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 pen training and Oli was brilliant or at least what I back then thought was brilliant, he could do any amount of laps in a canter, unfortunately … Read more

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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 he can feel a … Read more

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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 an advanced clinic and registration is limited … Read more

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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

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