Carolyn Resnick Horsemanship: Liberty Horse Training

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… Read more

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It is often said that “an eye is the window into the soul,” but there is little known about the possibility that horses communicate with each other through eye expression. However, there was some reference to this fact in Robert Vavra’s book, Such Is The Nature of Horses, where he he refers to the rolling of the eye as a warning signal to other horses.

I myself have been able to judge character, intelligence, athletic ability, vigor, health and a horse that would make a champion. I also know what a horse is thinking by the expression in his eyes. But, before I read Robert Vavra’s book, it never occurred to me that horses communicate to each other through eye expression even though I knew the way they communicated was with body language, and my life study has been horse behavior and communication.

I thought eye rolling, when the whit of the eye can be seen on a horse who has a normally solid eye, was a sign of fear not aggression. I never guessed that horses instinctually communicated to each other with their eyes. It seemed strange to me because body language is so effective.

I… Read more

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If you have not read The Songs of the Horses by Paul Belasik I would like to recommend it. I have found this book to be one of my favorite books on the subject of developing horsemanship skills through the original and organic experience. I would also like to recommend a book by Jenny Rolfe, Ride from the Heart. Her subject is classical training and riding as well as dressage. I have not read the whole book yet but what I have read has been very moving and important to developing the awareness and attitude needed for the optimal relationship between a human and a horse. Jenny wrote a whole chapter on breathing. I am in the stage of carrying her book with me in hopes of having a moment I can read some more pages.

As my Inner Circle group is moving on towards the last Waterhole Ritual, Dancing with your Horse (Go Trot and Come Up), I want to offer some support that I think will help everyone that is working on this Ritual or will be soon.

You are ready to start with this ritual when your horse has a strong… Read more

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Hi and I hope you had a wonderful New Year’s Eve. Isn’t it wonderful standing here at the dawn of a new year? It so exciting to think of all the possibilies that lie ahead of us, isn’t it? All the surprises and delights that await us may be just around the corner. We just have to be present in each moment and whilst focused on our goals, not get too tied up with expectation.

I’d like to start off the new year with an interesting game I thought up. When you are training your horse, you shouldn’t be too interested in his performance. Instead of developing the bond to be able to train your horse, you should use the training to deepen the bond you have with him.

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Hi again, hope you had a good weekend. As many of you know, earlier this year I took part in a documentary by film maker Stormy May, which has recently been released on DVD under the title of “The Path of the Horse”. It’s a remarkable and fascinating look at how we view horses and how they are being treated in 21st Century society.

Natural Horse Magazine said “We can be better horse people and “The Path of the Horse” challenges us to transcend. Thanks to Stormy May and her very impressive work, we have a place to start. This is a must-see, must-share video. Here’s hoping its impact on the horse world will spread far and wide fast.”

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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.

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This morning I started thinking about what causes people to abuse horses when the horse doesn’t perform for them exactly like they would like or what causes somebody to overlook the responsibility of continuing to train their horse.

I came to the conclusion that the person really does not enjoy the process of training. They don’t realize that training itself can be such a pleasure. 

I think of it like opening up a package because we are really excited about just finding out what’s inside. That is what makes training so that it is not abusive because we really don’t expect any bottom line on it. We are just happy with whatever results we get.

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