I am excited to finally have my website up and live! Many thanks to a few wonderful friends & family for their belief in my work, encouragement, & helping to create this site.
Summer 2021 has been a hay net full of learning. My girls joined me on one of my summer stops at the Happy Dog Ranch in Littleton Colorado, to learn from three top notch clinicians. Jim Masterson, of Masterson Method Integrated Performance Equine Bodywork; Mark Rashid, horse trainer and author of several noteworthy books; and Dr. Stephen Peters, neuroscientist.
Every day began at the big arena with Jim & Mark side by side sharing their observations on physical or mental restrictions they saw affecting the overall balance, performance, or attitude of horse and rider pairs. When making observational assessments, Jim said “You don’t have to be right, just have an opinion.”
I was beyond ecstatic to get to see Jim in person with his hands on horses. After observing his subtle nuances of timing, staying soft, and his innate feel for the horse, I returned home ready to test my soft touch to bring a bigger release for the horse.
After reading a few of Mark’s books and experimenting at home with some of his techniques. I was eager to attend this clinic and see him in action. Here are a few of his “Markisms” from the week. He has many of these gems!
- It’s okay to say you don’t have the answers.
- Lightness is on the outside & softness is on the inside.
- The imbalance can become the balance, sometime the horse must learn how to move again.
My big takeaway from this collaborative clinic is, how to keep the horse curious without getting afraid? Find the gap between nothing and something.
Lastly, we were introduced to Dr. Stephen Peters, a neuroscientist who was going to show us brains, horse brains! We all got to see them up close and hold them. The various anatomical brain structures that are affected through stimulus of pain, fear, stress, learning, and rewards, were dissected open for us to examine, and touch. As creepy as this might sound, it was pretty darn awesome!
My big take away from this collaborative clinic is, How to keep the horse curious without getting afraid? Find the gap between nothing & something.
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