Personal Waterhole Ritual Journeys
Aug 27th, 2009 by Carolyn Resnick Method
I would like to invite everyone to send me a YouTube, if it would please you to do so, on the personal connection that you have developed and are enjoying with your horse using the Waterhole Rituals. This is an invitation to blog readers as well as the students in the Inner Circle Program. Just paste the link in the comments section below.
For the Inner Circle students: put together a YouTube that shows how far along you are in the Rituals. This information will help me to support you further. I am sure your YouTubes would also be helpful to people who are just starting out with my Method.
I want to give more information on the Eye Contact Ritual. This Ritual is to develop your horse’s habit in keeping and eye on you. Some people cannot tell if their horse is looking at them. It is easier to tell with some horses than others. The easy ones will get interested in looking somewhere beyond or left or right of where you are standing and will turn their heads to look. Try this exercise to see if your horse is really keeping an eye on you:
Allow your horse to eat awhile as you are standing at its head. You should be about 8 to 10 feet from your horse’s head standing in front of your horse. After your horse is comfortable eating, it should take just a few minutes for your horse to feel relaxed but do take all the time necessary to allow for comfort and a feeling of companionship to occur. Then, you can start your interaction using the Eye Contact Ritual by stepping sideways around to the back of the horse. Use body language with miming gestures in rhythm of your step to get your horses attention. Make a small clucking sound and wait for a response when your horse ignores you take another step and repeat. Make sure your circle gets larger as you are working to the back end of your horse because you want to be far enough away that your horse can not kick you as well as to have enough room that you can impress your horse with advancing movements to drive him off his food for not looking. When you get to the back end of your horse about three quarters around, if your horse has not responded, then move your horse off his food like in the game of Reciprocal Movements.
This simulates the ritual the lead mare and dominant horses play with in a field when they are grazing. This ritual is what creates a cohesive connection throughout the herd to keep them safe from predators and builds their team working skills. From this game the horse acquires a habit and an understanding of the importance of always acknowledging a horse that is asking to be acknowledged. I use this Ritual so that at any time I want my horse’s attention all I need to do is cluck or start to move out of view of my horse. It causes the horse to turn in my direction and stay focused on where I am. When you step around your horse as soon as your horse looks directly at you, move back to being in front or your horse and give it a break by letting him enjoy his food and sharing space with him.
As you advance with the Ritual, you will want more from your horse than just a look. For example, you will want a look and a move of his hindquarters away from you.
This Ritual mimics the ritual of a lead horse, usually a lead mare, at grazing time. A lead mare will walk though the herd and expect any horse that she nears to acknowledge her presence. What she wants to receive from the other horse is a look or a shift in its hindquarters as a way to show respect or a willingness to be moved. If the horse is not willing to move when she passes by them, she will drive the horse off the spot where they are standing or grazing. If the horse does not acknowledge her well enough to her satisfaction, she will also drive the horse away from her and then move on in search of another horse that is not paying attention.
This is the lead mare’s job, to keep the herd connected. She does this by continuing this pasture ritual to every horse in the herd. When a horse cannot be caught off guard, they have a greater sense of self worth and a greater ability to understand your intent because their attention to you has increased. When you do this ritual with your horse, you are becoming the leader and you are increasing your horse’s stature in the herd.
More news next week on my new DVD Waterhole Reflections but in the meantime, here is a trailer for it. Enjoy the video and enjoy your weekend.
Carolyn
No related posts.
Thank you Stina!
I am looking for clarity, for me, for my horses….and life in general!
Carolyn, are you still running another insiders circle soon? I couldn’t do the last one as i had too much college work. I researved a place but wasn’t sure if it was still running? Charlie’s been standing under the tree waiting for me! :0)
Stina,
So lovely. Thank you with all my heart. How I wish all horses could be treated like this. Please keep sharing the gift of your videos.
Leslie Wolf
Becky, thanks for your comment.
I looked for this connection all my life, through the waterhole rituals and carolyns patience, inspiration, dedication, clarity, wisdom and love we have been able to achieve it.
I think you have a gift too, I would if i were you get a hold of all the materials carolyn makes, read here on the blog and join some of carolyns online or at her ranch courses.
We have been coached online for about a year and a half now.
Good luck!
Stina i am moved to tears every time i see a new round. Right in the very beginning you had a gift, unleashed by Carolyn’s rituals. On this now round 20, i see how your energy and body language has grown. You are so close to the earth – like the horses naturally are – and you seem to only ever use as much energy as you need to communicate. It is seriously profound and the envoironment becomes an extension of you and the horses and the language you have between you. Beautiful. So very inspiring and i think you must have been born a horse!
The horse feels what you feel, always.
Here is finally a tool that can help you prepare mentally for working with your horse. The music is relaxing and the scenery extremely beautiful!
Unity and harmony is what many are looking for in their relationship with horses and the mental preparation is very important for you in order to achieve an improved connection with your horse.
I have seen many trainers, seen many films on horse training and read many books, but never seen anything like this. The “Waterhole reflections video” is a totally new way of looking at how to help people train horses.
It is in fact not comparable to any horse instruction literature I ever came over.
This video will help you to get the right mindset for working with your horse.
It is like when I read first Naked Liberty, this book it is exactly –not- an instruction book, it is an wonderful story, beautiful written that inspires deeply to a completely new level of understanding horses.
I think Carolyn is paving the way into the future of how people view and understand their horses and perhaps also themselves.
Thank you very much!
Stina, I just want to thank you again. I watched it three times after midnight and could hardly get to sleep.
Because I’ve had a terrible time getting the Waterhole Rituals DVD here in Mexico, I’ve been just patching things along with Carolyn’s videos, the calls, and so forth. This presentation did so much to clarify things! Beautiful body language!
Wow, Stina! Breathless! Beyond words, beautiful.
Just sent the link to everyone I know who loves horses.
You did us proud!
the link to the Unbridled Spirit Video Clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r15L1W80SzU
We are progressing step by step and are improving on our connection. I enjoy very very much.
Here is a link to our latest youtube on where we are
What a cute little nuthatch. They are among my favorite little birds. Its a nature thing.
Dear Carrie,
The Inner Circle Program is the way to go to start you out.
Tip work with your horse were she is comfortable and build on that. I learn all I know from not knowing exactly how to get the result I was looking for. I followed so instructuion from my DAD who said “Carolyn find out what your horse wants to do and join it there.” Example sit with your horse where it like to eat dinner and say there till it has finished eathing. You will learn alot. Do this for a long time. What will happen is the the evolution of connection with grow and as it grows you build your ability to lead like magic. Make sure you are working with a horse you can trust and likes you in general. What you are gaining form me is to learn how to work with my method rather than to fix a problem you are having with your horse. Fall in love with the relationship as it is. find out were your horse is comfortable and get to know it in those moments like a child. My program is for long journey experiance in unity and harmony. what will happen is all of a sudden you will find that you can do things you never thourht possible but you will feel that you are traveling at snail’s pase which can be refreshing.
Good luck
Carolyn – You advised me to seperate my mare from the gelding in order to work the first few rituals. When I tried doing this she went crazy and started bucking and running to fence where he was and ignored all the food piles I had laid out for her. I want to work with her on the bonding alone. Can you give me some suggestions?
I look forward to trying this out….
Your trailer for the new dvd brings a feeling of peace to me.
Thank You
I found that very relaxing…….
Hope I can afford it, when is it out? What about for the UK?
VERY NICE!
Will try. Hard to set it up and keep everything in frame, by myself. I still have not been able to teach Hawk to hold the camera, not eat it, but he”s close! Thanks for getting very detailed in you description. Your video is very helpful, too. Deb