Carolyn Resnick Horsemanship Blog: Horse Training from the ground up

As you all know, I am working full time on my next book. Right now, my focus is on compiling the rules and guidelines to follow when using my method.

Rules and guidelines are what makes any method functional. It is all about the dos and don’ts in how to approach a horse. Following the rules judiciously is what creates the success of any method, not just following the rules.

Here are some of my suggested rules and guidelines:

• Wait for the horse to come to you and want to interact before interacting with him; or wait until you feel the bond is mutually shared in the moment.
• Never work a horse in a place he is not comfortable in.
• Never ask for anything until your horse is feeling safe, secure, and willing.
• If you lose willingness, change your approach, and focus on returning the willingness and relaxation.
• When using tack, when a horse resists or pulls, release the contact.
• When using tack, do not pull against resistance, unless you are using it in the Uberstreichen Exercises in a relaxed, benign manner.
• When your horse walks away from you, you walk in the opposite direction, to

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When a horse is responding to me from my influence, I am focused on what he or she is feeling in the moment. I want my horse to be engaged so that I can develop his interest to dance with me with enthusiasm, looking forward to the adventure and challenges that face our growing relationship. I want the partnership to be a co-creative adventure. When I listen to my horse in each moment, I can capitalize on furthering the relationship and his performance by making adjustments to my leadership approach and the horse’s program. I adjust my leadership and the program to fit the evolution of the horse’s dance behavior while at the same time building his interest in learning and performing.

Every time I am training, my big focus is on evolving my skills of connection and courtship to keep the dance alive. I also focus on being sure that I bring my horse enough fulfillment of his need for companionship and connection, which is important to a horses psyche. Sometimes courtships are not smooth and we often make mistakes and in turn make over-corrections. It is through the “making–up” that we re-establish the bond that makes our connection… Read more

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When I first got Apollo, I decided I wanted to see how a dog breeder would handle him to give him a bath. I wanted to see his behavior toward a bath so I would not make any mistakes and start a behavior in him that I was responsible for, that would develop a bad connection with him. I learned a lot. What I learned is that she talked to him with sweet tones every minute that she was bathing him helping him to feel secure. When he got too whiney and nervous the husband would come into the room and poke a finger into his rib cage and say “Settle down.”

To my surprise, Apollo responded by settling down and the wife would then would go back to sweet talk. The husband’s energy was on the muscle but calm and direct. They had a plan. One of the reasons it worked is that down deep inside them they knew it would. Because of this, it influenced my dog to accept his bath like they expected him to.

I learn by watching, reading, experiencing, practicing and the big one, evaluating. From evaluation, I can usually come up with… 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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This is one of my favorite stories from my own experiences growing up with horses. This is a quick version of a story that will be out in my next book, a how-to book on the Waterhole Rituals.

The story offers a formula in “How to get what you want from a horse”. Let’s say you want to bond, or to be able to put a halter on a horse, or maybe you have a larger goal like winning the Olympics on a horse you have trained yourself, or take the “buck” out of your horse, or take the anger out of your horse, or teach your horse not to be afraid of a trailer, or teach him not to bite you, or how to be successful with the Waterhole Rituals to solve these issues, or to be successful using any method that has stumped you.

The secret to your success with a horse might be revealed to you through asking yourself one question only. From this question a path will unfold easily, you will return to what you “should be” doing with your horse rather than want you “would want” to do with your horse.

Maybe you read Tom… Read more

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Years ago, when I was a kid at a horse show, I took a stand that was way before its time, and way ahead of anyone’s comprehension of what I wanted to show the world.

I was riding my Western Pleasure mare Rizeta, her nick name was Lover, and I had hung her bridle on the saddle and rode in the warm up without it. I put the bridle back on before the class and when I finished, I dismounted in the ring unbridling her, and told her to go back to the stall. She did and I followed her, along with a few people who were interested in what we were doing.

I was before my time then, but if more people did this today the tide would change and more people would be encouraged to join in. The point is that horses don’t need to be forced, they are capable of deeper bonds and abilities in partnering with us, and bits are not essential. Bits get a bad name because they are used improperly. I still use bits along with bridle-less riding and find them not at all abusive when one knows how to use them… Read more

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It looks like we might not be running the ‘In a Box’ Program this winter after all as the weather looks like it will be too cold for most people, so I may end up postponing the course till sometime late spring. If this happens, those who have prepaid will have their tuition fees returned.

This is Julia Felton’s last week with me as a working student. For people who live in the UK and would like to learn my Method from her, you can contact her at Julia@connect-thru-horses.com. So now I am looking for another person that would like the opportunity to be a working student with me. I have a great horse for you to learn how to train bridleless and to develop your dressage skills under saddle with my Method plus all my ground training at liberty. You should be aware though that there is no salary attached to this position and you will have to take care of your own living expenses but of course all the tuition is free! If you are interested in this position or for more information, please contact me at info@carolynresnick.com.

Recently Mark… Read more

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