Carolyn Resnick Horsemanship: Liberty Horse Training

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

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Today was Day One of the Beyond the Waterhole Rituals Clinic.

For the next 8 days we will be developing more horsemanship skills to bring out the dance we would like to share with our horses.  I developed my school of learning because I saw that there was a learning opportunity not being offered to the equine world. Some things were not being taught like timing, leadership responsibility, understanding the nature of horses, noticing the individual personalities and working with the situation that exists in the present moment without forcing an unwilling horse to accept leadership.

Finding Empowerment Through Your Body Language

A person needs to develop a sure footedness in their direction and connection with horses. The way I go about this is by beginning with exercises working on assertiveness and sensitivity. Then we practice being supportive and finally move on to developing directive skills. From these exercises the student learns how to be flexible and gain more willingness from their horse. Through the practice of the Waterhole Rituals, the student develops a consistent ability to stay focused on the horse by keeping the connection alive and the horse motivated to keep… Read more

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To all of my readers my Thanksgiving is more enjoyable because of you. I wish each and everyone of us the greatest Thanksgiving ever!! I am having my Thanksgiving with my mother, Apollo and many close friends at Windy Stopnitzky’s ranch. Some of you may remember that Windy is my friend that owns the Pre horse Sonador who is going to be teaching us during the “Beyond the Waterhole Rituals” clinic on December 1-8, 2011. Here are a couple beautiful photos of Sonador taken by Alethia Saladino of Mystic Horse Photography. We have one space open created from a late cancellation. If you want to attend this clinic and you have worked with me online or in person, email me.

Herd Bound Horses

Here is a game to help your horse give up being herd bound. When working with horses at liberty, herd boundness needs to be removed from your horse to help him focus on you and allow the bond to grow. This game is a fun way to train the unwanted behavior out of your horse. A herd bound horse is hard to deal with if you force a horse to separate from horses he does… Read more

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Leadership with horses is so easy.

They are herd animals. It is natural for horses to lead and to follow. But when we begin to train they can seem to be resistant to the whole idea of us taking a leadership role with them. Often this response is because the person training the horse is resistant to having to take on the role as leader. What I hope to do in this blog is to influence the reader to see that training and shaping behavior through leadership at liberty is an enjoyable endeavor.

Hillside Arena – Maestro

Making a Good Relationship Great.

When a horse shows resistance to our leadership it is usually caused from not pushing hard enough, pushing too hard, or we are offering a program that is not appropriate for the horse in the moment. Since good relationships are developed though trial and error this back and forth is desirable because it exposes the true path we need to take with our horse to gain unity and harmony through leadership.

We have 1 spot available in the December Beyond The Waterhole Rituals clinic!

Please email web@carolynresnick.com if you would like to join us!… Read more

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It is amazing to me how approaching a daily connection with my horses can make such a difference.

The daily connection can make the behavior of the horse be either balanced for a good ride or a ride that would be full of resistance. To get on the good side of a horse, I put my attention on letting go of my agenda and watch for when the horse and I feel a mutual connection. If you can not tell if there is a mutual connection, chances are you need to wait longer with your horse before you put on the halter. This point is so important to learn how to connect with a horse, it is worth taking some practice time to work on it. I would suggest to you that if it took days of doing nothing with a horse but waiting for a feeling of connection it would change your whole experience with horses to magical proportions.

Leadership and Timing the “Ask”

I never ask a horse to follow my lead unless I know I have a connection with him. When I ask, I do not tell, meaning that I am very prepared… Read more

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Creating a relationship with a horse by waiting for a horse to start the relationship makes a horse easy to train because you have his full attention.

Working a horse at liberty with my method, the horse has an ability to avoid you if he chooses. This causes a person to stop chasing or pushing a horse when a horse is resistant. Not being able to control a horse’s resistance with tack puts the emphasis on developing a bond with the horse first. Having to develop a bond in a free environment develops empathy. You can´t help but become the student of your horse when the horse is free to leave you when he chooses. The focus becomes creating a communication that would draw a horse to you. Training a horse in this manner, the approach must be done differently than with tack. It becomes a co-created process were development of leadership, morality and communication are enhanced. From the horses ability to accept or decline your leadership and from your ability to allow or not allow a horse to be in your present and when you would choose to share food with him you can train a horse naturally.

… Read more

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Welcome To My Blog -To Get You Started!

The purpose of my blog is to make a connection with you. I can connect with people all over the world, thanks to the computer, and we can explore and correspond with one another on the experiences we’re having with our horses in our life!
I also use the blog as a way, to educate, to raise consciousness, and to use philosophical viewpoints that will lead to a better relationship with horses; for training, partnering, and performance.

The blog is also here to help support interested people and my students who are learning my method through the educational material I offer and direct coaching. Feel free to ask questions on horse behavior, pecking order, leadership, self-realization, meditation, and the training and performance of horses. I may answer your question, or I may choose it for a blog topic for a later date. Of course, I can’t answer everyone’s questions, but I will read all your comments and I will respond to several questions on each blog.

I look forward to dialoging on the subject of what creates a better connection with a horse. Enjoy!

I will give you a lesson from… Read more

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