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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Hi again. Yes, I’m very excited and I have to admit also very flattered that we now have a full class for the new Insider Circle Program, thank you for your trust in me and my Method. I know you are really going to have a great time and learn so much.

The same goes for the large number of you who have joined the ‘In a Box’ Program too and I’m going to make sure I support you just as much as I can.

Now, we have had a number of questions from those wishing still to join and some from those who already have, so I thought it would be worth just covering those today for everyone’s benefit.

“Now that the Insider Circle is full, what’s the difference between that and the ‘In a Box’ Program?”

Good question and everything’s exactly the same except for 2 items:
- Only the Insider Circle participants get to participate live on the calls
- I will only be doing video reviews for the Insider Circle folks
Other than that, you get all the videos and CDs, all the same call recordings and most importantly you get to ask… 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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Today I would like to share with you a video by one of my students using the Uberstreichen Exercises. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

This video clip I made yesterday.

I put the camera up in a tree and started. Before starting I have been reading on Carolyn’s UE Thursday blog and I had printed out the first two exercises and read them over a couple of times and also watched Farah’s and Carolyn/Alexandra’s videoclips on UE. So after the theoretical preparations, I did the mental preparations which was to clear my mind. I clear my mind by watching some video clips of horses, it can be the Unbridled Spirit Videos or listening to a few music pieces. I did not watch the Waterhole reflection DVD yet of Carolyn, but this is the kind of video you can use to clear your mind.

You may notice in the video that I am not distracted of the other horses and I am very focused on what I am doing. My mind is right there 100%. Through my journey so far with Carolyn, one thing that has surprised me the most is how much of what you

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Hello. So sorry if you were expecting a blog post yesterday but it was one of those days and I didn’t get round to finishing this till late. Anyway, here is the fourth Uberstreichen Exercise for you to have a go at.

Before I get into it though, each time you practice the exercises, start them from the beginning and do them in order. Remember your horse needs to be willing and in a good mood before you start. Before I start training, I spend at least 15 minuets Sharing Territory with my horse in whatever place he is kept. This way the glue and the connection is always re-established. Stand in front of your horse on a dropped line when you begin each session. Pause for at least a minute and then walk around your horse. If your horse begins to walk off, take the rope and lead him back to the spot he was standing. Hold him for a moment and then release him the moment he is still and say “whoa”.

So, the fourth Uberstreichen Exercise is done like the third exercise with an addition of a halt when you are asking the horse to carry his… Read more

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This was a very good question from Elizabeth in Thursday’s classroom and I thought it would be useful to share my answer with you too.

Elizabeth’s question was how the 7 steps of liberty training I taught in my first video Liberty Training are related to the Waterhole Rituals. Well, the short answer is that they are basically the same although I have obviously continued to develop my Method a great deal since that first video came out. For example, the 7 steps of liberty training I taught back then didn’t incorporate treats as a training aid and the video did not go into as much detail and had fewer related programs.

I realized over many years that I needed to give people more information on how to use my Method because most people have little practice in interacting with a horse without fences or tack. I needed to find a way to give the horse more reason to want to connect with a human and “food” was the answer. By introducing the use of treats, it helped to develop the bond and keep the horse motivated to figure out what the person might want when the person was… Read more

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The purpose of the third UE exercise is to teach your horse to lower is head while he is walking. The third exercise is done in the same manner as the second exercise. You will start each day with the first exercise and then when it feels good you move on to the second exercise. When you feel the horse is really connected and listening to your “rein aids,” which are the requests you give your horse through the halter and the rope, you then move to the third exercise.

Start yourself and your horse in “companion walking” on a none influencing looped line on a 20-meter circle. Do some walk-halt requests to get the connection in rhythm and team work going between you. Halt about every 10 feet. When your horse would slow down and speed up with you in companion-walk without the influence of the rope, you can begin the next part of the third exercise. While you maintain a steady speed in walk ask your horse to lower its head while he is walking in the same way you did the second exercise. Lower you head and tuck your nose a bit and request that your horse… Read more

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