Principle:
1-A fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system or belief or behavior or a chain of reasoning used as a rule to govern one’s behavior.
Many like to think that a technique is what guides us on this journey, or makes what we do ‘natural’ but it is not. Techniques are just a facilitator of our principles to help us achieve our goals. In the parelli system, those techniques and principles were chosen for us, but they are not unique to parelli. Having principles, adhered to and revered as absolute truths, is what lets us know if you are on the right track. Too often, students (of any method) get far to hung up on ‘perfection’ of a task or technique and the principles get lost in the fog. And I often wonder why. This is as common place at the highest of levels as it is at the lowest of levels. The FEI is one of the most notable to let the mebers of their group completely ignore the ‘principles’ and now Dressage is so far away from where it started…yet their own rules never changed……and to make up for it, our perception and definition of the ‘principles’ has become so distorted, we cannot even recognize them when we see them….Such as the principle of having ‘the poll as the highest point’…..it is a rare few individuals who can even recognize what it looks like. Most people ‘think’ they have it, and they could not be farther than the truth.
I have been studying French Classical Dressage lately, and the more I get into it, the clearer the connection between Dressage and NH becomes, most specifically Baucherism….though one does NOT automatically equal the other. (Baucherism is a method discovered and developed by Francois Baucher in the mid 1800’s after he studied François Robichon de La Guérinière’s work from the early 1700’s) In all systems, we usually have a relatively lengthy list of ‘principles’….but when you get to the heart of the matter there are usually only a select few that are highly regarded…and usually only one, maybe two, that are thought of as the “holy grail”…..that usually, if adhered to at all times, it will keep you out of trouble and make your road to success a short one. And usually you can say this about them,
“It matters not what technique you use, what style you ride, so long as you do nothing to lose (principle) and do everything to gain (principle)….you will always be on the road to success”
So I thought I would make a list of principles for myself, since I have been reminded by a book I am reading, just what MY holy grail is, and my lack of adherence has caused me great struggles in my pursuit of my own perfection. Obviously the ‘goal’ is improvement in tangible skills, but really those skills are a facilitator to a higher level of conceptuality and philosophical understanding of the principles….which then garner even greater skills…and so on and so on, repeating the cycle in a never ending circle of self improvement. There is a rule that states, if something applies in every situation than it is a RULE, if it does not, then it is a TOOL.
So here is my list of principles that state I can do anything I want so long as I have, create or do not destroy the following….
1. Relaxation (both physical AND mental/emotional) Front to Back
2. The relationship comes first
3. Never use force, be it physical or mental~ includes: Don’t act like a predator, don’t be direct line, Patience BEFORE justice(long phase one)
4. Lightness and Feel~ includes: Release of the aids, no micro management, Timing the aids at the moment when the horse can optimally comply
5. Hands w/out legs, Legs w/out hands
6. Poll the highest point (except when stretching down) & Nose in-front of the vertical, Back not Hollow
7. Keep the rhythm pure
8. Straightness
Principles I used to use that I no longer use, use sparingly, or only use in a safety situation, and why.
1. “The attitude of justice is effective.” It may be effective but it can be harmful physically if misunderstood and also because it can destroy relaxation, relationship, and rhythm and often eventually involves force.
2. “Immobile Neutral on a circle.” Too much mayhem goes on that is not seen by way of not watching the horse, and it pulls me away from many of the above principles that are FAR more important to me.
For now I think that is about it. Should I come across any more I will update this.
I think if more people put relaxation at the top of their list, they would avert many problems. It needs to be the first thing you get, such as when you first approach your horse, do not do things in that approach that cause him to become tense, as you begin your session, again, do not CAUSE tension…..then your first goal is to reduce and remove what ever tension he had there to begin with. Then you can move on to the days lesson, again not CAUSING tension with any of your requests. Should your request be met with tension….stop…find out what caused it and fix it before moving on. Was he not prepared for your request, was it too demanding due to his level of skill and understanding, did you ask too abruptly or strongly, did you ask at a moment he could not possibly respond correctly, was he distracted….etc….
Relaxation does not mean dead btw. It doesn’t mean create a mindless plug. He should still be alert, sensitive and responsive…..but FREE from tension, both physical and mental.
So these are my thoughts on this rainy day
Savvy On
Michelle
Showing posts with label Horsemanship Ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Horsemanship Ideas. Show all posts
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Check this out, I kinda finished a new page about head positions
Ever wonder what they meant by 'in front of the vertical' or 'on it' or 'behind it'......??
Ever wonder what it looks like when the poll is or isn't the highest point?
Think you see alot of people working a horse on the bit correctly?
Well check out my new page, link is above, titled
"Poll High, Nose in front of the vertical, FDO" or click here to get there too
it is still a work in progress, but lots of photo's to learn from and test your eye and knowledge.
Savvy On
Michelle
Ever wonder what it looks like when the poll is or isn't the highest point?
Think you see alot of people working a horse on the bit correctly?
Well check out my new page, link is above, titled
"Poll High, Nose in front of the vertical, FDO" or click here to get there too
it is still a work in progress, but lots of photo's to learn from and test your eye and knowledge.
Savvy On
Michelle
Friday, January 20, 2012
French Dressage vs German Dressage vs Natural Horsemanship….deeper insight.
Hmmm, some of the ‘french classical dressage’ is sinking in as I read and learn more about it. I find it highly interesting that my initial suspicions that the new age cowboy, ie: the ‘natural horsemen’ is infact doing a version of the French classical training. With German classical dressage, it is mostly about precision, where you are in control of every move the horse makes. It is about accuracy and power and grace. I would not define it as micro management as of yet. At least not when done right. Mainly because having done it for so long, I know full well that you can have an intimate relationship, where you do control every move, while still giving the horse responsibilities to uphold and giving him the freedom to uphold them, yet correcting him when he does not. So the german style books are very inviting for the novice rider, because just like the method of training the horse, the method of training the rider is just as precise and detailed. Because it is a cookbook of recipes, the novice will find the exact ‘how to’ they are looking for. But of course, it is the ‘how to’ ride GERMAN.
It seems that for the French however, their ‘method’ actually is a lack of strict guidelines. With it, it is more vague as in the ‘how to’ simply because it is about giving the horse the true freedom to express himself. As a rider, we need to stop waiting to be told what to do, and start ‘feeling’ the horse. We need to understand what and why we are asking the horse to do something before we ask him, and then when we do ask him, to get out of his way so he can do it…..and let HIM carry US. If he has difficulty or doesn’t understand, of course it is OUR responsibility to intervene and help him. Basically the essence of the French School is to FEEL our horse, not to follow some generic set of directions or to make or force it to happen, but to set it up to let it happen, then notice it and reward it when it does. Each horse is different and needs to be listened to as such. He needs to learn on his own, thru the various school movements how to balance himself, for we cannot teach it to him, just as our parents could not teach us how to balance as an infant so we could learn how to walk. But, that doesn’t leave us the rider with no responsibilities in the matter. We do need to be showing him the way towards balance and lightness, not throwing him to the wolves and leaving him to never truly discover it. Lest we not forget…..WE are the leaders, the tour guides, and we should always have our safety nets. Again, we guide the horse, and let the horse carry us.
So, it appears that in my new discovery (French Classical), Parelli does give us the tools to teach a horse on the ground, the ingredients we will need once in the saddle. Until recently, Parelli (and similar methods) did not much support the German Style, however I believe Linda’s new Game of Contact will. Because French is all about lightness, Pat’s style of riding is along those lines and the reason why I believe Linda had so much trouble ‘getting’ the game of contact all these years. Mainly because they (French and German or Pat and Linda) are quite a bit contradictory. Despite all that she learned from Pat and NH, she was seeking the holy grail of the German School. Something I myself discovered many moons ago, and thus, had issues with a few aspects of NH all along….because I saw the contradictions from the get go. Something in Linda’s brain finally ‘clicked’ and she ‘got it’. Personally, I don’t think it was much of a discovery on how to get contact, as much as a way to cause the horse himself to WANT to take the contact. The actual style of contact she is riding, is the same as it has always been. She is not the first to cause a horse to WANT to take the contact, but she may infact be the first to figure out a way to simplify teaching it and to teach it to many humans…..so that they too can cause ‘their’ horse to WANT to take the contact too. Something that honestly is not easy to find/understand in any kind of literature or other types of learning venues. The contradiction that I keep speaking of in NH is that the general desire is to have a horse give/move away from pressure. Any and All pressure.....so.....when she was being told to 'keep the contact' she, based on the subconcious conditioning, was asking for and then allowing the horse to not move INTO the pressure. To be honest, I know it is all that easy to teach a horse to do both, but I do know it can be done as I have done it myself.....but.....90% of the contact was just that.....contact.....and still far far far from French lightness.
So what I find so damn ironic, is that I have been waiting 10ys for Parelli to come up with the kind of stuff that did not contradict all the Classical German Dressage that I held true to my heart, something unlike the version of the cowboy who is describing what I know deep inside me to be French Classical Dressage in disguise, that which I rejected for all my dressage years and all my 10ys of NH……
And when Parelli finally DOES come out with the ‘game of contact’….here I am being drawn to French Classical Dressage like a moth to a flame, and seeing more and more what the Cowboy has to offer me…..at least in the “HOW” department…..I will still keep searching the Classical Masters for the “what” department….as I would like my horse to be more engaged and through than the cowboys desire. The cowboys, typically, will not uphold the holy principles of the classical masters….such as the poll being the highest point, not being behind the vertical….etc etc….because at the end of the day…..their goal is a good COW horse. But now more than ever, I firmly believe the reason my transition to French Classical is so easy is due mostly in part to Pat 7 games. Because once you know how to ask a horse to do “some”thing….you can ask him to do ‘any’thing. For this reason, Rose near instantly knew leg yield and shoulder in, and haunches in…..where it was a lifetime pursuit in my German days. Those things were the things I aspired to do….’one day’……and now they are things I can ask a green horse within the first few rides. They are not a mystery, and I can now use them exactly as they were intended to be used….as gymnastic exercises for EVERY horse, of EVERY level……not a movement of perfection for some higher level competition.
So if the German holy grail is ‘forward’ and the French holy grail is ‘lightness’, it stands to reason that there may in fact be some difficulty in the marriage of the two. I still need to see the ‘game of contact’ for myself, though as I have said in the past, I have a fairly good general idea from the mastery dvd’s. I think regardless many dressage riders would be astounded to know just how much Parelli could help them learn their dressage better, and now…..it will include both the French and the German style. But make no mistake about the fact that the things like rhythm, tempo, impulsion, straightness and collection, will still be up to you to study outside of parelli…….it is just that parelli teaches you how to ask your horse to do anything…..so if you know you need pure rhythm, even tempo and straitness…..while they don’t teach those things, none the less you will learn how to apply their method to any topic. Sky’s the limit…..only your lack of imagination hold you back….so what are you waiting for?
Savvy On
Michelle
It seems that for the French however, their ‘method’ actually is a lack of strict guidelines. With it, it is more vague as in the ‘how to’ simply because it is about giving the horse the true freedom to express himself. As a rider, we need to stop waiting to be told what to do, and start ‘feeling’ the horse. We need to understand what and why we are asking the horse to do something before we ask him, and then when we do ask him, to get out of his way so he can do it…..and let HIM carry US. If he has difficulty or doesn’t understand, of course it is OUR responsibility to intervene and help him. Basically the essence of the French School is to FEEL our horse, not to follow some generic set of directions or to make or force it to happen, but to set it up to let it happen, then notice it and reward it when it does. Each horse is different and needs to be listened to as such. He needs to learn on his own, thru the various school movements how to balance himself, for we cannot teach it to him, just as our parents could not teach us how to balance as an infant so we could learn how to walk. But, that doesn’t leave us the rider with no responsibilities in the matter. We do need to be showing him the way towards balance and lightness, not throwing him to the wolves and leaving him to never truly discover it. Lest we not forget…..WE are the leaders, the tour guides, and we should always have our safety nets. Again, we guide the horse, and let the horse carry us.
So, it appears that in my new discovery (French Classical), Parelli does give us the tools to teach a horse on the ground, the ingredients we will need once in the saddle. Until recently, Parelli (and similar methods) did not much support the German Style, however I believe Linda’s new Game of Contact will. Because French is all about lightness, Pat’s style of riding is along those lines and the reason why I believe Linda had so much trouble ‘getting’ the game of contact all these years. Mainly because they (French and German or Pat and Linda) are quite a bit contradictory. Despite all that she learned from Pat and NH, she was seeking the holy grail of the German School. Something I myself discovered many moons ago, and thus, had issues with a few aspects of NH all along….because I saw the contradictions from the get go. Something in Linda’s brain finally ‘clicked’ and she ‘got it’. Personally, I don’t think it was much of a discovery on how to get contact, as much as a way to cause the horse himself to WANT to take the contact. The actual style of contact she is riding, is the same as it has always been. She is not the first to cause a horse to WANT to take the contact, but she may infact be the first to figure out a way to simplify teaching it and to teach it to many humans…..so that they too can cause ‘their’ horse to WANT to take the contact too. Something that honestly is not easy to find/understand in any kind of literature or other types of learning venues. The contradiction that I keep speaking of in NH is that the general desire is to have a horse give/move away from pressure. Any and All pressure.....so.....when she was being told to 'keep the contact' she, based on the subconcious conditioning, was asking for and then allowing the horse to not move INTO the pressure. To be honest, I know it is all that easy to teach a horse to do both, but I do know it can be done as I have done it myself.....but.....90% of the contact was just that.....contact.....and still far far far from French lightness.
So what I find so damn ironic, is that I have been waiting 10ys for Parelli to come up with the kind of stuff that did not contradict all the Classical German Dressage that I held true to my heart, something unlike the version of the cowboy who is describing what I know deep inside me to be French Classical Dressage in disguise, that which I rejected for all my dressage years and all my 10ys of NH……
And when Parelli finally DOES come out with the ‘game of contact’….here I am being drawn to French Classical Dressage like a moth to a flame, and seeing more and more what the Cowboy has to offer me…..at least in the “HOW” department…..I will still keep searching the Classical Masters for the “what” department….as I would like my horse to be more engaged and through than the cowboys desire. The cowboys, typically, will not uphold the holy principles of the classical masters….such as the poll being the highest point, not being behind the vertical….etc etc….because at the end of the day…..their goal is a good COW horse. But now more than ever, I firmly believe the reason my transition to French Classical is so easy is due mostly in part to Pat 7 games. Because once you know how to ask a horse to do “some”thing….you can ask him to do ‘any’thing. For this reason, Rose near instantly knew leg yield and shoulder in, and haunches in…..where it was a lifetime pursuit in my German days. Those things were the things I aspired to do….’one day’……and now they are things I can ask a green horse within the first few rides. They are not a mystery, and I can now use them exactly as they were intended to be used….as gymnastic exercises for EVERY horse, of EVERY level……not a movement of perfection for some higher level competition.
So if the German holy grail is ‘forward’ and the French holy grail is ‘lightness’, it stands to reason that there may in fact be some difficulty in the marriage of the two. I still need to see the ‘game of contact’ for myself, though as I have said in the past, I have a fairly good general idea from the mastery dvd’s. I think regardless many dressage riders would be astounded to know just how much Parelli could help them learn their dressage better, and now…..it will include both the French and the German style. But make no mistake about the fact that the things like rhythm, tempo, impulsion, straightness and collection, will still be up to you to study outside of parelli…….it is just that parelli teaches you how to ask your horse to do anything…..so if you know you need pure rhythm, even tempo and straitness…..while they don’t teach those things, none the less you will learn how to apply their method to any topic. Sky’s the limit…..only your lack of imagination hold you back….so what are you waiting for?
Savvy On
Michelle
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Happy 300th Post! Celebrate with me!
So lets see, I started this blog over 2 n half years ago, inspired by the movie "Julie and Julia" I left the theater and came home with the intention of doing ALL the Parelli levels tasks, level 1-4......in a year. Unlike the movie, I failed miserably. Lots of things got in the way of my goal, but my journey took many unsuspecting turns and twists, and thus so did my blog. I have reviewed close to 60 horse dvd's, but 8 or so are still in draft mode waiting for me to finish them. Those dvd's alone have changed my life and journey in so many ways, as well as the books I am reading, that I cannot find the words sometimes to express it. When I started my blog, I was still VERY paralyzed from my fears and still in a dreadful amount of pain from the car accident. I was still going thru a pre ride ritual, that involved cigarettes and mediation, and then I still had fear issues while riding. As of today, I am fear free, I just hop on and ride. And I hope to get the cantering thing tackled this summer.
Over the last few years, my relationship with Rose hit some really low LOWS.....and my relationship with Cha'cote hit some really high HIGHS. I have saved the lives of quite a few horses and a few dogs too. I have gained a few pounds, lost a few, and found them again....ugh. Been thru hell and back in my personal life and survived. I've lost some friends and made some new ones. And generally am doing alright. I got to conduct a huge social experiment, in where during a dark time for Parelli, the infamous Catwalk incident, I chose to take a drastically different "online" path than all of my friends, and opened up some wonderful dialog with parelli haters world wide. (click here) to read the thread, but I must tell you, it is long and pointless if you don't read the whole thing. I just wanted to prove that there is a way to talk to people and a way not to talk to people. That there doesn't have to be an "us" and a "them". We don't have to be at war with people who don't do parelli or anyone for that matter, just because we are different. So, anonymously I started a thread under the aka screen name 'tongue~n~cheek', and posted an offer to people who don't do parelli, to ask legitimate non 'anti hate' questions about parelli....and i would honestly answer those questions with OUT cramming parelli down their throats or making them feel inferior for not doing parelli. In the end I think I answered over 200 questions and another 200 private messages. It took me 5 long weeks of only 3-4 hrs of sleep a day to accomplish it. It started off rough, but in the end, I made alot of friends world wide and not a one of them was a parelli person. Just goes to show, when you open your heart before your mouth, wonderful things can happen. Linda Parelli herself read the thread and was impressed, and while she and I were talking about it, she mentioned that while Pat was reviewing my audition he remarked about me "you can see she has the savvy". Speaking of auditions, during this blogging time I officially passed 5 auditions. Woo Hoo! While it is not 'official' I am a L4 grad, and hope to someday make it official, though it is no longer at the top of the list of High Priority anymore. Probably the best of all, is my new found interest in French Classical dressage because although it is vastly different to my German Classical dressage past, it is completely perfect for where I am in my life with my horsemanship, where the German is not so achievable right now. But, after giving this thing a go during good weather in the upcoming months, I may never go back. I have found 'me' again, after searching for years! I learned some really good stuff with the Waterhole Rituals too. And I am certainly looking at horsemanship with brand new eyes, and what I am finding is REALLY good stuff. What more can I ask for? It has been a great journey that has brought me right here, right where I guess I need to be.
Thanks to those that have followed along. My little blog is just a few short visitors away from 12,ooo views. Here's to looking forward to the next 300 posts.....Stay tuned as I am working on some good stuff regarding bitless dressage and keeping the pole the highest point, and also working on a page about different types of horsemanship and the masters we all look up too. Don't forget to look around, there are over 100 video's plastered all over the place with both good and bad horsemanship to learn from.
Savvy On
Michelle
Monday, November 21, 2011
Muscle vs Mindfullness
So I watched my lame little video.....looked at the title i gave it...'back in the saddle'......thinking.....but my A$$ has been in the saddle over the last 4ys.....what makes it different this time? truth be told, I have not done anything 'dressagy' for probably 13ys. just been starting my rescues and green beans....
during that time i have been doing parelli, be it my intial "this is crap, gonna prove it wont work with dressage" to "i'm gonna be a PP" to "something is wrong gotta bail". with the car accident, my inferior skills upon my return, my horse hating me and life in general.....i have been on this journey for the last year n half.....since my whole OLL3 audition debacle.....and have noticed many times I thought i had 'figured it out'.
Many times I have had these BFO's....that in retrospect were only mini bfo's. but i think i have it now....I think I finally found the missing piece....or maybe just figured out how all the missing pieces i have found in the last year...have finally completed some cosmic kharmic picture.
a picture that shows me the death grip i had on what ever it was i was holding on to so tightly.....that it took something pretty big to get my attention. Maybe I needed that smack to my leg to force me let go with the last finger i had gripping on for dear life.
so i recently watched Mark Rashids dvd "developing sofness in the rider".....and just as his books have given me deep spiritual revelations, his words are so profound to me and this dvd was no different.
he talked about our minds needing to be like still water in a pond, so the landscape around it can be mirrored perfectly in the water.....and if you throw stones in the water....the ripples distort the picture. and just as in life....chaos in your mind distorts your perceptions of people places and things around you. or something like that....
so my friend and i have been talking about his muscle vs mindfulness concepts nearly every day for the last week about nearly every aspect of our lives.....and then.....I rode.
so here i sit, watching my little lame dressage video....and it hit me....for the first time in 13ys....i saw a glimpse of ME....and realized i have not seen her in a long time. i saw the soft me, the mindful me, the peaceful me, the get in harmony and help my horse move right me, the dressage me that i never thought i would see again....
unfortunately i saw the FAT me too....but....i guess you cant have your cake and eat it too.....oh wait...that's how i GOT fat.....so i take that back....i guess you can have your cake and your husbands cake and your kids cake...and eat them all in one sitting while crying in your cereal :roll:
i noticed in this last ride, all the fear, judgement, assumptions, ridicule, self loathing, hatred, pain, and worst of all the ANGER....were gone. i was at peace with myself, and my horse and i danced. sure it wasn't perfect....not even by a million to one long shot.....but it was ME and i liked what i saw
it wasn't the me that everyone else told me i had to be, the me that everyone expected me to be, the me I thought everyone else wanted me to be.....I was
ME.....and I was pretty dam OK with it. I cleared the clutter from my head and followed my own set of rules, tuned everything else out.....and listened to my horse. Instead of 'upping my leadership' and using muscle (not physical rather mental) and i used my intuition and let nature guide me. i didn't fight muscle with more muscle....I simply redirected the energy using my mindfulness and we danced.
In that lame little dressage video i also saw something else.....HOPE
Hope for the future....that I do have one and it does include dressage....MY dressage......Rose's dressage.....Nature's dressage and
we will dance again. :wink:
during that time i have been doing parelli, be it my intial "this is crap, gonna prove it wont work with dressage" to "i'm gonna be a PP" to "something is wrong gotta bail". with the car accident, my inferior skills upon my return, my horse hating me and life in general.....i have been on this journey for the last year n half.....since my whole OLL3 audition debacle.....and have noticed many times I thought i had 'figured it out'.
Many times I have had these BFO's....that in retrospect were only mini bfo's. but i think i have it now....I think I finally found the missing piece....or maybe just figured out how all the missing pieces i have found in the last year...have finally completed some cosmic kharmic picture.
a picture that shows me the death grip i had on what ever it was i was holding on to so tightly.....that it took something pretty big to get my attention. Maybe I needed that smack to my leg to force me let go with the last finger i had gripping on for dear life.
so i recently watched Mark Rashids dvd "developing sofness in the rider".....and just as his books have given me deep spiritual revelations, his words are so profound to me and this dvd was no different.
he talked about our minds needing to be like still water in a pond, so the landscape around it can be mirrored perfectly in the water.....and if you throw stones in the water....the ripples distort the picture. and just as in life....chaos in your mind distorts your perceptions of people places and things around you. or something like that....
so my friend and i have been talking about his muscle vs mindfulness concepts nearly every day for the last week about nearly every aspect of our lives.....and then.....I rode.
so here i sit, watching my little lame dressage video....and it hit me....for the first time in 13ys....i saw a glimpse of ME....and realized i have not seen her in a long time. i saw the soft me, the mindful me, the peaceful me, the get in harmony and help my horse move right me, the dressage me that i never thought i would see again....
unfortunately i saw the FAT me too....but....i guess you cant have your cake and eat it too.....oh wait...that's how i GOT fat.....so i take that back....i guess you can have your cake and your husbands cake and your kids cake...and eat them all in one sitting while crying in your cereal :roll:
i noticed in this last ride, all the fear, judgement, assumptions, ridicule, self loathing, hatred, pain, and worst of all the ANGER....were gone. i was at peace with myself, and my horse and i danced. sure it wasn't perfect....not even by a million to one long shot.....but it was ME and i liked what i saw
it wasn't the me that everyone else told me i had to be, the me that everyone expected me to be, the me I thought everyone else wanted me to be.....I was
ME.....and I was pretty dam OK with it. I cleared the clutter from my head and followed my own set of rules, tuned everything else out.....and listened to my horse. Instead of 'upping my leadership' and using muscle (not physical rather mental) and i used my intuition and let nature guide me. i didn't fight muscle with more muscle....I simply redirected the energy using my mindfulness and we danced.
In that lame little dressage video i also saw something else.....HOPE
Hope for the future....that I do have one and it does include dressage....MY dressage......Rose's dressage.....Nature's dressage and
we will dance again. :wink:
Do you REALLY know what Rhythm is?
Do you know the difference between Rhythm and Tempo? We’ve all heard (god I hope we have) that walk is a 4 beat gait, trot a 2 beat gait and canter a 3 beat gait. And we hear the three “R’s” rhythm, relaxation, retreat. But do you REALLY know what RHYTHM is? In my experience in the ‘natural’ world…..the answer is….probably not. You may know someone else’s definition based on ‘their’ overall goal….which is actually…..TEMPO. And also interchangeably use ‘purity of gait’
The greener our eyes are, the bigger we need the picture to be, in order to ‘get’ something. So it is easy for someone to say…..rhythm….in exchange for tempo…when talking about ‘behavior’ and ‘emotions’ in a horse. Or a green horse just learning to ‘rate’ his speed. So we wouldn’t want to see his canter go quickly then slowly then quickly then slowly…..we would like him to be consistent…..but this is actually TEMPO. So unfortunately we don’t, in the end understand and thus incorrectly use the term ‘rhythm’ for ‘tempo’ but it served it’s purpose of helping us identify and correct emotional inconsistencies in our horse, or helping a very green horse get his very basic bearings about himself.
However, in Dressage, Rhythm is a core element, and inconsistencies will cost you big time. It is suppose to be TABOO to cause irregular gaits….ie: RHYTHM…..but they take a fine eye and ear to recognize…..so it would be prudent to REALLY know what it is, what is correct, and what would be considered a crime against nature.
Rhythm: Unconstrained, forward flow of energy through “well timed” steps
Rhythm is the pattern of the beats of the gait….2 beat trot, 3 beat canter and 4 beat walk. It should be even and consistent. It isn’t the ‘beat’ in so much as it is the amount of time ‘between’ the beats….that defines the RHYTHM. We tend to think of the trot as 1-2 1-2- 1-2…. So to define the ‘even’ part….what you need to know is that the time between footfalls should be perfectly even, and it is helpful to think of it as 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8….which 4 strides of trot.
If you counted out loud as your horse trotted along…..
that is exactly what you should hear….1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8……..NOT…..1-—2-3-—4-5-—6-7—8.
Same for the walk there, which is the easiest gait to screw up and cause an ambling or shuffling as described above….mainly from too much contact not enough engagement. The trot however is usually screwed up by posting. So when posting, you should think of an imaginary saddle seat hovering over the pommel. You should be spending just as much time with your ‘front’ on the imaginary saddle as you do with your ‘back’ in the real saddle….and the time in between, spent rising, should be equal to the time in between, spent falling. Usually this is the reason for lack of even rhythm in the trot gait. Do it for too long, and you make it a habit hard to break for you and your horse. Now the canter is a whole ‘nuther story. While it is a 3 beat gait, we must remember there is a suspension phase as well, with it’s own ‘beat’ so to speak. Making the canter kind of like a 4 beat gait…..for the purposes of explaining the canter rhythm…………at least if you want your horse to not be totally flat with no elevation or space of time between strides. So a canter rhythm would be like this….. 123-123-123-123……..not 123123123123123…so it might be helpful to go ahead and count out the suspension beat like this 123s123s123s123s123s123s or how I like to do it….123412341234. The longer the suspension phase….the more uphill, springy, engaged, etc the canter will be.
Let’s talk about SERIOUS deviations of purity of gait. These are things you will see caused by such things as Rolkur and again serious lack of impulsion or odd mix of collection/impulsion….this is where the trot becomes a 4 beat gait because of diagonal pair of legs not hitting the ground simultaneously….or the canter becomes a 4 beat gait such as in the often seen 4 beat ‘pirouette’ where the horse is rearing on two hind legs, swings his torso over, then places his front feet down separately…..that is NOT a canter. This would be caused by focusing too much doing the pirouette on the ‘spot’ rather than focusing on keeping the gait pure (3 clear beats) and sacrificing the ‘spot’. As I said in the beginning, it is ‘suppose’ to be taboo to lose purity of gait or have an irregular rhythm. It is suppose to be taboo to not have the poll the highest spot, and taboo to have the nose behind the vertical….yet we almost exclusively see all these deviations from the most elite in the sport. Adhering to “Winning” above basic cardinal principles….will be nothing more than sacrifice at your horse’s expense.
So now that you know WHAT rhythm is and isn’t, let’t talk about TEMPO again. Because lets face it 1---2-3---4-5---6-7---8 IS a rhythm, it just isn’t an even rhythm or the one we are looking for…..it is an irregular rhythm.
So lets say you have a trot…..1---2---3---4---5---6 as your regular working trot….when you shorten or lengthen the stride…this will shorten….1-2-3-4-5-6 or lengthen 1-------2-------3-------4-------5-------6 but see how it stayed regular and even and consistent….if you ever got 123456…..your horse will likely to be found….on the forehand, strung out, emotionally scattered. Time needs to be spent doing lots of half halts and lots of cavaletti work.
Remember, while we want a canter to have a well defined suspension ‘beat’, we do not want him to move like Pepe Le Pew 123--------------123-------
Hope this has help clear up any confusion about what Rhythm really is……and don’t worry……with this knowledge, despite what Gloria Estephan says….the Rhythm isn’t “Gonna getcha’”
Savvy On
Michelle
The greener our eyes are, the bigger we need the picture to be, in order to ‘get’ something. So it is easy for someone to say…..rhythm….in exchange for tempo…when talking about ‘behavior’ and ‘emotions’ in a horse. Or a green horse just learning to ‘rate’ his speed. So we wouldn’t want to see his canter go quickly then slowly then quickly then slowly…..we would like him to be consistent…..but this is actually TEMPO. So unfortunately we don’t, in the end understand and thus incorrectly use the term ‘rhythm’ for ‘tempo’ but it served it’s purpose of helping us identify and correct emotional inconsistencies in our horse, or helping a very green horse get his very basic bearings about himself.
However, in Dressage, Rhythm is a core element, and inconsistencies will cost you big time. It is suppose to be TABOO to cause irregular gaits….ie: RHYTHM…..but they take a fine eye and ear to recognize…..so it would be prudent to REALLY know what it is, what is correct, and what would be considered a crime against nature.
Rhythm: Unconstrained, forward flow of energy through “well timed” steps
Rhythm is the pattern of the beats of the gait….2 beat trot, 3 beat canter and 4 beat walk. It should be even and consistent. It isn’t the ‘beat’ in so much as it is the amount of time ‘between’ the beats….that defines the RHYTHM. We tend to think of the trot as 1-2 1-2- 1-2…. So to define the ‘even’ part….what you need to know is that the time between footfalls should be perfectly even, and it is helpful to think of it as 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8….which 4 strides of trot.
If you counted out loud as your horse trotted along…..
that is exactly what you should hear….1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8……..NOT…..1-—2-3-—4-5-—6-7—8.
Same for the walk there, which is the easiest gait to screw up and cause an ambling or shuffling as described above….mainly from too much contact not enough engagement. The trot however is usually screwed up by posting. So when posting, you should think of an imaginary saddle seat hovering over the pommel. You should be spending just as much time with your ‘front’ on the imaginary saddle as you do with your ‘back’ in the real saddle….and the time in between, spent rising, should be equal to the time in between, spent falling. Usually this is the reason for lack of even rhythm in the trot gait. Do it for too long, and you make it a habit hard to break for you and your horse. Now the canter is a whole ‘nuther story. While it is a 3 beat gait, we must remember there is a suspension phase as well, with it’s own ‘beat’ so to speak. Making the canter kind of like a 4 beat gait…..for the purposes of explaining the canter rhythm…………at least if you want your horse to not be totally flat with no elevation or space of time between strides. So a canter rhythm would be like this….. 123-123-123-123……..not 123123123123123…so it might be helpful to go ahead and count out the suspension beat like this 123s123s123s123s123s123s or how I like to do it….123412341234. The longer the suspension phase….the more uphill, springy, engaged, etc the canter will be.
Let’s talk about SERIOUS deviations of purity of gait. These are things you will see caused by such things as Rolkur and again serious lack of impulsion or odd mix of collection/impulsion….this is where the trot becomes a 4 beat gait because of diagonal pair of legs not hitting the ground simultaneously….or the canter becomes a 4 beat gait such as in the often seen 4 beat ‘pirouette’ where the horse is rearing on two hind legs, swings his torso over, then places his front feet down separately…..that is NOT a canter. This would be caused by focusing too much doing the pirouette on the ‘spot’ rather than focusing on keeping the gait pure (3 clear beats) and sacrificing the ‘spot’. As I said in the beginning, it is ‘suppose’ to be taboo to lose purity of gait or have an irregular rhythm. It is suppose to be taboo to not have the poll the highest spot, and taboo to have the nose behind the vertical….yet we almost exclusively see all these deviations from the most elite in the sport. Adhering to “Winning” above basic cardinal principles….will be nothing more than sacrifice at your horse’s expense.
So now that you know WHAT rhythm is and isn’t, let’t talk about TEMPO again. Because lets face it 1---2-3---4-5---6-7---8 IS a rhythm, it just isn’t an even rhythm or the one we are looking for…..it is an irregular rhythm.
So lets say you have a trot…..1---2---3---4---5---6 as your regular working trot….when you shorten or lengthen the stride…this will shorten….1-2-3-4-5-6 or lengthen 1-------2-------3-------4-------5-------6 but see how it stayed regular and even and consistent….if you ever got 123456…..your horse will likely to be found….on the forehand, strung out, emotionally scattered. Time needs to be spent doing lots of half halts and lots of cavaletti work.
Remember, while we want a canter to have a well defined suspension ‘beat’, we do not want him to move like Pepe Le Pew 123--------------123-------
Hope this has help clear up any confusion about what Rhythm really is……and don’t worry……with this knowledge, despite what Gloria Estephan says….the Rhythm isn’t “Gonna getcha’”
Savvy On
Michelle
Monday, November 7, 2011
Days without a learn burn…..36
Well, until a month ago…..I had racked up quite a good number of days since I had any kind of horse related injury, so long ago that I can’t even remember what/when it was…….but…..here I sit with a jacked up knee. Things are better today than a month ago for sure, but I can’t believe it has already been a month. Time seems to really have flown by without me, and we rolled the clocks back this last weekend. October is always the month in which all horse enthusiasts get in their last minute fun before the curtain closes on yet another season of horsing around. This week it will be pitch black when I get home from work, so weekdays will not be optimal for play time. I had surgery on my knee 2 weeks ago, but not much got fixed. They thought it was one thing, that would easily be fixed laproscopically……but got in there and found something all together different……that will require a cadaver donor to fix. I am going to pass on that for now……and hope I can return to somewhat normal activities with a knee brace…..and then just sit it out, wait and hope for the best. I can at least straighten my leg now, but the bending is going so slowly. I am at a 90* bend at best.....good news is.....riding only requires a 112* to a 135* bend. I rode a barrel at a recent playday, and having something between my legs didn't seem to hurt, so that is a plus as well. Biggest plus is that Rose is generally a good girl undersaddle so no glaring issues with that either.
So what did I do to jack up my knee you ask? Well....I was helping a friend with a wild colt. They could not touch him, much less halter him....so I went over to help her out. All was going good, I was just a minute or two from being done.....and I had done a mighty fine job of it too, if I do say so myself. The whole thing from start to finish, took less than two hours. I was haltering him and touching him well, approach was good, I got fly spray on him....and was giving the final 2 squirts when he turned his haunches toward me and bumped me. I was just too slow to get out of the way and my knee whent the wrong way. I flew through the air trying to get my feet under me and as I landed my knee went the other way! Tore the ACL ligament 90%. As I lay there in a pile of shit, I thought to myself.....the Moral of the story is......be carefull when you toot your own horn....you just may choke on it while you are tooting!
I havn't been on line much, very little to be exact, been riding the green fluffy couch for a month....watching my son hog up the computer to his hearts content!
Savvy On
Michelle
So what did I do to jack up my knee you ask? Well....I was helping a friend with a wild colt. They could not touch him, much less halter him....so I went over to help her out. All was going good, I was just a minute or two from being done.....and I had done a mighty fine job of it too, if I do say so myself. The whole thing from start to finish, took less than two hours. I was haltering him and touching him well, approach was good, I got fly spray on him....and was giving the final 2 squirts when he turned his haunches toward me and bumped me. I was just too slow to get out of the way and my knee whent the wrong way. I flew through the air trying to get my feet under me and as I landed my knee went the other way! Tore the ACL ligament 90%. As I lay there in a pile of shit, I thought to myself.....the Moral of the story is......be carefull when you toot your own horn....you just may choke on it while you are tooting!
I havn't been on line much, very little to be exact, been riding the green fluffy couch for a month....watching my son hog up the computer to his hearts content!
Savvy On
Michelle
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Barracuda's
Miyagi is back....and oh boy....was the dust flying. Got some good behavior on video, from alpha to omega!
Friday, September 23, 2011
DVD Review:**** 5Mike Schaffer: Right From The Start
Right from the Start****
It is refreshing to see educational dressage dvd's that so clearly show that many traditional and classical riders and their methods are 'natural'. Most NH'rs think that the NH 'techniques' are what makes natural....well....natural....and they couldn't be farther from the truth. The TRUTH is, natural is in your mind, it is in concepts and philosophy, not in a stick and a rope.
Mike has a philosophy that if you start a horse on the ground to accept and give to the bit, before you get on his back, you will save him YEARS of confusion and pain. I agree with this whole heartedly. Another of his steps is to release knots in the neck with massage and to supple the horse with lateral movements on the ground before you mount up. Nothing un-natural about that. His technique was simple to understand and very well demonstrated with several un-started horses and horses he was re-starting that had years of evasions to the bit. His technique only took minutes for the horse to understand the lesson, because Mike understands.....it's all about the release. He demonstrated this time and again. He also shows a rider how to do this, and walked her literally one step at a time through the process, from ground to saddle. The changes in the horse were nothing short of amazing.
As for my dressage principles, I feel this is a great tool in teaching the horse to give to the bit, but I caution you, we do not want them so soft, that they travel around over bent longitudinally and behind the bit or vertical.......OR over bent laterally, crooked and falling out thru the shoulder. This dvd is about 'giving to the bit', so remember, it all starts in the back end, driving your horse, straight, over his back, reaching TO the bit, TO the contact, and ACCEPTING that contact....not about a head set, or avoiding the contact.
I am giving this dvd 4 *"s as I believe very strongly it is a must see for anyone who is about to, or already has, put a bit in their horses mouth, and it is simple, concise, and not convoluted with any other content not related to the subject.
click here for more info about Mike Schaffer
Savvy On
Michelle
Thursday, September 1, 2011
DVD Review:**** Dr Gerd Heuschmann: If Horses Could Speak
If Horses Could Speak ****
Savvy On
Michelle
This is a must see for anyone who rides a horse, not just people who ride dressage. It was very informative regarding the way horses move when we ride them, without having to watch a whole series of dvd’s. It was in-depth, but for the purpose of making a point, not for lengthy detailed bio-mechanical education. There was enough in there that was scientific to educate you on why it is important to care about the way your horse moves.
It really makes no difference if you are striving to be a grand prix dressage rider, or working toward passing L4 Finnesse or Freestyle…..you should care how your horse moves beneath you and around you. As for being a classical dressage nut myself, I still don’t know how the world got so far away from the ideals of proper movement in favor of Rolkur and hyper flexion. It is an atrocity how most upper level horses move, and how people are so uneducated that they cheer for it. Cheering for a horse having stolen from him what god gave him, his grace and purity of gait and rewarding the thief with a gold medal. Sickens me for sure. We should not be asking a horse to do, what we have not prepared him properly to do. To ask your horse to circle, while mindlessly letting him travel head high and crooked and then wonder why he is lame or has behavioral issues, is irresponsible at best.
This video also speaks to, albeit not their intention, trainers of the western and natural world as well. And to be honest, I am ashamed that I let my horse move so horribly, for so long, all in the name of the all mighty ‘neutral’. We must take care to realize that learning ‘neutral’ is vital…but it is a temporary tool…..and teaching the horse his responsibilities should also be a temporary tool. We should not carry on for too long, ignoring the fact that our horse needs to move in a healthier way, and ignorance is not excuse. True, if you exercise his mind, his body will follow….but at what sub-standard level of quality? I am disgusted with myself, that I let my eye get so lazy to the bio-mechanics because I was so focused on the behavior. I am grateful that I have watched this, and can make a change NOW….because it is never too late to start building the horse of your dreams. Unfortunately, there are no quick routes to Rome though, it takes time to properly build an athlete, with out breaking him down before he even reaches his prime. Time to get back on the path of classical training. I give this dvd 4*’s, and invite everyone to look in the mirror, because whether we like it or not, intentional or not, educated or ignorant, either we are helping our horse or hurting him....there is no in between.
It really makes no difference if you are striving to be a grand prix dressage rider, or working toward passing L4 Finnesse or Freestyle…..you should care how your horse moves beneath you and around you. As for being a classical dressage nut myself, I still don’t know how the world got so far away from the ideals of proper movement in favor of Rolkur and hyper flexion. It is an atrocity how most upper level horses move, and how people are so uneducated that they cheer for it. Cheering for a horse having stolen from him what god gave him, his grace and purity of gait and rewarding the thief with a gold medal. Sickens me for sure. We should not be asking a horse to do, what we have not prepared him properly to do. To ask your horse to circle, while mindlessly letting him travel head high and crooked and then wonder why he is lame or has behavioral issues, is irresponsible at best.
This video also speaks to, albeit not their intention, trainers of the western and natural world as well. And to be honest, I am ashamed that I let my horse move so horribly, for so long, all in the name of the all mighty ‘neutral’. We must take care to realize that learning ‘neutral’ is vital…but it is a temporary tool…..and teaching the horse his responsibilities should also be a temporary tool. We should not carry on for too long, ignoring the fact that our horse needs to move in a healthier way, and ignorance is not excuse. True, if you exercise his mind, his body will follow….but at what sub-standard level of quality? I am disgusted with myself, that I let my eye get so lazy to the bio-mechanics because I was so focused on the behavior. I am grateful that I have watched this, and can make a change NOW….because it is never too late to start building the horse of your dreams. Unfortunately, there are no quick routes to Rome though, it takes time to properly build an athlete, with out breaking him down before he even reaches his prime. Time to get back on the path of classical training. I give this dvd 4*’s, and invite everyone to look in the mirror, because whether we like it or not, intentional or not, educated or ignorant, either we are helping our horse or hurting him....there is no in between.
He also has a book titled
Tug of War...."Modern" versus Clasical Dressage
Click her for more infoSavvy On
Michelle
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Protecting your herd of 2...a lesson in leadership.
I set out to give ONE horse a bath, and thru a series of events, moved up a to a whole new level leadership....of course, not before screwing it up royally first.
So we got a new horse 3days ago, and Snooke passed away 2weeks ago, she was the leader of the herd. Rose has done a good job being the leader since snookie has passed, but this new horse, Syrah (my latest rescue) has caused quite a ruckus! 72hrs of an all out battle for world domination. Rose has been HIGHLY protective of Cha'cote. And at times tries to protect spirit, but has yet to master, protecting two horses at once. and spirit being the 11hh Casanova, little will stop him from wooing syrah. At this point, neither Rose nor Syrah are 'leader' of the whole herd, but Syrah (a 15.2 american cream draft horse) is alpha, but Rose is still leader of Cha'cote and Spirit. Spirit is trying to be leader of Syrah and have his own herd, and sometimes tries to keep Rose away from her. I am learning a ton about the water hole rituals and herd culture, now that there is a whole new dynamic to the herd.
there has been much discussion round the world about the difference between an alpha and a passive leader. that the dominant horse is not always the leader. that got me thinking about what IS a leader. by it's very definition, it is someone who has commanding authority or influence, therefore, you cannot 'lead' if no one follows. So being a leader is about more than domination. BUT....the definition of alpha is simply....something that is first. So I guess you CAN have an alpha who is not the leader, and you can have a leader who is also alpha. Snookie was both. Rose is not. So far, and this could change in the future. Syrah has asserted her self as someone who gets food first, and does not move when rose asks, but everyone follows Rose. No one follows Syrah
So I wanted give Cha'cote a bath. Since his reintroduction into a herd, 2 months ago, after 7ys of isolation, he gives the other horses no reason to challenge him, and runs at the very sight of them. He has not given me any trouble catching him, until last night. I walked in, and Rose was desperate for my attention. Following me around, gently asking for some love, and probably protection, as she has taken quite a beating. Ordinarily this is not an issue, but since she has been chasing Cha'cote around for 3dys, keeping him away from Syrah.....If she was part of a package deal with me.....he wanted no part of ME. I couldn't get within 20ft of him. When I finally did, before I got the halter tied, rose and syrah trapped us in the corner, he bolted away from me, and with all the feet flying around lately, my life was more important that trying to stop him from leaving. that was mistake #1 as far as cha'cote was concerned....something I would come to realize about an hour later. in the moment....i was OBLIVIOUS to domino effect this was about to create.
since i coudn't catch cha'cote, and couldn't get rid of Rose, I decided to halter rose and bathe her first. spirit left the pasture with us, and when I was done, i turned her loose with him in the yard. During the bath, syrah was noticeably upset that they left her. So after i turned rose loose, I got cha'cote, and left the gate open for syrah to come out too so she wouldn't be alone in there. Mistake #2. coming out the pasture is a 15x15ft corridor between the above ground pool and my hay shed. rounding the pool is a corridor between the pool and the back patio. between that is a tarp on the ground to walk on. the bath area is on the other side of it, and cha'cote was unsure of crossing it. we were making progress, albeit slow, when syrah comes up behind him, scaring him. I was unable to prevent this. Mistake #3. still oblivious to chain of events that were now quickly adding up. she left to find the other horses, and we continued working on the tarp. next thing I know, a thundering herd comes up behind him, again, me unable to stop it, he finally had enough of me and this crap, bolted, and I had to let him go. rose and syrah fought over him for the next 5 min, chasing him around the house, down into a ditch, cornered him in a small space(4 horses in a 10x20 dead end), and as he tried to get out, they were stepping on the lead rope, feet started flying, and alot of squeeling. he was terrified, and there was nothing i could do to help him. finally he made it out of there, and they chased him back into the pasture, i closed the gate, and then they chased him around for another 5 min before i could get them off of him AND get him to trust me enough to get close enough to grab the rope.
Now for mistke #4...my husband walks out with the carrotstick/string and proceeds to "help me" by keeping the path clear for me to get him out the gate. I go thru first, and my husband was unable to keep them away, and he bolted AGAIN. now I spend another 5 min trying to catch him....trying to also keep my husband in line, the herd in line, and somehow convince cha'cote, that he could trust me, AGAIN, to let me catch him. now the issue was soley his. not the other horses chasing him away from me. sighs....i finally got him caught, barked something at my husband, retrieved the carrot stick......had to 'handle' my husband softly because i didn't want to squash his new found horse whisperer ego, not get a rope burn or my skull crushed in. it took ALL of this for me to realize.....hello you friggin moron.....PROTECT YOUR HERD OF TWO!..........screw everyone and everything else and PROTECT YOUR HERD OF TWO!
YOURSELF!
I was so worried about everything else, I was not IN the moment or the vicinity of decent frame of mind, and missed a vital cardinal rule. they will not let you trap them (halter and rope) if you then do not respect your new responsibility of protecting them. you take away their ability to leave, so you dang well better never let them down when they need you. there is no way around the fact that he needed me, and I let him down. it wouldn't have been such a big deal with many other horses. but this one...I blew it...and I blew it big time.
I had my husband man the gate, as it is a tight mental 'squeeze' as it is for cha'cote, and with the current situation, i may as well be asking him to jump into the grand canyon. i led him around the pasture, tagging anything in my way...mainly rose and syrah. I needed to prove to cha'cote that I and I alone, am going to protect him. That he not only can trust me to protect him, but that I have good ideas too. because he was pretty convinced at this point that I had the skills for neither. I was successful, to my surprise, in keeping the herd more than 30ft away while we approached and exited the gate.....whew! it was not easy, and we had to make several attempts, with me spinning and chasing them away, but it did alot for our relationship.
never before did he really NEED me to be a leader and 'protect' him. when snookie was around, she never attacked him, nor would she let anyone else. i can't even remember the last time i had to walk into a pasture with a carrot stick, for either my protection or a horses. it just never occurred to me that I would need it. so for now, I will have to always walk in with one when i need to do something with cha'cote, even if it is to just pet him. i need to prove to him that I am a LEADER, and everyone else needs to learn that we are OFF LIMITS when i am with him. period. no if's, and's or butt's about it.
I am the leader. ME....not Rose...Not Syrah.....ME. And I think after the justice I delivered yesterday......they know it. I just need to prove it day in and day out, never letting a moment sneak up on me when I am not prepared....basically....always be prepared.
to balance it out, i will spend undemanding time, sharing territory with them, just hanging out....like a leader does when they don't have to LEAD.
Snookie never would have let this happen. So i guess I will forever be asking my self in situations....what would snookie do?
Totally forgot to mention the fairy tale ending!
When I was all done with his bath. I took him to the pasture, and took the halter off, and we walked around at liberty together, moving all the other horses in the pasture! finally he was done and left me quietly....
Rose was staring at me, begging to see me. I waved her over and she came straight away to me, and we did the same thing. except we did not push chacote around.
it meant alot to me to have this special time with each of them, and i think it meant alot to them too.
Savvy On
Michelle
So we got a new horse 3days ago, and Snooke passed away 2weeks ago, she was the leader of the herd. Rose has done a good job being the leader since snookie has passed, but this new horse, Syrah (my latest rescue) has caused quite a ruckus! 72hrs of an all out battle for world domination. Rose has been HIGHLY protective of Cha'cote. And at times tries to protect spirit, but has yet to master, protecting two horses at once. and spirit being the 11hh Casanova, little will stop him from wooing syrah. At this point, neither Rose nor Syrah are 'leader' of the whole herd, but Syrah (a 15.2 american cream draft horse) is alpha, but Rose is still leader of Cha'cote and Spirit. Spirit is trying to be leader of Syrah and have his own herd, and sometimes tries to keep Rose away from her. I am learning a ton about the water hole rituals and herd culture, now that there is a whole new dynamic to the herd.
there has been much discussion round the world about the difference between an alpha and a passive leader. that the dominant horse is not always the leader. that got me thinking about what IS a leader. by it's very definition, it is someone who has commanding authority or influence, therefore, you cannot 'lead' if no one follows. So being a leader is about more than domination. BUT....the definition of alpha is simply....something that is first. So I guess you CAN have an alpha who is not the leader, and you can have a leader who is also alpha. Snookie was both. Rose is not. So far, and this could change in the future. Syrah has asserted her self as someone who gets food first, and does not move when rose asks, but everyone follows Rose. No one follows Syrah
So I wanted give Cha'cote a bath. Since his reintroduction into a herd, 2 months ago, after 7ys of isolation, he gives the other horses no reason to challenge him, and runs at the very sight of them. He has not given me any trouble catching him, until last night. I walked in, and Rose was desperate for my attention. Following me around, gently asking for some love, and probably protection, as she has taken quite a beating. Ordinarily this is not an issue, but since she has been chasing Cha'cote around for 3dys, keeping him away from Syrah.....If she was part of a package deal with me.....he wanted no part of ME. I couldn't get within 20ft of him. When I finally did, before I got the halter tied, rose and syrah trapped us in the corner, he bolted away from me, and with all the feet flying around lately, my life was more important that trying to stop him from leaving. that was mistake #1 as far as cha'cote was concerned....something I would come to realize about an hour later. in the moment....i was OBLIVIOUS to domino effect this was about to create.
since i coudn't catch cha'cote, and couldn't get rid of Rose, I decided to halter rose and bathe her first. spirit left the pasture with us, and when I was done, i turned her loose with him in the yard. During the bath, syrah was noticeably upset that they left her. So after i turned rose loose, I got cha'cote, and left the gate open for syrah to come out too so she wouldn't be alone in there. Mistake #2. coming out the pasture is a 15x15ft corridor between the above ground pool and my hay shed. rounding the pool is a corridor between the pool and the back patio. between that is a tarp on the ground to walk on. the bath area is on the other side of it, and cha'cote was unsure of crossing it. we were making progress, albeit slow, when syrah comes up behind him, scaring him. I was unable to prevent this. Mistake #3. still oblivious to chain of events that were now quickly adding up. she left to find the other horses, and we continued working on the tarp. next thing I know, a thundering herd comes up behind him, again, me unable to stop it, he finally had enough of me and this crap, bolted, and I had to let him go. rose and syrah fought over him for the next 5 min, chasing him around the house, down into a ditch, cornered him in a small space(4 horses in a 10x20 dead end), and as he tried to get out, they were stepping on the lead rope, feet started flying, and alot of squeeling. he was terrified, and there was nothing i could do to help him. finally he made it out of there, and they chased him back into the pasture, i closed the gate, and then they chased him around for another 5 min before i could get them off of him AND get him to trust me enough to get close enough to grab the rope.
Now for mistke #4...my husband walks out with the carrotstick/string and proceeds to "help me" by keeping the path clear for me to get him out the gate. I go thru first, and my husband was unable to keep them away, and he bolted AGAIN. now I spend another 5 min trying to catch him....trying to also keep my husband in line, the herd in line, and somehow convince cha'cote, that he could trust me, AGAIN, to let me catch him. now the issue was soley his. not the other horses chasing him away from me. sighs....i finally got him caught, barked something at my husband, retrieved the carrot stick......had to 'handle' my husband softly because i didn't want to squash his new found horse whisperer ego, not get a rope burn or my skull crushed in. it took ALL of this for me to realize.....hello you friggin moron.....PROTECT YOUR HERD OF TWO!..........screw everyone and everything else and PROTECT YOUR HERD OF TWO!
YOURSELF!
I was so worried about everything else, I was not IN the moment or the vicinity of decent frame of mind, and missed a vital cardinal rule. they will not let you trap them (halter and rope) if you then do not respect your new responsibility of protecting them. you take away their ability to leave, so you dang well better never let them down when they need you. there is no way around the fact that he needed me, and I let him down. it wouldn't have been such a big deal with many other horses. but this one...I blew it...and I blew it big time.
I had my husband man the gate, as it is a tight mental 'squeeze' as it is for cha'cote, and with the current situation, i may as well be asking him to jump into the grand canyon. i led him around the pasture, tagging anything in my way...mainly rose and syrah. I needed to prove to cha'cote that I and I alone, am going to protect him. That he not only can trust me to protect him, but that I have good ideas too. because he was pretty convinced at this point that I had the skills for neither. I was successful, to my surprise, in keeping the herd more than 30ft away while we approached and exited the gate.....whew! it was not easy, and we had to make several attempts, with me spinning and chasing them away, but it did alot for our relationship.
never before did he really NEED me to be a leader and 'protect' him. when snookie was around, she never attacked him, nor would she let anyone else. i can't even remember the last time i had to walk into a pasture with a carrot stick, for either my protection or a horses. it just never occurred to me that I would need it. so for now, I will have to always walk in with one when i need to do something with cha'cote, even if it is to just pet him. i need to prove to him that I am a LEADER, and everyone else needs to learn that we are OFF LIMITS when i am with him. period. no if's, and's or butt's about it.
I am the leader. ME....not Rose...Not Syrah.....ME. And I think after the justice I delivered yesterday......they know it. I just need to prove it day in and day out, never letting a moment sneak up on me when I am not prepared....basically....always be prepared.
to balance it out, i will spend undemanding time, sharing territory with them, just hanging out....like a leader does when they don't have to LEAD.
Snookie never would have let this happen. So i guess I will forever be asking my self in situations....what would snookie do?
Totally forgot to mention the fairy tale ending!
When I was all done with his bath. I took him to the pasture, and took the halter off, and we walked around at liberty together, moving all the other horses in the pasture! finally he was done and left me quietly....
Rose was staring at me, begging to see me. I waved her over and she came straight away to me, and we did the same thing. except we did not push chacote around.
it meant alot to me to have this special time with each of them, and i think it meant alot to them too.
Savvy On
Michelle
Saturday, July 16, 2011
The new herd dynamics
Well, now that Snookie is gone, I am left to ponder how the dynamics will change. Cha'cote was finally in a place where he was not terrified of the girls, and would rest with everyone under Snookies favorite tree, with Snook and Rose just a few feet away. He also was getting to the hay before Spirit about 50% of the time, without Spirit dominating it away from him. I used to feed Snookie and Rose at one end of the pasture and Cha'cote and Spirit at the other. Because I was always feeding enough hay for Snookie to never be hungry.....everyone else is fat porkers. Now....left with feeding them the proper amounts, if I split the pasture in two, there are not enough flakes for them to eat together and someone would always be left out. Last night I fed them all under the same tree, and Rose was not quite sure what to do, it was not her normal place to eat. She went from pile to pile, with the other two scatter about waiting for her to make up her mind.
I decided this morning to feed them all in Snookies spot....and cha'cote was afraid to go over there. So I went out and walked there and he followed. I moved Spirit so cha'cote would feel comfortable to stay, and it seems to be working out. Rose is not pushing them around....yet....so I think they will be ok this morning. I feel like it is important, in the face of great change, that I feed them together, so they can bond as a new herd with a new leader. Should they squable and someone be shoved of the food for good, I will re think it for sure. But for now, it is sink or swim.....this is your new herd....work it out.
Rose is still calling for Snookie and is looking to me for comfort. I hate that I wont be here to be a part of the new bond, but maybe it is better that way. It is what it is, and I think we all will survive.
I think now that Snookie is gone, Rose may come back to me as the leader. Fingers crossed I get my levels horse back.
Savvy On
Michelle
I decided this morning to feed them all in Snookies spot....and cha'cote was afraid to go over there. So I went out and walked there and he followed. I moved Spirit so cha'cote would feel comfortable to stay, and it seems to be working out. Rose is not pushing them around....yet....so I think they will be ok this morning. I feel like it is important, in the face of great change, that I feed them together, so they can bond as a new herd with a new leader. Should they squable and someone be shoved of the food for good, I will re think it for sure. But for now, it is sink or swim.....this is your new herd....work it out.
Rose is still calling for Snookie and is looking to me for comfort. I hate that I wont be here to be a part of the new bond, but maybe it is better that way. It is what it is, and I think we all will survive.
I think now that Snookie is gone, Rose may come back to me as the leader. Fingers crossed I get my levels horse back.
Savvy On
Michelle
Sunday, May 8, 2011
How I built a cheap and portable Round Pen.
The Picadero.....is DONE!!!! Check it out!
Total Cost: $118
Total time to Build: 5 Hours
Ease of use and relocation: EASY
Enjoyment level of use: Unconditionally, exponentially, limitless!
Now of course this is as 'low tech' and 'cheap' as I could get it done.....but it is functional and should provide me many hours of enjoyment as I explore the..... Waterhole Rituals / Hempfling / PNH L4 Liberty / Clicker training .... further this summer, and I am dying to get started. Compared to the cost of a pipe panel round pen which can run from $600-$1200 this is a cost effective alternative. I also considered 8x 20ft cattle panels at $25ea plus the cost of clips to connect them $20 would be cost effective, but not as easily moved from one location to another, BUT easier than a pipe panel pen to move for sure. This is also a great way to NOT have to try to pound or beat a post into rock hard ground filled with rock hard ROCKS.
So here I am, with my limited but growing knowledge of cement, and may even have become the "expert" on cheap round pen construction....ROFLMAO!!!! HA HA HA
So Here are the two first buckets, that were suppose to be, mix in one, pour into/set-up/pop-out in the other....but I messed up by using too much water and created two $10 posts. As each of 'these' buckets were $5 ea plus $3 ea for the posts plus $4 for a bag of cement. The rest of the posts are much cheaper as I found cheaper buckets. Gotta LOVE Wal-mart.
These buckets are found in the paint department. The larger handle buckets were $1.83 each and the smaller ones were $.89 each. I bought 12 for a total of $14.65 + tax. This makes my bucket purchase total = $25. The step in poly posts were $3 x 14 = $42 and the electric tape was $30 for a 656ft roll and I bought 7 bags of 2/3 cubic foot size, cement at $4 bag = $28....However, with finding smaller buckets, I only used a total of 3 bags = $12 for cement. That brings my total investment to $109 + $9 tax = $118 for a portable round pen/picadero. Not bad huh?
Now as for ease of construction and time spent, it only took me 3 hours total to mix the cement and fill 14 buckets. Time spent making my 10 foot strands of tape, that took me 2 hours, but that included time spent screwing up and starting over, but I think we can count it accurate. And after 24hrs set time, I am good to go set it up in it's designated area. As for my mom's parking spot.....too bad ~ so sad ~ mama!
Don't forget to read the end for my corrections to my mistakes.
Now there is assuredly an even cheaper way to do this. I was thinking supplement buckets, while coveted as feeding buckets, I am sure one could beg all your friends for their used buckets when they are done with them, plus your own, would take no time at all to collect 14 of them. If one used poly hay bailing twine, you could round that up all over the place for free as well. I have over a years worth bagged up in my back yard, and you are welcome to come by and take all you want....;). Cement is pretty cheap with small buckets, but sand or dirt could possibly do in a pinch, just would not survive the winter rains. One could even get fancy and use potting soil and add flowers I guess. That just leaves the matter of the posts. I am sure there are alternatives to $3 fencing stakes, and I am sure one could be creative in this department as well. Just don't ask me, if I could have thought of a cheaper way, I would have done it. All in all, I would have to say that if you were creative and resourceful, I bet you could do this for free! 12 posts set 10ft apart makes a 30ft square picadero or a 40 foot pen.
Don't forget to read the end for my corrections to my mistakes. It's pretty funny.
This type of construction allows for all types of terrain and shapes, and one does not need worry about the condition of the ground (for construction sake not horse soundness sake) or having a friend nearby every time it needs to be moved. Also, by having short 10ft strings looped to each post, you forgoe the headache of sagging lines, and a night mare of night mare when taking apart or changing shape or just moving part of it to use the space as a parking lot! Using one long line can be a pain in the rear, and if a horse goe thru it, there is a better chance of it just popping apart, rather than stringing along behind them. On THAT note, one does need a horse to respect fences for this to be advantageous and safe. I would not recommend putting a flighty frightened horse in a pen like this, nor would I leave a horse unsupervised in it. As always, use your head, and put both you and your horses safety first....and fun should follow.....not vet or hospital bills. If desired, you could hook this up to a fence charger and actually use the electric tape as designed, but now you have to consider the cost of that, and the fact that in a small space, a horse being jolted with electicity is not a great idea with you inside. Also, since you SHOULD be using this pen to create harmony and confidence in your horse, I do not know how 'comfortable' a horse might feel if he is worried about getting electrocuted. Use your brain and choose wisely when it comes to electricity. Ok now that the public safety announcement is over.....here are some links to where you can purchase similar items on-line:
step in poly posts
highly visible electric tape 656ft roll
Scissors, a wheel barrel or sturdy man to carry said cement bags. Weak men crumble like paper, so if that is all you got, you may as well do it yourself. Your mothers sturdiest cooking spoon. I own mine, but since I stole it from my mom 15ys ago, I thought i would share the resource. Plastic butter tub for scooping dry cement. Bout 1 cup size, anything bigger is too big and too hard to handle, anything smaller just makes more work. Something for your posts to lean against while drying if you made your cement too soupy. I cannot stress this enough. Think ahead, because when you have wet cement that you percieve to be drying at lighting speed, panic tends to set in quicker that cement sets up. Which by the way is 12hours. Chill, you got time....once your done mixing. Just don't touch the posts once you have placed them in the cement. Unless they fall, jiggling them will just make them jiggly after it is set....literally in stone.
How to tie so it makes a loop at the end of string, but won't come undone.
Tips of things to keep in mind:
The cat will not get out of your way, as if they just know that you will go around.
Do Not Park your work station or tools near the cactus.
The cactus will not get out of your way, as if it just knows that you will go around.
Do not let the cat lay near the cactus.
Wear a painters mask. If you do not, then make sure to keep tissue near by to blow your nose often.
Wear gloves as the lye in the cement will dry your hands quickly and instantly.
Watch out for the cat.
Do not put lotion on, and immediatly work with dry cement.
Leather birkenstocks and cement do not mix. Wear rubber flip flops so you can rinse your legs often.
Watch out for the cactus.
Cement dust gets everywhere. Do not just dump one bucket of dry cement into another. Pour it slowly. Don't worry if you forget this one, the cement will remind you quickly and you will only make that mistake once. you will then be reminded of the need for tissue!
Rinse your tools and work station in between the making of each bucket, while it may take 24hrs to set up in the bucket, it will quickly harden in small quantites on/in other things.
Do not assume your post will be 'stuck' in the cement and carry it over your foot. Don't worry, you will only have to do that once to remember it. Luckily I have not had to deal with that, mine are in, but you never know, so i thought i would mention it.
Always know where the cactus is!
Damn Cat!
You may find it benificial to not put your work station directly underneath a hornets nest. The theme here is to be aware of your surroundings....and who is occupying it. As you will want to do this in a well ventilated area. PS....well ventilated = wind, and it will always be blowing directly towards your face when ever there is a cement dust cloud in front of it!
Beware where you grab things, as dogs think these are great for peeing on!
Don't use too much water, you can always ADD more water, but you cannot ever take it OUT!
Stir quickly!
Do not let your horses investigate during the first 12hs.....cement is permenant and if they knock the post over inside the cement.....It will be stuck that way by morning.
Make sure to bring drinking water with you. You will likely get very thirsty.
Have a couple extra buckets, and start by filling small buckets first.
When making strings.....measure twice, cut once, measure again!
There is a limit to the number of things you can hold in your hands all at the same time. You would hate to drop something, reach for it, and instead get a handful of cactus. Especially when tripping over the cat!
Frozen yogurt does NOT taste as good after a weekend in the freezer. It has nothing to do with round pen construction. I just thought it was worth mentioning.
I found it helpful to put a 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of the small buckets, 1 inch of water in the big buckets, then cement, then water as needed while stirring. As for how much water.....well....that is a learn as you go kinda thing. i just had a bucket of water to pour from....a hose is not reliable AND the pressure blows dry cement in your face. By the By.....lots of things will blow dry cement in your face....including a nosey horse snorting in the bucket. Cha'Cote was quite side kick as I worked.
Mistakes and Corrections;
Last but not least.....plan on paper first and double check your math. I don't know how I did this, but even though I planned this out in detail, many times prior to commencement of supply purchase and construction, somehow I managed to screw up my math. Originally I planned on 2 buckets and to pop the cement out when set, yet, as described above they didn't pop out. So when I went to purchase more, I bought 12...thus making 14 posts in all. Where I can't figure out how I made my other mistake though, is how I just so happened to have 14 stakes. Hmmmm. THEN.....Oh yes, there is more.....trust me when I say, when done and set up, I stood there bewildered at my blunder. So I already told you about my 9ft length of string mishap....this is incredibly stupid......10 feet was wrong too. Aparently, I had planned to make them 13ft, ie, 3 sections, yes 4 posts only make 3 sections......OR.....I failed to notice that 4 posts only make 3 sections.
THUS......4 posts per side with 10 foot sections will only yield a 30x30 square or 40ft round pen. DUH....I just couldn't fathom making such a mistake on such simple SIMPLE math. SO.......The correction to the plan is this. IF you want a 40x40ft square or 50ft round, you will need 12 post with 13.3 sections.......OR.....you will need 16 posts with 10ft sections. And what's more, since I had already typed this thing up, and have absolutely NO intention to go back and make THAT many corrections.....YOU.....can change the math on the money for the total cost. So far, my correction for now, is to use my house as one side of the pen, until I can get to the store to buy 2 more buckets and stakes. The good news is that I have plenty of cement and string left to correct the mistake. All in all, it should only cost me another 9 bucks, and another trip to the store to fix it.
PS....yes....the cat and the cactus are conspiring against you. They even recruited the dog!
PPS.........Ignore the dog in the pic....he is in trouble in the moment for hiking his leg on the couch.....damn dog
Savvy On
Michelle
the math challenged moron.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
DVD Review:*** Tom Dorrance: Feel Timing & Balance
Well, I likely will be shot for this review. But I can only speak my feelings on what I saw, or didn't see. This dvd is good, but not necessarily the end all be all of Dorrance, I believe. I do not have his books, nor seen any other video's of him or his work, and I will say that in the beginning of the dvd it clearly states that it is not an educational dvd on what to do, but rather to get the 'essence' of Tom Dorrance. Which is good, because as an educational dvd, you will not see a whole lot of technique to learn from. So as a Parelli student, if that is what you are looking for, look elsewhere. It is not to say there is nothing to be learned from it, because there certainly is. You DO get the essence of what he stands for. And there is some good horsemanship to be seen. Also, as a student, it is good to see the master your teacher learned from. You can see where your teachers ideas come from, and how the lessons may have been presented to your teacher, and then how your teacher has interpreted/filtered that information and how they are now passing it on to you. Especially knowing that there are WARS being created in our time, over which of the teachers has interpreted the masters knowledge the 'best'....ie: who is better? Pat, Buck, Dennis...whoever?......etc etc etc. For years you hear from them all, "I learned this from so and so" And yet, each of them has such vastly different styles, techniques, concepts, philosophy and values. So you are left to wonder...."If they all studied from the same person/s, how can they all be so different?" I certainly have my opinions on that, but this is not really the time or place for that, so maybe later I will share my thoughts on it.
Because it is so hard to judge sometimes what is useful or educational for one person and not really another, based on where they are at in thier journey.....what I did was to take notes for myself....on what I felt was important for me to remember about what I saw and heard. As a self assessed L4 Parelli Graduate, these are things that I observed....
On the subject of:
Disk 1
Feel, timing and balance. Tom explains "The broom" as the best metaphor for explaining it. If you tried to balance a broom on your thumb, bristles up, and you tried to make the broom stay still....the broom is going to fall. But IF, when the broom goes to the left, then your thumb follows to the left, and when the broom goes to the right, and your thumb follows to the right, you can keep it upright. The better and quicker your timing and feel, the shorter the distance your thumb will travel, and the better the balance of the broom will be. The slower your timing, if your too slow, or too big, the broom will fall. If you can get your feel and timing working really well, your movements may be nearly imperceptible. But you will always need a little life and a little movement, to stay in harmony with the broom, you need to keep it alive, or it will die and fall.
Same with getting in time with the feet, getting the message to the foot you want to talk to. If your timing is off, your request will be misunderstood, as you asked when the foot has the least chance of doing what you asked. Getting your your feel better, so your timing can be quicker, the better balance and life you and your horse will have, and that is the key to true unity. There is some good examples of this on both discs with a couple of horse evading crossing the tarp. To see the guy have such good timing with his reins, that the evasion is cut off quickly, and just like a bowling ball down a gutter, the horse had no other options but to cross the tarp.
The Spirit of the horse. Usually we do not see how hard the horse is trying for us. Either trying to do what he thinks we want, or trying to communicate something else to us. Either that he doesn't understand or is in pain or is afraid. Most times we see it as bad behavior.
There is a good segment on gaining confidence....chose those words as opposed to 'desensitizing' as it was just much softer, and quieter, than i am used to seeing, by way of 'desensitzing'. Instead of making a bunch of huge movements with the 'flag' (plastic bag on a stick) they just kept it steady, and moved it quietly with the horse until the horse could accept it.
But then there is a segment, with the same horse and a plastic bag, that I dont understand what the lesson was. The audio was not so great on this disk. They were creating a bit of unconfidence in the same horse. Likely I will need to watch it again. I may never understand it, as it was never stated what the purpose was for doing the technique. In either case, it is not something I would ever do, regardless of the purpose, so I am not that concerned with it. The rider was chasing the front end of the horse with the bag while in the saddle. Personally, I think I know what the lesson was, but honestly feel, if the rider had more knowlege of timing with the feet, or the horse was better prepared on the ground, it would not have been needed. But alas, I will just never know for sure.
On Learning: He states he cannot teach anything to anyone. That he can only help them figure things out. But that learning has to come from the inside of the human and the inside of the horse. People are looking for some big thing, but it is almost always some little thing that makes the big difference.
Disk 2
On learning at a clinic
If you think you are going to learn alot, you probably won't. But if you are coming to get exposure to alot of things and ideas, and then take them home and experiment and explore those ideas, that is where the learning happens.
Working on feel and timing and recognising the horses 'try'
"The horse was afraid to take a chance crossing the tarp because it thought it had been told not to, because the riders timing was off and he was hitting the horse in the mouth with the reins, when the horse would jump across the tarp."
One of the earliest things he tries to get across to a horse is to move his feet when asked. He tries not to ever let a horse get to a point where the horse will not move his feet when asked. In regards to a horse who would not cross the tarp online, with handler at the head and two wranglers behind with a but rope.
"Learning how to present ourselves to the horse in a way that is understandable to the horse:
When a person is thinking of it in that way (the above stated), they will be taking care of these things, within themselves, what is needed for the horse, and try to think of the horse first.....But those are just words until they are understood."
Trying to keep the feet going forward and straight: Alright....this is where I can say....."Thank GOD I am a parelli student" Because what Pat teaches to everyday people, about 'nose, neck, maybe feet' truley is a gift from him to us. Most of us, if not all of us, will not be in this desperate of a position, as the man in this segment. First let me say, I believe he had only had this horse for a week, and he was a talented skilled rider, and the 'brakes' on this horse were well ingrained. He would not cross the tarp. Neither while being ridden or on the ground. Tom worked with him undersaddle, and no go. Had the guy get off, and no go. Had another rider get on, and no go. Had two guys with a but rope behind the horse and no go. Finally he had the two guys each put a long,soft, thick cotton rope on each front ankle and led him by the foot, EVENTUALLY over the tarp. I can say, it was all done with feel, timing and balance....to keep the horse straight. There were times where I shuddered, watching his legs being pulled to the side, and him fall to his knees. Tom admits, he would NEVER go such an extreme straight away, and they did try everything they could think of first, even galloping the horse up to it. Back to being a Parelli student....had this horse been given an honest chance at learning to follow a feel and a suggestion, and being given a little bit of time for nose, neck maybe feet, he just might have not had to have been led by the feet like that. But what I will say about it, is that I have seen far worse displays of natural horsemanship than this. And while I would never want to have to resort to such measures, it was less forcefull than what I have seen from many big name guru's. Though I believe there are other ways, IF the horse is given the time. Which, often, is exactly the down side of weekend colt starts, Road to the horse type events, and tour stops. Time is a factor, and often the horses needs are lost in the intrest of making a change for the audience, not the horse, within the time allowed.
Learning to feel the whole horse:
He describes that because we cannot feel of the whole horse, only one or couple parts at a time, we are unable to keep him straight and forward, we cannot have the timing because we do not have the feel, so we will not have the balance.
*** Worth watching, but you won't die without it, as I feel the Parelli system emobies the essence of Tom Dorrance
click for his website
Savvy On
Michelle
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Whole Heart: #5~ Trauma
Debunking the 'make the wrong thing difficult, right thing easy' theory. Well this is an eye opener. He talks about how most often, say in a round pen, we 'chase' a horse around, until it gives us two eyes. Of course we all know there is more to it than that....but in the interest of making the wrong thing difficult, when a horse wants to run rather than not, we make it run faster than they want to run....ie making it more work than the horse intended have. But a pshycologist attended a clinic of his, where before he had the chance to do anything with the horse, he noticed for the horse it was already difficult, so he chose to just let him run on his own, like his mentor had done with a horse years earlier. Anyways, the pshycologist came up to him to comment on it. He said that with trauma, the body goes thru physiological stages, one of which is to expend the energy of the trauma. That wild animals dont have problems with trauma because they can and do expend that energy, but that humans and domestic animals are usually not able to, thus the energy remains like a cancer, making us either physically or mentally ill, or both.....and that to chase or put preasure on an already running animal, is like adding trauma to trauma. Of course this is all explained better in the book, but I wanted to give an explanation for discussion sake.
So like the previous chapter where I mentioned my own 'problems' I am wondering if I too need to expend some energy. I know I have had to hold it all in, and not 'disturb the peace'....I am supposed to let it go and let by gones be by gones. I did intially expend a great deal of energy, of course it was directed in not so healthy ways, for me, but I did the best I could. I am thinking that it is just festering deep in me, and manifesting itself in other ways, that I am not able to correlate the two things as being related. Hmmm?
Anyways, he goes on about how that information changed the way he looked at horses....and thus he rarely uses the technique 'wrong thing hard, right thing easy' anymore. Figuring, if the horse doesn't understand what you are asking of him, it is probably already hard enough for him, why make it harder.
"It's funny how sometimes in life, we can look at something for years and years and years, and the picture never changes. Then suddenly, out of the blue, an new piece of information comes in. Even though the picture doesn't change,we start seeing that scene in a completely different light."
Wow this is so true....With my new information that I am learning in all these new and exciting places, especially with learning the way a herd leader really behaves, I am seeing my horses behavior in a totally different way. I havn't yet gotten myself sorted out, in the application department.....but inside I have to say, I feel so much better when I spend time with my horses....just being thier friend.
Savvy On
Michelle
Book: Whole Heart, Whole Horse by Mark Rashid
So like the previous chapter where I mentioned my own 'problems' I am wondering if I too need to expend some energy. I know I have had to hold it all in, and not 'disturb the peace'....I am supposed to let it go and let by gones be by gones. I did intially expend a great deal of energy, of course it was directed in not so healthy ways, for me, but I did the best I could. I am thinking that it is just festering deep in me, and manifesting itself in other ways, that I am not able to correlate the two things as being related. Hmmm?
Anyways, he goes on about how that information changed the way he looked at horses....and thus he rarely uses the technique 'wrong thing hard, right thing easy' anymore. Figuring, if the horse doesn't understand what you are asking of him, it is probably already hard enough for him, why make it harder.
"It's funny how sometimes in life, we can look at something for years and years and years, and the picture never changes. Then suddenly, out of the blue, an new piece of information comes in. Even though the picture doesn't change,we start seeing that scene in a completely different light."
Wow this is so true....With my new information that I am learning in all these new and exciting places, especially with learning the way a herd leader really behaves, I am seeing my horses behavior in a totally different way. I havn't yet gotten myself sorted out, in the application department.....but inside I have to say, I feel so much better when I spend time with my horses....just being thier friend.
Savvy On
Michelle
Book: Whole Heart, Whole Horse by Mark Rashid
Friday, March 11, 2011
Who's your Master?
Over the years, there is often discussion on forums asking "Who is a Horseman?" Generally, the discussion that follows includes a VERY short list. Less than a handfull of public figures make it to the list. And the top 3 are Tom and Bill Dorrance and Ray Hunt. A recent discussion I am involved in regarding the Road to the Horse competition, has sparked some ideas and I just wanted to share my thoughts on this.......
I have had these ideas/concepts swirling around in my head for some time now….the more I explore, the more ideas that get crammed in there. I can see them swirling around, and as I play with my horses, I try to reach out and touch them, but they are hard to grasp, because I have yet to put them into a cohesive string of thought. I am able to achieve glimpses of what is to become of them. I think some of the difficulty lies in my aimless ambling after my partial break from Parelli, but the reality is……becoming a good, well rounded horseman takes a lifetime. You can try to force it, but that will only get you so far.
One of the things that is coming to the forefront of my mind at the moment, is that most of the so called ‘horsemen’ are western. And I am not. While I believe that does not effect the initial learning of thinking like a horse, or a colts basic foundation, per se, it can, and all to often does effect the end product that I am seeking, and am thinking this is the result of technique, not concept or philosophy. The reason these types of horseman use the techniques they do, is for the end result they are looking for. A COW horse. So in the beginning their techniques are the initial step, to a more advanced technique that will be helpful and useful to working with cows and/or colt starting. They may or may not be useful, and may or may not be harmful, in the end, to say an upper level dressage horse, jumper etc. This is one of the reasons that PNH was so inviting to me, because Linda was ‘English’ and could understand things from my perspective, and help to translate this into the end goal that I was/am seeking.
I am doing research for a book. On my quest I am far less concerned with ‘opinions’ of a method. (not saying anyone else is concerned with opinions) What I have been looking for, is the concepts and philosophies that the masters have in common. I am looking at common techniques or similarities as well, and matching them up to those philosophies/concepts. Techniques are just a way to put the concepts and philosophies into application. The end result you are seeking, will determine which techniques you should use to facilitate that end goal. What I have found on this journey very enlightening. And the cohesiveness that I am searching for, to these thoughts, is just over the horizon. But it seems at times, the more I learn, the farther away the horizon gets.
I personally think that putting just a few people on the pedestal of ‘horseman’, in an all encompassing way, is again, limiting ourselves from the possibilities that await us. It closes the door that can take us to another level. I believe that we are ALL horsemen. I prefer the terms master and student.
I use Master as it is defined in this context:
a : a worker or artisan qualified to teach apprentices b(1) : an artist, performer, or player of consummate skill (2) : a great figure of the past (as in science or art) whose work serves as a model or ideal
We are ALL students, and will always BE students. And what ultimately defines us as a master horseman, is the ability to master our selves. The ability to become one with our art form. When one is a master of something, it not only appears to become effortless, it actually does become effortless. It becomes second nature, and those watching it, will not see its intricacies. It will often appear mystical. To a master living with the confines of this definition, horsemanship is an art form. Otherwise we are a master in the other sense, and horsemanship is merely a means to an end….it is utilitarian, to get a job done, and can lose all sense of beauty and art as you have enslaved your subject…..the horse….and are now his master.
I believe, just as in college degrees, one can be a master of one or a few things, but the likely hood of anyone mastering it all, is slim to none. Horses are no different in my opinion. And who so thinks they get to be the one to decide which art forms are credible endeavors, exclusive to creating a master. Just because someone’s desired end result is different than western cow horse, does not mean they are not, or cannot become, a master. If they have mastered their own goals and art form, they too are a master. Just because their goal seems silly to you, does not mean they are not a master of horsemanship, or that they are ridiculous in any fashion.
Here is MY masters ‘list’…of course I have yet to meet anyone and everyone on the planet, so this is a work in progress, that will never be complete. And, I am only listing a few public figures for examples sake, because lets all face it, there are many unknown masters, to whom their only audience IS the horse. Please feel free to share an area of study that you feel one of these masters has mastered, and/or, Add a master of your own…a public figure that people can relate to. I have also listed my level of study, so that people know why I may not have listed much, or listed a lot, NOT that I have learned all that there is to learn from them. I am far from a Master of anything.
Pat Parelli- Master of: Putting the relationship first. Making NH approachable, fun, social, easy to understand and most importantly ‘mainstream’. Taking the message of “putting the horse first” world wide like no other horseman has before or likely ever will. Exposing back yard owners to the possibilities. Master at inspiration. (Graduate)
Linda Parelli- Master of taking knowledge and making it understandable and learnable for the lay person.
Sally Swift- Master at using imagery to teach balance and symmetry in the rider. (graduate)
Mary Wanless- Master at teaching rider biomechanics and how intricate it can be to effectively effect the biomechanics of the horse while riding. (undergrad)
Carolyn Resnick- Master at understanding and teaching herd culture and needs, and how to effectively emulate the herd leader, to gain a true bond with your horse. Master of teaching horses at liberty. (Current area of study)
Cynthia Royal- Master at herd culture and using it to create a spectacular show of entertainment. Master of liberty and bridleless riding. (current area of study)
Klaus F Hempfling- Master at the way he presents himself to the horse from the first second he sees it, before he ever approaches. Master at being in tune with nature as a whole, the universe and ones inner self and the way we are all connected. Basically a master of higher consciousness. He is the master of knowing and using the horse as a mirror, and honestly acknowledging the image it portrays. Master of knowing that our horses behavior is a direct correlation to our inner energy. (current area of study)
Mark Rashid- Master educator thru the art of story telling. Master of gaining strength thru softness. Master of quietly leading. Master of ‘recognizing the try’ (current area of study)
Reiner Klimke-Master of lightness, straightness, suppleness, strength and power, developing a horse from start to finish, adhering to principles and philosophy of dressage as an art, despite dominating the competition ring, for decades. Master of elegance and grace and humbleness. (forever area of study)
Chris Cox- Master of the release and retreat. Master minimalist. Well rounded humble student of the horse. (next area of study)
Buck Brannaman-Master of being technically correct in bridle horse training, and teaching this style to students. (need to learn more about)
Ray Hunt- Master at getting thru to hardened cowboys, getting one to THINK for themselves, teaching to think from the horses point of view, being a humble student of the horse. (still learning about)
Clinton Anderson-Master at teaching being CLEAR in your communication to the horse, teaching to make your request black and white. Teaching each and every nuance of a technique. (drop out-seen all I need to see)
I think a list like this is more helpful than hero worship, because when you need guidance in a certain area, if you have already identified who has mastered that area of study, you are more willing to seek guidance from them, than if you are held to an allegiance to one or maybe two ‘horsemen’ or ‘masters’.
Being a master teacher, one also needs to be a master of communication and people skills. It is very important in my book, because if you are so offensive to people, what does it matter what all you know about horses? What does it matter….what you have mastered within the realm of horsemanship? If few can stand to be around you long enough to learn anything from you, to whom will your uniqueness in your art form pass on to?
This saying was originally said by Pat in regards to horses, but I think it applies to humans as well…..we don’t care how much you know until we know how much you care…..about us. I think this is another reason that the Parelli’s have had monumental global success.
At the end of the day, the truth remains, I ain’t no cowboy, and never will be. So I will take the concepts and philosophies that align with what I agree with, and then use what ever techniques will best fit within those concepts and best facilitate my chosen end goal. What ever the hell THAT will end up being, it will always start, and end, with being my horses friend.....something I don’t need a masters degree in.....to be.
Savvy On
Michelle
I have had these ideas/concepts swirling around in my head for some time now….the more I explore, the more ideas that get crammed in there. I can see them swirling around, and as I play with my horses, I try to reach out and touch them, but they are hard to grasp, because I have yet to put them into a cohesive string of thought. I am able to achieve glimpses of what is to become of them. I think some of the difficulty lies in my aimless ambling after my partial break from Parelli, but the reality is……becoming a good, well rounded horseman takes a lifetime. You can try to force it, but that will only get you so far.
One of the things that is coming to the forefront of my mind at the moment, is that most of the so called ‘horsemen’ are western. And I am not. While I believe that does not effect the initial learning of thinking like a horse, or a colts basic foundation, per se, it can, and all to often does effect the end product that I am seeking, and am thinking this is the result of technique, not concept or philosophy. The reason these types of horseman use the techniques they do, is for the end result they are looking for. A COW horse. So in the beginning their techniques are the initial step, to a more advanced technique that will be helpful and useful to working with cows and/or colt starting. They may or may not be useful, and may or may not be harmful, in the end, to say an upper level dressage horse, jumper etc. This is one of the reasons that PNH was so inviting to me, because Linda was ‘English’ and could understand things from my perspective, and help to translate this into the end goal that I was/am seeking.
I am doing research for a book. On my quest I am far less concerned with ‘opinions’ of a method. (not saying anyone else is concerned with opinions) What I have been looking for, is the concepts and philosophies that the masters have in common. I am looking at common techniques or similarities as well, and matching them up to those philosophies/concepts. Techniques are just a way to put the concepts and philosophies into application. The end result you are seeking, will determine which techniques you should use to facilitate that end goal. What I have found on this journey very enlightening. And the cohesiveness that I am searching for, to these thoughts, is just over the horizon. But it seems at times, the more I learn, the farther away the horizon gets.
I personally think that putting just a few people on the pedestal of ‘horseman’, in an all encompassing way, is again, limiting ourselves from the possibilities that await us. It closes the door that can take us to another level. I believe that we are ALL horsemen. I prefer the terms master and student.
I use Master as it is defined in this context:
a : a worker or artisan qualified to teach apprentices b(1) : an artist, performer, or player of consummate skill (2) : a great figure of the past (as in science or art) whose work serves as a model or ideal
We are ALL students, and will always BE students. And what ultimately defines us as a master horseman, is the ability to master our selves. The ability to become one with our art form. When one is a master of something, it not only appears to become effortless, it actually does become effortless. It becomes second nature, and those watching it, will not see its intricacies. It will often appear mystical. To a master living with the confines of this definition, horsemanship is an art form. Otherwise we are a master in the other sense, and horsemanship is merely a means to an end….it is utilitarian, to get a job done, and can lose all sense of beauty and art as you have enslaved your subject…..the horse….and are now his master.
I believe, just as in college degrees, one can be a master of one or a few things, but the likely hood of anyone mastering it all, is slim to none. Horses are no different in my opinion. And who so thinks they get to be the one to decide which art forms are credible endeavors, exclusive to creating a master. Just because someone’s desired end result is different than western cow horse, does not mean they are not, or cannot become, a master. If they have mastered their own goals and art form, they too are a master. Just because their goal seems silly to you, does not mean they are not a master of horsemanship, or that they are ridiculous in any fashion.
Here is MY masters ‘list’…of course I have yet to meet anyone and everyone on the planet, so this is a work in progress, that will never be complete. And, I am only listing a few public figures for examples sake, because lets all face it, there are many unknown masters, to whom their only audience IS the horse. Please feel free to share an area of study that you feel one of these masters has mastered, and/or, Add a master of your own…a public figure that people can relate to. I have also listed my level of study, so that people know why I may not have listed much, or listed a lot, NOT that I have learned all that there is to learn from them. I am far from a Master of anything.
Pat Parelli- Master of: Putting the relationship first. Making NH approachable, fun, social, easy to understand and most importantly ‘mainstream’. Taking the message of “putting the horse first” world wide like no other horseman has before or likely ever will. Exposing back yard owners to the possibilities. Master at inspiration. (Graduate)
Linda Parelli- Master of taking knowledge and making it understandable and learnable for the lay person.
Sally Swift- Master at using imagery to teach balance and symmetry in the rider. (graduate)
Mary Wanless- Master at teaching rider biomechanics and how intricate it can be to effectively effect the biomechanics of the horse while riding. (undergrad)
Carolyn Resnick- Master at understanding and teaching herd culture and needs, and how to effectively emulate the herd leader, to gain a true bond with your horse. Master of teaching horses at liberty. (Current area of study)
Cynthia Royal- Master at herd culture and using it to create a spectacular show of entertainment. Master of liberty and bridleless riding. (current area of study)
Klaus F Hempfling- Master at the way he presents himself to the horse from the first second he sees it, before he ever approaches. Master at being in tune with nature as a whole, the universe and ones inner self and the way we are all connected. Basically a master of higher consciousness. He is the master of knowing and using the horse as a mirror, and honestly acknowledging the image it portrays. Master of knowing that our horses behavior is a direct correlation to our inner energy. (current area of study)
Mark Rashid- Master educator thru the art of story telling. Master of gaining strength thru softness. Master of quietly leading. Master of ‘recognizing the try’ (current area of study)
Reiner Klimke-Master of lightness, straightness, suppleness, strength and power, developing a horse from start to finish, adhering to principles and philosophy of dressage as an art, despite dominating the competition ring, for decades. Master of elegance and grace and humbleness. (forever area of study)
Chris Cox- Master of the release and retreat. Master minimalist. Well rounded humble student of the horse. (next area of study)
Buck Brannaman-Master of being technically correct in bridle horse training, and teaching this style to students. (need to learn more about)
Ray Hunt- Master at getting thru to hardened cowboys, getting one to THINK for themselves, teaching to think from the horses point of view, being a humble student of the horse. (still learning about)
Clinton Anderson-Master at teaching being CLEAR in your communication to the horse, teaching to make your request black and white. Teaching each and every nuance of a technique. (drop out-seen all I need to see)
I think a list like this is more helpful than hero worship, because when you need guidance in a certain area, if you have already identified who has mastered that area of study, you are more willing to seek guidance from them, than if you are held to an allegiance to one or maybe two ‘horsemen’ or ‘masters’.
Being a master teacher, one also needs to be a master of communication and people skills. It is very important in my book, because if you are so offensive to people, what does it matter what all you know about horses? What does it matter….what you have mastered within the realm of horsemanship? If few can stand to be around you long enough to learn anything from you, to whom will your uniqueness in your art form pass on to?
This saying was originally said by Pat in regards to horses, but I think it applies to humans as well…..we don’t care how much you know until we know how much you care…..about us. I think this is another reason that the Parelli’s have had monumental global success.
At the end of the day, the truth remains, I ain’t no cowboy, and never will be. So I will take the concepts and philosophies that align with what I agree with, and then use what ever techniques will best fit within those concepts and best facilitate my chosen end goal. What ever the hell THAT will end up being, it will always start, and end, with being my horses friend.....something I don’t need a masters degree in.....to be.
Savvy On
Michelle
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