Carolyn Resnick Horsemanship: Liberty Horse Training

This week’s post is from guest blogger Kai Mattern.

From riding waves to riding horses

Sports like white water kayaking, surfing and windsurfing took up the bulk of my life, sports that teach you to work together with nature rather than against it and the occasional encounters I had with horses and their riders didn’t match the pictures I had in my mind.

My background with horses

One day I went for a ride on a dude string which is another funny story I might tell in another occasion, either way it led to me taking riding lessons and some months later to my decision to get my own horse. I bought Oli when he was around 9, he was an extreme horse, a thoroughbred off the track with plenty of go but no whoa. Researching horse training on the internet, I found lots of information on natural horsemanship and for sure this was the path I wanted to be on. One method I tried, was round… Read more

Tags: Beyond the Waterhole Rituals, Europe, horse training clinic, horsemanship, Kai Mattern, leading a horse, Leading a Stallion, liberty training, setting boundaries with stallions, studying with Carolyn Resnick, training horses, Waterhole Rituals

Continued From Last Week: “After Liberty Training – The Importance of Leading Your Horse” After all your comments of anticipation for this lesson, I surely hope I do not let you down! These simple exercises that follow will teach you how to hold Ora’s horse. You can use them any time you are leading your horse.

Reminder of the upcoming clinic in March:

Developing Your Approach to Connection: In a Nutshell

Taking this approach will help your horse to follow your lead. Become the change you want in your horse and accept what you get back from your horse. Do not beat yourself up when you do not receive what you think you should get back, either.

Imagine your approach and the connection you are wanting to gain before you do this exercise. Before you begin, take a few moments or an afternoon to become relaxed and grounded. Feeling calmness will help your horse become centered when he feels scattered. Not being scattered yourself draws a horse to your leadership. Develop a habit of projecting calmness when your horse feels scattered. As you are practicing this exercise, take your horse to places… Read more

Tags: after liberty training, connection, horse training without force, how to lead, leading a horse, lesson, liberty training, light aids, when to use tack, why horses shy

Here we are starting out on a new year. I am so looking forward to our next online course. If you have any questions regarding the course, let me know, so I can answer them for you and get you started on a great journey. I design the Waterhole Rituals Online course around you and your particular horse as you learn how to use my method. It is a journey that will take you to a deep cross-species bond from training your horse through The Waterhole Rituals. The Waterhole Rituals is a journey that will benefit all, horses and humans. You will be addressing your horse in the same manner you would, if you were to meet your horse on a desert island and a relationship took place there, that lasted you a life time. To learn more about the Spring 2012 program view this page: Waterhole Rituals Online Course – Insider Circle and Extended Circle Seats are available.

In other exciting news, we have added a new Beyond the Waterhole Ritual Clinic for Spring 2012. For more information please view the Beyond The Waterhole Rituals Clinic page. Remember this is… Read more

Tags: Beyond, Beyond the Waterhole Rituals, horse training, horse training blog, horse training tips, leading your horse, liberty training, Liberty Training Workshops, Waterhole Rituals Program

Happy New Year to you and to all the connections we share! I want to thank you for being in my life. I wish everyone around the world abundance, deeper connections, health and happiness that multiplies around the world like the abundance of nature in spring.

New Year Wishes

My wish for the new year is for an apprentice or two who have a solid background in training horses that would stay for a long time to learn all aspects my method (Waterhole Rituals, Uberstreichen Exercises, Single Lining, dressage training and bridle-less riding) who could represent my method as I would like it to be. In exchange, I would like you to help me with educational material, office work, emails and bookings or your own unique skills (video, marketing, ???…). Thank you for all the greetings you left me on my blog. There is been no one in the office during the holidays but me. I was not able to respond to your comments because something in the system that was blocking my response. However I do want you to know, I read them all and I’m back to being able to write.

Expectations and Performance Horses

Expecting performance is… Read more

Tags: bridle-less riding, dressage training, horse training, performance horses, Single Lining, Uberstreichen exercises, Waterhole Rituals, working students

Learning more about the magic of the co-creative process

Horses are flexible in their attitude and emotions from willing to unwilling, from trusting to fearful, from relaxed to hyper. Basically a horse’s nature is dynamic, cautious and willing. That makes sense, we are a lot like that ourselves. Horses have two changeable behaviors, fluctuating from trusting to not trusting, from social to antisocial… a bit like we are in our own society. They also seek friendship and live in communities and family groups…again a bit like us. When they feel secure and have enough space, food and water, they life in unity and harmony with one another.

Horses are very social, caring, outwardly affectionate and seek unity and harmony with one another most of the time.  Once we have formed a deep bond with a horse it will be deeper than the one we can share with our own species. When we share a cross-species bond, the horse shows us how deep our feeling for friendship can be. If we choose to look for this connection with all things our well-being and appreciations for life is enhanced. Then, when we can extend this connection to the people in our life,… Read more

Tags: co-creative leadership, communicating with horses, cross-species bond, freedom, liberty training, trust, valuable life lesson, well-being, well-being and horses

When working with the nature of horses you do not need to “get it done” to advance your horse’s training. Evolution will do it for you. Nature is always working for us if we can be in tune with it.

Removing the Focus on Force

The celebrated method of horse training in this country is based on making the thing you want the horse to do easy and the thing you do not want him to do hard. This method does not taking advantage of the evolution of a symbiotic bond and connection between horses and humans in the training of the horse.

In this method, a horse cannot get out of the “bind” the trainer creates until the desired result is obtained. This approach does not take the time to shape the horse’s behavior to have a desire to do something, that at first, he would not what to do. If the horse is allowed to stop his lesson and guide his human partner towards a fair and equitable relationship, the horse is shown more respect and this is the way we would all want to be treated.

To persist and force that a horse must do what he… Read more

Tags: Dance with Horses, force free, freedom horse training, liberty training, magnetic connection, relationships, social nature of horses, timing and focus, training horses, Waterhole Rituals, working student

It is one week since my dear students completed the Beyond the Waterhole Ritual Clinic here at the Dances with Horses ranch in California. As I think back to the events of the week I am reminded that the learning continues well beyond the clinic dates. I am delighted to share your journey of connecting with your horses, yourself and the present moment.

Health and Horses

The energy the class brought made my teaching job a joy. Thank you for your interest to dig in deeper with my method and your unique skills you shared with me. What was challenging for me was that I had a cold that really slowed me down. I ran a temperature throughout the whole clinic. The good new is I was very happy with the over all material that we covered. I was very impressed with the skills of this group of students. What I noticed is that everyone had a wonderful connection with horses that was enhanced from my teachings and influence from the online classes. I was also pleased how people who had little horsemanship practice were as capable as the professionals were.

I was also… Read more

Tags: being present, Beyond the Waterhole Rituals Clinic, dancing with horses, learning with horses, magnetic connection, Nia and Horses, present moment, training horses