Move With Life

Nope, this picture wasn't taken from this weekend. I didn't get to see my spotted pill at all. Partially due to uncooperative weather. And partially due to the fact that I went out of town to attend a horsemanship clinic. I intended to audit (watch) one day, spend the night with my cousin and her family, then drive home the next day to see my horse. But I enjoyed Saturday's clinic so much that I returned to the clinic the next day too!

So, what horseman did I see? Here are a few of the tidbits I walked away with:

This horseman shares many stories of and gives credit to Ray Hunt, and Tom and Bill Dorrance for much of his knowledge during his clinic.

During clinic exercises, this horseman tells riders constantly to "find your soft feel."

This horseman says that many riders don't know how to properly tell a horse they mean it. Usually, they are angry and bang and kick on their horse because they are just mad and are trying to get even. A good horseman knows when to take a horse to the "dark side" and when to get out.

This horseman believes in giving a horse a chance to figure it out. And he rewards small attempts with a short break (release) and often a soft stroke on the neck.

This horseman wants riders to get the most out of their horses with less. Every time you get what you want with less, you ask with less than that, to get more. And so on. Eventually, a horse will respond with the lightest feel.

This horseman is not a fan of horses being kept in stalls. He finds it surprising that stalled show horses function as well as they do. He feels stalls are unnatural for horses.

So, any guesses as to who I saw? To my reading family members, no fair, you can't guess!