!

I arrived to incredible hospitality, a paradise environment, horses and warm, friendly faces. It is PERFECT! Stina and I Shared Territory a bit the first night with the herd so they could get to know me and be comfortable before we started working together.

People arrived the next day and we got settled for Monday's first day of the Clinic. More Sharing Territory with the horses and checking out the beautiful beaches and scenery.

Monday morning started with some centering and grounding Yoga, Positive Visualizations, and goal setting for the coming week. The horses guided the exercises as Stina and I went over Carolyn Resnick's Waterhole Rituals in the morning and did some Liberty Grooming, Halter/Bridling game, and Picking up feet game at Liberty in the afternoon. Of course the horses worked their magic and produced some surprising wonderful ideas and offers of their own.

Here's link to some of the first pictures...More to come plus video!


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114736&id=1484531246&l=17cda34ddf


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Soft vs. Light

Here I am working with a Mare that had a tendency to be Braced in her Mind and movement on a Mind and Body softening exercise...

Soft versus light is an interesting comparison that sometimes there is confusion about. Depending on who you talk to you will get different interpretations.

My Interpretation of Light is a horse or a response to a cue that is very sensitive or even reactive or Over-reactive. So there are degrees of lightness that can actually be too light. The horse may over react or move too quickly so the movement or action is too fast and lacks quality and flow. This is for sure desireable in some disciplines but it can cause mis-communications between horse and rider. This can be a horses natural temperament or tendency or they can be taught to be "Lighter" in their responses if they are a bit un-reactive or slow to react.

Softness to me is about Suppleness, flexibility, a calm mind and flow in the horses movement, body, and mind. There is Relaxation, Rhythm, and fluidness between horse and rider whether you are moving at speed or slow. You'll note that I said a calm mind because to me you can not have true "Whole" softness without a calm, trusting, happy, minded horse. You can not manufacture softness with gadgets, bits, and force.

Now let's talk about Light versus Soft in the Rider. A rider can be Light all the time in their communication or very heavy handed figuratively speaking. Using strong cues always "shouting" so to speak at the horse. This will cause a horse to become perhaps no longer Light where he once was. So we want to be careful of training that into a horse and thinking it's their problem not one we created. A person needs to understand the full spectrum of  "Request levels" starting with a whisper and escalating to a firmer (not louder) Conversation and everything in between.

Which leads to Softness in the person. All the same things apply here Suppleness, flexibility, a calm mind and flow in the persons movement, body, and mind. There is Relaxation, Rhythm, and fluidness between horse and person because you are able to effectively mirror the traits you are asking for from your horse. And again without the calm, happy, mind and body, you can not have true "Whole" softness in yourself.

It is always good to ask yourself as the Leader in the relationship between you and your horse, if you can do what you are are asking your horse to do whether it's be Calm, Be Fearless/Courageous, Flexible, Responsive, Energetic or Quiet. Whatever it may be, It starts with us.

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Promo Video: Clinic in St. Vincent's with Stina Herberg and I 4/4-4/9

A little preview from Stina showing what's in store for the uncoming clinic were doing 4/4-4-9. How can you not attend? I am sooo excited! I'm packing now!
Link to program and travel info:
http://stinaherberg.files.
wordpress.com/2011/01/yogaclinicsm.pdf
http://www.carolynresnickblog.com/
http://fdhorsetraining.com/

Challenges...

My partnership with Mercury is proof that challenges can lead to amazing places...

How many of you view stumbling blocks and challenges with your horses as opportunities? Opportunities to build trust, training, communication and connection amongst other things.

Fear in the rider, Fear in the horse or both are common challenges. Other ones can be about a variety of things from jumping problems, trailer loading, separation issues, Dressage, Reining, whatever your discipline or goals with your horse, you are bound to have run into some personal challenges along the way. Challenges with your horse can be based in confusion, discomfort, and dominance as well.

So here is the REAL challenge. Can you stop, breathe, evaluate and creatively problem solve WITH your horse so that the experience strengthens your connection, trust and furthers your partnership? If you can't figure it out today, can you leave it and meditate (even do some visualizations) on it and come back to it when you are more clear about how to work through it in a positive way?

The last few years, I have had several non-cookie cutter challenging horsenalities come through my program including my favorite boy, Mercury. It seems most of my clients have found themselves also with challenging horses in their lives as well. What has happened though is these horses have brought many valuable lessons and understanding with them as well as a sense of huge achievement when progress is made at home or in the show ring. Something you don't get from an easier counterpart.

My horse Mercury who I have dubbed my equine four legged soul mate, Has challenged me at many turns with his antics, mischief, clowning, dominance and spookiness. I also have the deepest partnership and connection with this horse I have ever had. I have learned infinite things from him about stallions (he's now gelded), the power of deep connection and trust when things get sticky and scary, and loving him for who he is purely and not his talent, athleticism and incredible good looks (he'd want me to add that...He thinks he's a super model!).

So as an exercise, you could write down any challenges you are having with your riding or your horse. Then pick one thing off the list and see if you can find a way to make that challenge a positive growth experience for you and your horse. You can enlist some outside help or even ask me in the comments section for some help. Let me know what you come up with and how it goes.
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FDT

Upcoming Playshop with The Horses at Alderlore

For those of you who don't know already. A Playshop with Bonnitta Roy of the Horses at Alderlore will be offered at Back Acres Farm February 27th Sunday starting at 9:30.

In this Playshop, you will learn Freestyle Dancing at Liberty with horses.
Learn how to use body language to create "dance steps" with your horse, utilizing basic natural dressage movements at liberty - yielding of the hindquarters, turn on the shoulders, turn on the hindquarters, and lateral side steps in both directions. Gypsie Wings & Bonnie will demonstrate how to work these basic movements into various dance steps, from which you can build a repetoire of movements; and participants can learn them with their own horses.

Limited spaces are available to people to work with our horses or yours and unlimited auditing is available. It will be $50.00 to participate with a horse and $25.00 to audit.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Bonnitta's work, it is fun, in tune with the horses and really gets you thinking about your timing and body language being clear. She is inspired by the work of Klaus Hempfling, Carolyn Resnick, and Karen Rolfe. She is also a Qi Gong Master and uses this mastery of energy to work with the horses. I really enjoy watching her work with her horses but especially horses she has never worked with before. For more info go to Alderlore.Org for more info you can also contact me at http://fdhorsetraining.com/Contactfdt.html

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Yoga and Horsemanship: Breathing exercise part 2

Phoenix focusing on her relaxation techniques...

This week I want to give you another Yoga exercise to follow up the breathing one from the last post.

Since the last one I hope you found a new found attention to the breath and noticed the changes it made in yourself and your horse. I mentioned that you should just notice your breathing patterns and feel your body and the horses. Paying attention to when there was tension or ease. Whether the breath flowed or was held, was deep, or shallow.

Now your practice will involve conscious, focused, regular breathing. I want you to use this when you are preparing to ride, working on the ground or in the saddle. From the start of your interaction with your horse, I want you to focus on regular rhythmic breathing. Normal breathing. I want you to listen to your own breath. Breath audibly so you and your horse can hear it. Also try to synchronize your breath with your horse. This is a very powerful connecting exercise. Don't worry if you lose track of the breath. Just come back to it and focus on it again.

I would love to hear your experiences in the comments area!

http://fdhorsetraining.com/

Check out these Yoga resources for more info!
   

Yoga and Horsemanship

What do sea turtles have to do with Yoga...
There breath is very important to them! They're pros at it!

Some of you may already know the benefits of Yoga and it's practice. You may not know however, about the benefits it can have to your riding.

Yoga is an ancient study that has many forms but there are some very basic moves that can be applied directly to riding and even be done mounted or on the ground prior to mounting.

The first principle of Yoga I want to bring attention to is the breath. It is important to pay attention to the breath at all times. This goes for everyday activity and Riding and even groundwork!

I am going to be offering some tips in the coming weeks on my blog about ways to integrate yoga into your riding practice. The first exercise I want to give you is simply to pay attention to your breath and notice things.  Notice when you are breathing normally, notice when you are breathing shallow, notice when you are holding your breath, notice how your whole body feels when you breath in. Do you notice any tense spots? Any stuck areas? Do you feel ease?

Just pay attention to all these things without judging them. It will begin to help you get into your body and in turn connect better to your horse and the things you do together. This is the first step. Then I'll add something else next time. Let me know what you find in the comments section.
Also be sure to check out our clinic in St Vincent on Waterhole Rituals, Riding and Yoga at http://stinaherberg.wordpress.com/clinics/ Hope to see you there!
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Upcoming Clinic on Waterhole Rituals, Yoga and more in St Vincent's!

I am soooo excited to be offering this Clinic with Stina Herberg! This is a wonderful opportunity to work in paradise with Stina's wild horses, and Stina and I. We will be covering Carolyn Resnick's Waterhole Rituals and how to apply them to riding. We will also be covering Yoga and it's application to riding for optimal connection when mounted. The dates as follows will be 4/4/11-4/9/11. Feel free to book a few extra days to explore this beautiful place and see all the other activities available at the Richmond Vale Hiking center. See link to her blog and the important details so you can plan ahead for this once in a life time clinic experience! Here is another beautiful video from Stina Herberg to give you a feel for what's in store. Here is the link to the more info. Contact Stina or I for additional questions. Do Not Miss This!
http://stinaherberg.wordpress.com/clinics/

We, Us, Together equals Partnership

"We" are napping together...



 I want to give you  an exercise that promotes a Partnership Mindset in you and your horse. It is quite simple. As consistent with most of my exercises, this one requires you only to change your thinking and approach to your regular work/play with your horse. 

The change is to mentally think "We" are going here or there. Or doing this obstacle or Lateral movement. Instead of "You" (the horse) are going to do this task. Or "I" (the rider) are making you do this task for me. Which often leads to this thought process "You" (the horse) are not doing as I asked and are being stubborn, uncooperative, or disrespectful. And now "We" are both frustrated, and anxious or both.

What this Thinking does is set intention for you and you horse and give you both the feeling of working as a team. We as humans, tend to have a more cooperative attitude when thinking of anyone or any animal as a team mate or a partner. We tend to "Ask" for cooperation rather then demand it. We also tend to be more patient with communication and expectations. The most important point for the horse and your horsemanship though is, you are mirroring a cooperative, co-creative attitude which your horse will feel and mirror back to you. Remember good leadership starts with "Being" what you want your horse to "Be" and then "Being Together"
FDT
http://fdhorsetraining.com/