When I was growing up, I couldn’t wait for my two horsemanship magazines each month. One was called Western Horseman and the other was called Horse Lovers. They cost 36 cents a copy and they held free lessons in them and free things to send away for. With my horses and these magazines, my days were filled with things I could do and ways I could train. Over time, my skill grew with horses. The horses helped me along in their training because of the connection in friendship that we shared. They made me look like I knew what I was doing even when I did not. It was like a Dr. Dolittle adventure. The reason for this is that I focused on how to get the horse to help me from my lack of experience in training horses. From the bond I had developed with my horses, we had a desire to do things together and my horses would try to figure out how to support me on our adventures in our ever-deepening cross-species bond.

Not only have I been able to help you to develop a cross-species bond with your horse through this site, but also my blog … Read more

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Last week Sally asked a good question in the comments section of the blog about how the practice of the Waterhole Rituals™ relate to riding and training horses when there are no fences or arenas to contain the horse. I will answering this question for you in my two blogs this week.

The Waterhole Rituals™ are a unique method of working with your horse by working with the horse’s natural instincts. The Rituals do not train your horse per se but rather they provide a means whereby you can communicate effectively with your horse in a language that he understands that also builds the trust you need when you go to ride him. By communicating with him in this manner, you create a bond of friendship and trust with your horse where he sees you as the leader, which in turn causes the horse to be more willing and more connected. The strength of this connection allows the horse to feel secure and so in my experience the horse offers you more performance under saddle than you would have without the practice of the Waterhole Rituals™.

Consider your own relationship with your best friend. If you have a great relationship, … Read more

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Hello again.

So many people have come to my Method who want to ride a horse as well as have a deep bond with them. Some are looking for solutions to behavioral problems. Many people are feeling snubbed by their horses. Others cannot gain respect whilst some are on a journey in search of a way to connect with a horse in the moment of unity and harmony.

What I offer through the Waterhole Rituals™ is support through a journey by accepting the horse for who he is right now and building a relationship in the most natural way. The Waterhole Rituals™ offer an enjoyable process to bring horses and humans together using rituals that horses use to develop a working partnership with one another. If you have the horse of your dreams and a wonderful riding horse, the Rituals will help you to develop a deeper connection in friendship.

Many people have discovered that horses, like people, have different personalities and that this needs to be considered when dealing with horses. The most important aspect of having a horse is picking the right horse to fit your purpose and personality. Horses are like shoes. Not only is the fit … Read more

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Hi. When Sharing Space, the first quality of connection you would hope to have with your horse would be gentle and kind with a feeling of friendship. Where safety would never be a concern for the human or horse, without the worry about being pushed around, and mauled. Most yearning colts go though a period that is a little intimidating for their owners and this is what was occurring with Morning Star.

Shaping a relationship and connection with a foal can be a tricky business because things can go wrong, like getting the foal angry which can lead to more aggressiveness. Also he could decide that he does not like people or he could get defensive and flighty making him harder to deal with. You cannot just reprimand a foal for doing something that you feel is dangerous and aggressive because the foal does not understand that he has done anything wrong since he does not yet have the ability to distinguish between right or wrong. From the foals’ perspective, he thinks that you, his friend, has turned on him.

So how did I approach my problem with Morning Star? When he was occupied at the far end of his … Read more

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The bond between horses and humans is usually is not as strong as the bond that horses share with each other. Clearly there are multiple reasons for there are ways to try and bridge these gaps. Either the horse must be domesticated to our ways or we must follow a horse’s protocol and cultural laws. Their protocols are about creating well-being, responsibility, teamwork and unification between the herd and the leader. The natural result of these cultural laws is the creation of lasting bonds, harmony, order and a one-minded connection. We are drawn to horses like bees to honey and we know it has something to do with their spirit but in essence it is all these outcomes that we seek.

So the key then is to follow their protocol and culture and we must therefore start by drawing the horse to us to bond like they have drawn us to them and then a true connection can formed. This requires us to wait for a horse to be attracted without any influence other than our presence in his territory. In other words, the first Waterhole Ritual. This exercise creates a true bond from the natural, extemporaneous interplay between the … Read more

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Hello. Thank you all for your wonderful comments and kind words recently. It seemed you enjoyed the HorseConscious call on Tuesday as much as I did!

Today, I’d like to talk to you about the rules that horses have with each other. This is extremely important to grasp not just because for me, it is the foundation of what I do but because it is the foundation for all horse interactions.

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I am not against formulas and lessons in the training of horses and people. I am only against them when they are the only way you go about communicating and the training of horses.

Following formulas blindly, without question and without adjustment, can cause a person to lose their natural leadership ability, which then causes the horse to focus on having to pay attention to the rules rather than focusing on the connection.

I think that it is best for a person to hang around horses and horse trainers to develop a rhythm and a way of being around horses when things are right. I have watched horses being trained by other people for years as one of the many ways I gained my knowledge of horse training. It’s a lot of fun and I can’t think of a faster way to learn how to train a horse than by watching horses in nature and trainers that horses like as a way to develop your skill in the training of horses.

*** To read the rest of this post, get Carolyn’s Blog Collection Volume 1 ***
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