Tao of Horsemanship: An Intuitive Approach

Blog video 18: Buhdar's First Ride (Part 6 - Final Episode)

2011-06-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

Here is the last segment of Buhdar's First Ride.

Caroline offers helpful tips and information as she explain her

thoughts and actions when riding Buhdar for his very first time!

Enjoy!

Blog video 17: Buhdar's First Ride (part 5)

2011-06-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

Here is part 5 of Buhdar's first ride!

This is part 5 of 6 (all happened in one hour, but we had to break it

up on youtube into pieces).

As with the other blog videos, Caroline narrates, to tell you what she was

thinking as she was working with the horse.

Enjoy!

Next Blogs Coming

2011-05-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

Hi there,

Caroline has been busy traveling, teaching and with clinics lately.

We will have the last two segments of Budar's first ride for you soon.

Stay tuned!

Blog video 16, Buhdar's First Ride (Part 4)

2011-05-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

Here is part 4 of Caroline's discussion on starting a young horse.

Enjoy!

Blog video 15, Buhdar's First Ride (Part 3)

2011-04-26T03:41:00.000-07:00

Here is part three!

Blog video 14, Buhdar's First Ride (Part 2)

2011-04-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

Here is part two of Caroline's answer to Chloe about Starting a Young Horse,

and introducing tack. In addition, Caroline narrates in this part of the hour-long

session where Budar is mounted and ridden for the first time.

Stay tuned each week for more!

Blog Video 13, Buhdar's First Ride (Part 1)

2011-04-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

Here is part 1, of a spoken and video answer that refers to the question and answer below.

Hi Caroline, I have this young 3 1/2 year old canadian gelding who will be turning 4 this spring. We have been working over the winter to get him ready to start under saddle. We have your "Starting Your Young Horse: Preparing For the First Ride" DVD and we can do everything on it now! So last thursday we saddled him for the first time, had already prepared him and got him used to a rope around his barrel. For the saddleing he stoud still, and after a few steps he had a little fit that lasted about 20secends. After his fit we partner walked and did a bit of lunging at the walk. In all he had the saddle on about 20min. So i couldnt go see him friday so we went saturday and since then he is terrified of it the saddle and the girth. We have tried to approach and release but it doesnt work, we have tried touching himwith it quickly and taking it off but nothing seems to work. When he sees me lift the girth he will start lounging around me or try to evade it. We dont really know what to do, i was thinking i could restart from taking the girth by itself off the saddle and getting him used to it, and then the saddle and then combine them. Also what would you recomend on the first ride so he doesnt buck?

thank you, chloe

Hi Chloe;

I'm sorry to hear how scared your horse is now. I think I understand how it happened. Sounds like there are 2 areas that weren't solid before you introduced the saddle. The exercises in the DVD were designed to guide you into a way of being and doing that supports deep levels of acceptance, trust, partnership and leadership. If you introduced the rope around the belly, you many have broken your horse's trust as this is not an accepted technique of ours and goes against our principle.

I have worked with so many traumatized horses and it has been proven over and over, through the ground exercises I provide in the DVD, that true acceptance of our leadership (guiding hand) and trust in partnering with us can be achieved, simply and naturally. Meaning, you don't need to add anything, just get deeper by asking for more from your horse and while you are, make sure you are listening to what your horse has to say so you don't push them too far - or not ask enough. Once you know what they are saying, you have something to work with. That is KEY to mastering horsemanship and what training and building a solid foundation is all about.

I mention many times in the DVD about the mind set of our horses and how we are looking for a calm, connected (eye and ear on you), willing and soft partner who is eager to join up with you both mentally and physically. Please go back and listen again :) We don't have to introduce anything else when we meet challenges with horses either, as these exercises can get as deep and particular as you feel necessary to help the horse make the emotional break through necessary for them to let their guard down and not only trust you enough to join you in partnership but allow you to guide their feet, movement through clear, loving and fair leadership.

I know you will be able to regain your horses trust, you may have to slow things down and pay more attention to when you are losing them so you can help them back. Helping them back is through clear, empathetic guiding leadership:)

Best to you and keep me posted.

Caroline

2011-04-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

We will have a new video for you next week!

2011-04-04T07:48:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

We'll be back with you next week with a new blog video.

We had a wonderful time the last two weekends with the Group Apprenticeship, Level 1, Module 1, and the Getting Started Clinic! It was so exciting to see people make breakthroughs with their horses, and to see such happy people and horses! Yesterday, in day three of the Apprenticeship, everyone was successful with taking a horse through the obstacle course - at liberty in the large arena! It is so exciting to see the great progress people made in three days, understanding more about relating to horses through Caroline's three core awarenesses of Intention, Position and Movement.

Check out our website for upcoming clinics, or host your own clinic with Caroline!

http://www.riderhorsemanship.com/horse-training-schedule.htm

Blog video 12

2011-03-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

This is part 2, in answer to a viewer's question about how to apply Caroline's
Round Penning Approach to Independent Horse who isn't interested in joining-up.

Our intention is to post our blogs every Monday. We had some internet issues

yesterday though, so here it is!

Enjoy!

Blog video 11

2011-03-21T17:38:00.000-07:00

This is part 1 of 2, in answer to a viewer's question about how to approach Caroline's

Round Penning Approach with an Independent Horse who isn't interested in joining-up.

This and next week's segments are about: Understanding your horse's nature and

personality, and figuring out what works best for the two of you.

Here is the Question:

Katarina said...

Thank You Caroline for a great blog! : ) I have a question about the RP-approach. I have had about 4-5 sessions with each one of my two horses and one of them is responding well and she is connected, soft and very hooked on. The other however is not so enthused, she is a Full blood Arabian mare (7 yrs) and she is a very “independent” horse with a big “personal space” (she does not bite or kick, she is just ears back grumpy) She is seldom nervous or worried so she is not so keen on looking for safety and ease. In the RP she ignores me and when throwing the rope at her she can turn and look at me with an irritated expression that looks like “WHAT do you want!!!???” and then she calmly moves on and often continues ignoring me doing her thing (like eating bark from the RP-fence)
When I stay persistant she will finally show some honest interest in me (but not 100%) Do you have any advice for how to “win over” a more self-confident (and cocky) horse when doing the RP-approach? :)
Katarina/Finland

No blog this week!

2011-03-14T10:43:00.000-07:00

Hi there friends,

We were going to shoot a new blog video this weekend, but Erika our video gal has been under the weather with a bad cold/flu bug.

So no blog this week - but stay tuned next week.

In the meantime, we will be posting our four videos from the Harrisburg, PA Horseworld Expo to youtube. So checkout our youtube channel for those: http://www.youtube.com/user/CarolineRider. The first one should be up later today.

Have a great week!

Musical Presentation from Sunday at the MD HorseWorld Expo, 2011.

2011-03-07T11:14:00.000-08:00

This is the fourth and final musical presentation from the MD, Horseworld Expo.

Caroline speaks about what made this day unique from the others,

and describes some of the many nuances of communication between

she, Smokey and Sundance.

Enjoy!

We want to thank you for some of the comments we are getting via youtube and
email. Here is one. Thank you for this comment!

Caroline you are the best horse-person I've ever came across with! I studied many NHS-trainers, made up my own mind and worked my way into these techniques. It was my highly spooky Arabian mare who tought me your approach. After 6 yrs together our bond is a dream. Currently I'm helping other horse-owners to connect this way with their horses. But to refine my body-language and do it right the first time, I will from now on fallow your training-methods . You are truly the best!

Blog Video 9

2011-02-28T07:56:00.000-08:00

Here is day three of Caroline Rider's "special presentations" at

the Timonium, MD HorseWorld Expo, this January 2011.

Caroline continues to narrate the conversations that she and her

horses Smokey and Sundance are having in this venue, where they

dance at liberty and do bridleless riding.

Each day is very different!

Enjoy!

Some of you have been telling us that it is difficult to leave a comment on the blog:
I hope this is helpful:

To leave a comment on our blog:

1. Click on the red "_ comments" link at the bottom of the post.

2. This will open up a new window where it says "Post a Comment" with a box where you can type your comment.

3. Then below the box, it says "Comment as" and asks you to "Select Profile." This means, what type of email address do you want to make a comment as, such as your google account - type in your google username or gmail address, AIM (aol) - type in your aol email address, Open URL think means that you can do other types of email addresses.

4. Press the "Post Comment" button at the bottom of the box where you typed your comment.

Below the comment box, you will also see a link that says: "Subscribe by email." If you do that, it will alert you each time our new blogs come out. Though we do try to get the new blogs out each monday, sometimes our schedules don't allow. So this will alert you when the new blog is up!!

Let us know your comments and ask Caroline your questions for upcoming blog posts!

Blog video 8

2011-02-21T17:47:00.000-08:00

Here is day two of Caroline's Liberty and Freestyle Demo

at this year's Timonium HorseWorld Expo.

Caroline narrates some of the subtle communication between she,

Smokey and Sundance.

Blog video 7

2011-02-15T06:02:00.000-08:00

This is the first of four of the musical freestyle and liberty

demonstrations that Caroline gave at the HorseWorld Expo

in Timonium, MD this January.

Caroline narrates some of the subtle communication between she,

Smokey, and Sundance, and how she chooses to solve some of the

problems they encountered each day.

We will be showing all four of her musical freestyle and liberty

presentations over the coming weeks, with comments from

Caroline. This is Thursday's performance.

On another note - we wanted to thank Katarina for a beautiful

email she just sent us.

I am on a journey to finding the way with horses that is most suitable

for me... I have been studying a lot of what is out there, and find that

many clinicians either aren't able to explain their method in an

understandable way, or don't have accessible materials for studying them.

Most people that I have looked into are either too "mechanical"

or too "spiritual" and when I recently happened to come across

one of Caroline's Youtube-clip I was completely blown away

because it's just what I'm looking for: BOTH spiritual and practical :)

I'm looking forward to getting the DVD (and in time purchase

more of her DVD's) and have a "new beginning" with my two

lovely horses Silva and Ciwanne! :)

-Katarina, Finland

Thank you Katarina, so much for your beautiful words!

I am so happy that this way of being with horses strikes a chord
with you!

Session 2, Part 2 with Dulche.

2011-02-06T04:21:00.000-08:00

We are putting up our blog video up a little early this week! Caroline

is going to be doing a private apprenticeship in MA on Monday,

and I'll be there doing video for them. So we wanted to get this posted

before we left. :)

Here is part two of the second time Caroline worked with Dulche.

We don't know much of this mare's history, but she has a lot of mistrust

with people, and has shown aggressive tendencies both with people and

other horses. We are starting to see that underneath that exterior is a

very soft and sweet heart!

So please watch to see how beautifully she halters and works with

Caroline doing some of her online exercises.

Have a great week with your horse(s)!

Until next week!

Creating healthy boundaries - how to handle biting and playfulness with your horse.

2011-02-01T07:14:00.000-08:00

We would like to share this great question and answer with you this week!

Hi Caroline -

I love the blog. Especially the last two installments with Dulce. Perfect for reinforcing my round pen techniques. I just started round pen training with Stormy and Sandman (he is our pony). I wanted to watch the DVDs a few times before I gave it a try. Things are going pretty well.

Here is a question for you.... everyday before I put Stormy's halter on, I go in his stall and pet him on the face and neck and ask him to put his head down. He licks and chews, which I know is good. However, every now and then, while his head is low... the look in his eye will change suddenly and he will go after my shins with his teeth. I always have my dressage whip with me and I shoo him away from my legs without hitting him or going after him aggressively. I just stand my ground and get him out of my space. Do I keep on keeping on? Or is there something else I should try?

My round pen question also has to do with teeth.... but a different energy behind them. It seems that he really wants to play! When I go in his paddock with him and call him over, he approaches with his ears up, I pet him on the face and neck. He is constantly nipping and nibbling at me, like I am another horse and he is trying to play halter-tag. I use my fingers to shoo him out of my space and tell him that teeth are not appropriate no matter what. I am happy that it is not angry energy, but teeth=me getting hurt. How do I cross this hurdle? I don't know how to safely 'play' with him yet and I have a feeling that the 'friendly nibbling' is still a dominant behavior so I have to establish me as the leader before we try to 'play'. What do you suggest?

Talk to you soon,
-Karen

Hi Karen;

That's great, so glad it is helping you:)

Firstly, I never go into my (or any) horse's stall. Out of respect (it's always about space) I wait. I will wait and if they don't greet me, I will ask them over to the door to partner up for the haltering. This is so important as it allows you to gauge, immediately, where your horse is emotionally/mentally - where your join up is or isn't. This becomes part of your (my) pre-flight system to safety too (as it's all about connection and partnership). The round penning approach was created to help you achieve this level of "initiation" where the horse has time to accept and trust you.

Secondly, everything we do is about positive reinforcement. We never address a challenge, issue, head on or directly. Rather we go about identifying the issue at hand and indirectly presenting solutions. Example; my horse won't come to me. Going after him or bribing him with grain/treats AND, a passive side of myself doesn't work (ex: "it's ok sweetie....I'm not going to hurt you"....as you walk timidly and softly....next thing you know, your run over). Before I know it, I've created a "cookie" monster and a horse that doesn't respect me as I am a push over.

Solution: work on the ritual of the relationship, meaning create (like in our round penning) the environment, space that will support your endeavors to make you the "sweet" spot BALANCED with a little TLC. Through my rpenning dvd I talk about what horse's need - love and companionship and leadership. The first two come before the latter. And, the latter is just as important as you won't be able to go anywhere or achieve anything if you, as a leader, do not have clear and direct action/direction. Bottom line, work on asking him into you, like I do with Dulce, allowing him to find joy and comfort when he joins up with you - while calmly, clearly identifying your space.

In regards to being more playful, nipping...in a herd of horses, the lead or more dominant horse will not tolerate another nipping, unless he initiates it and engages in it. You need to be clear at identifying what is acceptable behavior and what isn't. Biting humans is not as we are much weaker and we need to maintain a status where we balance both partnership and leadership. This is how they relate naturally. In regards to understanding horse behavior, the more we understand what is innate, and natural to our equine friends - where we have the "right" to take charge and control, and where we belong in this relationship, the easier, safer and more enjoyable our friendship becomes and the more confident we are about reading and understanding the dynamic we share with them.

Again, it's all about sharing and taking space and when you have a dominant/alpha personality like Stormy's he is going to want to engage with you on his terms and this can be dangerous. This is where you can stay mentally and physically engaged with him but remind him where he belongs and all that means is that you are in charge of your space...use a carriage whip to help or lead line to reinforce your boundaries. Watching, listening to him and keeping the lines of communication open are key here as you are walking a fine line between bringing out both confident and un-confident behavior. Too much or too little can make or break it.

Have fun playing! And, please keep me posted!

- Caroline

Blog Video 5

2011-01-25T05:33:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I know we promised you a new video each Monday - but the Youtube

servers were down last night... so here it is!

This is Session 2 with Dulche - the second time Caroline has worked

with her. We show you 10 consecutive minutes of this training

session, and will show you more next week.

For those of you learning Caroline's Round Penning Approach,

there are so many subtle nuances to this way of being and working

with horses. We hope you enjoy!

Don't forget to comment on our blog, and ask your questions for

Caroline's answers and future blog videos!

Have a great day with your horse,

from all of us at Rider Horsemanship!

Blog Video 4

2011-01-17T19:32:00.000-08:00

In this video, Caroline works with a horse that has had minimal handling

for the last 6 months. Caroline works with her for the first time in this

video, demonstrating her round penning approach.

For those of you who have her Round Penning DVDs, this may fill in some

gaps, and answer some of your questions.

You can ask Caroline your questions here by leaving a comment to this blog
post, or send questions to us at info@RiderHorsemanship.com.

Leading and The Send - How to inspire a "stubborn" horse

2011-01-11T06:15:00.000-08:00

This video continues the discussion about leading. This week's

question is about how to inspire movement in a "stubborn" horse.

Leading Part 2

2011-01-03T19:01:00.000-08:00

This video is part 2, in the discussion about leading. We hope you enjoy it!

........................................................................................................................

Below is a related question that Caroline received, and her answer:

You guys haven't met the newest addition, Dusty. She is the polar opposite of Kala. She's bold, dominate, in-your-face, food oriented and stubborn! These type of horses have always been a real challenge for me. This question is related to the last blog of Leading Part I. When I use rhythmic driving (twirling the end of the rope for her to step back), she takes it as me challenging her. She'll begin to hold her head high, kick out and stand her ground instead of stepping back or not coming into my space as I originally intended. It becomes ego vs. ego at that point. What can I do so her and I are working together instead of against each other?

Hope all is well!

Amber

Hi Amber,

Happy New Year!

Great question!

This is typical behavior for more dominant horses. Asking them to respect your space puts you in the "driver's" seat or position of power. Naturally, they will challenge that. I'd like to start off with my round penning (rp) approach first for acceptance and trust before I get into specific techniques that will help. The round penning allows you to establish both partnership and leadership. This is most important to our way of training as we want the horse to want to be with us, choosing to partner while accepting our leadership. In the end, the answer is "intention." You will learn the power of it through our rp approach. The power comes with careful observation, identifying and reading our horses so that we can "match" intention. Matching intention follows the mind, heart and body of a horse. Example, some horses may be moving quickly but their mind is soft and relaxed. Some may not move, with their feet planted, not scared of anything yet difficult to motivate.

This is most challenging as everyone's perspective is unique to themselves. I don't feel comfortable asking you to come on stronger as I don't know the dynamic between you. She may feel misunderstood, confused and if so, that is how she is going to respond and let you know. You would be surprised how much a horse can "change" when understood. Stronger personalities just can't take too much either. They are very assertive. That is why I don't like to label horses, dominant, passive.

As I mention briefly in Leading, Part I, you can get stronger with your rhythmic energy and move into your horse if necessary. Don't get stuck trying to achieve the desired goal of backing your horse up right now. I would practice moving the shoulder. Accept the slightest try and reward. I would love to show how we would match our horse's intent but we don't have any horses here that will challenge us that way.

Thanks and I hope to see you again in the New Year!

Caroline

Leading Part 1

2010-12-28T14:11:00.000-08:00

In this video Caroline answers a question about her method and position for leading a horse with safety asked by Sharon.

Each week we will be answering your questions. You can send your questions to info@riderhorsemanship.com, or ask them here as a response to the blog.

2010-12-13T07:34:00.000-08:00

Hi there!
As we started up this blog, it was our intention to do a short video each week in response to people's questions, but it has been hovering around 32 degrees and windy for the last two weeks! Brrrrr! So no videos right now!

We do however want to post 1 - 3 answers to questions every Monday, whether in written or video form.

Here is Caroline's response to Anna's question from last week:

Hi Anna,
The round penning approach will help you build deep levels of acceptance and trust. This way of mindfully working with our horses enables us to forge a level of awareness when reading and listening to our horses. It also begins the foundation for deep connection of the heart, mind and body. The better you become at reading what your horses tells you, and then knowing what to do with that information and feedback, the deeper your relationship will be. Once he accepts and trusts you he will try and partner up. This is when you show him the halter and ask, not force, him to trust you as you gently, slowly present the halter.

My 2nd dvd, online ground exercises goes through the haltering, leading etc. I have developed sequels to the first 3 and they specifically delve into problem solving.

Good luck and keep me posted!
My best,
Caroline

A forum for Questions and Answers!

2010-12-03T06:20:00.000-08:00

Hello! We'd like to open up this blog to be a forum for your questions and answers. While there unfortunately aren't enough hours in the day for Caroline to get to each of your questions personally, she will be picking at least one question a week to answer here. We will answer some of them with a video too!

So please post us your questions here!

These answers will have to be somewhat general, because without seeing you with your horse, we can't know exactly what is going on. If you would like a tailored and specific answer to your question that is just for you and your horse, please go to this link to learn more about assessments and evaluations, both in person, and via video!

http://www.riderhorsemanship.com/assessments-evaluations.htm

Here is a question we got from Anna from CT:

Hey, my name is Anna. I'm 18 from CT. I saw you at the Equine Affaire in MA and now you are my idol. I love the way you work with your horses. I got your round penning dvd but my horse isn't responding to it well, probably because I'm not sure what I'm doing. I just got a wild Mustang and hope to have the same relationship with him as you have with your horses. Right now I'm working on getting a halter on him. He's ok with the nose band but scared of the strap going over his head. Do you have any suggestions on how I should go about doing this? And what should I do about training him to lead. Any input would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Anna

Welcome to The Tao of Horsemanship Blog!

2010-11-10T04:01:00.000-08:00

Approach vs Technique...

There are a lot of techniques for working with horses out there, and technique is important. You've got to have tools in your toolbox! A barn doesn't get built with your intention, you have to use your tools to bring your intention into being. But knowing when and how to use each tool will have a lot of impact on your end result! With horses it's even more complicated, because a board is a board, and a saw is a saw, but a horse - well they are all different. No one technique is going to bring the same results with every horse. How it is used is what makes the difference.

Most people teach technique - but when it comes down to it, it is the way that technique is applied that can make or break us with our horses. When we work with our horses, there is so much finesse involved. Caroline speaks of knowing "when to be, where to be, and why" and to "work with the horse that presents itself". Learning when, where, and why is the beginnings of the tao of horsemanship. Those are the true gems that we, as students of the horse are seeking, to learn to be better at communicating and partnering with our horses.

In this video, Caroline describes how she defines the difference between approach and technique, and how she combines the two when working with horses, and teaching others.

We'd love to hear your responses!