Posted in Advice on Dec 30th, 2010
Recently I was working with a new student, showing how I introduce teaching halt from trot on a circle at liberty after I have the basic connection with a horse that the Waterhole Rituals provide to the partnership. I asked the horse to whoa, and about eight strides later, he stopped, and looked at me with a look that seemed to say “Is this what you wanted?” I then told him he was a good boy, and gave him a treat.
My student asked why I treated the horse since he stopped eight strides later than when I first asked for it. Since the horse had not been asked to halt this way before, the fact that he stopped at all was quite an accomplishment. Of course, with more time and training, soon the horse will be stopping on a dime and will be happy to do so. As our training session progressed, gradually, the horse stopped in fewer and fewer strides. It was the pause which allowed him to think about the request, and gave him the time to put his body in the right frame which would allow him to stop from a trot.
The next stage of… Read more
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Posted in Advice on Aug 3rd, 2010
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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Posted in Misc on Jun 11th, 2009
This is a note on how the Insider Circle is doing. I have read many of your stories and how many of you are having incredible experiences with your horses doing nothing… leading to something that could have never taken place if we had not be practicing the importance of the pause with the First Ritual, “Sharing Territory”. Some of you are going to be able to bring new discoveries to the horse world from your experiences being in this class. From these shared experiences, we will discover things that we did not know. From these shared experiences the world of horsemanship will advance and I will be learning new things as well.
We are always in the experimentation of creating willing connections and growing friendships with horses if we are truly present in the moment and a true leader, healer and student. Everyday I am learning something more about horses.
The horses enjoy our company as much as we do theirs and when this happens the dance is really quite natural but it surely is not a race to the dry cleaners. Sharing territory in the pause of feeling connected, horses are more willing to bond with us… Read more
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