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Dressage, Naturally
with Karen Rohlf
Creating healthy biomechanics and stronger partnerships through combining natural horsemanship principles with the art of dressage... photo: Peggy Finnerty
never underestimate the potential for harmony & lightness to improve in ways you cannot yet imagine
Welcome back to the Temenos... Temenos is an ancient Greek word. It refers to a sacred space that has no limits, where special rules apply and extra-ordinary events are free to occur.
The book/DVD is here... for you!!!!!!! The Dressage, Naturally Book and DVD are finally available in a special pre-release for my special friends of Dressage Naturally... YOU! The DVD is getting replicated as you read this... But I am making it available for advance purchase for the special people on my mailing list... CLICK HERE for PreRelease ordering... This special page for ordering is made just for you! The book will not appear on my web-shop for another week or so... but when it does.. If you order from my web-site you will not receive the discount! Read page 2 for more details!
Clinic schedule: CLICK HERE
Upcoming Clinics: March 9: Open Format workshop Temenos Fields, Ocala FL Full, Open to auditors Contact: K2
March 21-23 Baker, FL Contact:
April 6-11 Temenos Fields, Ocala, FL for Parelli students starting to do the basics of dressage naturally. FULL (no auditors for this one)
April 24-27 North Carolina
Contact: ncparelliclinics@bellsouth.net Only a couple rider spots left! Auditors welcome and encouraged!
LJohnsonusa@yahoo.com
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The book is 184 pages, with 59 exercises, 53 figures/illustrations by ‘yours truly’ and 3 hours of DVD! Following are some sneak peeks:
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copyright 2008 Temenos Fields, Inc February
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copyright 2008 Temenos Fields, Inc February
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More Questions from the Natural dressage Forum... and answers from Karen!
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ing having a focus to not use my reins to maintain what I am asking for) if I have a horse that is not ready to ride in connection with the reins. What I mean by this is: if I try to ride in a connection with the reins in this moment, there is a good chance he will not have a positive connection due to a long list of possible reasons.
trainers/riders really are using their hands only for communication about connection and can drop the reins and still have a light, rideable horse. There are many times when I am training horses, that they may start to become heavy or not positive www.naturaldressage2savvy.com in the connection, and there are certain ‘freestyley’ kind of communications that I can return to that will quickly interrupt the momentum of a horse beginning to fall Yes, I think we do have a responsibility to out of balance and lean on (or hide from) Karen, help horses develop a posture that will the reins. For example: one reminder of We know you have addressed freestyle allow them to carry our bodies in a a well-established exercise of ‘stay on the riding in the past, but there still seems to healthy and pain-free way...but we must rail and stop in the corners and relax’ can be some confusion on the topic. We have be careful not to think that the answer lies be called upon and is worth the million several 'sub-questions' that all relate to only in their mouths. Freedom to move is strong half halts that may be needed to the bigger first question: so important...and remember, they know get the same result, in a horse that gets how to move their bodies better that we pulling around the arena and falling in in How do you ride freestyle and balance do...unless we are excellent in our efforts the corners. Of course in order for that to that with the NEED for a horse to travel to use our reins to make them better, work, I must have put the time in before biomechanically correct (balanced, there is a high chance we are actually that to make that a well-established and straight, not incorrectly bent or invertmaking it harder for them. Any problem in understood exercise. ed,etc) while carrying the weight of a the body will show up in the mouth, and a rider? This seems to be a very big conmistake in the mouth will certainly negaI have rehabilitated many ‘dressagecern among many riders on our forum. tively effect the whole body. Once a trained’ horses that have been bored to Many riders feel the horse will not have horse has an ‘issue’ in his mouth, it can death and abused by poor attempts to the proper posture in freestyle because be more difficult to change later, so I do ride in connection with the reins he won't have a full connection and 'circle my best to keep the connection in the (dressage-trained was in quotes because of energy' to allow his back to properly lift, mouth as trouble-free as possible. I use that must not have been dressage trainetc. freestyle to eliminate having problems in ing the way I dream of it). With these this very delicate, sensitive area of the horses I put a big focus on freestyle... it is horse...meanwhile doing my best not to amazing when they finally realize they create other problems by not having that have a choice and they are trusted and I think of it in this way: connection. The mental, emotional bene- they are shown that I want them to be There are many ingredients to that wonfits to riding well without reins are bold and make moves on their own! Just derful balance and connection that you huge...the physical benefits can also be today I was joking that I should call my are describing as a ‘full connection and a huge (self carriage, perfect impulsion, system: ‘The Method for the Decircle of energy’. For example: Free, for- excellent seat connection) IF we do it Petrification of the Zombified Dressage ward energy, the feeling that the horse is well. There are many many times that I Horse’! ‘just there’ underneath you, light on his use a freestyle-type exercise for the purfeet, accepting of connection - yet in self pose of improving my connection with the If your training is going well, (no matter carriage, moving with an engaged hind horse when my reins are there. what the technique), there is nothing like leg and a strong, elastic top line. These the feeling of heading off with no reins or are not things that we humans So then, there become two questions. no bridle on a horse that has been given invented...horses already have this ca1. Ideally, if we were perfect in our ability the opportunity to carry you up and proud pacity, but yes, by sitting on them, if we to ride our horses in connection with the on his own. His posture will be up and don’t put a focus on making it easier, we reins, would we still need freestyle? And... light and engaged. are likely making it more difficult for them.
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Freestyle riding is one tool to help achieve these qualities (IF you practice your freestyle in a way that focuses on this outcome). Many students think of freestyle as letting the horse just do what he wants and letting him struggle to find an answer. Freestyle to me just means giving the horse a real opportunity to feel what it is like to be trusted, light and responsible. For me, I ride freestyle (meancopyright 2008 temenos fields, inc february
2. In reality, since we aren’t perfect, is freestyle a chance to have another avenue to achieve a quality of balance, trust and communication until horse and rider are better prepared to ride in connection with the reins?
The answer to the second question is also ‘Yes’. It is a question of process versus product. There are many times i have a horse, or a student who are not ready to ride in connection with the reins in a positive way...should they not ride? Should they go into the horse’s mouth The answer to the first question is ‘Yes’. I and start trying to figure out how to have think the really great trainers are riding in a nice soft contact even though the horse freestyle much of the time. It comes is impulsive and the rider is unbalanced? down to your definition of freestyle. Great No! They should be given some exercises 5
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which will develop their balance and individual responsibilities now, so later, when they are met, they will have a better chance of that connection being yummy. The real answer is to be able to do either strategy WELL. Then you can decide which strategy each horse needs at any particular time to make the most progress. Riding with the connection or not each has their own set of benefits and pitfalls. The reality is, until we are perfect, we must choose our lesser evils and a path of least resistance.
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Q: *How does freestyle fit in with your metaphor of loose reins being like a bad cell phone signal? Should a horse still have some contact and/or connection with the bit in freestyle? In other words should freestyle be more like 'long and low' or 'down and forward' or is it a total free-of-contact riding.
A: Once you are riding truly in con-
nection with the reins...it is ideal to be able to keep the reins in a consistent connection. Now, this doesn’t mean that I don’t release very often... maybe an inch every few strides, maybe all the way to *Do you have a horse 'confirmed' in the buckle for a circle... maybe so slightly seat aids at freestyle (ability to transition that no one knows but me and my horse. up and down, make circles and figures But the end goal is a horse and rider who COMPLETELY without reins) before ask- can remain light and in a consistent coning him to accept contact? nection... streaming information and feedback to and from each other. ‘Long and low’ is a separate subject...for examIt really does depend on the ple I can be long and low in connection with the reins, or bridle-less. I could be in horse...it definitely needs to be ‘good an uphill posture in connection with reins enough’...and that is decided by taking everything else about the horse into con- or bridle-less. Freestyle can have a postural focus...or it could not...separate subsideration. The horse needs to be thinkject. Maybe we just need another term...I ing along the right lines...Remember, I guess for me ‘freestyle’ just means that I don’t think there is anything inherently am not so concerned with the things that wrong with using the reins (or not using the reins)... just have a clear idea of what reins are for in that moment (head/neck position, or feel through the reins). It is reins are actually for... to make subtle pretty cool when you realize that you acpositionings of the head, to suggest the tually can influence these things also length of neck and to provide another point of contact by which to feel the horse without reins, but now we are getting into some pretty advanced bridle-less techand supply information about the body. nique that is not necessary for normal Ultimately I would love to do this bridle-less...but sometimes my freestyle is successful training. on long reins, and sometimes it is on short reins, which I am still not using, I *How do you know when to return just am shortening my time delay beto freestyle after you have progressed to tween when my horse goes of course and riding a horse on a more concentrated when I can give him clearer information... rein? Do you flow between freestyle and ‘Soft touch’ or: taking the slack out of the contact during each ride, first riding in reins without asking anything of the horse freestyle then returning to contact as in respect to flexion, to me is basically needed for balance or straightening? riding freestyle without loose reins. When I am training well, I never actually have to ask for vertical flexion or connection. If Make this a mantra: “freestyle inmy horse’s body is prepared well, when I go to soft touch, the horse does the rest. side the finesse, freestyle inside the fimy focus is just to keep riding my hands nesse”. Yes, I love to flow between the ‘forward to the connection’ so I don’t retwo, from day to day, or within a ride, or strict him. Which brings us to the next feeling the freestyle in the finesse by miquestion: cro yields of the reins in each moment... private ones between me and the horse
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that prove to him that I am there, but I won’t pull on him, and I expect the same from him. I know I am training well and mindfully if, after doing finesse for a few days, I can simply go without the reins and my bridleless is as good or BETTER than the last time I checked on it. And if I ride freestyle for a few days, then return to finesse it is BETTER than the last time I checked on it. I will now tell you about a young horse that I have coming along. He has been a little challenging for me as far as finesse, so perhaps you can relate to this more than if I simply gush on about my fabulously perfect Mr Monty! Ovation is (I hope he’s not listening) a horse who is not exceptionally dressagetalented, motivated or responsive by nature. He touched the electric fence 4 times in a row before taking one small step back. If he started stumbling at the canter, he thought it was probably easier just to go down than try to pick himself up while cantering, and his first thought when you put a feel on a line or reins was: ‘oh thanks for giving me something to lean on!’ But... he is super cute, tall and has nice gaits that I do believe are developable. That, along with his having the creativity of a factory worker can actually result in a horse that is quite reliable and happy to be given ideas about what to do. He doesn’t go for all the touchy feely stuff...he wants to be told what he needs to do and left alone and that can be a nice ride. So when got my freestyle ‘good enough’ I decided that ‘it was time I improved his posture’ (oh yeah, his preferred head carriage was lowish and with his nose stuck straight out!). But I didn’t realize that my freestyle really wasn’t good enough...I had actually been controlling him, very nicely, but definitely controlling him and ‘preventing him from getting too off balance’. I’m a professional! I know what I’m doing! Why not? I’ll just ‘help him’ with this! This of course did neither of us any favors. We were in the horrible in-between...not really freestyle and not really in connection... I was just very quietly, slightly, desensitizing and supporting him. If I were teaching a student with this copyright 2008 temenos fields, inc february
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horse I would have said that: “he would be connected and round when his body was ready, so if he wasn’t in a good posture and positive connection in the reins, it was because there was a missing piece in his body or mind”. But believe it or not, I don’t always listen to myself! Alas, I am very effective in my techniques of changing a horse’s posture so after 3 rather taxing sessions he obligingly yielded to my hands and became ‘round’. Except now, because he wasn’t really ready, I had created a round, soft, bobblehead who was now anxious. Oops. That was when I re-read my own book, signed myself up for a lesson with myself and decided that to follow my own ideal philosophy I should get my freestyle better. Not my riding around letting him do what ever he wanted, struggling... but my practicing of our responsibilities and my trusting him. So I did it... mindfully. This is what I focused on:
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walk around. (Basically I pretend someone is taking a photo of us halted at X in the Olympics and I mess around until he finds the posture then I release :-)). This was especially fun to do when he was pointed at the barn knowing he was done...he figured out pretty quick how to proudly ‘strike the pose’! We also did the stretching exercise online and riding to create general suppleness.
connection, confidence in your hands and engaged hind-legs... and only you will know what the best ‘recipe’ for that particular horse and you is... what sort of combination of freestyle, finesse, liberty, trail riding, galloping cross country, non demanding time, jumping, lateral work, stretching, collecting, riding in hackamore, riding in a bridle... you must do in order to achieve your goal.
When I had all these pieces I started going from freestyle to taking the slack out of the reins at the walk, trot and canter...and guess what? He found his natural posture and was soft and round...no bobble head, no wrestling. Now we can begin to enjoy riding in connection with the reins, thinking about things like him filling up the connection, subtle neck positions and now my reins only make things better and easier for him.
I hope this helps you gain some harmony and lightness!
I think we have to change the picture of the goal of freestyle...it is not running Bridle-less. I took off all reins and things madly around with an unbalanced on his head that I may be tempted to fuss horse...that is just often an unfortunate with and he would be tempted to lean on. moment in the process...The same as I did walk, trot canter transitions. Was riding in connection with the reins is not this scary when I felt him getting stumbly? meant to be hanging and pulling... We are YES! Did I just sit there and let him fall all all learning and before we are perfect we over himself? NO! When I felt him falling I will make mistakes...Mistakes in freestyle said: ‘hey, I wonder if you can back up’ have a particular look and mistakes in (or do a forehand yield, or transition... or... finesse have a particular look. Know your or...) so maybe he would start to think: goal, know your horse. Assess what the ‘hmm, I better pay attention so I can be missing pieces are, and know your toolready for these transitions!’ box of strategies. I put a big focus on improving his freestyle responsiveness to forehand and hindquarter yields and transitions to them from motion (I didn’t care where his head was). This created greater mobility and straightness and led to being able to do classical lateral exercises (shoulder-in, haunches-in..) as well as finding an alignment where he was balanced and able to release his top-line. This made him more supple in general. Then I made sure he really followed my focus on follow the rails and point to points. I definitely made sure he understood what it meant when I sat up at attention and brought my weight back, and we practiced him raising his neck and front legs up on cue. I would also walk around freestyle then transition to standing still in the ‘gorgeous horse posture’, then back to freestyle copyright 2008 temenos fields, inc february
Riding in connection with the reins is a tricky business... There are so many things to feel in those reins. The whole body and mind come through into your hands... Do your best to diagnose what you are feeling... can you feel the yummy feeling of pressure from a horse filling up the connection and confidently ‘holding hands with you’ versus the feeling of pressure of a horse’s body out of balance and landing in your hands versus a brace in zone 1, versus an emotional horse who is trying to ‘get away’? I know you are all thinking about this, and it is so beautiful to know you all are thinking about it. Do your best to assess what is going on, and what is the best for your horse. In the end your beautiful horse will have a strong, elastic back, light forehand, freedom of movement, total seat
My very best, Karen
Thanks for everyone’s patience in the delayed february newsletter and the delayed book release...This has been a whole new experience for me, and I have learned so much! The good news is I had a lot of fun and have a lot of new ideas of how to continue to do my best to share my knowledge, experiences and vision... stay tuned and enjoy!! ~K1
“Team Karen” That’s K1 (me) and K2 (Karen Jones) If
you would like to submit a story or a question please email it to: karenrohlf@earthlink.net to submit it.
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