Carolyn Resnick Horsemanship Blog: Horse Training from the ground up

Fact- The Magnetic Connection is not something that will always be there for you nevertheless you can always get it back though the practice of the Waterhole Rituals. It is normal to lose the Magnetic Connection when you are working on exercises or games that direct your horses where to go, like in the carrot game.

The carrot game creates a controllable gas pedal, encourages politeness, develops enthusiasm, and engages the mind in the horse. It also builds the horse’s trust and respect for people in general. It does not however, develop the Magnetic Connection because you are asking the horse to work independently from you and as he gets use to working independently it temporarily takes away the Magnetic Connection. You will always need to make adjustments in the horse’s mind as he transitions from being directed to matching your movements in companion energy.

At liberty, your focus is on making adjustement in the horse’s attitude throughout your relationship to bring about the performance you are looking for. You do this through working with the Waterhole Rituals that strengthen the heart-felt strings of connection and from the exercises within the rituals that increase the synchronicity in teamwork. You are… Read more

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Today’s blog comes to you courtesy of my apprentice, Lila.

Working on the ranch as Carolyn’s apprentice student I am having many opportunities to appreciate the subtleties of the Waterhole Rituals and learning what creating willing relationships with a horses REALLY looks like.

As a professional consultant and coach, working at training people for the past 25 years, working intensely with horses for the past 12 of those years, I feel that I have a good grasp on what it takes to create willing partnership in my students and trainees etc. But that being said, I must tell you that what horses are showing and teaching me is dramatically expanding that understanding.  I want to share with you the continued evolution of what my horse Sebastian and I are creating together.

Some of you may have heard about my experience with my horse Sebastian at liberty in the arena a few weeks ago; how I was playing with him looking to see what training opportunities would evolve.  We played with a barrel and I learned about the power of focus and sharing leadership though reciprocal movements.   As I have observed Carolyn with horses I see that with some horses

… Read more

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Hello. With the Waterhole Rituals Classes underway and the participants already beginning to experience the benefit of it, I wanted to talk about the possibilities there are with the first Waterhole Ritual. At the moment, those who are in the ‘Insider Circle and ‘In a Box’ Programs are working on their first assignment, which is to Share Territory with their horse, read books or write in a journal and focus on becoming connected in the moment. When you do this and when your vibration starts to match the environment in the moment, things really start to occur between you and your horse.

As Sharing Territory deepens and starts to feels like a ritual for you and your horse, new things can begin to take place such as spontaneous outbursts of interaction. This is just what happened at the ranch here last night. I have a new apprentice whose name is Lila Harding and we are very happy to be working together. Anyway, Lila brought her horse, Sebastian, a 12 year old Percheron Thoroughbred gelding, to go through my Method and learn bridleless riding. She has been Sharing Territory with her horse and we are into the second week together.

So… Read more

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Hello again. Today I want to talk to you a little about Robin Gates, who is a long time student of my Method and has a natural ability with both horses and humans alike. She is fun, uplifting and extremely knowlegeable on how to create a magnetic connection and keep it as you can see from this video.

Robin will be part of an intimate gathering that is taking place at Lisa Walters’ beautiful, private facility, EquuSatori Center, located in Sonoma County, approximately one hour north of San Francisco. To find out more, please click Robin Gates Clinic.

During this clinic Robin will be working with several different horses and their owners so you will be able to gain greater insights on how to work with the various needs and responses necessary for each situation. How to lead when the connection is strong and how to strengthen it when it is weak.

Often she brings one of her own horses too so you can witness what joy and willingness my Method creates. Like mine, Robin’s clinics are very open, interactive and focused on developing a magical connection with horses as well as addressing your personal questions and… Read more

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I do not address vices like biting, kicking or bucking if I can avoid it. Fighting with a horse does not help the bond and partnership and it can cause a horse to develop a bad attitude that then becomes a permanent part of his personality. It is better to focus on building a social bond and deal with the rudeness of the horse in a way that would build the bond and respect.

Many of you may be shocked to learn what horses actually see as polite behavior and it is very much misunderstood. Building polite behavior in a horse would enhance the bond, build team-working skills and enhance a horse’s natural instincts. When a horse is no longer rude, he sees you as family and you have a greater chance that he will want to follow your lead. The Waterhole Rituals will teach you when to lead, when to follow and when to pause. Observing the horse as he exhibits different behaviors from being willing to not being willing will guide you in the direction you need to take with him.

When people bond with their horses, often times the person does not realize that the horse is… Read more

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I have just got a new dog. It is a Lowchen; his coat is gray, he is one and a half years old and weights 14 pounds. He belonged to someone that was at Hap Hansen’s show barn, which is not too far from my ranch; I go there to work with a couple of students and their horses.

Someone had the dog at the barn, looking to find a new home for him. I played with him at the ranch for a while and decided to keep him. His name is Mojo and I can tell he doesn’t like his name, and won’t come when he is called. He runs the other way. When I catch the dog, I give him a treat and let him go. It fixed the problem in a hurry. It was so much fun watching him process his situation and then come running to me with exuberance for the treats.

Mojo, or whatever I will decide to call him is not house broken. I need to keep an eye on him because he will not ask to go out, so I take him out every two hours. When I do so he… Read more

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Hello. I will be doing one more Uberstreichen Excercise in this series before we take a break to give you some more time to work with them. I’ll then be doubling back round for the sake of any new readers to the blog and revisit the Waterhole Rituals in the run up to the new Insider Circle Class.

So today I thought it might be fun to share with you some of the videos I’ve received from students who have been working with the Uberstreichen Exercises. You will see a variety of styles and responses from the horses. Some of the videos you may have seen but the feeling and the technique will be different between these videos. These clips help you see the ease and pace you are working toward.

And to whet your appetite for the Waterhole Rituals, here are a couple of videos from the last class:

If you’ve been working with either the Uberstreichen Exercises or the Waterhole Rituals, please let us know about your experiences. This should make for another a great discussion!

Have a lovely weekend!

Carolyn

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