Adventures with Merrida!

Well- last night I had my first really challenging play with Merrida. I have been constantly doing little things to try to increase her emotional fitness as I know that is something I need with my horses. They travel with me, they have constant environmental changes, herd changes, etc etc. I really want horses that are confident, stable and relaxed emotionally. 

So! I often do little things to stretch her. There is a round pen near her pen, and adjacent to a small arena that is used for turnout. So I turned her out in the round pen and a young LBE that I have been riding for a client out in the small arena. They played over the fence and hung out while I walked Damo, and prepared feed, etc. 

Then I returned Jaden to his stall, but left Merrida in the round pen.... Knowing that this feeling of being "left" is tough for her. Sure enough she ran, and bucked and paced the fence. Recently while assisting at a Dave Ellis clinic he talked about what he says when a student asks him, "why do you allow the horse to do that?" He said, "that horse could literally do ANYTHING he wants right now, and he is choosing to do that. This is natural horsemanship.... I'm allowing him to do what feels natural." 

Now- there are often ways we can help horses to have the tools or the emotional stability to be able to just relax in situations that they are finding stressful. However! Not letting them experience this, is not the way! That's what Pat says is being an "avoid-a-holic." 

So- Merrida lost her marbles and ran around for a while. I continued to go about my business, then when she made a slightt change I went over to see if she would connect with me. It took her a little while, but she came over, then followed me to the middle of the round pen and allowed me to halter her. We had a great play on the 22'.

In the spirit of "observe, remember and compare," I now can see where she hadn't come ALL the way off the adrenaline, I didn't get a true blow out, or a shake or those other signs I should have looked for. And, she was connected and soft and focused. 

We have only had about 4 rides, all of witch have been very progressive, so I decided that last night I wanted to just remind her that this is going to be a journey about both of us... So I thought I would just sit on her, bend a little, maybe walk around, and then get off and we would be done. Who can see where my mind set had slipped back into a right-brain horse? Bad idea!! Lol! 

We have also been playing a lot with her "go" button, which has been pretty sticky. Turns out I have fixed that problem too! Last night we had PLENTY of go! And I unfortunately did not have the confidence to ride it! So we did some bending, and walking.... And a bit of hopping :). I focused on preserving my confidence, in balance with attempting to do the right thing by her... And we found a couple of good walk steps and a bend to a stop. Phew!! Never a dull moment! 

Next week she goes to Rhett Fincher for four rides over the holidays :)! So excited I have made this choice to invest in her and my relationship.... By making sure she has one of the best in the colt-starting business to help her through these pivotal first few real rides! 

2014/2015 Schedule!

Hey everyone!

Here is my schedule of clinics, workshops, lesson days between now and As far as I know! I have availability in most of my clinics and lots of flexibility to travel to places near by to where I am teaching during that time as well! So wouldn't you like to join me if I'm coming to an area near you!?

Please contact me if you are interested in  TRANSFORMING your horsemanship in the upcoming year.... Would love to help you achieve your dream and attend a clinic!

I also travel NATIONALLY AND INTERnationally, so contact me if you are interested in setting something up. I'm excited about creating a curriculum that fits with you, your horse and/or your group! 

Schedule- 2015

Jan 23-25 FreeStyle &Finesse Clinic w/ Ryan Pfouts (South Jordan, UT)

Jan 26 - Session 2 of Spotlight Series, Boulder, CO
Jan 29 - Private Lessons, South Jordan, UT (AM) Erda, UT (PM)

Jan 30 - Winter Inspiration #6 (South Jordan, UT)
Jan 31 - Private Lessons, South Jordan, UT

Feb 3 - Winter Inspiration #7 (Heber, UT)
Feb 5 - Private Lessons, Tooele, UT

Feb 6 - Winter Inspiration #8 (South Jordan, UT)

Feb 9 - Session 3 of Spotlight Series, Boulder, CO
Feb 11-18 - Lessons & Workshops, Northern California

Feb 20 - Private Lessons, Ramona, CA

Feb 21-22 - Ride Well Clinic, San Diego, CA

Feb 24 - Session 4 of Spotlight Series, Boulder, CO

Feb 26 - Winter Inspiration #9 (South Jordan, UT)

Feb 27-28 - Level 1 Clinic, South Jordan, UT

Mar 1 - Winter Inspiration #10 (Heber, UT)

Mar 3 - Session 5 of Spotlight Series, Boulder, CO
Mar 5 - Private Lessons, Tooele, UT

March 6-7 Level 1 Clinic South Jordan, UT
Mar 12 - Private Lessons, Tooele, UT

Mar 20-22- Utah Horse Expo, South Jordan, UT

March 27-28 Level 1 Clinic South Jordan, UT
April 9-11- Special Workshops on FEEL - South Jordan, UT
April 13 - Private Lessons, Albion, ID
April 14 - Private Lessons, Mountain Home, ID
April 15 - Private Lessons, Boise, ID

Apr 17-19 - Idaho State Horse Expo, Nampa, ID

April 24-26- 10 Qualities of a Horseman to Practice, Oregon City, OR

April 27- Private Lessons, Oregon City, OR

May 2-5- 10 Qualities of a Horseman to Practice Clinic, Reno, NV

May 22-25 - 10 Qualities of a Horseman to Practice Clinic, Belton, SC
June 5-7 - 10 Qualities of a Horseman to Practice Clinic, Mountain Home, ID

June 12-14 - Western States Horse Expo, Sacramento, CA

Sept 11 - 13 -Savvy Summit, Colorado

Nov 24-28 - Savvy Dunking with Carmen Smith, Adelaide, South Australia 

Hoof Handling: Developing Politeness and Confidence

I thought I would take a few moments to share some strategies that I have been playing with in order to develop my new horses politeness and tolerance with her Hoof Handling. Any of you that have studied with me, know the reverence that I place on positive behavior with hoof handling. Our horses feet are BOTH their mechanism for fight and for flight ... so the more polite, and confident they get with allowing us to take away their devices for safety the BETTER your relationship will get in every other way!

 So, just like with everything equine... the challenges that we have are one of two things... either we don't have enough respect, or we don't have enough rapport ... Its a confidence challenge or a dominance challenge ... or in our lingo ... its Right Brain, or its Left Brain.

To use another Pat'ism ... "Pressure motivates, and its the release that teaches." So with this, with hoof handling, the challenge is that sometimes horses pull their hoof away and then get a release, at the wrong time. So what can we do as horse trainers to help prevent that? Well here are some of my thoughts!

First of all... remember that safety is our NUMBER one priority in this program. Why is your carrot stick the length that it is? Well because that is about the same length as a horses hind leg. This means that you can safely play friendly game with your stick with out putting yourself in a dangerous situation. And that is the best place to start. Before you worry about picking up hooves, you need to be able to pet and rub all up and down them.

After that, here is the piece that I find some people forget, especially with young horses ... The first thing they have to be able to do, is stand with their weight on three feet for AT LEAST 60 seconds (I build my horses up to 5-10 minutes). Before I even worry about ME trying to hold their foot (plus I tend to try to follow Pat's Laziest horseman of the world idea ...) ... I use my carrot stick and savvy string around their leg, like below:

If they go to put their weight on the foot again I just slowing apply pressure with the stick and string until they take their weight off... We gradually build up the time they can maintain this:). And I do both the front feet and the hind.

Once this is going well, then I begin to pick the foot up, BUT I LEAVE THE STICK AND STRING AROUND THEIR LEG! That way ... if they begin to struggle to take their hoof away ... I don't struggle with them, I just retreat myself, and apply pressure with the stick and string so that they DO NOT GET A RELEASE for taking away their hoof. BUT I stay safe :), and I don't get into an argument.

This brings me back to the Confidence vs. Dominance conversation. Horses that lack confidence, need more friendly game ... horses that are bing dominant need more respect. Either way ... its the release that teaches them what the appropriate behavior is. And I find this a great technique to keep the "pressure" (aka, you need to not have your weight on this foot) .... on until you get the response that you would like! 

Set backs, Step ups, and Stellar Care- Damo Update :)

I got to spend the afternoon with my special lady here in Pagosa Springs at 4DS Ranch. It was SO phenomenal to see her! Even better than that was to see her mental and emotional health completely and perfectly intact, despite 8 weeks of stall rest ... and I know that is completely due to amazing care by the incredible crew at 4DS! I just can't thank them enough.

As I have been so strongly focused on Damo's full recovery I have chosen not to write an update about her recent adventure, but I will share that now. The original injury was a tendon tear in her Left Front ... that injury has been healing extremely well. However ... unfortunately about 10 days ago she decided to deliver some sort of complaint to her next door neighbor. Maree found her in the morning with injuries on both hind legs ... and more significantly to her Left Hind ;(.

Anyway, despite this newest set back ... as usual she is facing the challenge with the best possible attitude, and grace ... and I humbly hope a reflection and reminder of what my attitude about it all should be ;)!

I wanted to write a short blog ... because I couldn't think of any way to better thank the two institutions that have made Damo's recovery so incredible! Dr. Brit Harris, and Dr. Greg Bell ... of Centennial Equine Sports Medicine have doctored and supported me and Damo across CONTINENTS during this healing adventure and I can't recommend or commend them enough for their compassion, communication, and outstanding education and talent as veterinarians. And of course, I am completely indebted to Maree Stewart and Debbie and Don Stinnett of 4DS Ranch in Pagosa Springs ... I know that it is their decision to go above and beyond is what has made Damo's recovery possible.

PLEASE keep your positivity and your thoughts coming ... as we tackle the next endeavor of healing from the Left Hind Injury ... as well as the Left Front ;). What we believe we achieve ... so I am still looking forward to a 2015 and 2016 full of Demo's and sharing our relationship and horsemanship with others. 

South Australia Fun!

Great camp these past 4 days in South Australia! Looking forward to Day 5 tomorrow! Here is a grey photo of the group from last night during sunset! YEP, that's right, we started at 9:00 AM, and didn't finish until 7:00 PM, ... and we had happy, connected horses (we did take a break in the middle of the day to avoid the heat!) This photo was after an evening session on Monkey Riding

(riding with a fixed rein position in order to build your horse's confidence with traveling in a frame and preparing for Finesse), as well as a session on the mechanics of good simple lead changes, and another fabulous Demo from Carmen Smith on warming up strong to ride soft with an extraverted horse!

A sunset ride up the hill in the golf cart!

We have also had some fabulous fun on the 45' line! Remembering to help our horses experience the freedom of cantering and galloping truly forward is a fantastic way to develop mental, emotional, and physical fitness! I had a super fun demo on maintaining gait at the canter, focusing on "IT'S NOT ABOUT THE LAPS! ... its about causing your horse to think "I should CHECK in with my human before changing gait!""

Lastly! For my own personal development I got to play with a very fun horse and do a bridling demo ... sharing the importance of having both Obedience and Exuberance in your bridling! It was a great demo for me, because I was able to cause the horse to make some great changes ... and not get direct line about putting my goal of bridling the horse in front of the importance of the relationship! 

PHEW! We have been up to a lot! When was the last time you got to spend 5 days immersed in Savvy? Tomorrow will be all about Fun, Purpose, and a little Fancy Dress! Bring it on! and make sure you get yourself and your horse to a clinic soon ;)

Lillan

Righting Wrongs: Sorry's Build Trust

In the last few years of my life a common theme has been occurring.... And due to my personal lack of belief in coincidence I continue to open the opportunity to explore this theme; and today it struck again. The theme is the importance of acknowledging our shortcomings, our vulnerabilities, righting wrongs we commit, and being willing to truly and authentically, say, "I'm Sorry." While wandering through the Australian National Museum in Canberra, I noticed again the important and LIFE changing power of this willingness to apologize and be vulnerable.

As many of you may know February 13, 2008 was an epic day for such things. This was the day that Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, apologized to the indigenous aboriginal people of Australia.... verbally, in a hugely attended public speech at Australia's Parliament House, and also symbolically in sky writing, and a few other ways. The tears and electricity of the environment was palpable.... It was an environment, a country and a people now completely transformed and awakened to entirely new possibilities through these three simple words, "We are sorry." Now, to forward change and transformation, it doesn't just take an apology for past wrongs, it takes a commitment to a new future. "We the Parliment of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of a nation. For the future we take heart; that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written. We today take this first step, by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians. A future where this Parliment resolves that the injustices of the past must never, ever happen again..... A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities, and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia." 

Wow, no matter where you stand on the political spectrum, this is a beautiful and powerful future of possibility created through the starting place of an apology. Taking the time to acknowledge our vulnerabilities, our challenges, our weaknesses or our mistakes, is what brings us strength and new possibilities as humans. Brene Brown, renowned author and social worker, uses the example of two competing football teams, both have injured quarterbacks. One QB tells the coach and they develop a whole system and game around extra protection for him, the other QB keeps quiet. Who wins the game Sunday? Clearly.... The team that has managed and adjusted to their vulnerability, not the team who kept quiet. Unfortunately, it's our human condition to keep quiet about our vulnerabilities, to not acknowledge our mistakes. 

Horses.... As with most things teach us otherwise. As Pat often says, "horses forgive, but they never forget." In our horsemanship, as with all other places in our lives, learning to apologize, and then create and commit to a different and powerful future, is a starting place for a beautiful relationship. With my little grey mare, I got to a place of finally saying, "I'm so sorry, for years I squealed the tires, and was completely unaware of how right brain and scared you are.... From here forward I'm committed to a partnership where making sure you are feeling calmer, smarter, braver and more athletic every time we play is of paramount importance." Now obviously these words were of little consequence to her, but for me they created an entirely new relationship. Realizing, and acknowledging our horsemanship and life patterns, leaves us the space to commit to something completely new and different in our relationships.... Both human and equine. Understanding the power of acknowledging our wrongs, our mistakes and our vulnerabilities is NOT weakness.... It's a new place to stand in strength, clarity and honor.

I'm grateful everyday for horses and humans in my life to teach me this. And continually, I apologize for my inadequacy, and through that I find a new and profound level of relationship. 

A Day of A's: Adventure, Anxiety & Australia

Phew! Well I've been here at the Australian Savvy Center about 4 days now and it's been just awesome! The center is simply stunning and it's been so fun to reconnect with Tanya and Carmen and Sue and Shannon, and also meet the new instructors in the area, and all of the amazing Parelli Australia team! Fast Track students check in tomorrow, and Im so excited for leading a stellar 4 weeks of fast tracking Horaemanship here in the country of my birth! Dreams do come true.... Because I can remember coming to visit this campus before I was an instructor in 2009, and wishing to one day lead a course here! 

As per usual, upon arrival Parelli required my flexibility and teamsmanship as the team had a demo Saturday for a local pony club, and they were hoping that in Neil's absence I could be the Emcee! I jumped on board and loved watching the team prepare for their demo. Last night I had a great brainstorm with Neil and I was excited to get to share with the future of horsemanship .... Natural horsemanship! Unfortunately... Upon arriving to the show I could tell that my body had a different plan, as my breathing began to get shallow, my stomach cramping, and my vision blurry.... I sat down, did some trauma breathing, and a few other techniques I have been shown to control my anxiety. It helped a little, but as the demo grew closer I could feel I wasn't gonna win this one :(. Luckily, as I handed off the mic to Carmen, who did a stellar presentation, I felt fully supported and cared for, and I couldn't have been happier to once again realize how important it is to surround yourself with like minded people! 

I watched from the sideline as the team put on a beautiful presentation of the value of Parelli, and the first three Savvys, to a young and very enthusiasutic crowd!

After the presentation, we then all got the opportunity to watch the leading Australian Eventer, Shane Rose, teaching all the pony club kids!! It was beautiful to hear him sharing awesome tid bits like, "when your horse gets upset, and then we pull on the reins, they just get more upset." And when horses went to get a little playful, "rub him and ride him more forward, give him a place to go!" He helped the kids over small logs first, then banks, and then the water! Included are some pictures is Shane and all the kids! 

Let the Healing Begin!

Ok! So, thank you to amazing work by Dr. Britt Harris and Centennial Equine Sports Medicine, we have diagnosed Damo's Injury. And through a few conversations with Dr. Harris ... and my own positive framing, I have started to have a very positive view of that word!

Many of you know that when we began this adventure, I was worried that whatever was causing the lameness was some sort of career-ending arthritic or age changes. Damo turned 17 on June 2, and that's not that old, especially for an Arabian .... However ... she had terrible nutrition as a foal as she came from a rescue, and in those 17 years I have asked a LOT of her, as has Parelli. And because of that we have had the opportunity to present and inspire in 26 States and 1 Province ... lead and teach clinics together all over ... ride in the mountains ... have lessons with Pat, Linda, Walter Zettle and many other masters. So if she was trying to tell me she was ready to be done ... I was ready to listen.

However, through the Ultra Sound, we learned that Damo actually has a tendonitis (or for us layman, damage to the tendon) in her superficial digital flexor tendon ... it is the worst in the upper pastern of her left front, but shows damage in the fetlock region as well. Dr. Harris and I were both surprised at the mildness of the lameness considering the extent of the injury. AKA ... She is one tough cookie!

So ... Let the adventures of 90 days of stall rest begin! As I am leaving the country today to teach the Fast Track in Australia, I have left her to spend the next few months in the stellar care of Maree Stewart and Debbie and Don Stinnett at 4DS ranch. Im SO lucky to have this top notch facility available to me and my special girl at this tough time ... and in Debbie's amazing words she said "you just get on that plane and don't even give it another thought! We will take amazing care of her!" Well, I dunno about the first part because Damo, and her recovery will be on my mind all the time; but, I am 100% confident in the care she will receive! To all of my Pagosa Parelli Friends ... Please send me an email at lillanroquet@hotmail.com if you think you might be able to take a shift of hand walking, or are available for visits or scratches or cookies!

My amazing vet is confident that she will make a full recovery ... and I think we have a few more years of inspiring demo's in us starting in 2015! Thank you all for your love and support!

Damo Update: Lessons of Poise and Possibility Through Injury

"There is an enormous freedom and joy in living a life in the context of possibility. Living in time (past, present, future) is appropriate to an “in order to,” to “getting to” some place—to becoming; living in possibility is appropriate to being. It’s not that it’s magical, but it is magic—a place where magic can evidence itself." ~Jerry Baden

Thank you all SO much for all of your support, possibility and positive energy around Damo's lameness. I thought I would write a quick update to share where we are at now :). She is only VERY slightly off on her LF.... The first and lowest nerve block did not produce soundness, the second nerve block did.... Which indicates something in the Pastern area. Radiographs of the area are in my amazing vets words "Actually, her joints looked extremely clean for a horse of any age, let alone an 18 year old!"

So! We are now proceeding with ultrasounds of the area that she blocked to, to assess for possible soft tissue damage, tendons, ligaments, etc.... And we will know more soon.

My little superstar is as always being her regal, poised, and amazing self .... And Dr. Harris of Centennial Equine Sports Medicine said, "BTW, she was the best-behaved horse I’ve worked on all month!! Thank you for that!!" What a huge compliment. 

The quote at the beginning is meant to continue to inspire me to live in the land of possibility :). Knowing that positive energy effects outcomes! Thank you all for your love and support for Miss Damo :). She continues to teach me lessons of living in the now, and the poise and grace with which we can choose to carry ourselves through all situations. 

I can not thank Dr. Harris, Maree Steeart, and Debbie and Don at 4DS Ranch, Jeannie Parkinson, and everyone else who has helped us during this most recent adventure. The outpouring of support and encouragement at the Parelli Summit was almost too much to bear at times. Thank you all.... And please continue to send your best healing energy to Miss Damo. 

Hovering Their Hand Over the Cake- Playing with the LBE

This is an older blog about playing with Kerryn's LBE while I was living in Australia ... Everyone has their TOUGHEST Horsenality, and LBE's are definitely mine ;). Hope you Enjoy!

PHEW! Amazing and challenging ride on Sparky, Kerryn's LBE gelding today; so I thought I would write a little note about my challenges and successes and musings with him ;)

First of all, LBE's are by FAR my hardest horsenality to play with... give me consistency, and Right brain horses ALL DAY, but try and figure out how to make it a game... and well, that is MUCH more challenging.

So to start our session today, our "catch" was AMAZING... Best it has EVER been with Sparky and I. He saw me and hooked on right as I came out of the garage with his halter, and nickered and began heading for the gate, I was SO happy I had a treat to reward him for that sort of behavior too! Then we headed over and gave him a long brush... first time we really had good itchy spots, too and a lot of participation and relaxation during brushing which was awesome. Also a great standstill... which can be a bit challenging for Sparky at times; and for me... I'm great with horses that don't stand because they are scared... or don't stand because they want to be disrespectful... but horses who don't stand because they really think there are better games to play? PHEW! That's more challenging for me! You have to be much more delicate than with an LBI, so you keep encouraging their participation, but they aren't really scared either so... yeah... challenging!

So then Sparky and I were on to saddling... Starting with getting relaxation in throwing the pad up onto his back, because he really seems to go head high, and be bracy with me during this point. I kept going with repition... then realized he was starting to think "this is a great game"... UGH!! lol. So I began throwing it on, asking him to drop his head, pulling it off... that was MUCH more fun for both of us, and in two second we had a lick and a blow out and a well placed pad ;)

Then we went on to saddling... Stepped in front of him, let him sniff me, went to move around to his right side, HUGE block with his nose... so I retreated backwards, stopped let him sniff me, went to move to his right side and again HUGE block with his nose... third time... yep same thing. Ok three times is a pattern, is this unconfidence or is he playing a game again? ARGH? I dunno! Ok... whats a strategy in the middle? So, I backed up, stopped, let him sniff, me then put my arm out and asked him to yield his nose BEFORE I stepped over there then retreated again (YES, all this time, I AM still carrying the saddle on my hip, in case anyone was wondering). Ok, that seemed a little bit better? So perhaps take it to the next step? This time I retreated, stopped, stepped into his space and asked his nose, then neck, then feet all to yield to place me in saddling position, then I retreated immediately, YAY... lick and chew;) Ok so perhaps now I'm playing the game with him! On the right track. Retreated again, stepped in, asked for a full yield, he did, put me into position, and licked again. Third time, stepped into positoon and he yielded himself. Ok... so if this was a RB horse, I would retreat again here, but I think He is trying to play a game with me... three swings with the saddle, confidence and  relaxation from him, so straight on it goes. (And might I say... one of my better saddlings, would have passed Pat's Fence fence EASILY). His girthing was beautifully, softly yielded for me to have the other side, and stood like a rock.

I moved him around a bit, and he softened and blew out almost immediately ;) He was also the softest he has ever been in yielding his ribs, hind end, change direction, shoulder excercise so that was really cool. I decided to go ahead and take that all as check marks and mount up!

From here we headed for the gate... which has been a bit of a challenge for us to get participation in opening it. I thought about really being clear in asking him to respond to my leg, then backing it up with the rein... as Pat says, "expect they will respond, but be prepared to correct, not more one than the other."  Well with Sparky I was definitely erring on the "be prepared to correct" side and I think this was REALLY aggrivating his LBE playful side. So I decided that would be my main focus for the ride ;) 

So basically as we made our way to the gate I REALLY focused on eyes, belleybutton, leg, THEN rein. I really had to work at this because I noticed how quickly I wanted to correct him the moment I felt him shift his weight or think in the wrong direction. I think this is from so much time with my mare... who if I give her time to think or shift her weight in a direction other than what Im thinking gets TOTALLY lost and right brain... so with her I almost err on the side of being prepared to correct cause that support from her leader keeps her confidence.

With Sparky, a LBE, he was almost testing me I felt! He would LEEEEAAAAAANNNN forward when I asked him just for sideways, but he wouldn't actually move a foot... then if I just persisted with my phase 1 of leg pressure he would eventually sidepass nicely to the gait and we would rest. Same thing happened when I asked for a back up... he would lean out as if he was going to sidepass away from the gate... if I just stuck with him, respecting the fact that he wasn't being dis-obedient ... (YET!...) then he would respect that and back up softly and we would rest. But the time we completed all the maneuvers required to open the gate he was compeltely acting like a partner because I had proved to him that I wasn't going to correct him BEFORE he made a mistake!

He was being a classic kid... you say "don't touch the cake" and they HOVER their hand above it, getting as close as they can without touching it... if you react to this... YOU weren't playing the game! if you leave it alone... soon enough they will walk away and do something different ;)

Sparky and I had a FABULOUS ride. He was the most solidly LBE he has been with hardly any RBE moments out on the trail. He was happy and forward moving, and we even had a few little exuberant bucks, haha! The whole ride I was always thinking about giving him a long time at phase 1... and really waiting to correct him til he ACTUALLY made the choice to do something different! He started really engaging in following my seat and suggestion, and had the clearest understanding of his fundamentals he has had with me yet! We were even able to demonstrate leg-yielding across the trail for Joan and Chevy without touching the reins ;)

Learning from the WRONG choices....

"If a cat jumps on a hot stove, he will never jump on a hot stove again. And that’s good. But he will also never jump on a cold stove again—and that may not be so good. When something happens and we assign a particular meaning, that kind of “learning reduces the likelihood of repeating things that didn’t work as you hope it will, but that means you know less about the domains where you’ve done poorly than about the domains where you’ve done well.”* 

In recognizing that past, present, and future are an interpretation and not intrinsic to reality, a more fluid, open-ended, and relative world becomes available. We are never stuck with the way we are or how we see things. Transformation has the power to unseat us from business as usual, to upset the status quo—it carries with it a wisdom and a knowing that we have a choice about who we are and the full range available to us in being human. Ambiguity and paradox can be valuable, exciting, catalytic—allowing us to engage in worlds that are nuanced, rich, and full of wonder." Landmark Insights

This morning I came across this quote and I was inspired to write a little bit about how, for me, it relates to horsemanship. First off, of late with my students and myself I have been noticing a common theme of indecision, and upset, when it relates to "Was that the right strategy?" "Should I be doing this?" "Should I be doing something different?" We often get so wrapped up in wondering whether we have made the right choice in a split second decision with our horses, that we forget that there is really only one thing to notice ..... Did it work? ;)

One of my favorite sayings of Pats is "rub 'em or smack 'em, you've got a 50/50 chance!" Although we all know this grossly oversimplifies horsemanship it can also be hugely powerful when humans get stuck in paralysis of analysis.

This morning I was playing with a young LBE that I am re-starting. He is classic LBE except for that he has some negative memories about the saddle and this morning I learned also just about accepting the human as a passenger. So I spent the morning playing with him really relaxing and feeling comfortable and confident in carrying me.

First I lay over him and just waited until he could begin breathing, repeated both sides, then did the same straddling him. Being innately LBE he learns really fast even through his unconfidence about riding. So then we moved on to play with finding relaxation in the walk, I got off lots to reward his tries at relaxing, and this all went really smoothly.

Things got exciting when we headed for the trot. You can feel that lots of people have MADE him trot, and as soon as I started asking I could feel his whole body bunch up to say "no!" And.... "I can't!" At the same time. So, going back to the reference I made at the beginning of this blog, I picked the "rub 'em" strategy and just went really slow, asking for a small try and then releasing and waiting for him to relax. Then rinse and repeat. We were making progress towards the trot slowly. As time was going by, as a horse trainer I kept reassessing my strategy to decide whether or not it was working. After about ten minutes I got to the point where I THOUGHT that his LB nature had kicked back in and I was getting more "I won't" rather than "I can't" about the trot, so, time to switch strategies.

We walked along I picked up my intention, slowly began to squeeze softly and ask for the trot, smooch and then a spank! Wah-lah! Three steps of trot.... Stop and rub him.

Now the goal was to get some soft steps of trot without having to spank, and at this point I was feeling quite confident...(yes, perhaps even a bit cocky....). Picked up my intention, and off we went again at the walk. I got a couple more good tries and then he started to slow and be less responsive again. I thought "aha! I know how to fix this." And again, squeeze, smooch and spank....

And bam! Up in the air we went! Three or four little bucks, me hanging on, and trying to get him bent.... All together probably only three moments of excitement and we landed and bent. Hmmm! As I stood there and let my adrenaline come down, rubbed him lots and apologized for picking the wrong strategy!

Horses can switch in a moment from "I won't" to "I can't" and vice versa ... just because something worked one time, doesn't mean it will work another time. When you are playing with your horse and developing them through the levels ... I try to stay focused on two things. First of all, I judge my actions on my results. If my horse is getting calmer, smarter, braver and more athletic then Im probably on the right track. Second, I remember not to make rules, or to discount strategies from the past... File them all away, and remember that one day they may be perfect for you and your horse ... This is a great thing to remember for clinics! Sometimes the strategy that a clinician gives you is not right for you and your horse in that moment, but if you can remember it... store it away, you'd be surprised when one day you chose to "jump on the COLD stove" and it works perfectly, opening up a whole new realm of possibility!

As always, Thanks for listening ;).

Life's little worthiness lessons

Phew! At the Denver Horse and Soul (June 2013) tour Pat finished a fantastic and LONG trailer loading session with a horse that, as Pat said, had opposition at both ends. Pretty intense pull back issue as well as being bracey about zones 3/4/5.

On Friday evening the horse had arrived with its lovely owners, who I had observed struggling for a fair while trying to get the horse into the small 8x10 stalls at the fairgrounds. I could tell they were getting frustrated so I offered to help, and they accepted. The horse was very introverted, to me on the cusp of LBI and RBI. In the past I have had strong set ups from Pat NOT to "train" the demo horses when dealing with them in the barn as it is very easy for people to see this and then think that that is why Pat is successful in the show. Which of course we all know isn't the case! But in an attempt to give people as few reasons as possible to brace, it is always something I take very seriously.

As such, I didn't switch halters, or spend a long time trying to teach the horse to yield, I just set about helping her to get into her stall for the weekend in a natural and non-confrontational way. Unfortunately this was easier said than done! This little horse had learned that it is pretty easy to pull a human around with your head so we spent a long time dealing with that! The horse would pull back and I would keep the pressure on, walking with him until he chose the apropriate response. After about 45 minutes .... And me starting to struggle with feeling like a failure, we got into the stall. Phewf!

Now, the interesting thing about this whole lesson is that it was at this point that I choose to break principle #2 ( don't make or teach assptions).... I assumed that it was MY lack of skill and ability that caused me to struggle with this little horse so much... Those of you that were in Denver know that that was not the case! :)

The next day in the show it took Pat the better part of 4 hours to help this horse make a change in his willingness to listen to human leadership. The horse demonstrated some extreme Prey animal behaviors such as goat kicking (when they leap in the air and kick out with hind feet). He also demonstrated some learned, dominant behaviors like not yielding to pressure on his poll, and using this strongly to his advantage.

When Pat came out of the arena and de-briefed with some of the instructors I shared that it had taken me 45 minutes to get him in his stall.... Pat said, "well that would have been nice to know!"

Haha! I laughed .... Took a few deep breaths and took stock of the assumption that I had made ... a moment in time to remember that assuming that YOU are the one who lacks the skill is sometimes JUST as damaging as thinking you have all the answers ;)

Thanks for listening ...