As always I appreciate the no cooking, no cleaning, beautiful facility of Calamus Outfitters, and well thought out lesson plans and clear instruction from Sherry (www.heartinyourhand.com) that allow total immersion into horsemanship!
First of all each day had a theme for classroom lecture, discussion, and play. Friday was the emotional component. In my mind, I was a bit fuzzy between what was emotional for the horse and what was mental so discussing and watching for these components was fascinating.
When we moved to actual play time we started with another camp member's horse. I paired up with Cheryl and I have to say this was one of the two best moments of camp for me. She started with Hobby at liberty in the roundpen; playing the seven games to assess my horse's personality. The owner of the horse got to observe and take notes. Afterwards we compared notes to analyze the horse. It was very interesting and exciting to have an unbiased opinion. We learned to accept the horse that is the here & now, because that is what the horse does/is - the horse is not our past history or preconceived notions.
I'm not sure I'll be able to articulate well the BFO that happened for me but what I truly found fascinating was watching Cheryl be particular about the emotional state/attitude my horse was flipping her. It was all very calm and clean but she was persistent and got results; sadly because they weren't extreme (and my horse can be extreme) I hadn't even realized that my horse was pulling some of those tricks out of her bag.
I then got to play with Kisses who is just a beautiful well mannered, well built young QH. We also started in the roundpen and after playing the seven games (but not in order), doing some lateral flexion on the ground, and friendly from above her on the fence, I decided she looked rideable. So I mounted from the fence (riding bareback with halter and one rein), played friendly from atop the horse, did a bit of walking, trotting, stopping (wish I could stop my horse like that), backing, and side passing over to the fence to slide off and end on a good note.
It was interesting that Cheryl and I chose to end our sessions early. I was mostly out of ideas and was at "good" place to stop and Cheryl because she'd had a major break through and ending was the right thing to do for Hobby.
That afternoon and evening we visited winning the 7 games and then since the weather was go great hit the trails and had a safe and fun ride, coming home with a few ideas of what we'd like to improve in our horsemanship and how to do it.
This retreat was beyond kindergarten and drills- we were encouraged to find our own confidence, speak up when needed, figure out the horse's needs, find possible solutions, uphold our responsibilities to the group, and most importantly uphold our horsemanship principles. It was WAY cool to see the progress made by my fellow camp sisters from a year ago and that we've all progressed beyond blaming the horse.
Some key components that I brought home Friday were: Energy, intensity, and focus are all needed to make a true phase one; however, an effective phase 4 is needed to back it up. It really is all about the relationship. Friendly for trust; porcupine & driving for respect. Have fun and be creative with those left brained introverts.
Saturday was Happy Birthday to ME! What a great place, people, and horses to turn 35 with! Saturday's theme was The Mental Component- the thinking woman & horse's day. Sherry handed out personal notes to each of us recapping some of the day before. We further discussed timing, feel, and release.
As we started play time, I chose to watch Sherry play with Sunshine (her formerly abused paint). She demonstrated combining, advancing, and winning the games on the ground. I chose to experiment with the "cutting horse move", side passing the horse in a circle, "simulations" of paste worming with apple sauce, and many other games that Sherry suggested and had printed out on handy dandy clip on/take along cards.
After lunch we saddle horses, prepped with ground work, and flowed into freestyle riding as ready. Camp members really found their wings in this session. Some cantered for the first time since an accident, or the first time in group situations with their RB extroverted horses.
Hobby and I played with impulsion and gaiting in the arena, combing the reins for direct rein without brace, and in the round pen did some stick riding. Which brings me to the second best part of the retreat for me: Hobby and I were still struggling with braci-ness so Sherry switched horses with me. Sherry gifted me with her trust, allowing me to be only the second person ever to ride Sunshine since Sherry. Sunshine very willingly joined up and followed me to the round pen where I mounted up to ride.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Sherry was riding Hobby using a cloverleaf impulsion pattern and the driving game while stick riding to take out the brace. It was another tremendous demonstration of horsemanship and emotional fitness as she worked through Hobby's druthers, and Hobby's experimenting of running off in a very relaxed, controlled, planned methodology. She accomplished in 15 minutes or less what I'd been diddling around with all summer. I believe this is the first time she'd ever ridden Hobby too. The whole cost of the camp was worth those 15 minutes where Sherry was able to put the power steering back in my horse and teach me how to use/keep it by consistently using my focus (eyes, belly button, shoulders, 4 oz of pressure or less on the direct rein, follow through with stick to whichever body part was lagging).
She suggested a program of carrot stick riding then gradually weaning ourselves off of it. So me and my stick are now a team, and I rode with Bob (the carrot stick) the rest of the weekend.
On top of Sunshine I played friendly, rode a few circles in the roundpen where it became immediately apparent that she was a short impulsion horse (at least in confined areas), did FQ & HQ yields, backing, some side passing, and then did nothing at all as I sat atop her horse watching Sherry help MY horse. I felt maybe Sherry was disappointed in all that I didn't do with her horse but I truly didn't want to be the one to over expose Sunshine as she has come so far with her. Truthfully and thankfully, we (Sunshine & I) were nowhere near over exposure, and she was so light and responsive it was a joy to ride, but I also wanted to watch what was going on with my horse.
That evening we did do some finesse riding in the indoor arena We were building our pivots, backing, side passing, half passing, and stop. The day was complete with a birthday cake and a rendition of Happy Birthday sung to me at supper.
Some key components for me from Saturday were: That even though you release you should never loose the connection to the horse [and as you advance through your horsemanship journey the connection will move from the more obvious (to the casual observer) physical connection to the unity & beauty of mental connection. The mental component is about puzzle solving for the horse; developing technical execution and placement of the body for the horse. That feel exists in thought, and that I need to get ahead of the horse in my timing by having a plan but not being anal about my plan.
Sunday's theme was Liberty, Transitions, and Impulsion. As I looked back in my journal I started the entry with Oh Boy! What a day. Simulations today included feel by porcupine game with a human partner. We also simulated bringing our energy up and then down to rate speed, stop, and then back up of the walk, trot(gait), canter, and gallop. Yup we were running around the yard! It was amazing how insightful these classroom sessions were.
We were treated to a very textbook demonstration of winning the friendly game with the vigorous slapping of the stick and string in all zones of a student's less confident horse. It helped the student and the horse be more confident to play the catch me game.
Each camp member (there were 10 people with their horses) stood in a circle and made sort of a live corral. We each took a turn going to the middle of the circle and releasing their horse. If the horse left the owner it was the circle's job to drive the horse back to the center and find the sweet spot with it's owner.
It was a great exercise in seeing the truth of the relationship with our horse and in reading horses. During our turn, Hobby (the gaited horse) dazzled us all with her athleticism, executing beautiful flying lead changes, cutting(like a cow horse) Sherry to try to reach Sunshine, flat out galloping around, and generally showing off her left brained extrovert on adrenaline side. I'm so twisted that rather than be upset that apparently my relationship with my horse arguably had the biggest holes, I felt vindicated that she was showing her flip side of the horseonality chart.
There were some beautiful demonstrations of connection between horse and partner, and some great building of the relationships as we protected our own herd of two. I hope some of this behavior from Hobby is cropping up because I'm upping the ante in the games and wining some of them so she's digging deeper and getting creative in trying new things to discuss leadership issues with me. Ha!
The afternoon found most of us tired and pushing the envelope with our principles. We worked on liberty and transitions, and bareback riding with fluidity. Sherry was on the end of the 22 ft. line transitioning the horse and changing directions so that we could take a true passenger lesson [nothing for the rider but the pushing passenger position]. This included Hobby's one hissy fit buck and impulsion issues of maintaining the intermediate gait that Sherry asked for (my horse is 8 gaited).
I then borrowed Sherry's 45 foot line and worked on the ground games from further distances while some of the students were at liberty in the arena. The highlight was Hobby jumping the big barrels set in the upright position. I knew from the morning session Hobby wasn't ready for a true test of liberty in the wide open.
Other students watched Sherry's lesson on preparing the horse for mounting the first time bareback and mounting from the fence.
Sharon and I also practiced loading our horses in each other's trailers. I have a bigger open stock type trailer that was easier for Lexie to load in than her own trailer. Sharon has an extra tall (thank goodness or Hobby wouldn't have fit in) 2 horse type. That was certainly fun and interesting to try. We also played with transitions up and down in the circling game.
As the afternoon progressed students saddled up as ready. I again went to the round pen and worked on stick riding, then riding with focus, light pressure from a direct rein and stick support. We then went to the arena to ride some of our impulsion patterns that we'd studied earlier. Hobby is quite short in a round pen and arena so we worked on point to point and some cloverleaf. Other students tried riding with halter and one rein in roundpens, arena, and playground others riding bareback.
Sometime this afternoon one of the student's horse became over exposed mentally and commenced right brained bucking. It was interesting to see people dig deep and battle some of their old fears and how they handled the rest of camp emotionally. As I wrote in my private journal I feel very blessed to be studying with this group of women.
That evening we went on another trail ride, the highlight of which for me was turning my horse around and backing as fast as the rest of the group was walking. Why you ask-because we could. On the trail we had a rider come off. No fireworks, broken bones, or anything over exciting, it just happened. But, it again was interesting to watch the group dynamics as we processed, regrouped, and continued on.
It seems like with so much in life we strive for balance between the good and the bad and how we handle it. I want to be the type of horseman that when I get off my horses I can look them in the eye and know it was as good for them as it was for me.
Sunday key components for me: I need to FOCUS better and not direct my energy downward so much. Most people's threshold for persistence is 30 seconds, be consciously aware of time as you are trying to out persist the horse. Impulsion is responsive, calm, straight, rhythmic, forwardness couple with the equal desire to stop. At liberty do something about "snotty" attitudes and wait for the join up with the right expressions and intent.
Monday's theme was Focus and Independent Seat, but I saw a lot of us practicing our own emotional fitness. We started the day as we ended it last year by sharing our highlights, BFOs, and nuggets of knowledge, and giving feedback to Sherry. Monday was the day where we'd burned most of our own adrenaline out and was left with our true self. Some of us were reaching our physical limits from 4 days of extreme exercise and play, and tired from the constant deliberate use of mental, emotional, and physical parts of our body. All our emotions were a bit closer to the surface and we'd all been stretched for growth this weekend. It was interesting for me to see what I chose to do with it.
Some of us worked on getting the relationship right with our horse, some of us worked on level 2 tasks with a level 2 standard of quality (being particular yet not critical), some of us used the opportunity for individual coaching from Sherry, some used the opportunity to watch Erica (Sherry's apprentice) play with their horses, some of us rode, some stayed on the ground, some did both and through it all Sherry hung with us, giving guidance and assistance.
It was a sad day for me as we were drawing to a conclusion and people slowly trickled back to their everyday lives. What was truly amazing was the amount we learned and practiced with so many variations in what participants were doing. Only Sherry could have held this zoo together.
Monday's key: Be more interesting for the horse and clear up my body language especially bringing up and down my energy/intentions. Persistence.
Finally, Cheryl, Cindy, Corey, Kay, Loree, Melody, & Sharon I love you all. Thanks for being on the journey with me and letting me share my experience about camp. I learned so much being with, playing, and observing each of you and your horses. It always feels pretty intimate to me and a bit scary to let others "peak" into our experience. But as Sherry constantly reminds me, it's not what others see, think, feel, or do; my horse will tell me the truth of our progression.
Leigh
Thank you Leigh! What a great recap!
My favorite parts were the horsenality profiles, the catch me game, the trail rides, the round pen riding as I helped those who chose to do that activity, the work on particular manuevers we did up in the indoor arena, sitting on my horse looking over the play area seeing each person doing their own thing as they needed with their horse, riding Hobby, playing with other horses, demonstrating combining games with Sunshine, and especially the soak time we had on Monday morning.
Actually it was all very meaningful and special to me. Everytime I teach I realize how much more I also have to learn about both horses and people. But on the flip side I also realize how much easier and faster I am getting things done with horses. Playing with a horse is becoming more and more natural to me so that I hardly have to think about what to do, it just seems to flow. When someone asks me "why did you do that? or why did the horse do that? I really have to stop and think because it was just a natural feel and I can't always explain why I did something, other than it just felt right. Maybe that is what 'FEEL" is.
I too appreciated each one of the women and their horses who came and took risks, who opened up to new experiences, who looked deep inside themselves to find a better horsewoman. Our horses certainly did tell us the truth and sometimes it hurt so much we cried, and sometimes it took us to tears of joy.
Happy Trails,
sherry
"A little learning is a dangerous thing but a lot of ignorance is just as bad." -- Bob Edwards
