Jan 2010 Newsletter - Dressage Naturally by Dressage Naturally

Creating healthy biomechanics and stronger partnerships through combining natural horsemanship principles with the art of dressage... Karen Rohlf

never underestimate the potential for harmony & lightness to improve in ways you cannot yet imagine

Welcome back to the Temenos...

"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one."

Temenos is an ancient Greek word. It refers to a sacred space that has no limits, where special rules apply and extraordinary events are free to occur.

-- Elbert Hubbard

January 23-28 Upcoming Clinics:

This Month

Clinic schedule: CLICK HERE

• News

***January 16 (change of date from 1/9)

• Lots of Q & A’s!

Private Lessons at Temenos Fields Contact K2@dressagenaturally.net

• Ancora Imparo

***January 17 (change of date from 1/10) Open Format at Temenos Fields Contact K2@dressagenaturally.net

6 Days at Temenos Fields 1 spot open, closed to auditors

Feb 13 Private Lessons at Temenos Fields Contact K2@dressagenaturally.net

Feb 14 Open workshop at Temenos Fields Contact K2@dressagenaturally.net

Auditors Welcome! at Privates and Workshops!

NEWS Donʼt worry, Iʼll be fine. I know many of you are snowed in, fighting frigid temperatures and are dreaming that we here in Florida are basking in sunshine and warmth... So I just wanted to state for the record: It is COLD here this week (record lows!)! And here is a photo of the ice I took off my bird bath this morning! Look, I have a scarf, polar fleece, gloves and head-wear on!!!

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6 Day Clinic Formats Described

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Now, under the Education tab on my website, you can find a choice that says: 6 Days at Temenos Fields. clicking on this will bring you to a page that describes the 6 Day clinics as well as showing some photos of Temenos Fields.

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My 6 Day clinics are full for 2010 except for one spot in the one coming up January 23-28. So I guess this is more of a mean trick putting it up there just to show you what you are missing. ;-) But, I am thinking of adding some dates next year so prepare yourselves to jump on it when it happens! It seems like once students take this clinic they donʼt want to give their spot up. So far I have 2 groups who each come twice a year.This January one is a new group of participants.

OK, I guess I donʼt look like I am suffering too much... And in the background you can see my nice garden doing very well growing collards, kale and peas, so not to worry- I should be able to survive this. But ICE? Really, this is not in my contract anymore!

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Learn how to better match your horse's athleticism Discover tools to deepen your physical listening skills Explore the kinetic dialogue that can exist between human and equine partners Play creatively Find new choreography tools

Unmounted Sessions Functional Anatomy for Riders Strength and Stretch Exercises Leading and Following Brain Gym Mounted Sessions Finding Flow Riding from your bones Moving in Tandem with a Dancer Group Choreography

On March 8th I will join them in a Open Rehearsal/Creative Process day. I have been getting together with JoAnna and her dancers for years now, and we thought it would be nice to allow auditors to share in the day. It is always interesting and students who observe us report that they find it very valuable, as they see their own horsemanship from a new perspective, as well as it opening up doors of creativity... Something that so many of us

Photo; Coco

One Spot Opened in Australia Tour! I just got word that one spot opened up for the Gold Coast Clinic April 14-18, 2010! If you were wishing you could attend... Now is your chance to jump on it! Contact Pat Miller as soon as possible at pmi23806@bigpond.net.au. The Australia tour has come together beautifully thanks to student liaison via Pat Miller and logistical support from Fiona Darling, Kaye Thomas! I am so excited for it and look forward to meeting all my participants and all of you planning on coming to audit. (Auditors remember to pre-register, as we have many people coming and we want to make sure everyone is accommodated!)

Karen Plays with the Dancers Again! Just came in from a really fun afternoon with JoAnna Shaw of the Equus Project and her dancers. They are taking their horsemanship to the next level! it was great to see their progress and push them a bit more to get the results they are seeking. We also had a chance also to play with some creative choreographic ideas... Always fun for me because I get to turn the artist side of my brain on play with interesting ideas

struggle with! For more information or to sign up, contact Cathy at cjbouis@aol.com.

Demo Ansur Saddles in January For the month of January, I will have 3 Ansur Demo saddles available at my place to try. I will have a Classic (Petite) an Excel (Junior) and Excel (Petite). Anyone who wants to try one should contact me. Karenrohlf@dressagenaturally.net

March 6-8 The dancers will be doing a clinic called: Finding the Dance 3/6-7 in Yahala, FL (midway between Orlando and Ocala.

Activating the Hind Quarters

Q. Dear Karen, I want to thank for such a wonderful DVD program. I have all your DVD's and I think you are fabulous! I have only one concern. As a training level dressage student, I so not have the experience and training to know what you are doing in your DVD's with your reins, legs, and seat. Your DVD's do not tell us viewers what "aids" you are using for some of the goals or movements that you are executing. In specific, "activating the hind end"....Can you refer me to your Dressage Naturally Book, or other references that will tell me what to do with my seat and/or legs to achieve this objective? In general, I would say that these types of discussions are the only thing lacking from your DVD's. Is there any way to go into these specifics with aids in your next DVD's? Most of us are not accomplished riders and we do not have your technical background, what do you recommend for us to read, watch, etc./ to bridge the gap between what we see you do and what you are NOT saying? A Loyal Follower and Fan and Customer, Kathleen

Hi Kathleen, Great question! Activating a horse has a few dimensions to it. In any given moment, there are cues you can teach a horse that let him know to 'put in more energy' Some trainers will say to use a squeeze, some will say a bump some will say touch with the whip, some will say engage your seat... they are all true. You choose which on based on if you have taught your horse this cue, or have noticed that a particular horse responds better to one of these cues more than another. Of course, there are effective and ineffective ways to deliver each of these cues. For example: If, when you close your leg, you also tighten your thighs and hips, you will be blocking the horse from moving. If, when you tap with the whip, you are too

strong, it may cause the horse to tense up and block himself from moving.

Travers

The answer in the background is to develop a horse that is, in general, inspired, willing, keen to motivate himself. This is done through good foundation and finding ways to keep the tense horse calm, and the low-energy horses mentally activated so they are participating and not bored. This way the horse is in general feeling active. It is less interesting to learn how to make a bored, unmotivated horse go with a particular aid, or how to make a stiff, tense horse move fluidly... it is more interesting and better in the end to learn how to develop a calm, motivated, interested partner!

and Counter Canter

Hi Karen

I've just come home last week from the Parelli center where I watched Walter Zettl teach for 5 days (and got to ride 3 times--what another eye-opener re: what I don't know!). Lots to lick and chew on. . .but here are a couple questions for now:

Walter said, quite definitively, that travers creates 4 tracks, not 3 (while explaining that shoulder-in should have only 3). This sounded so strange to my ear! I didn't ask him about it, but have been curious ever since. What is your take on why he's seeFrom there, the next thing to pay attention ing it this way? And what would the horse be doing differently to create 4 tracks-to is that you are able to sit on the horse in a way that your body does not block his bending more in the neck, just having a motion... That you can follow him (Results steeper angle next to the wall? I know it's easy to get 4 tracks when attempting in Harmony DVD #4 has exercises for travers, but thought that was just part of this). Also, you want to make sure you my (and horse's) learning process. can be in touch with your own energy... Making sure you know how to sit with enAlso--what's your view of the "correct" ergy, instead of feeling like you are bend for counter-canter? Phillipe Karl preparked on the couch (DVD #3 is a great fers the horse be straight on the circle example of exercises to explore your while in counter-canter (definitely more ranges). difficult to do, I've discovered), rather than Look in the D,N book/DVD set in the sec- shaped for the lead he's on. tions talking about finding the Sweet Hope you're doing well and enjoying life! Spot.... developing conversations about Energy (and Relaxation). N So... I make sure that I have a horse who is calm, willing, motivated.... and that he and I feel the energy conversation in our Hi N, bodies and intention.... then when doing dressage (or anything) if he forgets or It sounds like you are having fun! needs to be reminded to step up a bit... Haunches in... you can do it on three or then I will either close my leg a bit, or four tracks depending on the specific touch him on the hip or croup with the benefit you want to get from that exercise stick, or bump him a bit with my leg, in the moment. which ever he understands the best. 3 tracks enables the best chance of engagement and maintaining collection. 4 I hope this helps. Please let me know! tracks gives more obvious bending and crossing, but with that, can make it more Happy New Year! difficult for the horse to remain up hill and engaged. You can get 4 tracks with or My Best, Karen without more bend, depending on what the lesson for the horse is that day... Bend should always be in the body, not the neck as over-bent necks block free shoulder movement.

So.... for training... this is what you keep in mind. In competition... it is most often performed along the long side, and it is difficult for the judge to have a good enough view of the subtle bend and angle, so for competition, it is done on 4 tracks... mostly so the judges can really see it.... In training keep in mind that the amount of angle can be increased or decreased... and it requires higher or lower degrees of bending... if you increase the amount the haunches are off the wall... without sufficient bending (flexibility) the horse will turn it into a leg-yieldy thing, with a bent neck.... so that is a different movement, but can be valuable to let the horse practice his crossing. Keeping the angle minimal (3 tracks) with excellent bend, will give maximum chance of engagement and free movement of gaits.

directions without having to change anything.... in training it, it can be very helpful to align to the line you are on, rather than the lead... Make sense?! Karen

Travers, Counter Canter Contʼd: Hi Karen, Thank you for your answers--yes, very helpful! Comments about competition driving the judges to change what's desirable are interesting. . .if it's easier to maintain engagement and collection in travers with 3 tracks rather than 4, you'd think that would be more highly valued (since collection is so valued and valuable) than the ability of the judge to see the specific maneuver. Can't a judge sit where s/he can see?

A follow-up question re: counter canter: circling left, for example, on right lead--if I 4 tracks will help the judge see it! :-) ...this ask for bend left (straight on the circle in is a quote I found: "(Originally, the other words, despite right lead, or put anhaunches-in was a three-track moveother way a counter-bend, as you say?) ment, but because of the difficulty of would that ask the horse to stretch his judging the less obvious degree of right side more than same circle (left) on bending, the movement was changed inside (left) lead? And if so would that to four tracks for dressage competihelp straighten a horse who tends to put tion.)" ribs to the left? I'm wondering if the counter-bend during counter canter Re: counter canter.... in the end, in commaximizes the stretching/suppling effect. . petition.... we want to see that the horse . can sustain his exact balance, positioning and rhythm of his canter as he changes Of course I have M in mind; she bends direction... (positioned to the right in the ribs to the left--I do this to all my horses. I right lead when going track right or left) got a new insight as to why during a lesson with Walter--he kept telling me to But... for schooling it, with some horses point my toes forward and I noticed on especially, it can be very helpful to the video that my right foot especially alcounter bend during the counter canter ways seemed to be pointed toes out, heel (positioned left while on the right lead, in. Well, that's my crooked leg--if my foot going left)... horses that gain from this are goes straight my knee "looks" left, if my horses who tend to fall out their outside knee goes straight forward, my foot looks shoulder in canter (a horse who, when on right--and apparently I've been putting the right lead, tends to lean left or bulge that leg "on" all these years in a way out to the left.... in counter canter will fall that's affected my horses. Sigh. . . even more and may even break or switch leads in front as the weight falls to the left Thanks for your insights! in the left turn .... so changing to a positioning left helps shift the weight of the N shoulder to the right, helping them 'stand up' around the turn to the left.... So.... in the end you hope to create a canter so balanced that you can change 4

A. “Can't a judge sit where s/he can see?” Yes, but they would have to run around a lot to be in the best place for each movement!... That, of course, is why they have 5 judges in different locations at the upper competitions.... chances are each movement has at least one judge who has the 'real' view!!! “And if so would that help straighten a horse who tends to put ribs to the left?” yes! ~Karen

The Ansur Saddle

Q. Dear Karen, I have been following your work through the Parellis and on youtube and your webpage, and am hoping to participate in a clinic with you with my mare this coming summer in New Hampshire. I am writing today with a question about the Ansur classic, both because I respect your horsemanship immensely, and because you are a rep for Ansur. I am in the process of purchasing an Ansur classic (a recent, new one). I have had it on trial for about a week, and my mare goes absolutely phenomenal in it. The biggest change is at the canter, where she rounds, goes forward, and come up in front more at the same time, more than ever before. I myself also really enjoy the balance of the saddle, as well as the combination of support and feel. I have been riding treeless for the last two years, I should add, so it's not about treed vs. treeless that I see the change. Now my question: I am really concerned about the lack of a gullet in this saddle. My horse doesn't seem to care one bit, but it worries ME. There are lots of people out there crying wolf. The folks at the saddlery that I am possibly buying the Ansur from themselves are "cautioning" me to reconsider a treed saddle. At the Parelli Savvy Forum, people are talking about potential "torture" for the horse, and that I should only consider the Parelli

saddles. I was wondering if you could give me any advice. Thank you so much. Christian G

Half Haltʼs / Micromanaging

about this question a lot, and its always been in the back of my head . . . Could you talk a bit on half halts, and where they fit in the parelli program?

I hear you! I tried it at first with great skepticism... But the evidence for me was that my horses did not mind it, went better in it and have never gotten sore spot from it.

My question is I feel there is a line between when a half halt is needed and . . .when someone is overusing their aids to compensate for inadequate mental, emotional and physical fitness in the horse.

Monty will get a rub from a fly mask and is uncomfortable in a bareback pad... but loves the Ansur...

How do you explain to someone what the line is? And am I on the right path of thinking? I just see sometimes that there are horses that have their responsibilities down, but need a slight rebalancing, but then there are horses that are being BEGGED to stay in their gate or position with constant half halts. basically micromanaging . . .

Now, I develop my horses to have strong healthy backs and I am an experienced rider... so I would agree that the worst case for an Ansur is a horse with atrophied back muscles, terrible posture and a rider with an uneducated, or unbalanced seat. Every horse and rider are different, so I never would say any piece of equipment would be right for all cases. There are pros and cons. I love the closeness, the non-restriction and how my horses feel in it. If i get a horse that tells me they don't like it i won't use it.... that has yet to happen for me, personally. Torture it is certainly not. I hope this helps. :-)

My Best,

Karen

Biting while Riding

Q. hey Karen . ..I have been thinking Q. Karen,

A. Hi Christine,

I use it with a pad that has 2 panels of padding (not very much) on either side of the mid-line and it is enough to give a dry line down the spine when i take the saddle off. So they are getting some spinal relief.

any thoughts would help! Laura

Hi Laura, I think you are on track with your thinking... a half halt is a physical and mental preparation, like saying: 'Hey you might want to sit up a little straighter to get ready for this!" An excellently used half halt helps the horse, it does them a favor. Holding the horse together with aids that never worked in the first place is never a good idea, and it wasn't an effective half halt to begin with if it doesn't get the result... or as you said, there may be mental, emotional deficits there that are over riding it. Of course there are mental half halts, too, which we begin in foundation with exercises such as the question box... and things like making sure impulsion is balanced and the Responsibilities are in place are incredibly helpful so you don't need as many reasons for half halts!!

Within the newsletter Karen R states she recently had to learn techniques to keep Atomic from biting her while she was riding him. I have a new horse that is doing just that. Trying to bite me while riding… usually turns to the right side and some times comes around fairly quickly and aggressively and other times seems to be trying to sneak in a bite. I was wondering what techniques Karen R tried and what finally worked. Thank you. Carol

A. Hi Carol, The most important thing to remember is that the biting is a symptom of something else. For Atomic and me, he was annoyed by something, which caused him to get aggressive (his style). So the issue needs to be solved: 1. In the moment so no one gets hurt, and 2. By going back, figuring out the reason and solving it there and 3. Giving him another alternative. To be more specific: Atomic had trouble accepting my leadership in the saddle. It would show up in response to asking him to go, or to turn in a direction that he did not want to go. He passes the waterer while we are riding, thinks he needs a drink, I just keep riding past, he stops, pins his ears and starts gnashing his teeth at my leg. (I wrote that in the present tense, but I am happy to report this no longer happens!) So: 1. Survival. Block myself from getting bitten! blocking him with the stick didn’t really work, because in that moment he enjoyed biting the stick and got good at grabbing and flinging it. so I just took my hands wide and forward, sort of making cross ties with my reins, so he physically couldn’t get me. But that is not the level that I want to address things, that was just survival!

2. Figure out the reason and solve it there. I made sure I addressed all the In the end, we are riding the horse menmoments of leadership. Many of his tally, emotionally and physically, so it is ok troubles were food-based (he wanted to talk to all these parts of the horse. to stop and eat or drink) so I would set myself up to have very good behavior My Best, Karen from him at feeding time... staying copyright 2010 temenos fields, inc January

back, waiting for him to be called, ears forward before he gets his food... I practiced on-line and riding near other horses when they were eating, he didn’t get fed treats in this state of mind (“Gimme-gimme never gets”). These are all just leadership point-gaining strategies that were very meaningful to him (the most dominant horse in the herd). Along with this I had to make sure we develop our trust in each other so we are better partners in general. 3. Alternative. Next I had to give him something else to do when I felt him getting annoyed. In the perfect world, if my horse says: ‘hey, I want to go over there” I can say: ‘thank you I hear that, but please keep going’. Atomic understood already how to go forward from pressure of the leg or stick or just my seat... but the respect was not deep enough that he did it even if he didn’t feel like it! But I also knew I did not want to fight with him in this moment and just go up phases with an already aggressive-minded horse, and I knew I could get off and solve it, but I needed to be able to solve it from the saddle. I chose to simply close my legs moderately and wait. I would give him the message: ‘well that can’t be comfortable, what else could you do?” When he decided to relax a bit and take a step forward I took the legs off and made it really good for him (relaxed). This worked very well, but it still was a progression that took some time. Mostly I noticed he stopped trying to stop. If I did feel him deciding to ‘naughtily’ stop I asked him to go forward and he started thinking as I closed my legs like: ‘Uh, maybe I will go forward instead!” He wins the game in that moment because the squeezing legs come off. Step 1 and Step 3 are easy. Addressing Step 2 is the long one and cannot be overlooked, as it is probably the most important one. This is a short version of my experience, your situation with your horse may be totally different. With Atomic, I had made sure the saddle was comfortable, nothing was rubbing him, I wasn’t tense or bugging him with my leg inadvertently.... etc Hope that helps! ~Karen

Feedback from Students I have been having about 6000 conversations with you in my head while ridingabout riding with the bit and contact and braciness and transitioning and finding relaxation first etc etc etc etc etc== the video was just super! happy holidays ( you are missing a great snow storm up here in NY!!!- very authentic) Kathi H Your “new and improved" website is simply wonderful. Kudos to all those who worked on it. The site is easy to negotiate, organized well, and most informative. I'm especially pleased so see Temple Grandin's books on the "More resources" page. Her insights have enabled me to understand to a much greater extent why my extreme RBE freaks out and needs huge amounts of desensitization and repetition to gain a semblance of confidence. For all of the materials that K1 has made available to us: the book, DVDs, newsletter Q & A, etc., I give you my heartfelt thanks. As a PNH student, everything Karen teaches blends seamlessly with the Parelli principles so that learning remains fun for even the most fragile of equine egos. By the way, I love and appreciate the way Karen's mind works -- in harmony with the complex reality of the horse-human relationship. Bountiful blessings, Sandra M

Hi Karen, I would like to say thank you for the books & dvds. I bought your book & the 4 dvds a month ago and I have watched all of them. I love watching them over & over again. I found them very informative and I love the fact that you combine natural horsemanship with dressage which ultimately I would love to be able to do (I have a passion for dressage and am only a beginner in terms of riding). Before I bought your dvds & book I was floundering a bit, as I wasn’t quite sure what to do next with natural horsemanship (kind of lost of directions) since I have a passion for dressage. I then left PNH and did “Dressage” the normalville known it as but I wasn’t happy with the method of training. But since I watched your dvds, there are hope for me to learn dressage naturally. Please keep on producing more dvds for us horse lovers here in Australia so that I can learn more since I couldn’t attend your clinic unless I go to Florida. Once again Thank You so much Regards, Juanita B Thanks Juanita... and I AM coming to Australia, so perhaps I will see you there! ~K1

Hi Karen, ...You absolutely blow me away with your talent and you are 1st on my list of people to ride with. I am always trying to advance my horsemanship and feel like you have exactly what I need. Please consider having a clinic in California; I know you’re busy and traveling all over the world now, but I HAVE to ride with you! Thanks so much for your consideration, Tracy

Photo; Dana Rasmussen

Ancora Imparo “We begin to find and become ourselves when we notice how we are already found... Already truly, entirely, wildly, messily, marvelously who we were born to be.” ~Anne Lamcott

‘Ancora Imparo’ means: “I am still learning.” Michelangelo is quoted to have said this upon completion of his Sistine Chapel Masterpiece. It’s a New Year, so I am going to get a little philo‐ sophical... OK, I admit it, I am always more than a bit philosophical! One of my favorite hobbies is to step back and ponder life, its paradoxes and to try to make some sort of sense of it. One of my favorite paradoxes is one I learned in my ﬁrst self‐development retreat. There we were, a group of people all there to improve our lives and the teacher walked in and told us how: ‘We are all perfect just the way we are.” Well I wish they could have just told me that be‐ fore I registered for the retreat! Could have saved me a whole lot of time and money! How could they be running a week long personal develop‐ ment retreat and open it by telling us we were already perfect? I would have felt much better if they told us how clearly we were all messed up. Then I would have thought: ‘Wow, good thing I came here!” I would have felt understood and smart if they simply agreed with me about how life was con‐ spiring against me, or how I clearly wasn’t good copyright 2010 temenos fields, inc January

enough, but they would do their best to improve something in me. I think half the group was really looking for the: ’ You’re Right: Life’s a Bitch’ 6 Day Poor‐You Retreat. The other half was looking for the: ‘How To Not Succeed And Convince Yourself It’s OK Because You are Way Too Enlightened to Need to Succeed’ Denial Weekend.

So for me, progress helps me be content, and contentment helps me progress. It is a lovely cycle to be in when it is working! And a trick to get out of when it is going negative.... No progress, lead‐ ing to judgement, leading to tension or dismay, leading to more lack of progress. Yuck. Been there, done that.

I was in the 5 day Inner Quest Intensive... Which I assumed meant there would be some work to do, but was now thinking it could have been a 1 hour course; 59 minutes to check everyone in and 1 minute to tell everyone: “You are already perfect”.

Hmmm, wonder if this could have anything to do with horse‐development? Of course it does! Eve‐ rything does! Isn’t it the challenge to be happy with our horses, yet want to improve them? Haven’t you felt yourself wonder which side of the pendulum swing you should be on: To show your horse just how cute and perfect he is right now... Or to show him how he can do things bet‐ ter?

That was many, many years ago, but the paradox has become a life‐long challenge. How do you reconcile that you are perfect the way you are, yet continually improve yourself or your life. The truth, for me, seems to be that without grati‐ tude for where you already are, and compassion for who you already are, you will be going against yourself. It is that battle within that prevents real progress from ﬂowing. Yet part of that gratitude and compassion comes from having a perspective of the timeline I have traveled and the direction I am going... As well as (without judgement) the progress I have made.

isn’t that the question out there? Do you do Natu‐ ral Horsemanship or do you compete? Do you want your horse to feel happy the way he is or do you want to strive to make him better, even the best? The paradox is that you don’t have to choose, but is a paradox for sure: You and your horse need to feel perfect the way you are, every step along your journey of development. ~K1