September 2010 Newsletter Dressage, Naturally by Dressage Naturally

September 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...

“A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one would find fault with what he has done” ~Cardinal Newman

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

This Month • New DVD #6! • New Tool for learning lateral Work! • From Students

Sept 22-25 Finding the Sweet Spot

10 Week Intensive

Livingston, MT Contact: Margot Doohan

Temenos Fields, Reddick, FL

406-579-8898 margot@starwindinc.com

• DISCOUNT CODE: 2010ten gives 10% off in the webshop

Sept 27-30

Upcoming Clinics:

San Luis Obispo, CA Contact: Shelley Candelario email: shelleycandelario@yahoo.com phone: 805-540-8288 cell

Clinic schedule: CLICK HERE

Oct 3-Dec 11

Finding the Sweet Spot

(closed to auditors, but see below)

Oct 3

Auditor Day ‘Before’ for 10-week Intensive

Temenos Fields, Ocala, FL Contact: Karen Rohlf karenrohlf@dressagenaturally.net or order tickets in the webshop.

Auditors Welcome At All Clinics!

New!

Introducing SiMoN: The School Master Noodle

I am pretty darn proud of this creation. SiMoN is a new tool for

learning the classical lateral positions of dressage. I have found this to be an incredibly effective simulation and instructional aid... And I have been teaching this stuff for years. The kit comes with everything you need to turn a regular pool noodle into a School Master. I made a 76 page workbook that can fasten onto SiMoN or be put in your pocket. It is made out of the same material as the poster, un-rippable, water-proof paper. The workbook clearly illustrates all the positions as well as transitions between them. It also includes a 30 minute DVD that shows me demonstrating each of the 15 basic exercises in the book! The photo below is a still taken from the video. I think you will find this a very helpful angle to see these positions from. When you get the video, make sure you watch to the end... SiMoN shows his wild side... (Students in The UK and Germany got a sneak preview of this) ;-)

Click Here to see a short promo video for this kit.

Or just go to the Webshop to order. The pool noodle is NOT included. You will need a noodle that is 2.5” diameter by 4ʼ6” length. 2

New! #6 Finally! This one seemed to take forever to come to fruition, but I did have a trip to Australia and a full traveling clinic schedule during the editing time.... Oh yeah, and I decided to get a little fancier with some of the content and editing. This DVD is about the 9+1 Conversations needed for the Upward Spiral of Success. You know about the conversations of Relaxation, Energy and Balance that help you find the Sweet Spot for healthy biomechanics... Once you have your horse there, now you need to know the 9+1 conversations that make up every dressage maneuver. The DVD has 2 parts. One is me riding Monty and describing in real time, how I keep track of these conversations. I use them to keep quality in the basic movements, but I also demonstrate how to use them to create piaffe, pirouettes and passage. The other part is where I illustrate one of my favorite analogies, which is that when riding you should feel like a conductor conducting an orchestra. You will meet the 驶Dressage, Naturally Players始 as they help me create a living version of the conductor analogy. I think you will find this to be a memorable, funny, and valuable tool to use when riding your own horses. Click Here to go to the Webshop now.

Nullam arcu leo, facilisis ut

Almost!

We are SO close!

I really thought I would be announcing the launch of this classroom on this page, but we found a little tech thing that needs to be resolved before I let you all loose on it. I expect you will get an email in the next day or so announcing its official debut!

Video Classroom: In response to studentʼs requests to have more opportunities to see each other, or to see me playing with horses other than my own... we created this video classroom. Each month I will post 1 hour of new video footage of my teaching, playing with a studentʼs horse, or discussing a commonly asked question. When you sign up you will have access to the classroom as well as all the archives of video.

Forum: We also have added a forum, so students have a place to go to discuss all things Dressage, Naturally. It is exclusive to Classroom subscribers. The forum is a great place to meet fellow students, share experiences, discuss the videos or other D,N material as well as to post equipment or horses for sale. Subscription is $24/month, but sign up before January 1 and get it for $20/month for subscription! After January 1, 2011, it will only be offered at its regular price of $24/month.

the duration of your

Also, the ﬁrst month you sign up is automa0cally 50% oﬀ, so you can use it like a trial. If you donʼt like it you can cancel on the website... If you do like what you see, there is nothing left to do... Your subscription at $20/month will begin automatically!

Watch for my email any day now!! 4

NEWS DISCOUNT CODE for the webshop:

Enter 2010ten during check out and receive 10% off your order. Code is good through Dec 31, 2010.

Auditor Day Oct 3:

The first day of the 10-week Intensive: Temenos Fields, Reddick, FL is open to auditors. See here for more information.

Karen a special guest on David Lichman Podcast

5* Parelli Professional, David Lichman has been doing a series of excellent podcasts. I joined him recently for a conversation about using treats during training. Click Here to listen. The password is: TEMENOS

Clinics in Germany & UK a BIG Success!

Clockwise from upper Right: Claire & Velvet, Stephanie Gaunt, Suzanne Cook, Sally Berry

And by â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;successâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; I mean that I had a LOT of fun and had the privilege of teaching some lovely horses and eager students. (Ok, every clinic seems to be like this). Above is the facility in Germany, near Kleve, and the other photos are from the UK clinics at the Mendip Stud near Cheddar (Yes, as in the cheese). The other photos are by photographer Claire Spelling. Check out her website for more wonderful images. A BIG thank you to all who organized and participated.

Update from a student

Tammy, Thanks so much for sending me this progress report and for allowing me to share it with my readers! Tammy did such a grerat job at the clinic. Murray had become quite a specialist at putting big effort into not going forward. It wasn’t that he did nothing, it was just that the energy was back-firing... quite literally!

Tammy and Murray Hi Karen, I was in your clinic in OH with the big gray horse that liked to buck. Just wanted to give you a quick update. He hasn't bucked once since we came home from your clinic. He is starting to have energy from a place I have never felt before in him and so much roundness that I get goosebumps while riding him. Everything you taught us has just been amazing and keeps getting better and better every moment we spend together. There isn't much disharmony anymore and I keep thinking maybe it is just a fluke? Haha He nickered at me when I walked into the barn yesterday for the first time ever. Our relationships just keeps getting better and better and I have NEVER had this kind of response after a clinic before. Our three days together in OH was just perfect and exactly what we needed. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You really HAVE to come somewhere close to MI in 2011 so Murray and I can continue onto the next level.

pletely changed for the better and that was my most challenging savvy. Everything just keeps getting better every time and it almost feels like you are sneaking in my barn and tuning him up in between rides, for me. Just never experienced this much improvement so fast. What you do is truly a gift and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing it with as many people as you can. You changed my life and the life of every horse I am lucky enough to meet. I am finding a new neutral and an entire new balance.

Sorry for the long message, just wanted to share my wins with you. I can honestly say I have NEVER had Just absolutely amazes me what my this many awesome rides in a row and horse has to offer me. Never saw it before so thanks for helping me see feel like I never want to stop riding the light. :) (but I do) :) Murray is animated and ~Tammy Ghesquiere and Murray (the big engaging and actually interested in me, ME. :) Our liberty work has com- gray bucking bronc) 6

Luckily Tammy has an excellent balance and was comfortable to ride out the balky bucks until he gave 100% with relaxation at a low phase. It is so easy to get in a cycle where you tell these horses: ‘whoa, don’t do that!” when they buck like this, and they are only too happy to go: ‘Sure! I am happy to do less, thanks!” and the cycle continues. It was a little about gaining respect... but that respect came through Tammy staying aware of her picture, knowing it was fair and possible, holding him accountable for the answer so she could create a situation where she could say to him: “Yes!! That was it 100%!” Also important was that until he willingly offered, we didn’t ask him to sustain... But he is a clever boy and soon realized that even though we were expecting 100% of a positive answer to our question, we were being totally fair and acknowledging of his every percentage of effort during the process and keeping the quality of Relaxation as equally important. So good for you, Tammy, for keeping the focus and clarity so your horse gets to experience being fabulous! ~Karen

FEEDBACK on last month’s Ancora Imparo

"If everything we have learned from our journey with horses stops as soon as we look at another human, then they are lessons lost... If it is more important to us to be righteous than compassionate then they are lessons lost."

Thank you to everyone who sent emails and Face Book messages about the Ancora Imparo article in the August Newsletter: ʻDangerous Patterns.ʼ

Thank you so much for using your influence to remind us to be wary of labeling all things "natural" as good and vice verse; to remind us to be mindful and interrupt our own patterns of judgment whenever possible.

It was an important subject to me beThank you for your "love, language and yond just horsemanship and I was a little hesitant in putting it out there, but leadership!" am so glad I did. It seems that once Julane again, I was not alone in what I was thinking. P.S. BTW, I am unabashedly a "Karen Rohlf devotee. :)

Following are just a sample of some of the wonderful messages I received. Thank you to all who sent them, I Thank you for your monthly article in really appreciate it. Dressage, naturally newsletter. It is so ~Karen Dear Karen, I've just read your powerful editorial in your August newsletter, "Dangerous patterns: In horsemanship & in the world, harmony or conflict begins with us." It is so tempting (and easy!) to judge other people's understanding of the "right way" of training, riding or just interacting with their horses. A few years ago, I heard a "natural horseman," John Lyons, give a heartfelt plea to an arena full of horse enthusiasts. He said something like, "There's a lot of criticism within the horse world... of course, there are exceptions, but most people love their horses. They care for them every day. They worry if they're sick and they're out there in the barn at all hours checking on them." Then he said quietly, "This fault-finding amongst horse people really needs to stop."

much true! With chagrin I noticed (not for the first time) that PNH entered the competition of dividing equestrian world not according to - as Pat used to say good horsemanship and bad horsemanship, but natural versus "all the rest". When I saw the recording for the first time I had very mixed feelings and I thought it was not fair but did not know how to express myself. Just recently in one of popular horse riding forums in Poland there has been a discussion "why natural horsemanship pisses me off" and I saw a lot of angry words there. Most of the accusations were completely absurd, showing that people did not even know what they were talking about. However still, they were angry about semantics, about the word "natural". I kept on thinking reading it: why the hell do people bother what I do with my horse if it makes me happy and it makes my horse happy?!!!

Why do they need to put labels on everything? I never participated in these discussions and you made me understand why. Thanks a lot for expressing your valuable I did not consider myself a John Lyons opinion. I fully support it! devotee, but I was impressed by his sin cerity and the power of his intention which Best, Beata you mirrored so eloquently in your editorial:

Thank you for writing the article "Ancora Imparo". This has long been a complaint of mine. Bad horsemanship (and good horsemanship) follows in all disciplines and styles INCLUDING those that call themselves "Natural Horsemen and Women". I also like to say....."just because you can, doesn't mean you should". I find a big problem here with those that are both on the lower and higher levels of "natural horsemanship" make horribly dangerous errors in judgment regarding their environment and the other people/horse in it that may not be trained to handle the things their own horses have been trained to handle. I have witnessed people actually say (after a causing a near disaster), "well, your horse should have been able to handle that". Arrogance like this can cause severe injury and even DEATH! Drives me Crazy!! Thanks Karen. Best, Rochelle Long Island NY Dear Karen, Just a line to say how much I appreciated your piece in your August Newsletter about dangerous patterns in horsemanship. Like many others involved in the PNH programme I was a latecomer to horsemanship, so approached the subject without pre-conceptions. Having thoroughly enjoyed learning and practising some basic (and what I perceived to be fundamental) concepts of equine psychology and ethology, it was apparent to me how ill informed most 'traditional' horse owners were about these things. It was not easy, then, to know how to respond to the scepticism and occasional downright hostility of those unblessed by any understanding of these matters. Part of this difficulty arises from a lack of any common language with which to explore common ground, or even understand perceived differences. One of the great successes of PNH has been the development of a language of 'natural horsemanship'. Concepts such as phases of pressure, zones of the horse, being in 'neutral', the responsibilities of

the horse, the responsibilities of the human, the notions of extroversion/ introversion and right brained and left brained behaviour, are soon taken for granted by the PNH student, but are completely meaningless to anyone else. Even some commonly used English expressions have a different meaning in PNH. The term 'impulsion' has quite a different meaning to an English dressage rider than to a PNH student. Understanding follows communication. Language binds and divides. So it should be no surprise that when intelligent communication is constrained divisions arise. This is exacerbated by the selfrighteous zealots of the new wave 'natural' horsemen and the defensive tradionalists feeling exposed and vulnerable. The answer, of course, is that if we want our message understood we must learn to speak the language that our listeners will understand. One of the downsides of the internet age is that it increases communication at the expense of discretion. Its all there, from wisdom to rabid lunacy; all available on the same screen. So we just learn to be more discriminating in what we look at. I don't get exercised about what I see on You Tube or when I read some uninformed stream of consciousness that I occasionally come across. What is important is what well informed opinion formers say, and do. So well done to you for saying your piece. As you are probably aware, Phillipe Karl has been waging war in Europe on competition dressage for a few years now. I find him refreshing and insightful, but he is no diplomat and has managed to offend a number of people. The result has been a war of words and, at times more heat than light. That said, it sometimes takes some straight talking and clarity of argument to initiate change and, for the most part, I applaud his forthrightness. I choose to be optimistic about these things. I think we are experiencing a true renaissance in our understanding of horses and right minded people all around the world are establishing a 8

greater common understanding about the fundamental principles of the horsehuman relationship. We will re-discover old truths, discover new insights and find new ways of learning old tricks. I regard you as one of the great prophets of this new enlightenment. Common language and common understanding will gradually emerge. Along the way there will be tensions and disagreements. People will behave badly and stupidly - they always do - but the overwhelming majority of horse owners want to get the best out of their horses in ways which make them, and the horse, feel good about the process. I am sorry that I won't be at your clinic in the UK this year. I had booked in when this was going to be held in Yorkshire but then made other arrangements when I learned that it had been cancelled. I have no doubt it will be a great success. Best wishes, Paul

Karen, I loved your article at the end of this months newsletter! I received the video that I believe you're talking about, and while I appreciated what the sender was trying to say, something just didn't sit right. I also believe that this is the mentality that turns people off from exploring natural horsemanship principles. It's almost a holier than thou, and you're a horse abuser if you don't do it like *this* message. Thank you for articulating this so well! We are all at a different place in our journeys, and good horsemanship is good horsemanship, regardless of what label you put on it. All the best, Jamie

Some photos of Vivaldi, aka 驶Bubba始

The mayor of the Temenos. He is the horse that I took my first Parelli clinic with. He is Hanoverian and did Grand Prix dressage. He is 25 years old now and I just love seeing him everyday... I was once told he would not be sound enough to retire... Apparently he didn始t get the memo. He makes his rounds (and don始t try to interrupt him.) When he retired & I finally could have him at my own place I promised him I would let him do what ever he wanted... And he is holding me to it. Thanks, Dana for the great shot. www.danarasmussen.com