The Rewards of Liberty Work
Feb 25th, 2010 by Carolyn Resnick Method
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I am setting the U.E. Class aside. I want to have an open phone session class on the U.E.. I will offer it at $35.00 for those who are interested. I want to reward the people who are enjoying the U.E.
As you know I did not think that very many people would see the benefit in the exercises, so I have never offered them to anyone who was not a professional. I will have two more classes to finish up the winter program on the U.E. For anyone that wants guidance on them after that just send me your YouTubes and I will continue to guide you forward. I may choose to post your YouTubes and our correspondence on the blog if I feel it would benefit everyone.
I am getting ready to set a date for the Waterhole Rituals online course, so if you have any questions about the Method or course write me in the comments section and I will answer you or do a blog that will address your questions.
I want to address a concern that I hear crop up from time to time. A few of you feel that your horse may not like what you are asking him to do at liberty. I want to help you understand how to approach the Waterhole Rituals. The horse will experience ups and downs in how he feels in the program you bring him. This is good and is what builds the trust, well being, respect and desire to perform. You will be the judge in what he gets to do and what he chooses not to do, that is the right formula to create a happy well-adjusted horse. Horses need to have social interactions on a daily basis like we do. They will always need to be worked with to keep the relationship at its best. Working with horses needs the same focus as you would need working with children or keeping a good marriage.
Working with the Waterhole Rituals, it is hard to make lasting mistakes because the horse is free to go on his own and have a say in the matter and you are wanting him to have a good life. You can easily read your horse and tell if you need to be more strict with him or more playful or take a break or follow his lead or be the leader. The focus of the training is to create a well-adjusted personality with humans and a great dancing partner.
The Waterhole Rituals are meant to be interactive, fun and challenging. The ups and downs will most likely lead to a working bond because of your interest, the freedom and the fact that you are relating to a horse the way horses do when developing a bond. The reason they would not work would be if you had no idea how to approach your horse with them.
On the other hand, if you have no doubts in how to use the Rituals and can see how you would like to approach each successive Ritual, then they are so effective that even making some small mistakes will mean the bond will continue to grow.
My biggest concern for people using the Rituals is that a person might create a more aggressive horse or the opposite, from not being able to see how to apply them properly and to read how their horse feels. If you have raised well-adjusted children, have a good marriage and a well-socialized dog you should be able to use the Rituals to create a great partnership.
Most times the bond forms no matter what you have chosen to do, because you are spending the time together. The relationship is created from the freedom, your intention, the passing of time, the interest of a horse to want to bond and your abilities in how to be a caring leader.
Leadership is what a horse needs to feel a sense of family. I have found that lead horses enjoy human leadership sometimes more than other horses because, in my opinion, when they choose my leadership over their own they can relate and feel truly connected and can finally relax and just be with me in a herd of two.
Have a great weekend!
Carolyn
No related posts.
I have started the first U.E. on Magik, my 17.y.o. q.h. He used to be a school horse 2 years ago (before I adopted him). So, in the past he was very safe.
I’ve been doing the WHR with him for the last year and have most in place. But… last week I tried putting on his old leather halter (is used to the rope halter) and he wouldn’t permit me to put it on. I couldn’t believe how he had changed. But it’s good. He is showing me that he never really liked being haltered and now he has a say so.
I showed him for about 20 minutes what the halter was. He put his nose on it, I would remove. Anyways, after 20 minutes, he let me put it on.
Then I tried holding onto each side of the halter with no pressure and just relaxing. That also aggravated him. He tossed his head in all four directions. I couldn’t believe it. I would then just hold it about 5 seconds (just before he tossed his head). Then I would disconnect and leave. He would follow me. Then I would go back, try again for 5 seconds until he stayed.
Then I removed the halter and just stroked him.
Wow, did he teach me alot that night!!
I often re-read your posts prior to catching up on the class’s comment which I find also wonderful in the sharing. And I wanted to remark on your statement
“If you have raised well-adjusted children, have a good marriage and a well-socialized dog you should be able to use the Rituals to create a great partnership.”
I reflect back on my childhood where my love of animals and my relationship and experiences with so many different animal pets (dogs, cats, ponies, a goat, hamsters, raising orphaned baby rabbits, and even chickens) taught me lessons that actually served me well in the raising of my children. I learned to listen with a quiet mind and observant eye to look beyond a behavior, seeking a root cause; to recognize those magical “teachable” moments full of the delight of “eureka”; I sought to try to comfort a dying pet and learn how to grieve; so many lessons that became such a part of my bedrock that I could “read” my children’s feeling before they knew how to use words to describe them. I was taught by nature to cultivate my intuition and grow my capacity for nurturing. Tis the difference, I think, between “training a child in the way he should go” and “sculpting a soul.” Being with my horse, Cookie, feels like home to me.
I love your blog, Carolyn. I will buy the book as soon as it comes out (love Naked Liberty), but what is really helping me is getting the information a little at a time. Then I can go out and apply it, and really concentrate on my horse. Oftentimes, I read a book and I am excited and overwhelmed by the information. Re-reading a book is wonderful, but there always seems to be new ones piling up, so this is working for me. Dianne
Dear Carolyn, Many thanks for this response (#30), I guess I made it a general ‘anyone out there’ question because it was a bit ‘off topic’ in the UE blog and also you must be totally inundated with questions and emails! However I very much appreciate your reply, and in fact I had understood whisker touching from the name and from my observations of horses but needed to be sure I had deduced things correctly. I love horses’ whiskers, it makes me so mad when I see them shaved off for showing and competition work! I watch the way they use them to test out the electric fencing wires, and examining strange objects. I’ve read a lot about them and how they are used in grazing and general exploration. I also noticed that horses seemed to show ‘touching’ reactions when they didn’t appear to have physically touched, so saw how utterly sensitive they are, plus basic to their commuication. I started just gently whisker touching with horses who seemed to be OK with this and noticed they liked it and responded to it. If I can get pictures I will surely send them on to you. Many thanks again,
best regards,
susan
I am checking in and will look forward to further installations of the UE’s.
Due to various circumstances, I have made little time for the past several to do my favorite thing which is to share space with the equine herd, however….
when I do go out to visit I notice they have become so much more interactive. They will actually come running toward me and are much more eager to hang out or go walking together on the property. I am sure it is a result of the WHR we have been playing with for several months now!
Hello,
I’m just checking in.
Greetings,
Andrea
Just checking in. Today I did have a chance to do the basic UE exercises. Our snow is finally melting so now we have lots of mud and water. Despite the mess, my horse was glad for the attention and I was so pleased with his cooperative spirit.
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us, Carolyn.
Hi Carolyn,
Just checking in, waiting for snow to melt so we have good footing to play on, lots of ice and deep snow, but spring is in the air!
Thanks,
Deb
Thank you for the UE lessons. I am working through them and am behind the schedule as you have presented them. I’m finding great value in them and would like to continue studying them in whatever format. I’m so grateful you are sharing your knowledge and insight. My horses are surely better off!
Gracias!
Steph
Dear Carolyn,
I just want to comment on what working at liberty has accomplished for Roscoe and me so far (I can’t imagine how rewarding the results will be after participating in your WHR class.) I rarely lead Roscoe on a rope. When I do, it’s for safety reasons, like crossing a road or when other owners are around with their horses, which isn’t the case this time of year, as people don’t show up until the weather gets nice, and they can ride! The connection between Roscoe and me has greatly improved; we both are so much more focussed and aware of each other’s movements and intentions. And Roscoe loves having a voice in everything that we do. Roscoe stands for me for grooming, for being bathed, for tacking up, all without being tied up. Does this mean that he never leaves me, and the connection is always intact? Definitely not; we are still learning. Roscoe has a voice and uses it. But I know how to re-establish the connection calmly and softly.
Roscoe and I would not be this happy together were it not for your method.
Karin
Hi Carolyn, Cheking in late.
I would love to either participate in an UE phone session, download one or maybe a cd. It depends on when you would be offering this.
It would have to be springtime and also it depends on the time difference.
I loved this post, Carolyn and totally agree with Stena #1.
Condolences Toni, my heart goes out to you.
Dear Carolyn,
I appreciate your note of caution (#41). The injury was a wake up call to be more safe. I look forward to the spring programme where I can learn more about this. I draw much inspiration from Stina’s videos with the herd, where there appears to be no squabbling for her affection.
Many thanks,
joanna
Hello Carolyn,
Just checking in , things are going well. I’ve been balancing between bond and respect integrating the two, in a way my horse understands , keeps things simple and great! Thank you , Alethia
I, too, want to add my most sincere condolences on the passing of your sister, Toni. May she rest in peace, for now she is a heart-dweller.
I like to believe in Angels;
I like to believe that we are not human beings
Having a spiritual experience,
But rather that we are Spiritual beings
Having a human experience
And that death is but
The launching of our spirits,
Again “trailing clouds of glory,” returning
To God, who is our eternal home.
Beth and Cookie,
in Virginia
Toni Farell,
Condolences on your sister’s passing. I wish you peace and healing.
Kerrie
Dear Carolyn, I would love to participate in the phone session on U.E’s. The U.e’s have prooven beneficial for myself and my horses. Thank you for sharing them with us. I have spent a great deal of time sharing territory with my horses this winter. Not surprisingly our bond only deepens. The other day I was in the indoor w/ my horses enjoying eachother’s company. My boarder came over for a lesson. I threw hay along the wall for my crew to munch on while I gave the lesson. All three of my horses left their hay and followed me around while I was teaching. The WHR’s have enabled me to connect on a level w/ my horses that I haven’t experienced since my childhood, when days were spent hanging out on the lawn w/ my pony looking up at the sky and hearing nothing but grass being munched and being in a state of total contentment. Thank you Carolyn for helping me find that again.
Carolyn,
What will be the requirements in order to participate in the Rituals class?
Carolyn,
Checking in and letting you know my life is “on hold” after my sister’s passing. I am just recently back home again, and starting to visit with my horses. I have no heart for instruction right now, but only for a soft furry body to hug or pet. In another week or two I will return to the UE instruction. Thank you for the short break. I, for one, need it to catch up with everyone else. I am enjoying your blog and instruction, and thank you for offering yourself so freely.
Toni
P.S. Thank you Susan (I believe it was Susan) for your kind words regarding my sister’s passing.
Hi Carolyn!
I would love to learn more about the WHR and UE. I understand that Mark is going to post more information about WHR so I´ll wait for it before I decide how to do. Due to the UE I would like to buy a download version.
I have started the first UE with one of the horses two weeks ago. Last week it was really cold and now it has start snowing again. The weather is not cooperating with me
I´m reading the blogg, books and watching the DVD. It really helps to look at all youtubes.
Many thanks
Anna-Karin from Sweden
Hi Carolyn, checking in. If I am unable to check in on the UE calls due to time differences (I’m in the UK) it would be great to be able to buy a download version, as we did in the first Insider Circle Programme. That way we can have it on our PC’s and on our ipods.
We are still working on the first two exercises and taking it slowly, along with our WR practice. Having a great time!!
Many many thanks
Ang.
dear carolyn,
i have really benefited from the ue online but understand if you feel you want to stop them. i shall continue to use the material available alongside the dvds and book. i find new rewards every day from your guidelines. all my horses are now working at one level or another with your approach and i find it rewarding and challenging.
i have little time or access to internet as there is no internet nor electricity at the farm. we are having the worst winter weather in memory here in andalucia so we have had limited time to work on the exercises.
phone in courses wont help me much as the time difference is so much, plus the lack of phone coverage at the farm. very primitive by u.s. standards i am sure!
so i will continue to work with what there is available. i have learnt how to do you tube and will get these to you in due courses and hope for some feedback.
meanwhile, thankyou for all you have done for me and my horses so far.
best wishes daena rose