Carolyn Resnick Horsemanship Blog: Horse Training from the ground up

It’s really touching that people have been responding so deeply on the subject of such a small issue regarding a horse being so unwilling to have a halter put on, or the horse being so freaked out about the need to rip away from a human, because of the distasteful feeling of being with a human.

I appreciate that many people are willing to take the long journey to build a relationship with a horse as Robin and Carry have done with Pony.

In the traditional programs of leaning how to fix problems with horses, the problem gets fixed from an overall system and does not take in to consideration of the needs of the individual horse and human. Recently I watched a Youtube of a horse, he has a similar problem as Pony, not as bad, but still a problem of putting a bridle. The method just used force and persistence at the time the horse was fighting to get away.

I am working on my book and I just finished my prologue and what I wrote really pertains to the subject of how to approach really big problems such as with Cary’s experience with her horse. It requires… Read more

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To understand the Waterhole Rituals and how the pecking order of horses function in a way that brings about the well-being of the herd, even to support the weakest individual, we need to look at the conditions that exist in nature that create herd behavior.

For horses to survive in nature, they need to stay in a herd. What prevents horses from beating up on each other is the need to stay together for their safety, as well as the open spaces that they live in, which give them freedom to choose who stays in the herd, and who goes. If a horse is too self-serving and aggressive, the herd has the ability to banish them. Likewise, a horse can only join a herd when they show they can fit in harmoniously.

I have never cared for referring to the pecking order of horses. I prefer to call it picking order. One of the main reasons family bands get established is a stallion’s need to win the favor of a mare so that she will go off and form a new band with him. In the beginning of a relationship, as these bands are being formed, the stallion must put… 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

… Read more

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Hello. It appears that some of you were a bit confused by the email blast that came out at the weekend announcing a new blog post. Mark asked me to write a quick note explaining that his tech guy was working on some testing and posted something in the wrong place, which triggered the email. When he realized what had happened, Mark deleted the post which is why when some of you tried the link in the email, it didn’t work. Anyway, nothing to worry about and hope that explains it.

However, what they were testing was a new video player using one of the Insider Circle videos and it kind of turned out to be a happy accident. What happened was that some people who weren’t in the class clicked the the link and watched the video before it disappeared. This produced a bunch of comments saying how much they enjoyed seeing me at work and learning the Waterhole Rituals almost first-hand.

So we thought it would be a nice idea to put the video back up so that you can get chance to watch it if you didn’t already do so. This is the very first video in… Read more

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Little Known Precursors to Aggressive Behavior in Fearful Horses, and How to Deal with Them.

I was watching Animal Planet with Victory Stilwell. She mentioned something about a little known fact about dog behavior. I thought I heard her say that a dog that will roll over on his back as a submission gesture in the future will surely bite you.

I started thinking of the things that most horse professionals do not know about horses. One of them is if a horse tries to look at you with only one eye with a stiffness in his body, he does not trust you. It is a fearful as well as an aggressive stance, and it comes with strong threat in the future to the person the horse responds to in this way.

The horse that will look at you with one eye or will switch his head around back and forth looking at you from one eye to the other may follow this behavior with biting, charging, kicking or striking at a later time, when you might least expect it.

Years ago, I had to clean out stalls as an every day chore when I was apprenticing… Read more

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Today I am sharing another question from my Insider Circle program. This is a common beginning experience. The student writes:

Three times I have attempted the circle game with my horse. The first time he behaved liked he invented the game. I thought, “This is easy.”

The second day with the circle game when I moved him off his hay he would walk a few steps forward then circle to my side and stand there looking at me. I would have felt bad chasing him off after he faced up to me, so I rewarded him instead. But, I worried that he thought that is what I wanted.

Then today when we were going to play the circle game I attempted to move him off his hay, he walked off in the opposite direction of the hay piles and stood about fifty feet from me, looking at me.

Looked to me like he didn’t want to play. So, I fed him carrots instead. I fed him carrots when he came up to me, then I chased him away and fed him carrots for moving away.
So, what do you think?

So let me first explain what the circle game… Read more

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Our Insider Circle class and the “In a Box” program are now over. It is such a worthwhile project bringing horses and humans together in a deeper bond from winning respect through allowing the relationship to grow naturally. I also focused on having the class develop a deeper understanding of horses from Sharing Territory with a horse in a way that fosters friendship, cooperation, and intimacy. The interactions that occur around Sharing Territory bring about a magical communication with a horse.

Mark is leaving up the Youtube videos and the questions section for a while, and we can still stay in touch with one another on my blog.

Going forward, I would like the class to communicate with one another on my blog on topics about the Waterhole Rituals and the relationship and communication that is developing with their horses, as well as any New Horse and/or New Human sightings!

The other day, I saw a man sitting with his horse in a field in a chair reading a newspaper, that is and example of a New Human sighting.

Please, feel free to stay connected through my blog, so we can still share with the world our everyday experiences with… Read more

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