March 2010 Newsletter by Dressage Naturally

March 2010 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...

"One half of life is luck; the other half is discipline and that's the important half, for without discipline you wouldn't know what to do with luck."

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.

~Carl Zuckmeyer 1896-1977, Writer and Play-

Above is photo of my new PRE ﬁlly, Natilla. She is a June 2008 baby, by Dominante XXIX Photo: Dana Rasmussen

This Month • News & New Format! • Student Q & A • 2 Essays from Karen

Clinic schedule:CLICK HERE

Melbourne, VIC Australia Contact: Pat Miller pmi23806@bigpond.net.au

March 21 - 26

April 29 - May 3

Upcoming Clinics:

6 Days at Temenos Fields closed to auditors

Young, NSW, Australia Contact: Pat Miller pmi23806@bigpond.net.au

April 14 - 18 Gold Coast, QLD, Australia Contact: Pat Miller pmi23806@bigpond.net.au

April 22 - 26

May 6 - 10 Macksville, NSW, Australia Contact: Pat Miller pmi23806@bigpond.net.au

News and More New Format! I hope you enjoy the new format for the newsletters! Turns out everyone opening the newsletters in pdf format was causing my website to exceed its bandwidth (a lovely problem). please get very curious and try clicking around to discover all the features. Put the curser at the top of the pages and other tool bars will appear. There are a cou‐ ple diﬀerent choices of how to view it on your screen Click on it and it will zoom in. Also look for a little icon for a printer on the right that will let you print it out to read it.

Another Fun 6 Days at Temenos Fields.

My returning 6 Day group met again ﬁrst week of March. The weather went form cold and 30 mph winds, to sunny and 70’s. This month we got on a drill team kick, and in just a few days, they put together and performed Less than a month until I head down under! a 12 minute 8‐woman drill team. We were It will be a whirlwind of teaching in able to get this accomplished in addition to Queensland, North and South New South our regular dressagey exercises by putting in Wales and Victoria. I will miss my horses (and lots of practice without the horses. dog and cats) but I am really looking forward to it. I really hope that Aussie students who Putting drills together isn’t an easy or smooth endeavor, but everyone did it with aren’t participating as a riders will join us as auditors. For more information on the clinics such great focus and positive attitudes, it made it fun. please contact Pat Miller at: pmi23806@bigpond.net.au I think one thing that everyone learned is

Gearing up for Australia

Video News & Ideas I am about to do some more ﬁlming for a new DVD in the Results In Harmony Series. It won’t be out until sometime after I get back from Australia but the process is in motion! Also... I have a new idea. Would you like more videos from me? Would you like even more videos of me with my horses, or per‐ haps some excerpts from clinics or just me at home sitting down and explaining some techniques or philosophies? I would love to get more videos to you and have started the process to oﬀer an on‐line video classroom. I am really excited about this and look forward to sharing more with all of you! This will likely not be up and run‐ ning until July.

how it puts a purpose to the communica‐ tions and precision of dressage. Its got to be a 10 meter circle or you are going to crash! Nothing like a little peer pressure! You can view the drill on youtube by clicking here.

10 week Intensive

This may look like a chaotic moment, but it is the middle of a move we nick-named “The Slice”

Face Book, Youtube and Twitter

My twitter name is: KarenRohlf. Don’t worry, Many of you have already heard about my It’s a fun place to drop little pearls of wisdom, new 10 week Dressage, Naturally Intensive. If or thoughts. With only 140 characters, it is a you haven’t, please click here for all the info. little like writing a haiku! I also have gotten into the habit of actually posting on my per‐ Response has been really positive, and par‐ sonal Face Book page and Dressage Natu‐ ticipants will be chosen from the applicants rally Fan page... Thank you to all my ‘friends’ on April 1. and fans that have waited patiently for me to More good news: Stay tuned because it looks ﬁgure all this out. like I will be adding another 10 week course New videos on youtube, too... soon they in Spring 2011. I am really excited to get will be on my website, but until then, click some longer time with students and their Here and Here , Here, and Here! horses... The possibilities are endless!

Two Questions from a student: 1. Feeding 2. Different Training Methods HI Karen 2 questions: This is just a question about the feed you give your horses (I got this info from your newsletter). Iʼm never sure what to give my horses and we longer have anyone who is really knowledgeable in my area anymore. The performance equine feed you give, this looks like a powder supplement right? Is that all you give in addition to hay (so no grain or anything like that). Right now..I feed my horses hay and a vitamin and mineral pelleted feed (Purina Equilizer). My horses are doing dressage about 4 times weekly. I try to stay away from grains or high carbohydrate feed due to its effect on hoof wall separation etc. Any advice you have would be good although I know you are not a feed expert.

ticularly impressed with the quality of the Platinum ingredients. I have been able to take horses off of their hoof and glucosamine supplements since feeding it! I agree with your thoughts about keeping carbs low... and grains are a pretty unnatural feed for a horse. my pastures are good enough to supply free choice grass for half the year, during the other half I do buy hay, and keep it free choice, or as close to that as possible depending on the size of the belly of the horse ;-). I think this is the most natural system for their biology...

At a certain point, Philippe Karl (PK) puts a priority on the mouth, reins and some particular communications there to set them up for his next steps. I for sure have used similar communications when necessary... it is a certain technique to cause a certain effect.... but of course my system would be a little different because I start in the halter, and get other things working before talking to the mouth....

I would not call my system German. By German perhaps you mean that the priority is often strong forward energy as the top priority. French system, German sysRe: Philippe Karl, I think he is a true mas- tem... humans love to put things in neat ter and certainly has proven his abilities. I boxes as an easy way to reference somethink there are many really wise things in thing very complex, but that label can behis book and the way he teaches. come a limitation. PK talks a lot about the mouth communications, but for sure he With that said, no one system is perfect has forward energy as a very important unless it is a system that is ready to emingredient. With the baroque horses he brace all systems, horses, situations. This rides, that energy is more accessible, is a common source of confusion for stu- where the relaxation through the neck, dents... how to reconcile all the different back are trickier to achieve, so he has ʻsystemsʼ and styles. It is important to that as a higher priority to establish comstand back and get a good perspective on munication about. any system. There are causes and effects, tools and their uses.... And the most ʻGerman styleʼ techniques may empha important part of any system is its princisize forward energy first, but for sure balSecond question, you recommended in ples. ance is a key ingredient. Warmbloods your book to read “Twisted Truths of tend to be harder to motivate, and are Modern Dressage” by Philippe Karl. I My advice is this: First... observe the remore naturally able to move through their have since devoured that book many sults of the system. Some will be elimibacks and fill a contact, so it makes times and watch the DVD series that nated because you wonʼt like the end sense the more German style may put goes with it. This is the method I use point of the system. So you observe energy conversations at a higher priority mainly with my horses (along with Parelli them, note the cause and effect in play... earlier. stuff). I notice that your method is then choose not to use it. There may be different. You donʼt seem to raise the If you found 5 trainers who you respected hand like he does to relax the jaw and his several examples of end-results that you love. Excellent biomechanics are exceland loved their results... gave them each focus is really on balance through combilent biomechanics... Harmony is harmony, the same horse, there would be some nations of lateral movements etc. What and there are as many different ways to similarities in what they saw and what are your thoughts on Philippeʼs method get there as there are different individual they agreed needed to be developed in and is what you do more similar to the horse and rider combinations. order to arrive at their similar goal. But if German method. you observed those trainers with that Among the systems that have the same same horse, I would bet you would see 5 P.S. your training program looks amazing goal in mind, and can repeatedly, effecdifferent systems in play. The difference and if I was closer Iʼd sign up in a second. tively achieve their goal there will be difwould be in what quality they developed Thanks,Kyla. ferences in the order of the ingredients first, second, third and so on. they develop, and the priority they give to different qualities at different stages durThis is what has intrigued me. I was so Hi Kyla, ing the training. fortunate to have followed a system from Great questions. First re: the feeding. one mentor for enough years and with The Platinum is of the same philosophy Also differing may be the type of horse enough horses, that I could see the as the equilizer. I feed Platinum and hay. I used. Different breeds have different benefit of having a system; a methodical sprinkle in a handful of a textured feed characteristics that often have shaped the program. But I also learned that every just to give the platinum something to training program over time. Different system has its own limitations, its particustick to... A couple horses get an addicultures/attitudes of the humans also eflar issues that canʼt be solved easily with tional rice bran fat supplement if they fect the style of the system. in it. need additional calories. I was just parCopyright 2010 temenos fields, inc March

My interest is in observing the cause and effect of different systems... When I observe a trainer I admire, or who is able to produce qualities I like, I watch closely to see what exercises they choose to do with the horse at a given moment. It is about having enough tools in your tool box and recognizing when to use which one.

bracey horse, an unmotivated horse... A horse that the previous owner messed up. We find comfort in having a problem to deal with. After all, who hasnʼt been humbled by being with a horse that is doing everything we ask... And we still arenʼt getting the result we want. Creating a willing partner is only one part of the journey. The next step is what to do with this willing partner! Havenʼt we all also met the horse who gave himself only to be violated, even if unintentionally?

If you were to watch me with 10 different horses, with some you may think I do a more german style, some a more PK style, some more NH foundation focus.... With some others some funny things no one else does.... Every horse is a different style, and so my technique must be able to adapt. I don't just train warmbloods, or baroque horses, I train everything... and not every horse is the same or coming from the same starting point. I look at it a lot like I look at Religion. I would describe myself as Spiritual, but not Religious. I learn from the teachings and teachers that religions were created around... But I donʼt limit myself to any one particular label. That is also why I called my training technique: Dressage, Naturally... and not: The Rohlf Method or something like that. I hope that the most important part of learning my system is that students learn the cause and effect of different exercises, and learn to see the horse in this moment and act appropriately for him, using all knowledge form NH and dressage in general. I am happy to be a teacher that strives to teach that... And I hope my students never limit themselves to only what I can do. I hope this makes some sort of sense! Feel free to ask more! My Best, ~Karen PS: I have had several people trek down from Ontario with their horses so don't discount this possibility! ;-)

Photos on this and next page by: Dana Rasmussen (www.Danarasmussen.com)

A story: In my clinics I often teach the Basic Alignment Exercise that causes horses to let loose and stretch. In two clinics in a row I met 2 horses that gave me the same lesson. In each case their experiences with their former owners had been less than ideal, but they were now with excellent human partners.

“When They Give Us Their Minds & Bodies...” Since returning to natural with horses I have had the honor of feeling many horses open themselves to me in such amazing ways. That is one of the purposes of a foundation... To create a ready, willing and able partner; a partner that says ʻyesʼ to any of the basic communications. We strive to show these willing partners that life is good, that they can trust us. That even if we challenge them, there is always an answer they can give easily, and that we are worthy of their trust.

In each case we were playing online, and the horses were very responsive and were doing the exercise but were still somehow holding back and not letting loose. Instead they were carrying a posture of brace and defensiveness, even though right now there was no reason for it. They were soooo close, so I took the horse to try it myself. Within a few laps of a really gentle (but effective) version of the exercise the horse suddenly pinned his ears and charged me, teeth bared, but even sooner than I could flinch he jumped back out, snorted shook his head and stretched beautifully! I stood there a bit stunned for a moment as we both processed. But it was over, from then on the horse stretched freely, while breathing and blowing.

Horses, by nature, protect themselves. They protect themselves mentally, emotionally and physically. We, as their human partners, do our best to open them mentally, emotionally and physically. In openness there is strength, but there is vulnerability... Ahh one of those paradoxes! (Whenever I notice a paradox I pay attention... It means there is something important going on.)

In the very next clinic another horse did the SAME thing! It caused me to really look at that exercise from the horseʼs point of view and I realized that although I was creating a posture of power, balance and freedom... It was also a posture of vulnerability. It was like these horses were saying to me: “Look... I am about to give you my body and you BETTER NOT violate my trust here!”

This may be hard to hear, but many of us are more comfortable when we have a problem to solve; a scared horse, a

I got the message.

I guess my point is that there is a transition. At some point we have fixed the problems... Or as I like to put it: We are out of the negative and now are in a place where we can really create something positive. This is the place where you and your horse understand each other and are partners. This is a wonderful place, but again a paradox is present. It is a place of strength but also of vulnerability. We must really do right by them when they are this open. This wonderful open moment is one where we can feel immensely proud, or immensely insecure or humble. In this state, anything that isnʼt going well is a result of our own riding or communication skills. If our horse does everything we want, then it is only our own errors if something isnʼt working. Some people love this moment. It is a moment to ʻup your gameʼ as a rider; to educate yourself to know exactly what is healthy or unhealthy to ask a horse to do, to get creative and inspired... To finally be able to improve your riding not just your fixing and repairing skills... Or to simply exhale and enjoy! For some people this is an internally scary place. It is more comfortable to hide behind our horseʼs problems, issues, or character-flaws. We need to make really

sure we arenʼt subconsciously going in and creating problems. No matter how advanced a rider you are, we need to notice when the issues stop being mostly about what the horse needs to learn and become more about what we need to learn to go to the next level. Believe it or not, humans sometime subconsciously, inadvertently cause problems in order to have them to fix, or they donʼt fully realize that the issue is not due to the horseʼs lack of understanding or willingness. In reading what I have written I wonder if it is a bit too psychological and rambley. But perhaps you will allow me this ramble. It is such a gift to have a horse open to us. It is the first priority. From there, take yourself to the next level and seek knowledgeable experience to guide you, as well as a strong imagination. Trust your gut instincts along the way and do your best to not violate the vulnerability your horse has offered you. In it there is strength and power beyond measure. Also donʼt be afraid to be humbled by an amazing horse.

Often I feel like I can train my horses to be better at being ridden, than I am at riding them! Itʼs what I like to call: a lovely problem. In this place we can have our ʻbeginnerʼs mindʼ In the words of Lao Tzu: Existence having born them And fitness bred them, While matter varied their forms And breath empowered them, All created things render, to the existence and fitness they depend on, An obedience Not commanded but of course. And since this is the way existence bears issue And fitness raises, attends, Shelters feeds, protects Do you likewise: Be parent, not possessor Attendant, not master, Be concerned not with obedience but with benefit, And you are at the core of living.

Donʼt forget to visit the webshop! The Big Picture Poster: has been getting rave reviews. See the whole Picture, from foundation to advanced in one view! Great for the barn. It is made from a material that wonʼt rip and can be washed... No laminating or framing necessary.

Reins: Black rope with leather attachment to the bit. They look dressage, but feel natural. They are flying out just as fast as I can make them!

Book/DVD set: The ʻmother-shipʼ of all Dressage, Naturally information

Timing Is Everything

The timing of our aids, the timing of our release, the timing of our phases... all have a huge impact on the results we get. But another timing that is equally important is the timing of ‘what day do we ask’ . Or which month or even which year. The phrase: ‘Choose your battles’ comes to mind. Atomic and I have had an interesting and challenging relationship. He is super dominant with aggressive tendencies. He has really required me to think about leadership versus dominance. I cannot try to dominate him. I have seen how he handles 1200 pound creatures who try it! And there is often fear behind it. His development was coming along really well... But there was one version of freestyle that I know I had been avoiding: Bridleless. A year or so ago I tried it and I got myself stuck. It was a good day to do it, all the pre‐flight checks checked out and I took the halter off. Immediately the nice sweet horse changed. He wouldn’t take a step in any direc‐ tion and instead bit at my legs. I even had trouble getting off him because I thought he would grab me! I did manage to get off and after licking and chewing for a bit I decided that it wasn’t about him not under‐ standing things, (I had been riding him without using the reins), but that he knew when they were gone. He knew when he had one up on me, or something like that. It was a leadership issue. So I put that task on the back burner, but kept the problem in the front of my mind. How could I, in every other circumstance, increase my leadership with him, so it could carry over into bridle‐ less? Life went on. I didn’t do bridelless. David Lichman came for a visit this past fall and I consulted him. He agreed it was not a lack of ability, understanding, or fear. It was dominance. He knew when the ropes were not there and it made a difference. He gave me the idea to play with him around food. (Atomic is pretty terri‐ torial about food) in order to gain hierarchy points, online, riding, liberty, freestyle... Then perhaps I could do bridle‐less. We made progress and I did go bridleless in the round pen once with David there supporting, but when David left, I stopped doing it. It just didn’t feel right somehow, or at least I wasn’t comfortable doing it. More time passed and one day, out of the blue, I found myself thinking about bridleless with Atomic, and it was connected with a warm, happy feeling. I have learned to listen to these sorts of messages, as they often come from an inner wisdom, or from the heart, or from the horse... Without needing to understand the source, I have learned to value the message. We prepared and next thing you know, there we were.... walk, trotting and cantering around the arena. And except for one minor testing, (photo upper left), he allowed me to lead him, and he was willing to sign up as a partner in the exercise. You can never rewind the tape and go back in time, but I can’t help but wonder what it would have been like if I had decided that day I got stuck on him, that that HAD to be the time to resolve it? Maybe I would have succeeded, maybe it would have been a big fight. I was glad my ego didn’t make me go head to head with him then. It felt good for me to wait. Even the ‘right’ exercise can be ‘wrong’ if the time is wrong. Now, after just 3 bridleless rides, he feels like a horse who I had been doing bridle‐less with for a year. There is the essence of the problem, and the way it manifests. The essence was leadership. At that time, it manifested the most in bridleless. But that didn’t mean I had to solve it there. It reminded me, again, to use all the savvies, all the tools. If you cure the essence of the issue, it will filter through everything... All in good time. 6