Posted in Advice, Clinics, Lessons on Apr 25th, 2013
The “Waterhole Rituals” are the tea ceremony to develop a harmonious relationship with a horse and with life. It is a continual practice in awareness and being present to the moment.
The Waterhole Rituals create a deep friendship with a horse and a working bond that is the foundation for all equestrian pursuits. The Waterhole Rituals develop a horse that wants to learn and perform the task at hand while creating a feeling of well-being in a horse along with an optimistic attitude for what he does – the opposite of a trained bear.
What I find is that horses in general receive their well-being from sharing companionship with one another and enjoy this kind of relationship with humans too. However we do a lot to spoil this by not fulfilling their companionship need by the way we house them and the way we go about training them.
All the Waterhole Rituals are focused on developing a certain quality of connection that is present in a relationship where the bond is deep. I call these separate qualities of connection that each Ritual develops in a horse “the heart felt strings of connection” because they are the vibrations that exist when … Read more
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Posted in Advice, Clinics on May 31st, 2012
Playing with Mustangs
Neda DeMayo the visionary and founder of Return to Freedom ~ American Wild Horse Sanctuary and Robin Gates have been long time friends and students of Carolyn Resnick. Robin was interested in working with mustangs and bringing them along in the Carolyn Resnick Method.
Hi, my name is Nicole Tomlin and I’ve had the great pleasure of meeting Neda when Robin and I traveled to Lompoc to pick up a mustang about a month ago. We went to get one and brought back two.
Oso is a spicy Dun whose family is from the Sulfur Spring herd in Utah. Me-Too (the name should be self explanatory) is a roan whose family was from the Heart Mountain herd near the Montana/ Wyoming border. After the mustangs arrived at the Rising Moon Ranch, Robin and I began by just spending time and being near them. We would scratch them when they would allow it yet nothing was asked of them, nothing at all. Soon they would nicker to us as we walked by, earning carrots for their communication.
Every day is incredible with the mustangs. They truly are sacred beings. They are great teachers and carriers of wisdom. It
… Read more
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Posted in Advice, Clinics on Apr 5th, 2012
Reflections on the Beyond The Waterhole Rituals Clinic – March 2012
Another Beyond the Waterhole Ritual Clinic has come to a close. Each group has its own heart beat. Every class is as exciting to me as the next because of the people that attend. This group was effusive and we were all about having fun in and out of the clinic. This group told me that the bond they had formed was a forever bond and they plan on getting together as a group for vacations.
Liberty Dancing with Aline and Rosalie
I set up my class so people can create connections with the horses and with each other. This bunch became a cohesive herd quickly. They were instantly having fun and learning skills through games and signing harmony lessons that were brought to the class through Robin and Molly. Robin is preparing to teach harmony in a choir in her home land in New Zealand and she led us in harmony and round songs that were bluesy and heart felt by all of us. Molly taught us how to do the cup game and sing a song that goes with it, I am still practicing. The cup … Read more
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Posted in Clinics on Dec 8th, 2011
Wondering how to begin Liberty Dancing with Your Horse?
The “Beyond the Waterhole Rituals” students of 2011 will show you… it is easy, you begin with a smile and “Step By Step”… We’ve just finished the “Beyond The Waterhole Rituals” clinic and would love to share the week in photos with you… horse meditations, single lining, Nia body awareness dance classes, new friends, wild horses, liberty dancing, inspiration and lots of laughter.
Beyond The Waterhole Rituals Class of 2011
Magnetic Bond with Rosalie
Taking Territory ~ Reed Game
Liberty Dancing with Rosalie
Nia Body Awareness Dance Class
Chip & Page ~ Wild Horses Nap Time
Carrot Game
Liberty Dancing with Rosalie
Single Lining
Keeping the Magnetic Connection even AFTER tack comes into play…
Till next week… Remember to watch out for new horse and human sightings and may the horse be with you,
Warmly,
Carolyn… Read more
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Posted in Advice, Clinics on Nov 17th, 2011
Leadership with horses is so easy.
They are herd animals. It is natural for horses to lead and to follow. But when we begin to train they can seem to be resistant to the whole idea of us taking a leadership role with them. Often this response is because the person training the horse is resistant to having to take on the role as leader. What I hope to do in this blog is to influence the reader to see that training and shaping behavior through leadership at liberty is an enjoyable endeavor.
Hillside Arena – Maestro
Making a Good Relationship Great.
When a horse shows resistance to our leadership it is usually caused from not pushing hard enough, pushing too hard, or we are offering a program that is not appropriate for the horse in the moment. Since good relationships are developed though trial and error this back and forth is desirable because it exposes the true path we need to take with our horse to gain unity and harmony through leadership.
We have 1 spot available in the December Beyond The Waterhole Rituals clinic!
Please email web@carolynresnick.com if you would like to join us!
Finding The Joy.
The … Read more
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Posted in Advice, Observations on Nov 3rd, 2011
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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Posted in Advice, Clinics on Oct 20th, 2011
Creating a relationship with a horse by waiting for a horse to start the relationship makes a horse easy to train because you have his full attention.
Working a horse at liberty with my method, the horse has an ability to avoid you if he chooses. This causes a person to stop chasing or pushing a horse when a horse is resistant. Not being able to control a horse’s resistance with tack puts the emphasis on developing a bond with the horse first. Having to develop a bond in a free environment develops empathy. You can´t help but become the student of your horse when the horse is free to leave you when he chooses. The focus becomes creating a communication that would draw a horse to you. Training a horse in this manner, the approach must be done differently than with tack. It becomes a co-created process were development of leadership, morality and communication are enhanced. From the horses ability to accept or decline your leadership and from your ability to allow or not allow a horse to be in your present and when you would choose to share food with him you can train a horse naturally.
When … Read more
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