Thanks for your big response. That should hold me for a while. Our weather is note worthy today. Hot and cool with thunderstorms. I will not be working horses much today.

Stina is in town and looking forward to our visit. She is now a certified clinician in my method.

Apollo is always becoming a more willing and loving dog. He loves to chase rabbits. As soon as he sees one, he is off and running and I can’t do anything about it. The other day when a rabbit ran by us I asked him to stay with me and he did. Right in the middle of his take off, he stopped! My complete focus has been on getting him to change with no luck at first. I could not lead him, let him free, or expect him to stay in place while training a horse, or keep him from jumping on people at our front door. Now he is doing everything I ask him to do.

The funny thing is that his obedience came out of his disobedience with no reprimand. I gave him no consequences but expressed to him in a big way what I wanted by getting … Read more

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Hi everyone!

I want you to know how much I look forward to your comments. It lets me know that my blog is being enjoyed and appreciated. If you have no comment to make, it would be nice if you could leave your full name and say something short like “checking in, thanks.”

For new people coming to my blog, my blog is a classroom. It is not meant to be a typical chat room. I am here to inspire, encourage, and support you in how to use my methods. Lately, I have noticed that the comments are changing a bit. Some comments are about what someone else might learn from your knowledge or expertise. However, I want to be the guide rather than the class calling on one another for guidance. There is much to be learned by staying in your personal journey without advising others. This is the atmosphere I want to continue to maintain.

Focusing on your personal journey as a practice in awareness has an extraordinary ability to grow your understanding and connection with horses. Recall when you were a child in kindergarten enjoying a learning opportunity. You were only aware of your journey, not whether … Read more

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I have another new horse sighting. It was with a student of mine. She had not ridden her horse for some time and rode him. She started him back with all the precautions one would take to bring a horse back, but did not share space with her horse or make a great personal love fest connection. She did not do that with this horse because she never needed to do the rituals with him before.

Well, he bucked really badly but showed no signs that he would object to her getting on him at the time. She was sure he was fine. During the bucking, he paused and she jumped off. As soon as she did, the bucking continued. As she stood there in shock, the horse stopped bucking and gradually walked back up to her. At that point, she thought that getting back on again would not be a good idea and decided to take things much slower. Over the next two weeks, she worked her horse by hand walking him, sharing territory, and lunging him. He was also tied up around the barn and horse trailer. Occasionally, she would saddle him up, but not ride him, and … Read more

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The weekend is over and I had a new horse sighting that I am so excited to share with you! We have a new horse here on the ranch that is difficult to bridle. He is a dressage horse and will do most anything to get out of having to put a bridle on. He hates the bridle – but still every time he winds up losing and performing against his better judgment and wishes.

So Sad. It reminds me of when I was five years old and taking lessons in dance. My mother drove me 20 miles each way to where the dance studio was. My teacher was an old man that always spoke mean to me and hit me with his cane if I did not dance exactly how I was to perform. The ride to the studio was always miserable, and I dreaded going to what I knew would be an awful experience. The funny thing was, no one could tell that I was unhappy about the experience because I looked happy out on the dance floor. The knots in my stomach did not match the joy that I appeared to be experiencing.

I know this horse … Read more

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I really enjoyed everyone’s response to the last blog. I wanted to share some things with you that are in the works.

Journal Contest
Please if you would re-submit your Journals for the Journal Contest. We have somehow lost the files. For those of you who would like to enter that have not entered the deadline is Oct.1 To qualify you need to have been a student of the Insider Circle or Box Programs. Your journal must be at least 75 pages. The winner will be announced on Nov 1. The winning journal will become the property of the Carolyn Resnick Method. I will try to get the winning journal published in the authors name. If I get it published there will be royalties to the author. Plus you will win a free spot in the 10 day Beyond the Waterhole Rituals clinic. I also want to see if I can get a second book published with expertise from the Journals that were entered. I have few entries at this time so you have a great chance in winning this contest!

Working Student
I am also looking for a working student starting now through the winter. I am wanting to … Read more

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I have several horses here at my ranch that I am working with on issues of behavior. Some that have been here a long time are now the salt of the earth, and others have just started their journey to be retrained or rehabilitated from improper and abusive approaches. Today I worked with an Arabian stallion that is three going on four. When he began with me, he was a horse that would bite, kick, strike, and rear. He would use these on you if asked to do simple things like leading or grooming or working around him closely at liberty. The fact of the matter is that this horse is really a very simple horse with no desire to be dominant even though he acted that way. At this point in his life, his hormones are not causing any issues. His nature is to do what he is told and to like people and other horses. So how did all of this happen and how did he become so out of control?

It was easy. Even though his owner/ handler/ trainer was gifted with horses, she did not lay a foundation with her stallion. Instead of building the foundations … Read more

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Horses and humans are both social by nature, the difference is that horses are looking for well being through sharing the moment in companionship more than humans these days. It is a true magnetic draw that horses have for certain people, but it appears that the human is not wanting to connect with the horse as much as they want the horse to perform some act that they think is desirable. Maybe the horse does not want to be ridden or competed on.

An example of dysfunctional expectations would be if someone expected to train a rock to jump over a fence. Rocks can be trained, and I happen to have an exceptionally well trained rock. My secret to well trained rocks is that I don’t ask them to do something that is out of their ability. A rock can’t jump – but if I play my cards right, it can become a great paperweight!

Some people are so performance oriented that they measure the depth of a horse’s love for them by how well their horse performs. Few people get a horse just to enjoy its friendship. Often the person will only bond to a horse that they can … Read more

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