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

Read Full Post »

There is a Place to be, in quiet times, with Horses that is Magical

It creates a spontaneous ability to dance with a horse and have a horse want your leadership in a free environment. Of course sitting in the chair is not the whole answer, but it creates the bond needed for the dance.   By giving a horse a sense of freedom while Sharing Territory, you grow the bond that you need for the rest of Waterhole Rituals to be effective.

I ask my students, to sit in a chair while Sharing Territory to grow the bond. Here are a few reasons:

• By sitting in a chair you are more aware that you truly have no agenda, and your horse soon sees that too.
• It is relaxing to sit in a chair and your horse picks up on that.
• You can not move your chair easily, and this causes you to be more careful around your horse. You pay more attention to your personal space by keeping him at a safe distance from you. This teaches respect in a very easy way.
• It teaches your horse not to be afraid of objects that you may drag around with you.

… Read more

Read Full Post »

A Leader of Leaders

A Leader of leaders is how I see the social roles we all play with one another helps to evolve man to his higher self. I would define the higher self as having a natural inclination to bring well being to others that would activate them to become a care taking leader in their own life. It is all about the leadership that we offer in our every day interactions with one another that plays a great part in the well being of our planet.

I have always been aware that no matter the role we play in society, from janitor to president, anyone can play a part to create more well being in the world at large. When we feel a connection and feel free to respond as leaders we have more of an ability to know when to speak and when to listen, when to act and when to pause, in order to support and strengthen the ones we are bonded with.

Making a Difference in the World

Giving up judgment and discontent helps one to see the actions one can take to make a “difference” in the world. What does this have to … Read more

Read Full Post »

Learning more about the magic of the co-creative process

Horses are flexible in their attitude and emotions from willing to unwilling, from trusting to fearful, from relaxed to hyper. Basically a horse’s nature is dynamic, cautious and willing. That makes sense, we are a lot like that ourselves. Horses have two changeable behaviors, fluctuating from trusting to not trusting, from social to antisocial… a bit like we are in our own society. They also seek friendship and live in communities and family groups…again a bit like us. When they feel secure and have enough space, food and water, they life in unity and harmony with one another.

Horses are very social, caring, outwardly affectionate and seek unity and harmony with one another most of the time.  Once we have formed a deep bond with a horse it will be deeper than the one we can share with our own species. When we share a cross-species bond, the horse shows us how deep our feeling for friendship can be. If we choose to look for this connection with all things our well-being and appreciations for life is enhanced. Then, when we can extend this connection to the people in our life, … Read more

Read Full Post »

The fifth exercise starts with the horse in halt, with the head almost to the ground, on a held contact line. While you are holding the contact, ask the horse to move forward. Your horse will have difficulty wanting to do this because he has become light to the aids. In this exercise, we are teaching the horse to go forward with a held rein. This is a new concept to the horse.

The reason this exercise is important for dressage is that here you will ask the horse to stay soft, round up more at the same moment that he would go forward. This is a very hard concept for a horse to grasp, this is why in dressage we see horses becoming resistant, brace become unwilling, nervous and losing their forward impulsion and willingness to listen to the leg aids to go forward. This is also, what starts a horse rearing and bolting. The horse is totally confused because the rein aids are asking him to halt, in his mind, while the leg aids are demanding forward. This simple exercise takes care of these reactions in the horse by teaching him how to round up in a half … Read more

Read Full Post »

Hello again. I love working with my horses. There isn’t anything much that I get so much pleasure out of, as you might have guessed. However, there one thing that thrills me almost as much and that is seeing my students succeed with their horses using my Method.

One of the students who continues to delight me and who is always very generous with her praise of me is Stina. For those of you who don’t know her story, she contacted me about 3 years ago asking if she could study with me. As she lives on St.Vincent in the Caribbean and I live in southern California, this was pretty tricky especially considering the horses she had recently ‘adopted’ were a herd of effectively wild horses. So she started having phone coaching with me and I must say that Stina has done a remarkable job with her herd. The results she and the horses have achieved are fabulous as you will see here and on the videos on the Coaching and Favorites pages.

So I would like to take this opportunity to thank Stina for her continued support of my Method and for the lovely videos she continues to make. … Read more

Read Full Post »

Hello again. I am absolutely thrilled to announce that my new DVD, Waterhole Reflections™, is now available. It has been a long time in the making but we are very pleased with it and are sure you will like it too.

The DVD is designed to awaken your senses enabling you to be truly present and to put you in the right state of mind before you start work with your horse. Through appreciation of the world of horses by viewing this DVD and having a heart-felt connection with your horse, you will strengthen your relationship.

By viewing it on a daily basis, you will continue to reach a deeper connection with your horse by raising your awareness in the moment and you will return to a feeling of well-being. In the moment of the pause, the connection deepens. Breathe deeply and relax. Enjoy the scenes in nature. Being in a state of joy and being present in the moment helps all relationships in life.

I also call the DVD, A Meditation with Horse in Nature. You will find that when you see your horse after the meditation your horse will be much more receptive, focused and willing … Read more

Read Full Post »