Oct Nov 2012 Newsletter by Dressage Naturally

October/November 2012 “Creating stronger partnerships and healthy biomechanics by combining the principles of natural horsemanship with the art of dressage.”

Karen Rohlf Upcoming Clinics: For full schedule, click here Oct 28-Nov 2 6 Days in Temenos Full, guest auditors only

Contact: info@dressagenaturally.net

Nov 15-19 Austin, TX Finding The Sweet Spot Contact: slittlefield@abaustin.com Dressage.Naturally clinics are a combination of theory, simulation, and semi-private or private lessons, as well as group exercises. Please contact Sally Taylor: info@dressagenaturally.net for more information or to see about setting up a clinic in your area.

Welcome to the October/November 2012 Newsletter! In this issue: • • • • •

News & Recent Clinics Q & A: Ground Tying “Totally Awesome” Partner 2011 Classroom DVDs are here! Web Shop Sale

What is a ‘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.

uote of the Month:

“Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned.” - Harold S. Ganeen

D,N Book/DVD Now available in German!

Shelby Hume

Breanne Peters Karen’s clinic schedule is going to be reduced in 2013... But the number of students interested in Dressage, Naturally is increasing!

The good news is Karen has two instructors endorsed to teach the most important of the Dressage, Naturally concept: Finding The Sweet Spot Of Healthy Biomechanics. Please contact: Clinics@dressagenaturally if you are interested in setting up a clinic in your area. Feel free to contact them directly:

Shelby: excelsiorfarm1@msn.com Breanne: Breannepeters@hotmail.com Shelby’s home base is Kentucky and Breanne is in Ontario

2011 Classroom AVAILABLE on DVD! This 6 DVD set includes 12+ hours of lessons! Karen Rohlf’s Video Classroom has gotten rave reviews from around the world, from D,N students of all levels. The Classroom videos include discussions, simulations, on line, and riding. See a range from basic exercises with young horses to advanced dressage movements. These videos are the best way to keep your D,N practice alive and inspired. The on-line Classroom & it’s student Forum are on-going. Sign up now to get the most out of your Dressage, Naturally education!

Non-2011 Subscribers (& everyone else): The full 2011 archive (12+ hours) is:

$450 with free shipping within the USA

Available to 2011 subscribers at a low cost! Were you a Classroom member for more than 9 months by the end of 2011? You will be able to purchase them for:

($15 shipping internationally)

$55 with free shipping within the USA

Not sure if you qualify for the discount? Aren’t currently a subscriber, but still qualify for the discount? Send us an email, we are happy to check for you! dnc@dressagenaturally.net

($15 shipping internationally) It is our “Thank You” to you for being a long-time subscriber! Sign into The Classroom to retrieve your Discount Code. Enter that code in the web-store when you place your order to immediately receive your discounted price.

D, N Video Classroom 2

D,N Web Store

News... Bit-Less Bridle Many of you have noticed from photos that I have some different equipment on my horse’s heads when riding... Karen is developing her own Bit-Less Bridle... right now we’re working on creating a prototype. No promises on when it will be done, but stay tuned!

You asked for it... Audio Recordings Coming Soon! Karen is recording some audio tracks that will be available for download and on CD! So many students have told Karen that they “just wish they could have your voice in my head all the time”... So, be careful what you ask for! These audio tracks will be something you can listen to before your ride to help set your intention for the ride, or while you’re driving in the car... or anytime you need a little Dressage, Naturally Karen fix! We’ll send out a notification when these CDs are available, or you can check the website later this month.

Sales in the WEB SHOP Yup, it’s that time of year! Check the WEB SHOP for special discount prices on certain items. Are you a member of The D,N Classroom? Login To The Classroom and look for the 10% off coupon to get even more of a discount! Special sale prices: Book/DVD $76 (reg. $99), Original D,N Reins $60 (reg. $69) while supplies last... Results In Harmony DVD Series 1-6 $175 (reg. $205), Total Package; Book and RIH DVDs 1-6 $250 (reg. $$289).

Original Art Prints by Karen, T-Shirts, and Mugs make great gifts!

Article 401: The Object Of Dressage Listen to Karen’s thoughts on FEI Article 401: The Object Of Dressage in this short excerpt from her 2004 Intro to Dressage, Naturally DVD. Available for sale in the Web Shop, on this DVD Karen discusses her basic philosophy and how we can become the most excellent partner for our horse's body, mind and spirit. Included are many beautiful images of her with her horses that blur the lines between dressage and natural horsemanship. 3

News... (cont’d) ‘Upward Spiral of Success’ California Clinic Held October 19-21, 2012 at Deb Timms Rancho Ruiz in Gilroy, CA, this was my third time coming to the area for a clinic hosted by Shelley Candelario. This clinic was a smaller group with a private lesson format. Everyone rolled up their sleeves and enjoyed 3 days of intense focus, big progress and lots of laughs! The raffled Video Classroom 2011 DVD Set was won by Carol Murray, with $550 raised towards the One Step Closer Therapeutic Riding Center.

New videos for November are online in The D,N Video Classroom! Energy - 100% Response (Riding 20 min.) Sustaining Energy - The Number Game (Riding 26 min.) Energy - Doing Less Yields More (Discussion 7 min.)

This month is all about energy! While in The Netherlands teaching I met a woman with an upper level dressage horse who had done some Parelli, but now found her horse had lost all his energy! She wants to do dressage again but didn’t know how to put it all back together. These three videos show the one lesson we did together, so it is a nice explanation and demonstration of a strategy I use all the time with excellent results... And it is one you can do yourself at home very easily IF you are prepared to have some really strong focus and honesty!

Web Shop & Video Classroom

GIFT CERTIFICATES

Purchase a Web Shop Gift Certificate for any amount or 3 Month’s in the Video Classroom! During checkout you’ll be able to download your gift certificate and then you can give it to someone! When they fill out the information and get it back to us, we’ll set them up to enjoy 3 months of unlimited access to all the archives and Student Forum in the Dressage, Naturally Video Classroom.

‘Upward Spiral of Success’ Kentucky Clinic Held October 5-7, 2012 at Janie Elliot’s Grasslands II Arena in Midway, KY, and hosted by D,N Instructor, Shelby Hume, this clinic followed up two Finding The Sweet Spot clinics given by Shelby in the past year. With Karen’s help all progressed forward in The Upward Spiral of Success! Colleen Cavanagh Osses was the lucky winner of the Video Classroom 2011 DVD Set raffle which raised $290 for the Kentucky Humane Center.

GROUND TYING...

Q &

I was asked the questions below in preparation for an article Karen Baril was putting together for the November 2012 Equus magazine. The final article did not include all my answers, so I thought I would share it here too!

I don’t prefer the term ‘ground tying’ as it makes me think of a horse actually being tied to the ground. For me it is more like a ‘stay’ or ‘hold’ like you would teach a dog. For horses, whoever controls the feet is the leader, so asking a horse to ‘hold’ can be a powerful tool to get leadership points, as well as a handy thing to be able to do. It allows you to free your hands for a moment and keep your horse safe if a situation comes up where you may have to let go. It also teaches the most basic form of self-carriage.

What sort of equipment do I need to teach my horse to ground-tie? Mostly patience and timing, but some tools I use are a long line, a pole, tarp or a bucket and cookies! The long line is so I can move away from the horse but still have a safety net and a way to get a message to him from a distance. The pole, tarp or bucket are concrete things to ask your horse to stand behind, on, or in! The cookies are a great reward if your horse is polite about it.

How do I teach my horse to ground-tie? The simple answer is to stand your horse, give the cue to ‘hold’ (or what ever word you want to use) then walk away, or around him, tell him ‘Yes’ or ‘good’ before he breaks the hold, and reward. Gradually increase the distance and the time. You will need to have an effective communication that can stop him if he does move, and a way to ask him back to his position in a way where you don’t have to necessarily go to him. This is where it is handy to be able to ask your horse to back with a wiggle down the rope or with your energy. During the teaching stage make sure he doesn’t get a lot of chance to rehearse what you don’t want. In other words, keep a line on him so you can make clear corrections to help him be successful. Also make sure you reward the increments of success. Don’t stay away too long or far in the beginning. Set him up for success.

How do I know he's ready? Your horse is ready when he is calm enough to stand, and understands cues to back or step sideways in order to reposition him in case he does move.

Are there certain situations when I shouldn't risk ground-tying? I don’t ground tie if it would put my horse in an unsafe situation if he got away. I am careful not to chance it if the girth is not tight enough, or if the reins are over his head where if he happened to scratch his nose they could slip down and he could get a foot through. I wouldn’t do it if I was around other horses who could get unsafe for their riders if my horse ran off, near a road or other unsafe environment. That is not to say I wouldn’t ask my horse to ‘hold’, but I would keep a line on him even if the end of the line was only loosely hanging on my shoulder... A safety net! 6

What do I do if my horse keeps moving off? You out-persist him! Then reward and release his small efforts. Check this is the best moment to be attempting to ‘hold’. Start when he is calm and in a place he is generally happy about being. Taking him away to a scary place when all the other horses are getting fed would be a challenge!

How do I deal with people who think ground-tying is dangerous? (I think we need to address those people who ground-tie a horse that is clearly not ready to be ground-tied and do so to show off, etc.) Well, they are correct! It can be dangerous, just like any other technique applied poorly or at the wrong time. Remember there is a time for teaching and a time for testing. Some people may test it before they have taught it well enough and if they aren’t aware of the potential danger, or of other people around them, it can be quite dangerous to have a horse running off. As with anything it is important to separate the technique from some people’s poor application of it. In the end it is nothing more than respect and understanding, just like with a dog who has a good ‘sit-stay’. If I can share 2 examples of how I use ‘holding’ in my daily life with my horses: 1. Each pasture has feed pens and a pole on the ground. At feeding time each horse must come up to the pole, stand behind it quietly and wait for his name to be called to come into the pen. The horses can work out the order for themselves, but the most polite horse goes first. Stalled horses must back up away from the feed bucket (even after I have put the feed in) and must wait until their name is called. This has been extremely helpful to create good manners at feeding time and earn leadership points. They learn it very quickly as the reward is so high. 2. In the grooming area I have cross ties, but often they are just asked to ‘hold’. If they wander around and mess with things then they are asked to put their foot in a flexible rubber feed tub (‘bucket tying’!). I can groom, tack, and hose them while they keep this responsibility. I can also go into the tack room and come out with treats and they must wait. The look of a horse really looking for a treat but holding his ground is priceless! One of my horses shows his best posture in this moment! I would tempt readers to not under-estimate the power of this ability. I have used it in clinics to help calm horses both from the ground and under saddle. I truly believe it is completely related to self-carriage in general. If a horse doesn’t understand the concept of holding himself during an easy circumstance (standing around in his natural posture) how can he do his part in a more challenging circumstance (doing dressage)?

Yes, I am improving my dressage when my horse stands quietly waiting for me!

“Never underestimate the potential for things to improve in ways you cannot yet imagine.”

COMMUNICATION & CONNECTION WITH THE BIT Karen Rohlf and Natilla Natilla, 4 yr. old PRE filly transitioning from being ridden in just the halter, to communicating with the bit. I use the halter predominately, and when she feels fabulous I add a feel of the bit. I do this to decrease the risk of having a bad connection with her mouth. There’s a video on my website about this technique.

Click Here to view! [you’ll need to scroll down the page]

October 2012 Kentucky Clinic

(cont’d)

While in Kentucky Karen had a chance to spend time with Shelby and her wonderful horses, Mulva, Queretaro, and Papagayo.

Karen riding Shelby’s horse, Mulva (above) Karen teaching Shelby and Mulva (below)

Shelby Hume, endorsed D,N instructor, riding Papagayo (above)

Would you like Shelby to come to your area? Gather some fellow students and contact Sally at clinics@dressagenaturally.net and we’ll get a clinic organized for you! Karen’s clinic schedule will be very limited in 2013... and she will increasingly focus on continuing students. The best way to get started in your D,N clinic experience is to CONTACT US to set up a clinic with an endorsed instructor. Shelby Hume in the USA and Breanne Peters in Canada are available! 8

“Totally Awesome” !

By D,N Endorsed Instructor, Shelby Hume

This is “Totally Awesome”... So many times I have said to students, “I wish we had before and after pictures or video!” and this student did so. As the saying goes, “a picture says a thousand words” so I will keep this brief! Her name is Jenese and the horse’s name is “Totally Awesome” and his transformation reflects the name in more ways than one! Literally and figuratively, this woman has truly developed her partner mentally and physically. Jenese has sought the help of other horse trainers but in the end has done the majority of the development herself and since I have been helping her (and thought it was quite the reflection of what is possible with a lot of hard work and “stick-to-it-tive-ness”.) I felt compelled to share. She has had to work hard on developing her trust and confidence in this horse as he could make many people fearful (he was quite explosive and physical when they began their time together). She also worked hard at balancing his needs emotionally and physically. In addition to his obvious immaturity in the first photo he suffered from a locking stifle injury in 2011. In the beginning small, (even medium) circles were not possible for this horse’s wellbeing. Sharp, quick, turns or frequent disengagements were also not in his best interest. It was through a balance of work in alignment, moving massage, and consistency that he has truly blossomed. I would be remiss not to mention another key point to this story. Most of this work between Jenese and Totally has been on the ground (although she is also working towards his continued development under saddle)! I am lucky to continue helping this partnership and I get equal enjoyment from observing how his body has blossomed and how he also asks Jenese questions and acts like a true partner. These moments are priceless! This experience has also given Jenese the inspiration and renewed confidence to choose another horse from her mother’s Arabian herd that she might start and then find a home for (more individuals await her availability from that line of breeding!). Please enjoy the attached photos taken in 8 month intervals and be inspired to develop your own “totally awesome” partner The final photo reflects his win as Region 14 Champion Sport Horse in Hand! 9

The Basic Principles of Dressage, Naturally... • Balance feels good. • Horses and humans will naturally seek harmony if given the opportunity. • Basics of dressage are for the horse; otherwise it has no purpose. See it from the horse’s perspective. • Mental, emotional and physical development are equally important doorways to our goal. • Dressage can only be as good as the partnership, bio-mechanics, communication and riding skill combined. • Qualities of dressage can be found in a dynamic of relaxation, energy and balance. • Humans must also have mental, emotional and physical collection. • Freestyle inside the finesse. • Remember the horse’s natural motivators. • Isolate, separate and recombine. • Precision and play in balance.

Everything comes from... and returns... to relaxation.

Atomic, Karen and Sydney enjoying a relaxing moment together after a good session. (above)

DRESSAGENATURALLY October/November 2012

Web Shop Instructional Material Reins, Art Prints... & More! SiMoN The School Master Noodle Kit For Learning Lateral Work.... You will not find anything quite as effective & fun as SiMoN for understanding the classical lateral positions!