Thank you for the post. It has helped to clarify things that I was feeling. I am coming to realise that you need still need horsemanship skills to keep yourself safe on the ground, and in the saddle, even if you have a good bond with your horse. Also that it is important to ask for help if you are not sure. After all it isn’t necessary to keep inventing the wheel!

I am very sorry to have missed your WRIC call on Sunday evening. I had the wrong time! I will pay more attention to the time of our final call and look forward to speaking to you then.

Anyway, I am a trail and long distance rider, but have been somewhat of a dressage-a-phobe all these years. This stallion, however, was born to do dressage– he looks like an arab-andalusian cross — so I am learning along with him.

What I want to say is that the ground work and relationship truly does support the dressage… I always want to work from that place of relationship, through all the challenges that arise. Even before I take ChoCho on the trailer, I ask him to trot up to the gate where I am holding the halter out to him. If he has no enthusiasm… then I know that I have to structure the day differently. Right now, every Saturday morning, he is happy to trot up and out, and happy to jump in the trailer to go for ou lesson! I think he even knows when its Friday night– and I say “want to go to lesson tomorrow?”… and he puts his head in a way like saying “yes… here is my dressage manner- how do I look?” … and we have a laugh together.

thanks for your posts. they are very supportive!

Bonnie

Thank you for sharing. What part of the country are you from?

I wish that everyone on this blog and around the world that rides as weekend trail riders or anyone for that matter who rides would learn to do what you did with this horse before you began your ride. It is a blueprint for anyone that has learned the Waterhole Rituals as the way to approach a horse they know or don’t know before getting on. This is close to the blue print that I use. It should be standard practice that all horses are approached in this manner. It takes such little time and gives the horse the ability to enjoy the ride as much as the owner. More and more people have lost team working skills. When we lose these skills we also lose how to care for others feelingd, how to love others and we think that when things do not go our way it is someone else’s fault.

Remember if your horse is resistant he is unhappy or he hurts and it is not fair to the horse to force him to comply to a self serving need. Alot of the problems horses are showing and their vices have been caused by the rider not approaching the horse with proper horsemanship skills. The horse doesn’t need to be trained not to kick in most cases but rather the person needs to develop more tact in their behavior and leadership approach and timing of their requests to create a connection in team work.

Once you learn how to connect with a horse before you do anything with him and you have learnt how to use the Waterhole Rituals you can have the horse of your dreams. Your approach and using your blueprint is half the answer but knowing how to adjust the attitude of a horse is another part of the puzzle of owning a horse and this can be accomplished through the practice of the Waterhole Rituals.

So far, I am very pleased how well he is fitting in at his new home and the different ways I am handling him. As hard as it is, I am teaching him to let me pick out his feet while he is untied and if it does not work, I just take my time and let him direct what he is comfortable with. Observers say that I am just letting him have his way, and I guess they are right. They are shaking their heads and saying that I am spoiling him already and he will never do what I tell him to do. Hmmmm…
So far, I can hardly believe it, but if I just calm him and do what he will freely let me do, the next time or maybe 2-3 times after that, he lets me do whatever he was not sure about before. It is not working out that he is getting more dominant, but that he is getting more trusting.

We go for walks in the woods and the only rule I insist he follow is that he not bolt in front of me. I just jump in front of him and act BIG and just stand for a 10-15 seconds and then invite him to come along with me again.

He is getting less claustrophic in tight situations if I let him run through and then stop him when it is safe and then continue on. Every day he is getting less and less reactive and instead of things escalating, he is getting calmer.

Anyway, my point is that I will not be riding him for a long time, but I wonder how much playing with him at liberty I can do (in a fenced arena) and how inventive we can be. I want to do things that educate me about his personality and also be a good leader he can trust. I spend lots of time sitting with him sharing territory and brushing him and sometimes just leading from behind and playing where I run with him in the field. He is by no means following me at liberty, just getting to know me. He always comes up to me to say hello and will leave if I ask him to do so. Even after we dodge and play in the field, I can easily go up to him with an outstretched hand and way “good boy, how are you?” OK see you later, and then I leave. He is definitely not afraid of me and does not feel that I am chasing him.

Thank you Thank you Carolyn. Keep those blogs coming. I so look forward to what I can learn and incorporate into my new relationship with Pazo.