What is Horsemanship

I have been struggling with this question for a while now.  I know how it feels, and what to DO, so to speak....but how do you put it into a few words.  Watching an interview with Pat Parelli on the Rick Lamb show, Pat give his definition of it.....so I want to quote him here as it is perfectly explained.

"Horsemanship is the skills and habits both humans and horses need to become partners"

"Natural horsemanship is the natural phenomenon that a horse and a human can be absolute partners"

This said in the context that horsemanship is the foundation, and things like dressage are the training that is the icing.

I very much enjoyed the interview, probably my favorite Pat has ever done.  To see for yourself, click links below.

Interview Part 1 click here


Interview Part 2 click here

Savvy On
Michelle

DVD Review:**** Ray Hunt Ft Worth #2

Ft Worth Benifit disk 2 ****

Very important message from Ray Hunt at the end.....

The first part is a really good horsemanship surman by Ray.  The camera is mostly aimed at him, so not alot of colt starting to watch.  But what I could see, there seemed to be two categories, those that get it, and those that don't.  Probably would surprise many, who I think fits into each category.  I still, on this day two, see some ego.  Great technique, but little to no heart. There are some young guys there in the beginings of thier journey and they are off to a great start.  But quite a few, who have been around the block a few times, and it is telling what is NOT in thier hearts.  There are some guys out there, that I wish I knew there names as I would love one of them to start Cha'cote for me, there are others that I know thier names, and that name means nothing to me as I watch them, as I would not want them to touch my horse.  Again....I am thankfull that Pat is not one of those, and he could start a horse of mine for sure.  Anyways, imagine my surprise when I heard Ray say this....

"They're getting alot of things done, but they are missing alot of what i am trying to teach, they're missing what Tom was trying to get across,  I don't mean that wrong, there's so much to go, with what these boys are doing.  Nobody is doing anything wrong on purpose.  they might not have it figured out yet, but i bet they're not doing it to be wrong." 

Now I can only imagine being one of the trainer/riders there that day, hearing that....wondering who asked themselves..... is he was talking about ME?, or did thier ego say 'he's certainly not talking about me?

What your going to do with a horse sometimes is a great idea, but our presentaion isn't right...it isn't fitting what your trying to do, so back off and start over.....when the horse can't figure out what you want, then that is when he is trouble,

Words that stuck out to me.....In the midst of difficulty, there is alot of opportunity....if you get your mind set on one thing, they'll (horse) make it impossible for you....the animal has no pride or ego to get in his way....the horse is the most honest animal you can work with, he will tell you the honest to god's truth....it's amazing what the horse has to go thru to please the human....it's amazing what a horse does INSPITE of a human, not BECAUSE of a human....there is truth in the consequences, you gotta be able to handle the consequences otherwise your in the wrong business.....discipline is during the act or before the act, punishment is after the act, don't punish your horse, the horse does not need that and i will not allow that here....you're not going to take from the horse, without giving to him first....


Now here is where my review is going to go off the beaten path.  It kinda has to, because it is really alot different fromt the first dvd.  And the reason I give this part 5*s.  Ray kinda gets a bit passionate for a few minutes.  If I got to name this DVD I would have named it, "Surmon on the mount".  I think what he has to say here is VERY important, even if it is 10ys old.  There can really only be a handful of people he is talking about here, and that is all I am going to say about that.  As it is pretty self explanatory.  This surmon of Ray's though, is one more step in my journey.  Something I really needed to hear.  As a STUDENT.  It is the permission I needed to be ME, and to be A-OK with that as well.  I think he was speaking to the 'riders' in the colt start/clinic....even though most were putting thier colts away, but it is recorded for all time....right here on this little dvd.  Pay attention, he may just be talking to YOU.


"You ask my opinion of where you're at, you're all about the same.  Alot of people put a label on these people, you're in square one, or you're in square two, or you're a square five.  Who put them in THIER square? (those who invented "squares") Who told them where the hell THEY were at?  What a bunch of bullonie!  I won't go along with it.  They handicap thier students.  The student is probably ahead of them.  But they wouldn't admit it.  Alot of you folks are ahead of me.  I don't know nothin. But at least "I" know it.  But I'm not gonna handicap you."  ....***story about a guy who said he couldnt rope a cow because the horse was only a square 2 (green ridden 3weeks) so ultimately he did not rope it, because he had already made his mind up that it couldn't be done, self fulfilling prophecy***.... "see how he handicapped him self?  You get on a horses back, do the job.  Get it done.  But the people can't do that today.  My word.   And he was told he was a square two.  When he was a square three.  How can he get ahead?  Look where his mind is at.  How can he help his horse?  Sad, very sad.  That's a bunch of *** Who put them in that class anyways?  Who put them there?  They're probably, like i said, down the line no further than thier student.   I would never ever do that.  It's a cryin shame.  I want that student to be sharp and brite, and he can do what ever he can do.  And i would want to bring it out. I would want him to work at it.  Work is not a dirty word.  Don't you EVER think you can't do something.  Cuz when say you can't, you can't, cuz you said you couldn't.  Can't is not in my dictionary.  And I will not let it be in yours as long as your with me.  Because when you say you can't, you've already commited it to your wit.  There isn't such a thing as can't......***lot's more than i can type, mostly about his troubled horse he is on*** ....I'm proud of all of you....When I say where I tell you, where you are at.  It shouldnt' be an insult, I would never want it to be an insult to any of you.  But you've got a long ways to go.  But it's there to be had.  The world wasn't made in a day.  Set your goals high.  Stay on the same course you're on.  You can do anything you are capable of doing.........Be what you can be....let everything fall into line.  .....Some people with thier horse, it is so much better than it ever has been, that they are not going to try to seek out the rest of it.  Too much work, it aint worth it.  That dont make 'em wrong.  It's better than it ever was in thier life, so it's up to them what ever they want to do.  There is so much more to be had if they want it.  But it isn't worth it to alot of people.  It dont mean anything, it's worthless.  It means everything in the world to me.....

Really the whole dvd is a surmon on the mount.  straight from the horses mouth.  if you want to see/hear Ray in action, this is it, listen to the whole thing, as i have only jotted down what I dont ever want to forget.....and what I think NONE of us should ever forget.  So this review has gone a bit from a review....to a bit of a regular blog post.......

Take Note and 
Savvy On
Michelle   

Best Horse Comercial EVER!

Just had to share this......

Dvd Review: Dancing Hoofbeats "Horse Tricks"

Tricks so easy, even a Kid can do them. 0*'s

Well I am going to be nice here, because as a mother, I thought the girl did a GREAT job.  If she was my student I would be proud of her.  But as an educational dvd, there are much better ones out there.  I think at best it is maybe an inspirational dvd for kids, and for that I would give it 2*'s.  So if you have kids that are interested in this kind of stuff, go for it.  It was a smart and patient 12yo girl who stars in this very short dvd, and she does a good job.

Dvd Review:*** Wrangler Jayne #1

Touching your Horse ~ ***
 with your Heart #1

If you are looking for natural horsemanship with the Phillip Nye (he trained Magic) influence, which many are....myself included.....Jayne is one of the closest scources to Phillip you can get, as he is somewhat of a recluse and he has no available material to purchase.  I know....been searching for nearly a year!

Right off the bat she is relatable,kind, and detailed.  This dvd covers basics of catching, haltering, leading, blocking, and friendly.

I feel this is an excellent introduction to natural horsemanship, if one is starting out and doesn't have the money to buy dvd's.....this would be a great first video to rent.

I am realizing what may be missing from most NH programs is the art of bonding and friendly.  When it is present, it is presented more of something that just ahs to be done, rather that something that has to be felt.  The art of bonding is talked about, but oh so often really not done or misunderstood at best.  So I feel Jayne has a great way to get one started, in a way that REALLY does include some mutual bonding, to take things a bit slower to start, before you start to push yourself on your horse in any dominance games.  I like that.  I will say that if you have an extroverted horse, especially a right brained one...there are no examples of 'crazy' horses and what to do with that.  Maybe it is a good thing.  Maybe some of our problems with these extroverts is that WE are too extroverted, and maybe if we just take down OUR energy....they would be able to take down thiers.  I am seeing hints of this with a few students and thier extroverts.....me and mine are beyond initial training, so I cannot say for sure if it is a great place to start.....just something to ponder.

It appears that to get through all the (7) games, you will need to rent all 6 dvds.  there are 2 dvd's in each of the three series.
Series one: Touching your horse with your heart
Series two: Comunicating with your horse with your heart
Series three: Heart moves
Then on to riding
Series four: Relaxed Riding vol 1

She also has a dvd of a successful PNH Level one submission.....be it of the old Level 1, most likely the 'original' level one.  I be it shows some great horsemanship!  Along with that a dvd about a brumby foal that she starts.

I like Jayne, I like her style, I only give her 3*s because all of this is covered in Parelli material, so nothing is lost by not viewing, other than seeing her gentle style, and to see that YES, less can be more.  If you dont have parelli material, or are new to Natural Horsemanship....I am giving this 5*s as a great place to start!

Savvy On
Michelle

DVD Review:*** Ray Hunt ~ Ft Worth #1

Ft Worth Benifit ~ colt starting ***
Presented by Ray Hunt ~ 2001
Disk One

Half of this is basically a colt starting demonstration, something like Road to the Horse, except this is with Ray Hunt there to 'help' the trainers if needed....and also he is 'narrating' as they go. There had to be at least 30-40 horses and 30-40 trainers/riders.  They are instructed to do what they need to do to get the job done and no more.....and to do thier best to keep the horse out of trouble. They could put the saddle on as soon or late as they see fit. The Clinicians/trainers/riders I see that I can recognise AND know their names, or they posted thier names... are: Pat Parelli, Dennis Reis, Joe Walter, Craig Cameron, Richard Winters, Buck Branneman, Ben Qunters, Ty Heth, Curt Pate, Mike Sears, Phil Anthony, Buster McLaury, Joel Elliot, Rick Cornwell, David Brown, Tom Curtin, ....

Step 1 ~ Catch the horse.  they were instructed to help each other to get each horse caught.  Ray talked alot about getting a horse 'ready' to be caught....sounds good to me....and it seems as though this was done to success......BUT....I found it interesting that All clinicians took the time it took sans halter, with as little pressure as possible.....yet many as soon as the rope was on....a whole lot of yanking started. But if all else fails.....ROPE 'EM.....Mental note to self.....IS this really THE way? 

Step 2 ~ Saddle the horse.  Some trainers had saddles on with in minutes....yet still didn't have the horse leading and following and giving to any pressure, still alot of yanking.  Others seemed to take more time with the horse before saddling, and they seemed to have better comunication once in the saddle.  One guy gets dumped and mowed over.....OUCH!

Step 3 ~ Ride the horse.  I will say that I saw good and bad horsemanship, despite this being a Ray Hunt event.  I am sure there were trainers/riders there of varying levels of skill, so I will cut them a break a bit....but for the most part, some of still reminded me of the old west, break 'em kinda thing.  I did see some displays of some GREAT horsemanship that was kind and considerate of the horses feelings. Thankfully Pat fell into this group.  I noticed alot of guys rubbing the horse, but there was not alot of love in the touch.  More like it was done only because it HAD to be done.  Because the horse requires it, not because it is felt in thier heart.

The RAY factor:  I watched Ray rope a horse, and handle a few horses, and not once did I feel that Ray did not have his heart in his hands.  There was NO force from Ray.  Not one tug of the rope, or touch of the finger was done without feeling of the horse and for the horse.  I think even though someone may be a devout student of Rays, they can clearly miss this about him and what he is teaching.  Some may understand his techniques, but they don't understand his heart.  Some are on thier way, but still have a ways to go.  I believe that because some dont get this, they do resort to force and then 'justify' the why they had to, rather than look inside themselves and see that while they may poses the skill of the hand, they not yet truely poses the skill of the heart.  he helps this one guy who clearly does not understand the 'release', and maybe this is why he comes and helps him!  Let me tell ya...this guy gets SCHOOLED!!  He talks about how a horse should be 'on the payrole' by the third day.  And that too many, pick at a horse for too long, causing them to be cranky and sullen, because we have drug the horse down to our level of inadequacy, rather than getting skilled enough to rise to the horses level.  Personally I think it is a double edge sword.  One can easily misinterpret that, and cause a a horse a great deal of mental stress and abuse if one also goes too quickly.  It does no good for an unskilled person to go too quickly and beyond thier own skills.  A balance needs to be found.  Get better quick for your horse.  No need to rush it, but it also shouldn't take forever.  If you are sitting with a cranky horse.....maybe you are just taking to long to get good enough for your horse.  However, he also.....talks about not going too far the first day, and had this great rider, Joe Walter, quit for the day and stated "you dont want to get him tired or discouraged....he's made some pretty good changes"...."you might want to do more.....but you'd wind up with less"....BRILLIANT!  I see most colt starter go for more at this point.......just sayin!


The words that stuck out to me....that i feel are particular to remember....dont force you self on the horse, let him come to you..... fix it up and wait.....pet him, pet him.....get his feet to move, then direct them.....what i', trying to tell him (horse) is that everything is going to be OK.....we're trying not to upset him (horse) he might get upset anyways, but we're trying NOT to upset him.....a little is good, a little too much is no good.....

Dennis Reis spoke about a lesson with Tom Dorrance he had, Dennis has a problem, yada yada...Tom rubs on horses eys, problem goes away....Tom says to Dennis...."I think your horse needs to feel more appreciated."

I think it is horrifically sad, that horses are still raised from birth, without handling, that this type of colt starting is still needed.  There is no reason a breeding farm cannot imprint, then handle weanlings so that they are AT LEAST gentled and have some sort of communication with humans established.  Isn't it great that these trainers can do this?...Aren't they special?  blah blah blah....crap.....To me a master horseman knows the value later in life, of halter starting a foal today.

The other half is a horsemanship lesson with Ray.


Lesson:  It was simple excercizes, with a whole mess of horses.....trained horses.  The 'lesson' was to get more while doing less while adjusting to fit the situation (horses everywhere!).  Stop with the least amount of reins....go with the least amount of seat/legs....etc.....lets just say there were more than a few who needed to do less....ALOT less.  There were a few who rode real nice and were soft on the mouth, had a good seat with good balance, and used little leg.  Some even doing a bit of nice riding on contact.  But mostly....I was NOT impressed.  IF these are students....fine....but if some of these people are charging money for lessons....oh boy!

This is a long DVD....3hours....I will review disk 2 another day.

I give this disk 3*s because there is good stuff in there, but you could live without it if you never saw it.  as a parelli student, i can say, Pat teaches this stuff and he teaches it well.  I am clearly not a fan of starting a colt the day he is pulled out of pasture completely untouched....If you are a fan of that...I would give it 5*'s and say this is a good one to watch....NO one does it better than Ray....that I have seen so far!

A most Wonderful Gift!

Somewhere in the heavens, an Angel came down and kissed one sweet young child.  She is nearly an adult, and clearly has a heart of gold, filled with oooey goooey LOVE.  She drew me the most wonderful, precious gift....a portrait of my son when he was 3yo, saying HI to Snookie.  I just cried when I saw it, as it was a long time ago when I took this picture of them, and as a mother......I miss his 3yo self.  Esther....My Love....Thank You so much for this.  I can't scan my pic of Cha'cote, it is glued in a frame!  So I wanted to get this one before I frame it for life!

Don't ever Change!
XOXOXOX
Michelle

Off Topic 'HOT' musician!!!! Paolo Nutini

I just have to share...as a 'cougar' I have a total 'mrs. robinson' crush on this young artist.  I am sure all you young girls out there have heard of him long before my discovery of him....but he is brand new to ME....and what a cutie patootie!!!!  I love his singer/song writer Indie style of alternative music.  So I am just sharing with my online friends.....cuz he makes me wish I was 20yo again!  Happy new year to me!

Enjoy!
Michelle

Happy New Year Everyone!

This is gonna be my year....I can just FEEL it!  I wish you all happiness, peace, love, joy and great horsemanship!

Savvy On
Michelle

WHR herd 10/22/10

Ok, so this is my first pitiful attempt at leading from behind. it was a couple months ago. I learned alot about scattering a horse during this....rather more like scattering a herd....rather more like causing THEM to be a tighter unit, and keep myself on the outside of thier priviledged little club.

Mistake #1 was before I even entered the pasture.....I chose to try to lead a herd before I knew how to lead one horse....DOH! So then....mistake #2....I didn't spend any time just hanging out with them, bonding, before I got all 'dictatorbitch' on them. Mistake #3....I put too much pressure on them the first time I sent them off. So basically I spent 15min trying to figure out what I was doing, that I screwed up in the first 5 seconds! Sad thing is that I really, in my mind at the time, didn't put much pressure on them.

So I played damage control, learning that my hill was steep and my horses swift! Of course you cannot hear me huffing and puffing during this....but I most certainly was. mistake #4....I really should have put the stick down, and figured out a way to just hang with them, as they really didn't let me close enough to even try....not that I did try. I did try not to pursue them, the best I could (hill and fat butt helped with that) as Carolyn describes when they leave you, faster than a walk, do NOT run after them, just keep walking at a snails pace pursuit.....again....my fitness level played into that well!! It does look like I am chasing them off, as they tear off away from me, and since you cant see me in the video, I thought I would share that bit of info. What you do get to see, is what I saw....or more like DIDN'T see....as I tried to work this out. You get a birds eye view of my energy pushing on thier bubble and scattering them....again and again and again!

You get to see a few of my missed opportunities to collect them.....and then....Snookie.....being the grand leader that she is.....she collects and then leaves with her belongings! I was schooled by the master. She is soo good that Miyagi joined in, and I wasn't even playing the game with her.

6min into this, I changed 'games' and went with taking territory....mistake #5....again....I should have been trying to do the first ritual, SHARING territory. Thankfully, around 9 min into it, I tried to share a little space with them, but as you can see at about marker 11:30...Snookie comes to yet again gather her belongings and I went bact to trying to lead from behind.....and off they went....two peas in a pod.....without me.....again. I realized I have ALOT to learn, and just quit to start fresh another day before I made things worse.

If you notice, through out the video. Spirit is smart enough to know when he is not in focus and just sits back and watches the 'fun'. Smart boy he is!

Savvy On.....
or not...
Michelle

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

WHR Snook leads from behind

OK all you WHR fans out there.....this is how a true LEADER leads from behind. You are going to have to study closely, because Snookie has to be sooooo soft to move Rose, or else she will scatter her instead of lead her. It took Snookie 6mos to a year after Lily died, to learn how to quiet her self down in her requests in order to gain Rose's respect and willingness to follow her lead. for 6mos she used her abrasive style that she used on Tigerlily and she did nothing more than make her own self fret all day while Rose was scattered all about the pasture. All because she put too much pressure on Rose, so Rose would just take off, rather than patiently walk off and follow Snookies directions from behind.

Now she does OK for Snookie, most times she doesn't run off, but she doesn't always go where Snookie wants either. You can see in the video, Snookie has to make several attempts to get Rose over to the water trough area, as Rose kept circling back to the trees. Snookie has learned to just patiently keep requesting until Rose complies.

I made this video because after learning about the water hole rituals, I watched them interact, and learned that while Rose is a very dominant #2, she clearly is not #1, as this video shows Snookie is the leader. It was then and there that I knew the truths of the WHR's, and knew I needed to learn them....NOW....if I was to ever be as effective as Snookie to truley gain Rose's respect, love and companionship again....that she freely offers to Snookie, and once used to offer to me, long ago when Snookie was busy with Tigerlily. I am very hopefull that the WHR's are going to teach me how to gain Rose's respect as her LEADER and quit fighting over the #2 position.

The WHR most definately ARE the horses living breathing daily culture, and it would behoove us all to learn them!

Savvy On
Michelle

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Isn't it AMAZING

At how quickly people will turn thier backs on you?  Jesus wouldn't do that, why do humans?  If a christian lost thier way for a while, would Jesus turn his back on them?  I am not a religous person, per se, but I was certainly raised to know his love and compassion, and HIS faith in US.  I am often surprised at how many 'devout' christians, just don't get christianity.  Same goes for PARELLI.....They read the words, but completely miss the message.  I just kinda noticed, that some other LARGE groups and clubs do the same.  Should someone not put on the face of being 'pure' they no longer have value or intrest for the group.  I bet if Jesus was still 'alive' and was the leader of a group, HE would be telling his followers, to support and love those that are waffling, because they are the ones who need to hear his message and feel his love the most.  But here?? No....tow the line or ye shall be shunned.  Whisper or SHOUT against the name and ye shall be burned.  God....I wish more people truley understood your love....I know I do.

From Michelle....you know who I am....the ever constant angry waffler.....Luv Ya Big Guy!
Thanks for all the gifts, friends and love you DO share with me.

Jueli's Journey

Blast from the past....this is Jeuli.....a rescue from years ago. She is the 'bucking' horse that was chosen by Chris Cox for a bucking horse demo at the Western States Horse Expo. She is now doing 3day eventing with her new owners. I miss her and wish I could have gotten thru MY trust issues with her. Anyways...this was also my very first online video that I made. She was starved and her winter fur made it hard to see in the pics, just how skinny she really was. She turned out to be a very beautiful horse, and would have jumped the moon for me if I asked her.....she really thought I held all the stars in my heart. I miss her!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

5-5-5 I am soo mad.....rescue rant!

Well here goes, it was bound to happen that I one of my rescue operations were going to finally piss me off to the point I can't hold back.  So we rescued a $3500 Bull dog today.....and let me say....price per pound....about a dollar!  This dog is so fat he can barely move, breath or sleep.  Meet Bruiser.  He is 6yo, and clearly a big boy.  His nails were curled back under his paws and he could barely walk to the end of our driveway.  Bout as laid back as a dog can get, but he doesn't even know his own name.  He acts like he has never BEEN called anything.  He loves attention.  He was filthy greasy dirty.  I just can't understand why anyone would pay $3500 for a dog they won't take care of.  Clearly he was fed....but that appears to be it.

So I would really like to take the opportunity to remind everyone that OVER feeding is just as unhealthy as UNDER feeding.  If an animal is so fat it isn't functional....it is tooo FAT!  They do not have the ability to go to the store buy the food and over/under feed them selves.  Animals suffer the same types of disease from obesity that humans do, one of which is lethargy, which just exacerbates the problem.  Proper low carb diets are in order for all animals as sugars create insulin problems in animals as well as humans.  PLEASE take the time to learn how to properly feed your animal BEFORE you take it home.

Bruiser will be looking for a new home near immediately, we just could not leave him behind.  Being that English Bull Dogs are generally 'special' needs, we will be screening carefully for the right home for him.

We now have 5 horses, 5 cats and 5 dogs.....where is Dr. Doolittle when you need him?

The REASON behind the reviews

Ok, so whether or not anyone can read between the lines or not, I was having a bit of.....difficulty.....on my PNH journey.  In many ways.....my car accident, the surgery, constant pain, tasks, levels, auditions, relationships, biomechanical correctness, Catwalk, feeling like a failure, depression, some 'domestic" issues, corporate policies....."holy crud batman......this is a long list.....how can you continue on?"

I started to seek help elsewhere, and not one to jump ship in the middle of the ocean, I much prefer the idea of waiting until we dock at the next port of call, and safely arive to shore!  So I took the advice of some other 'friends' on where I ought to start looking.  I wanted advice from others that I knew.....were studying and taught the same things that I believe in.  There really was no one place to come and gather 'objective' reviews of the 'available' material.  I have few options for 'live' instruction, so dvds and books are all I have to go on.  So I figured....If I am doing a mad dash rush through a long list in my giddy-up que....taking notes for myself....I may as well share my observations....from a parelli students perspective.

I know no one is perfect, and I know why most people ARE parelli students.  they are looking for a great relationship with thier horse.  Pretty Plain and Simple.  I am on the hunt to find other methods and techniques that are along the same line as parelli, certainly not the polar opposite.  I am not looking for a replacement in the sense of ONE person to follow.....EVER again.  NO one has all the answers.....but I am re-disovering that Parelli comes the closest to my horsemanship morals and to the ideals I hold dear.

So I hope these reviews are helpful, but as always, they are just MY opinions of the things I am observing...and my self discoveries while I am reading.

May each of you find peace and love and beauty with your horses, with out force or fear.

Savvy On
Michelle

DVD Review:** Nevzorov "Haute Ecole Principles"

Nevsorov Haute Ecole Principles. **

First let me start with....

The Good: 
I must say that the production of this film is top notch beautiful as though the money spent was for that of a box office hit.  The imagery and mastery of horsemanship are not to be missed.  You may not learn a whole bunch as it is clearly not educational in the traditional sense, but I think for the higher level student, there is something to be learned in just watching. His horses mover more correctly than any I have seen in quite some time, and all with out means of restraint.  No halter, no bridle, just a cordeo (rope around base of neck NOT near the head) and when lunging a lunge line.  The horses are taught to self collect, and are given the time to build these muscles correctly by not asking too much too soon for too long.  Careful consideration is given to building an athlete with out losing the horses innate spirit and sense of play. 

He gives an indepth description of how to use a cordeo safely, and explains just how vulnerable the horses trachea is to severe damage, in the area that most lasso's are placed when roping a horse.  You can clearly see that his use of it is VERY light, and most of what he does appears as if nearly by magic.  However I know better, and know there is alot of time put into the communication he has built.

He advocates giving frequent breaks for 'free play' that encourage a horse to be more willing to work hard and concentrate for short periods of time.  He also has a very kind way of 'touching' the horse with a twig and shows many examples of his touch.

The Bad:
He does give some very 'scientific biomechanical' explanations....so get out your horse anatomy atlas to interpret.  He is very against the use of halters as according to him they destroy balance.  Can't say that I can argue with him as I have never taught a horse in halter what he can do without one.  But that doesn't mean I am going to toss all mine in the fire just yet.  It's all fine and good within the confines of your own private indoor school, but when you are speaking of the liabilities of safety that most of us are limited to adhere to....a halter does make a bit more prudent if not 'legal' sense.  He goes on to remind that the lunge line should only be used when the horse is already well trained in hand.  In other words, lunging is dangerous to the horses body unless both the handler and horse are well trained. Hmm, after watching his horses 'lunge' how can one argue.  while maybe not practical for new owners, or even owners of good and decent education......HIS horses were stunning to watch.  Also not practical for the 40 and fat group is his own extended trot to match the horses extended trot.  It well make take me another 40ys to get that fit again!



The Ugly: 
He actually advises letting a highly charged stallion gnaw on him with NO reprimand.  To merely move on to the next move.....lethal at best for an inexperienced horse person.  Luckily HE is a master and handles it beautifully, an art form everyone should strive for.....At least he does give a warning at the begining that this is not an educational movie, and no attempts should be made to duplicate it without first understanding the schools principles.....Problem is....this IS his only 'educational' dvd ABOUT his principles......he apparently made it so he can say...."You're wrong in what you do, I am right in what I do.....but I will never reveal my secrets."  Now knowing how he feels about ALL things traditional, even in the new NH sense of the word, I have to say it is quite egotistical of him to think laying a horse on it's back for that long.....IS in any way natural or comfortable or biomechanically correct for the horse.  Tit for tat I guess, like a spade calling a spade....a spade.

CRAP....what's a girl to do??  Guess I will have to continue on in my mediocrity, because if this man had his way, us forty and fatties would be allowed to breath within a mile of a horse much less own and train one.  Sad thing is I would gladly send him money to learn how he teaches the "self carriage".  Oh well, my money stays just as green in my pocket his does.....he he...At least I learned a few things watching it and was mezmerized at it beauty.  He is a master horseman, there is no doubt of that.  One for a budding dressage queen to admire and aspire to for sure!

I have to say I only give this 2 stars as, only an upper level student will likely even be able to notice all the subtle and intricate communication, or understand the biomechanical correctness he strives for.  If you want to see what it online should look like....I give it 4 stars.  But have to knock it back to 2 stars for the fact that he doesn't tell ya HOW to do it.....

Savvy On
Michelle

DVD Review:*** Karen Scholl: Trailering for Women

Trailering for Women ***

I really enjoyed this dvd.  There is a little issue with sound quality, but not enough to make in-audable.  I like her way with horses, and she is very clear in her descriptions.  She explains every detail, and is very thorough.  It reminded me of a few bad  habits I need to fix and gave me a few ideas for my trailering with Cha'cote, which is the reason I got it in the first place.  I will say that she is very in line with Parellil methods, but there is enough different about her that it gives a new perspective on technique, which I really enjoyed.  More tools in my tool shed of knowlege.  Who doesn't need that.  But since it is so similar, I only gave it 3 stars as it mirrors close enough that you 'could' live without it.  But if you are having trailering issues??.....I give it 5 stars.  She covers getting prepared prior to starting the trailer loading, the trailer loading itself, and how to CLOSE THE DOOR!!!! the one thing most others do NOT talk about, and the one thing Cha'cote doesn't want me to do!

She has a great perspective on the 'try' that I admire and found refreshing. 
She talks about how we need to convey to our horse, through our handling the message that "it is important for you to get on the trailer".  Not because we said so, but because his very life depends on it.  Just as we would not let him step off a cliff.....it is 'important' to listen to us.  I like a tid bit I saw in a 'bridging' piece of student just playing with thier horses, that she doesn't appear to teach strong phase 4's.  I like the way she backs a horse.  It is soft and supple and pain free. She has a great way of sending and disengaging and is great at desribing the how of it.  she also does not believe in letting the horse take off and go at a RB pace.  she when she ask the horse to go, she expects him to leave quietly.  REALLY like that!!  No screaming demons racing around you, wondering when they will ever wind themselves down.  When it comes to the trailer loading she is quiet and has some really great tips for tying IN the trailer and closing the door.  I think anyone with trailering issues should check this out.  Even if your 'issue' is just wanting to know the safe in's and out's of trailer loading and hauling, this is a gread dvd.

I enjoyed it enough that I will be viewing more of her dvds as I would like to see her perspective on a few other things as well.  Have trailer......'got savvy'??  She does!

Savvy On
Michelle

More Zone 5

Well things were even more confident today...I noticed I need to give a bigger break and release the try for longer, but all in all he did really good. Today was the first time I was ever able to reach his tail with the hose....no more squirting between the hind legs. he got got his legs and tail washed, mane trimmed, tail banged....hims purdy now! He also even got on the pedestal all by himself when we had the tractor going....so cute!

This video shows me too, and shows me expiramenting with different techniques and strategies. he didn't want to put his left hind on there today, so we finally got it in the end. he did not get both on together...but thats OK!

Savvy On

Michelle

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Beginning zone 5 touch it

So my last two sessions with Cha'cote have been starting touch it with zone 5. Got a really rocky start....which is what told me how badly I needed to do alot of it. At first the closest zone5 could confidently stand facing the trailer was about 25-30 feet and a couple of feet from the pedestal. Last time we ended with one foot at a time backing onto the pedestal. This time we easily got 2' from the trailer and inched our way to about a foot from the trailer. we started out pretty easily getting one hind foot on the pedestal, and also backing over a log. He backed the front feet over the small jump and of course when the camera wasn't on, he backed both feet onto the pedestal.....wooo hooo. He is getting WAY more confident already with his feet, and thinking while purposefully and slowly moving his feet, rather than reacting and quickly taking them off of something.....yeah! Will try to get more video tomorrow

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

DVD Review:***** Mark Rashid; Finding the Try

Finding the Try *****

This is a VERY good dvd.  When we talk about approach and retreat, releasing on the slightest try….in order for that to be effective, I guess we ought to know what a try looks like….shouldn’t we?  In this dvd, he gives a pre warning that it isn’t a ‘how to’ on the exercises, but rather simply for looking for the try during the exercise.  So that in and of it self is amazing, because it isn’t about….you MUST do it MY way.  It is simply….this is how I do it, might not be a bad idea if you did it too….but lets look at the horse and look for the try.  He also does not point out all the tries, as he wants YOU to be looking for them. 

Having said all that, it is pretty good ‘how to’ of a few very basics, that all our horses need to know.  Such as:  Halt, Rein back, yield hind/fore quarters, impulsion, and collection.  All from the saddle.  What I loved about it is that he is so soft and so subtle, he HAS to point it out to you or you won’t see most of it.  Don’t we all want to be so quiet, with the smallest aids, that no one else can see them and they thing it pure magic??

In watching it, it became glaringly clear how few of us really do see and reward the beginning of a try.  He also doesn’t do phases, so to speak.  He will if he needs to, yet he just seems to never really need to, because his timing is so impeccable that the horse gets it sooner, and thus no need to go to phase 4.  In the dvd he uses an old trained horse that needs some refreshing, a young filly with only 10 rides on her, and hard headed Belgian that doesn’t want to stop or go.  He does all the exercises with each of them, and I was amazed at the lighting fast results he got with that Belgian. 

Throughout the dvd, there was little to no fight, because of the way he views the horses response.  When he asks a horse to do something, and the horse doesn’t give the desired response, he doesn’t see it as a wrong answer, thus does not argue with that answer, and considers just about anything a horse does is a “try”.  The horse IS trying.  He is doing ‘something’ to try to figure out what it is we want from him, so making him feel wrong will only cause resentment towards you.  Now this doesn’t mean let a horse drag you around or run you over or buck you off….nothing that drastic…..but the core difference is in by using a whisper in the first place, and rewarding even the ‘thought’ of doing the right thing, you just never get to that place where the argument leys.  Your horse is more confident and more willing to stay calm as you are not creating a stir in the first place.

Another refreshing point to the dvd is him showing the try in the impulsion department.  I have never been a fan of saying that a horse has to drop gait in order to correct him. I agree that you have to wait for him to make a mistake before you can correct it.  Not doing so is a part of micro management.  However, there are 4 gaits within each gait.  In trot, there is the working, collected, medium and extended trot.  If you ask for a working trot, and your horse breaks to collected…that IS a mistake and break in gait, and should be corrected. And vice versa if he breaks to a medium trot when you ask him to maintain working trot.  He gives a VERY detailed example of this….I loved it….as this is so often mistaken for micro management.  Sure when you have a young, green or spoiled horse, you have to start with just maintaining the 3 basic gaits, but you really should quite quickly be more particular about which trot you ask for, or walk or canter.  You will have a more emotionally fit, supple, obedient, and biomechanically correct horse, and thus less chance of lameness in the long run.

Now the one thing I found annoying was the kissing, but he stated before he started that you could use seat and leg rather than voice, and I think he used voice because it is an aid that we all could tell he was using, and thus be able to see the try or lack there of, immediately after the cue.  But it does reinforce to me….that it is not going to be MY primary vocabulary….it is just annoying….but it is a good example that it is effective.

I loved his simplicity in the lateral work, and his technique in particular for yielding the forequarters.

I think ANYone, regardless of their level….should watch this dvd before you place your rear in the saddle.  It honestly will save you a whole lot of time arguing with your horse, because you missed the try!

Savvy On

Michelle