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SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2010
What Do YOU Think???
Owing Heartwood, where we have a lot of fun with our horses, lay a solid foundation and find them great new homes, is an amazing opportunity. Not only do we get to do what we love and meet great, like-minded horsepeople, but we get to experience many different horses. And what a gift that is for developing our horsemanship!
Because we are not currently blessed with an indoor arena or good weather, we are spending a lot of time this winter researching different horsemanship methods. Yes, that means that we get to read horsemanship books and watch horsemanship DVDs while on the clock. What could be better?!
Our goal is not just to further our own horsemanship, but also to outline a horse development strategy. In the spring, we plan to hire a student to come in and work with us. So far, since Anna and my philosophies are pretty parallel, we haven't laid out our exact program - that is, what we do, step by step, with our horses. But since we are bringing a student into the mix, in order to reduce the number of gaps and ensure that our horses have that real foundation, an written game plan seems like a good idea.
Anna and I have both always been very open-minded and explored many different avenues of horsemanship. We like to sort through information, take what we feel is relevant and in line with our philosophy and leave the rest. We love seeing the different methods out there and incorporating different techniques into our training as we find them.
Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to just stick with one program, but most of the time I'm pretty happy to take note of the similarities and differences in the approaches out there and use what makes sense to me.
So what do I want your input on? I want to know the one thing you have found most beneficial to you and your horse. Is there an exercise that you find indispensable? A technique? A game? Why?
As a 'collector' of horsemanship information, I'm hoping for some really neat ideas to try out!
POSTED BY ANNA-MARIE AT 8:17 PM POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: ANNA, APPLYING NH, ASPIRING HORSEMAN, DEVELOPING HORSES, LAYING THE FOUNDATION, NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP EXERCISES, NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP PHILOSOPHIES, NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP TECHNIQUES
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2 COMMENTS:
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2010 AT 12:55 PM
Bonnie says...
One thing that has really helped me with our horses is to offer a soft feel and wait on them to respond and then be quick to offer a release. When I took dressage lessons, I thought I had light hands, when I started NH using Parelli methods, I thought I released quickly after going up the phases, but I've found neither were as good as they could/should be. I've had a couple of horses who let me know that because they seemed to get more and more heavy and sluggish until I met Brent Graef and started realizing it was me more than them that needed to lighten up. It's hard to describe the difference in the feel, but the horses respond much better when there is just a suggestion on the line/rein and then a release when they follow the suggestion. A positive mental image and focus in the direction of the requested movement are part of the equation that help the horse understand what is being requested.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2010 AT 9:17 AM
Celena says...
Thanks so much for the comment, Bonnie! I love what you're saying about the soft feel and it's funny that you mention that, because that's what my most recent breakthrough has been about. I suddenly realized that I wasn't always waiting for my horse to really give before releasing, which is a big part of that soft feel. I was getting too eager to give the release, and my horses weren't actually softening. I haven't heard of Brent Graef, but I'm going to go look him up right now! Thanks again :D