1 year old today!!
Apr 9th, 2009 by Carolyn Resnick Method
Hello. Today is the first birthday of my very first blog post on April 9th 2008! It’s been quite a year here on the blog and I have really enjoyed all your comments and all the interaction and discussion that has developed. Keep it coming!
If you have any suggestions as to what you’d like to see or hear from me, then do let me know (by posting a comment!) and I will do my best to provide it.
I would also like to say thank you for all your kind words and support. It’s wonderful to know that my Method has touched so many of you and is making a difference in your life and that of your horses. I feel very blessed.
On Tuesday, we were talking about having natural leadership ability and the importance of this when working at liberty. Let me explain what I mean.
Someone called me and asked if they could get any benefit training their horse with my system from watching the DVDs alone even though they did not have previous horse experience. So I asked him some questions and from his answers I felt safe to say I thought that in his case, the DVD would be of some benefit although I could not be sure of that. It turned out that the DVDs were helpful and did the trick for him. He got all his stallions trained.
The questions I asked were:
- Do you have a well trained dog? (It turned out he had a dog and a cat)
- Does the dog behave in the house?
- Does the cat not claw the furniture?
- Does your wife love and respect you and do your children honor you and did they grow up independent and happy and able to fit into society and serve the community?
He answered “yes” to all these questions and that let me know he had the basic skills needed in life. He made the choices in leadership that create order, harmony and respect. He did not even think that my questions were strange and that was a tip to me that he knew what he needed to have to be able to make good leadership choices with horses. What I understood from his answers was that his assessments on how to lead and support were all in place.
From the following YouTube video of Robin Gates, I want to inspire people to see the benefit and take the long journey to become a student in learning my Method.
What you see her doing looks simple but takes years of practice. The practice of the Rituals is life-changing and brings a great spiritual understanding and personal empowerment from learning the art of connection and leadership. Picking up on what I said on Tuesday, it is very important to know what you know and know what you don’t know. This will keep you safe and help you make right choices to gain a magical connection you’re your horse.
What is important to understand is that if you cannot clearly understand the purpose of each Ritual and how you would use it to get a desired response from your horse it is better to take lessons and not try to carry on by yourself with them. If the Rituals do not work easily for you, stop and seek lessons with a qualified instructor like myself or Robin.
If you are interested in working with Robin because she is closer to you than I am or you would like her to come out to you, please email info@carolynresnick.com and let us know where you are and if you know of any others locally who might also be interested in taking part.
For example, Robin is currently arranging to do a clinic in Tennessee sometime over the next month or so, exact dates yet to be confirmed. This will be a 2 day clinic with an evening “Meet and Greet” prior. Robin will be working with a maximum of 5 horses and participants each day… but an unlimited number of people can audit and watch. If you would like to attend either as a participant or spectator, then in this instance please contact the host directly,
Cherie, coswald@scrippsnetworks.com
Thanks again for all your interest in my work and have a wonderful weekend.
Carolyn
No related posts.
[...] think many people are looking for a good connection with their horse, especially when training horses at Liberty. They want their horse to speak to them and come to them in the paddock and to like the training [...]
I was interested to read about working the horse on one side or the other. The difference between the two sides has to do with the architecture of the brain which has a right hemisphere and a left hemisphere and is connected in the middle by an area called the corpus callosum. The nerve connections from the body to the brain cross over as they enter the brain. If you are right handed, your left brain side is the dominant side. In humans the dominant side is the verbal, logical, reading side. The non-dominant side is the musical, mathematical, fluid, non-verbal, artistic side. It often is closer to the emotions and visual memories. In a human, the two sides have numerous connections between them so that a task a person learns and performs is generally remembered by both sides, and both sides are generally involved to some degree in most activities, despite the two sides’ specializations.
In horses and many other animals, the two sides of the brain are not that well connected. That is why if a horse spooks at an object it sees with one eye coming around the arena, when it comes around the arena again from the other side, it may spook again because the other eye/brain part sees the object as a more or less new object–though not completely. I have found that the non-dominant side seems to be the more emotional side of the brain for the horses I have had, and the most traumatized side, which is the most reactive, less well trained. For many horses, their dominant side, the logical, trained side is the left side because we humans have trained them from that side most. In Pony Club one is reminded to train the other “off” side to lead, to be mounted and dismounted, etc. because sometimes you have to in an emergency.
I thought the discussion was very interesting, and I am not quite how my information would affect Carolyn’s training method. It seems that Carolyn is saying that when the horse trusts you enough, he is willing to expose his wilder, less trained and more emotional side to one when he is ready.
The very high functioning autistic woman, Temple Grandlin, PhD has a beautiful book about animals called Animals in Translation. Autistic people have less of a connection between the two hemispheres than normal people and are therefore more in tune with what animals experience. Dr. Grandlin has turned her condition into a benefit; she believes she has a responsibility to interpret the animals’ experience to the rest of us for their benefit.
Hellen, I forgot Happy Easter to you too!!
Dear Carolyn,
.
It does make more sense now, thank you for your explanation
Dear Helen,
Shortly I will have an article I have written for Riding magazine a few years ago on the Uberstreichen exercises. Thank you for your letter and letting me know that I have been of sevice.
Carolyn
Dear Carlolyn,
I just want to join in in saying congratulations on the aniversary of your blog! They are certainly enriching and informative and (along with your wonderful book and DVDs) are changing my relaitonship with my horse – as enriching for me as for him, and we are having fun, too!
Again, I would like to hear about the Überstreichen exercises…
Happy Easter!
Helen
Dear Marja,
What I mean by locking in the “strong side” is that the horse is completly confirmed in working on the left or right depending on what side the horse is comfortable with. I never allow the horse to switch back and fourth. I keep him it working on one side and when I feel he or she is ready I ask for the new side.
I Does this make morse sence?
Thank you Carolyn, indeed this is of help! I love the way you are approaching this.
), could you please explain that in different words?
! Well, I just laugh about her cleverness. This horse teaches me so much, because when she doesn’t like something she is very, very clear about that and wants nothing to do with it, but when everything’s right, she is sooooo alive, motivated and enthusiastic and that makes her so beautiful and great to work with!
I don’t know exactly what you mean by getting the strong side ‘locked in’ (some lack of English knowledge on my side I’m afraid
When I work my Icelandic mare Saegola at liberty or with a long line around her neck (which serves only as a connection, always with slack) I always notice that she prefers having me on her right side and making turns to the right. I’m working on my body language and alertness to be able to get on her left side now and then. I think this is a nice challenge for me to get my body ‘dance’ right without any pressure or force on Saegola. Sometimes I succeed and then Saegola seems surprised to suddenly have me on her other side, but she takes it without any resistance then and starts making nice turns to the left as well. But when she can help it this doesn’t happen a lot, haha
Dear Marja,
It is always nice to hear how much my blog has supported people to their own success.
A very important point you bring up about working on one side only. I teach a different approach on this subject of balancing a horse up on both sides then most people do.
The focus on schooling with my method is to build through an enthusiastic connection and build what a horse would volunteer.
Both the canter and trot work you see that Robin and Fresco are doing together is in the begining stages of their relationshp. Fresco is now working on both sides.
What I have found for myself is that horses balance up on their own, when you get the strong side locked in and then when you suggest the new side to work on (the new side, that could be weak) the horse does not need the amount of time it took to get the strong side seasoned. The weak side is in place and willing without resistance or need to focus on drilling.
I learned years ago training horses if I allow the horse to lead the way and when he is ready to work both side he will volunteer it. When I feel a horse is ready to work both sides then I ask for it. After the horse is working with both sides it then becomes my job to work the horse the same amount of time on both sides. I find that the weak side become strong on its own without extra managment.
This has been most valuable to my success in why my horses work evenly on both sides. Fresco gets to choose and from there we build. It is important to focus on building his ability to offer it up his way for the purpose to build his joyful expression and enthusiam for his performance as he offers it. This interum time of working on one side usually would be no longer then a couple of weeks…it just depends on the horse and your level of ability.
I hope this is helpful!
Happy Birthday
We celebrate this day with you.
“Dear Marja,
Why do you ask?”
Hi Carolyn, this question came up because beside the love and harmony I felt from the video, it also gave me a feeling of imbalance because of the ‘onesidedness’ of the dance between Robin and her horse. I just wondered if there was a special reason for that. I always try to give attention to both sides, to keep awake both my horse’s brain and body as well as my own. Most horses and people have a less developed side and it makes me and my horse more alert and awake, more ‘alive’ and (last but not least!) more straight, when I give attention to both sides. Can you tell me your view on this?
Of course, I too want to congratulate you on the first anniversary of your very succesful blog
! I’ve learned so much from it and still do, and it turned around my whole view on the human-horse connection. I’m not able (and, more important, wouldn’t WANT) to go back to how I did things with my horses previously. So thank you, thank you, thank you for your valuable lessons…
Hello Carolyn,
Happy Blogday! I have only started reading your blog and following the exchanges. I must say, I am so impresed with how your method works. I have been practicing ‘natural horsemanship’ techniques for many years and I have learned immensely. I guess I found you at the right time, with “The Path of the Horse” and my need for ‘something else’. I just marvel at how my older horses catch on so quickly, but how reactive my younger horse has been. I feel he is telling me that the ‘loud’ communication aids my older horses tolerate, are much too much for him. I find this very interesting. My older horses are very soft, not always light, but sensitive. I want it all – soft, light, and connected. I can’t wait for my copy of Panadero’s Journey as I begin my starting journey with my younger horse. I must say, I just started using my reeds again and I am surprised at how effective they are. Again, a whisper instead of a loud noise; it is sinking in. I thank you every day I play with my horses and then again, every time I get my notice of a new blog.
Lyse, Luna and Orreo
Hi Mary,
I belive I agree with everyting you mentioned. I do not know the story of the man and his horses. I only know the result. As I understood he bought 4 horses and they all turned out well. His wife told me that he was very gifted.
Some people can work out a relationship with any animal naturally. I am like that. I hope after a few years from my teaching that more people will aquire this ability of how to connect stay safe and build a trusting partnership with animals.
Dear Marja,
Why do you ask?
Dear Jack,
They work for anyone that knows how to work with the method.
If you train a hose with them and I went up to your horse and began asking for whatever the horse would respond in the same way for me as it did for you. but ofcourse a person must know how to lead a horse with out tack and how to send a horse and to call them back.
Dear Marry,
I am not sure why your horse is licking you or backing up into you.
The licking could be from feeding treats.
I would most likely know if I could see her behavior in person but would not have a a clue without being present to the behavior.
Horses are much more complicated than to say that there is one reason why a horse does something.
I think what you want to knowis is it safe to let her continue?
My feeling is that her behavior is not aggresive and is friiendly interplay as you have describet it, but that being said I must advise you on the dangers.
I would advise you never let a horse do anything that you don’t completly understand.
A rule of thumb that could help you to stay safe is never allow a behavior that isn’t your idea as you are buliding your horsemanship skills and learning how to read a horse. This is the safest approach you can take. Too much allowance can cause aggresivness in a horse from a lose of respect from not enough supervision and direction.
How to stop the behavior is to give your horse something to do and ask you horse to be far enough away for you untill the licking stops. You can tape her on her nose as a communication aid and not a repromand and say to her “no, don’t lick” and then ask her to back up and stand still.
My horses lick me but I only allow it with the horses that I have a ture working bond from using the Rituals and that I know will always take my dirction and that I would clearly understand the reason why they are licking me.
I never allow my horses to turn their behind to me unless I ask them to. It is just a smart thing to do.
In all interactions with my horses I am incharge of the hanging out interactions as well. The behaviors I allow I completly undestand and I dole them out as rewards for good behavior. A great rule you might like to use is if you do not udersand the behavior do not allow it.
Hope this is of help,
Carolyn
Congratulations Carolyn. I cant believe that you have only been online in the group for a year, I thought it was much longer. I cannot express how much being able to read these posts and comments helps me with your methods. I wish that there was an instructor in Australia to go and see so that I could have clarification on a few details. The last post and comments about keeping safe and having leadership while at liberty was very important for me and it gave me the sort of permission I needed to ask and direct with a little more energy than what I was before, because I had been letting the bond grow to a point where I wasnt quite sure if I could be alittle more assertive in asking when they said no or ignored me, we have the bond we are getting the connection and now I feel I can ask for and expect a little more more respect and giving. I am very gentle and slow so there is no rush and I have taken a lot of time with the first two rituals now I feel we can move up a little and this topic of staying aware and safe was very timely for the next step for us.
As always everyones comments were very usefull to me so thankyou all, and especially you Carolyn.
I just wanted to share that I have been starting my filly who I delivered with the rituals and she thinks they are so much fun! I reported in the past that she was quiet dominant right from the womb. I said she was born a chestnut mare! I have since bonded with her and she loves the rituals and particulary “go trot” and stick to me. I feel that when it is time to do “technical” training, she will be very easy. For now we enjoy our liberty games immensely and sometimes just laying and resting in the sun together.
Thanks
Congrats on 1 year! Glad you’re here. Looking forward to what’s in store for year two…
re: licking. I found arabs in particular love to have their teeth rubbed and will often be found sharing this activity together. When my gld. and I first got together, he was very worried what his new home was going to be like. At 12yrs. he had seen more than one. I would have to stand on a small stepstool to reach his teeth, as his head would be straight up. Over a few months I could stand on the ground with his head at shoulder height. After about a year and half he stopped needing this interaction. He also chewed his cheek whenever he felt pressure. Most of that I joked with him about and brought that down to a once in awhile thing. Licking is touted as a horse showing relaxation. I’ve found the release of air to be the sign. A deep sigh is usually the best, though a soft snort is good too. For my gld. licking and chewing is his way of telling me he “understands” something. Licking people is usually reserved for children or nervous people, seemingly as a reassurance he means them no harm. Yes, he knows he is bigger and stronger. I’m sure he figured that out many yrs. ago. I always find myself asking these people, “why would he want to hurt you?” He has no reason to be angry at humans. And remember they live in the moment. If I am fair with him now, in this moment, in every moment, he will never be angry, afraid or worried. All that leaves then is trust, friendship and fun. Well, that’s off my chest. Thanks once again for your site. It is, if nothing else, one of the most intelligent sites I’ve come across. P.S. One of my favorite quotes for your consideration: “Anyone can become angry-that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way-that is not easy. Aristotle
Laurie —
stereotypic / excessive licking can be related to stress. Often, though, stress-related licking is seen through the animal licking objects, wall, etc. I’m not sure whether or not licking a human can be stressed related.
However, there are plenty of other causes for licking. I have one mare I’ve been working with for about a month who just started licking my arms. It’s just gotten warm enough here for me to be a bit sweaty outside, and I think she might have been interested in the salts on my arms from the sweat.
If the horse started licking you at some point, and found the behavior comforting and reinforcing (for whatever reason) it could easily develop into a habit over time, even if later the reinforcer was no longer present.
If she doesn’t seem angry, upset, frustrated, aggressive, etc. and the licking doesn’t bother you, there’s probably no harm to it.
cheers,
Mary H.
http://stalecheerios.com/blog — a serial for positive animal training
Can your method be used to train horses for other people, or do the horses just respect and bond to the one person doing the rituals with them?
What a wonderful and inspiring video! Congratulations on your first blog birthday. I am so glad that I stumbled across this blog in February.
Máire
It’s great to see the harmony between Robin and her horse while enjoying themselves together!
However there is also something that attracts my attention: in both sessions that were recorded for this video Robin is only working on the left side of the horse and also only making circles to the left. Is there a special reason for that?
Hi,
Would someone be kind enough to be able to tell me (as in my previous post) what my being used as a lollipop might mean (licking) and why my mare positioned herself as if to sit in my lap? She didn’t show any agression at any time.
I would really appreciate your help as wouldn’t want to unwittlingly put myself in danger when sharing space.
Well, happy birthday blog! Thank you, Carolyn, for providing a space for horse people to learn about and ask you questions about your methods and philosophy. I wish more horse trainers and professionals would take advantage of the web to share their knowledge and experience.
You said:
“Someone called me and asked if they could get any benefit training their horse with my system from watching the DVDs alone even though they did not have previous horse experience….It turned out that the DVDs were helpful and did the trick for him. He got all his stallions trained.”
I’m just curious, what was he doing with multiple stallions if he did not have previous horse experience?
I think leadership and horsemanship skills are both something people natural have and something that can be got or learned through experience and wise teachers. Of course, some of my best teachers have been wise, experienced, well-trained horses.
What is you opinion of people with little horse experience working with the groups of horses (stallions, young horses, completely green horses, etc.) that the majority of trainers say should be reserved for advanced/experienced students? I find these types of horses tend to be less predictable and also less forgiving of mistakes, which can lead to frustration for people who are not experienced at reading a horse.
(In an ideal world) what type of horse would you recommend for someone starting your methods who had little horse experience? Of course, we know the world is less than ideal and people often end up with horses that are too much horse for them. Sounds like this guy did great using your methods and probably had quite a bit of natural ability and leadership skills as well.
cheers,
Mary H.
http://stalecheerios.com/blog — a serial for positive animal training.