Carolyn Resnick Horsemanship: Liberty Horse Training

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… 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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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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Last week I had the opportunity to be back stage with the horses of Cavalia. We were able to see the horses unload from the trailers that came from the last location of the show in San Francisco, California. I have to say I have never seen so many horses that looked so calm and relaxed about getting off the trailer and in such good condition and happy! Also impressive was the team of handlers and riders that helped to create a relaxed and extremely well organized environment.

Once the horses were out of the truck, we were given a private tour of the stable area of all of the horse stars of the show. It was amazing to see incredible tents and the immaculate stalls. The horses were groomed impeccably and the atmosphere was wonderful!

I was also able to meet the founder and artistic director of Cavalia- Normand Latourelle, which was quite an honor. His vision and the production of the show is incredible, and my hat is off to him!

We then were invited to watch Sylvia Zerbini working with her 9 Arabian horses at liberty. The fluidity of their movement watching them trot… Read more

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Second Annual Free Course, Winter 2011
Welcome to week 2! It looks like we have a very full classroom!
I’d like to continue writing on the subject of theory and the Uberstreichen Exercises a little bit more before I give you the first exercise. I would like to add and revisit some finer points as well.

Some Additional Benefits of the Uberstreichen Exercises:

1. I developed the Uberstreichen Exercises to help me in my training center in order to develop a horse that would work well for others in collection, presentation, and the attitude of the horse.

2. I also developed the Uberstreichen Exercises so that when the horse went home, the training and connection would stick for the owner.

3. When a horse got excited and fearful at the shows I could return his focus easily to feeling secure and relaxed.

Some Surprise Benefits are:

4. I could return an out of control stallion in a new environment around mares and other stallions to relax and return his focus back to me. In those days I had 5 stallions at the time I was developing the Uberstreichen Exercises, and accidentally found out how brilliantly they helped me in

… Read more

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My new exercise is called the “Loopty~Loo.” The purpose of this exercise is to bring willingness and a better response to rein aids and leg aids for half halt, collection, lateral aids, and throughness while riding. It will also create trust and a deeper working bond. This exercise is done from the ground. Practice this until it is smooth for a month before you expect to see any results from the saddle. I am very excited in sharing this with you because I know how much it will improve your horse’s response to the riding aids. It will build your connection, your horsemanship skills under saddle, and the horse’s ability to be elastic. An elastic horse is a happy horse!

When you start out, do not practice for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time, which includes the pauses you take. Begin by having a halter on your horse with no lead rope. You will use the halter to guide your horse around you. You can do this exercise without the halter if you wish. Start the exercise standing next to your horse at his shoulder when your horse is comfortable and would stand with you like… Read more

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Recently I was working with a new student, showing how I introduce teaching halt from trot on a circle at liberty after I have the basic connection with a horse that the Waterhole Rituals provide to the partnership. I asked the horse to whoa, and about eight strides later, he stopped, and looked at me with a look that seemed to say “Is this what you wanted?” I then told him he was a good boy, and gave him a treat.

My student asked why I treated the horse since he stopped eight strides later than when I first asked for it. Since the horse had not been asked to halt this way before, the fact that he stopped at all was quite an accomplishment. Of course, with more time and training, soon the horse will be stopping on a dime and will be happy to do so. As our training session progressed, gradually, the horse stopped in fewer and fewer strides. It was the pause which allowed him to think about the request, and gave him the time to put his body in the right frame which would allow him to stop from a trot.

The next stage of… Read more

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