Posted in Advice, Misc on Jan 27th, 2011
How to Break a Method Down to Work Better for You
How to go about breaking a method down to make it easier for the horse is by taking the part that the horse finds difficult to do in the exercise, and making up a new exercise that only addresses the hard part. The two videos below show Alessandra Deerinck one of my Certified Trainers working with her horse Rosalie on doing the “Loopty~Loo” without a halter. When Alessandra asked Rosalie to go forward in front of her with a halter, all she needed to do was to pull on the halter to guide her horse forward. Since she does not have a halter on Rosalie in these videos, the horse must go forward from her voice only. In order to create a smoother “Loopty~Loo” the support of a halter is needed to better guide her.
So what we did in this case to get Rosalie to work without a halter was to create a new exercise and isolate the response to going forward without having to do the “Loopty~Loo” part- making it much easier for Rosalie to process. Thank You Alessandra and Rosalie… Read more
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Posted in Misc on Sep 9th, 2010
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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Posted in Misc on Aug 24th, 2010
Carey Sweet rescued “Pony” from the race track. He was to be euthanized. She had rescued other track horses before and welcomed him into her life. In spite of her best efforts, his head shyness and jumpy reactions to movements or being touched escalated over the 7 years she owned him. She left a breakaway halter on because she couldn’t take it off without him exploding. Even unclipping the lead rope would throw him into a panic. Whenever he was loose he was nearly impossible to catch unless he was ready to come in for dinner. The situation became increasingly worse, as she didn’t have enough information about how to help him past his fears. After he panicked and crushed her mother into the wall of the stall, breaking her leg, Carey felt desperate. A respected source referred her to Robin Gates who’s work is based on my Method.
After 2 hours of trying to connect with him, Robin advised Carey to have an experienced body worker visit Pony because of the injuries he had inflicted on himself in his outbursts and then bring him to her ranch.
The first days at the ranch were spent simply being with him… Read more
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Posted in Misc on Aug 17th, 2010
Today I am going to share another question from an Insider Circle student about some typical expressions horses have and how the Waterhole Rituals can help you understand them and work with them.
While participating in a clinic at Return To Freedom with Neda De Mayo (2007, I believe) I was introduced to your way of being with horses and have been practicing ever since. HUGE breath of fresh air! I have no words to describe the gratitude I feel.
My questions are:
- Horse pins ears when walking toward food, with or without me walking with him. What does this mean and how would you shape his behavior, or does it matter?
- Sour expression, pinning ears while companion walking. What does this mean and how would you shape his behavior, or does it matter?
- Head slinging when sending away quickly. What does this mean and how would you shape his behavior, or does it matter?
- What are your insights on mutual grooming as a herd behavior? Does it matter who initiates it? Who usually initiates it, lead, dominant or lower in the order? Is this a ritual that can be used to strengthen the bond and shape
… Read more
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Posted in Advice on May 4th, 2010
I am offering this blog page to a student of mine, a long time self-realization coach using horses, Talley Hutcherson. The reason this story is important for you is in the way it may improve your understanding of the need to assess a situation for yourself and teach you how to approach your horses in times of lost connection.
I want you seeing your broken connection from the horse’s point of view because from this point of view you will create a game that will bring back the connection and train the horse for new behaviors at the same time, like Talley did for her journey on her new career. I also what you to see that the exercise she chose to use is a great way to put a strong gas pedal onto a horse and to teach a horse what a good idea it is to move way from you when you ask the horse to move way. The lesson she chose teaches so many things to the horse. This is another reason why working horses separately is a good idea. Enjoy!!
Carolyn
From Talley Hutcherson:
As a student of Carolyn’s I am always concerned about being
… Read more
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Posted in Advice, Stories on Apr 29th, 2010
Hello. With the Waterhole Rituals Classes underway and the participants already beginning to experience the benefit of it, I wanted to talk about the possibilities there are with the first Waterhole Ritual. At the moment, those who are in the ‘Insider Circle and ‘In a Box’ Programs are working on their first assignment, which is to Share Territory with their horse, read books or write in a journal and focus on becoming connected in the moment. When you do this and when your vibration starts to match the environment in the moment, things really start to occur between you and your horse.
As Sharing Territory deepens and starts to feels like a ritual for you and your horse, new things can begin to take place such as spontaneous outbursts of interaction. This is just what happened at the ranch here last night. I have a new apprentice whose name is Lila Harding and we are very happy to be working together. Anyway, Lila brought her horse, Sebastian, a 12 year old Percheron Thoroughbred gelding, to go through my Method and learn bridleless riding. She has been Sharing Territory with her horse and we are into the second week together.
So… Read more
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Posted in Advice on Aug 25th, 2008
Hi again. Here are some tips on how to connect with your horse on a daily basis so that you can warm up the working bond between you before you ride.
1. Before you get to the barn remember to clear you mind and make a mental outline of all the things you are going to do with your horse. Be prepared however to change course depending on how the connection with your horse goes and how he is feeling. Be in a good mood and happy to see your horse. Remember to give him your full attention as a horse finds it hard to follow your lead without your full attention. Try to see him around the same time each time so he looks forward to your arrival.
*** To read the rest of this post, get Carolyn’s Blog Collection Volume 1 ***
Click the image above for more details
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