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 to accept his … Read more

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Something I’d like to explain is that there is a cellular connection that we can experience with our horse. If you have studied science, you may be familiar with the theory that the molecular structure of something becomes very similar to the structure that it is next to, and grows more connected the longer it is there. If I leave a spoon on a table, that spoon will connect with the table over a long period of time. The longer the spoon sits, the more the spoon will attach to the table, and the more they will become alike.

A Natural Understanding

Deepak Chopra speaks of what he calls “entrainment,” and that there is an energy field that is in us.  For instance, if we checked my energy field, and checked your energy field, they would be a lot different. But, if we stayed in the same territory together, and we let time pass, our energy would begin to align. When this happens, we have a better understanding of each other naturally right away. All of a sudden, I would understand you, and you would understand me. It’s a wonderful thing!

Deepak Chopra shows us the power of … Read more

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Mary Barrett asked a question in the comments section about the difference in asking the head of a horse to move away from you in Leading From Behind™ versus the nose, and why I make the distinction.

Asking the head to move away is a softer message than directing the nose to move away. When I turn a horse around so I can start Leading From Behind™, I am a few feet or more away from his head. My focus and energy with my driving aids is directed at the head, not the haunches. You can see this in the picture at the bottom of the blog. I direct the head of the horse by using my body language to show a request to turn away. My eyes are focused on his head. When I am asking the horse to turn away and he does not move, I advance toward his head. When I get to his head, I then start focusing on his nose. The horse will understand your request taking this approach. But it does not mean that he is going to do what you are asking him. To ensure a positive response so that your horse turns … Read more

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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:

1. 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?
2. Sour expression, pinning ears while companion walking. What does this mean and how would you shape his behavior, or does it matter?
3. Head slinging when sending away quickly. What does this mean and how would you shape his behavior, or does it matter?
4. 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 behavior? How do

… Read more

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This picture I posted on Facebook shows an advanced horse trained at liberty performing piaffe. The piaffe was achieved without tack, in a free, open environment. After the horse has a strong foundation with all seven of the Waterhole Rituals, I start with this kind of work. I will show you how to begin working with a horse to achieve this movement in connection.

At this level of training, the horse will work in the arena at high speed and maintain that speed once I send him off, without me having to maintain it. The horse understands that he wants to run and is not planning on slowing down, unless I ask him to. This is very high energy work.

This way, I can work in front of the horse directing him where to go. This is the first phase of working a horse that is completely trained at the lower levels of the Waterhole Rituals. It’s the advanced work of the last Waterhole Ritual, Liberty Dancing. I am sharing this with you at this time for the Insider Circle and Box Programs to show where the next phase of schooling begins. This is not part of your course, but … Read more

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Working with horses at liberty, the focus is on many aspects. Liberty work teaches a horse to govern his performance himself, and really commit to the dance you would like him to participate in. The trainer learns how to control the horse’s behavior without having to actively control the horse. Liberty Training brings out different behaviors and engages the horse’s intelligence in different ways than traditional training with tack. It enhances a horse’s ability to learn new things far more than we previously thought possible.

Once the horse has been exposed to training at liberty, tack becomes a supportive aid rather than a governing aid. After he has been developed at liberty, tack helps to communicate with the horse rather than control or govern him.

My life has been working with horses at liberty, and horses continue to surprise me in how quickly they learn without tack. The most notable lesson that a horse learns more quickly at liberty is to halt when asked. Halt is where my focus is these days because I am working with Lila and her horse Sebastian to prepare him for bridle-less riding.

It takes some preparation for equestrians to learn how to approach a … Read more

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When I first got Apollo, I decided I wanted to see how a dog breeder would handle him to give him a bath. I wanted to see his behavior toward a bath so I would not make any mistakes and start a behavior in him that I was responsible for, that would develop a bad connection with him. I learned a lot. What I learned is that she talked to him with sweet tones every minute that she was bathing him helping him to feel secure. When he got too whiney and nervous the husband would come into the room and poke a finger into his rib cage and say “Settle down.”

To my surprise, Apollo responded by settling down and the wife would then would go back to sweet talk. The husband’s energy was on the muscle but calm and direct. They had a plan. One of the reasons it worked is that down deep inside them they knew it would. Because of this, it influenced my dog to accept his bath like they expected him to.

I learn by watching, reading, experiencing, practicing and the big one, evaluating. From evaluation, I can usually come up with a plan … Read more

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