Mark Rashid clinic - Okehampton

[Montana]

Well, I've gone and done it! I'm signed up to ride at the 5 day clinic from 13th-17th July :eek: My legs are wobbly at the idea, I don't know why I keep doing these things! On the other hand, I'm so excited! I've only done a maximum 3 day before (although the format of this one is not quite so much riding/hands on involved as previous clinics :( ). I am really looking forward to following other riders progress through 5 days though, usually you miss so much, running around preparing your own horse. It'll be nice to have a bit more time to sit back and watch everyone else.

It's quite an expensive one, more so by the time I arrange transport for 5 days, so I'm debating trying to hire a lorry with living, and 'camp out', although the cheaspest I've found is £480ish, and miles away from me...any ideas? I shouldn't really be doing it at all, it's less than a month before my wedding day :D , but I really couldn't resist!

So - is there anyone else going to this one? Riding? What do you think of the new format?

I'm trying to think of things I'd like to work on there, as I usually turn up without many ideas. I know I'd like to do more work on just softening and lightning my cues and communication, but specifically on what I'm not sure. Transitions are a bit of a weak area, although I've been working on these since my 1 day clinic with Mark in Jan, and things are pretty good at the moment.

My main issue with Monty is his tendency to worry badly out of his normal environment, especially on his own when hacking (something I avoid with him :rolleyes: ), or at a busy 'fun ride' type of event. How would I work on this in an arena situation, where he's calm and focussed 90% of the time these days? He's a lot better than he used to be, and I'm trying to get him out and about as much as possible (difficult without my own transport), but I still get a bracing giraffe for a lot of the time :D. Is there more I could be doing while he's calm, to help when he's not?

Ok, sorry for the ramble, just wanted to share my excitement!

Cath :)

[cvb]

Cath

Am contemplating coming down to this myself, so could bring that western show DVD I talked about to show you ! Haven't booked yet - must get my act together. I'm just havering a bit whether to go for all 5 days or not...

If you've already worked with Mark, then I guess you know what to expect !

I can see why they've changed the format, but it seems a bit odd for the riders and horses to be there for 5 days but only riding for the assessment and 2 of the other days. Curious how they are going to organise this i.e. will you ride consecutive days, or alternate days, or... and will you have time to "practice" on your non-riding days ?

[Montana]

Hi cvb,

Bit of a hike for you! Yes, please bring the dvd if you do, that would be great. Go for all 5 days- you know you want to!!

The way the clinic organiser has described the format is that the first day will be a demonstration/lecture and assessment day, to ensure that all of the horses are comfortable and ready to work. The price includes a chiropractic session with Dave. Then on days 2 & 3, the horses who are deemed fit to ride will be with Mark, and the others will either have further work with Dave, or (I believe) watch, or work with Kathleen. Then they switch on days 4 & 5 with the other horses. Apparently Mark believes that 4 days is too much for any rider (?), and that they often don't get to just sit and watch what else is going on.

I do understand the assessment day, as there were so many horses at the last clinic (mine included :( ) that had issues either with soreness or saddle fit, which severely limited what they could achieve. I'm not so sure about the 'too much riding' part, as I've done a 3 day with Mark in the past, which felt like a perfect length of time. Day one was assessment and initial work, day 2 consolidated the work from day 1, and day 3 was for showing how to continue to develop the skills already learnt. Although I suppose that the horses who go first get to maybe continue with Kathleen on days 4 & 5.....?

I just decided I'd give it a go. Usually the cost for these clinics is £100 a day or so, not including chiro/stabling, which this one does. So £465 is pricey, but not too bad I suppose. I think I'd just geared myself up to do it so much, that even though I'm dubious about the format, I'm willing to try it (at great personal expense!). The other clinics I've done have all been well worth the money - I would just hate to see Mark's clinics become so commercialised that they get to be too expensive for those of us who don't have spare cash floating around :D

What would you work on, if Mark was in Scotland for you?!
C

[cvb]

What would you work on, if Mark was in Scotland for you?!

Right now - nothing til I get her back sorted and a new saddle ! :rolleyes:

But seriously. Since the clinic I've been "practising" the things I learnt on both Fi (when rideable) and my mum's Fell. Cos she's sore, Fi's actually not been as "good" at it as the Fell - which given Fi had 2 days with Mark, and Duds the Fell didn't, has been very interesting.

If I was riding Duds, I would be asking for tips to help with his canter balance as its not great. (Ok - help with the RIDER to improve his canter ;) )

If it was Fi, then ideally I would like to work towards changes - but her canter is affected by this back thing so tough to say if this would be possible or not. Otherwise its back to basic rider "feel" and timing - to get better at it - and hence get more softness and acceptance from the horse.

[Showjumper]

*JEALOUS* Oh I wish I could do it, but I just can't justify that type of money...if I could just do 2 days then I would but they won't let me.

[varkie]

I'm riding at Okehampton too Montana - so I'll see you there!!!

I'm not sure which of my two horses I'll be riding yet, nor where I'll stay.

As you say, I'm a bit wobbly just at the thought of it!!!

[Crystal Fire]

Oh good for you Varkie! Now what am I going to do? I hadn't planned going, but if you are then I really would like to after all... I think I need to win the lottery.

[KarinUS]

Oh you lucky bunch! :eek: Have fun and report back on what you thought of it.

Montana, what a great wedding present to yourself... :D

[Montana]

Hi Varkie - See you there then. Glad someone else is as mad as me......now considering buying a towing vehicle, mainly just to get me to this clinic :eek: Well, it's as good an excuse as any....!

Crystal Fire - no, you don't need to win the lottery, just re-mortgage your house, like I'm doing......seriously....! Well, actually it's mainly for my kitchen and double glazing, but I'm sure there'll be a tiny bit spare :p . Anyone else getting the impression that I might not be the best at financial management when it comes to my horse? :D

KarinUS - I'll definitely attempt a clinic report, although I'm not sure that it will be up to the standard of some of the reports posted here. Although I should have more time to stop and watch, judging by the new format. Will have to remember to take my notepad with me this time. There's always so much to take in at the time, that it's difficult for me to remember everything I want to.

I think it's the best present I can give to myself, and will hopefully take my mind off table decorations/flowers/music/etc...just at the right time to stop me becoming a wedding bore! Now, if only I can get Mark to help me train Monty to pull a carriage..... :D

[shakari]

when is it and is it at the grange equestrian centre?(with their horse frightning terracotta cross country course??!!!) not too far from me only 40 minutes or so, perhaps i'll come to spectate. :D

[cvb]

Yes its at Grange EC, 13th to 17th July

Assuming I get off my backside and book travel, I'll probably do something in the way of a write-up, like last time.

[cvb]

Ok - resurrect an old htread :D

I have a dilemma. Being sensible, I suspect I should only do 4 out of the 5 days . But the question is do I cut day 1 (assessment day) and watch all four riding days ? Or cut day 5 ?

any thoughts ?

I was going to travel back on Sunday, so miss day 5. But actually in terms of "saving" work holiday entitlement, perhaps missing Weds would make more sense... but then I'd travel back on Monday so wouldn't actually save holiday... arg!! confused !!

someone help me ! ;)

[Skib]

cvb -
I cant manage the dates for Oakhampton and it's so far. But I wish I were going there to meet Montana and you.
I am going to Solihull to watch. Since you ask, I reduced my time away from home (and cost) by skipping the first day (not the last) as I heard Dave give his talk at Bristol in January. That way, I hope I will see each rider ride on two days which is what taught me so much last time.

[Montana]

Hi cvb,

Bit of a difficult one for you, I'd imagine. I know that with the back/saddle issues I've had such trouble with over the last couple of years, the assessment day will probably be a really valuable exercise for me, and would expect you feel the same. Since the January clinic, I've had Monty worked on 4 times by a McTimoney chiropractor, and have worked on adjusting the saddle until I believe that I've found the correct layout for the shims, which Dave started working on with me. Hopefully I'll have this confirmed, but I still think that Dave will pick up on all sorts of things which I've missed.

However.....on balance, I think I'd rather watch day 5, because wouldn't day 4 be much less worthwhile if you couldn't see the results? I also know that I tend to be the one hanging around at the end of these things until the last possible minute, just in case I miss something, so would feel somewhat cheated to leave a day early!

Tough call, but it's good to know you'll be able to make it, whatever days you decide on. I'll be the one sleeping on an airbed in the worst pink/orange hire lorry in the world.......! :D

[Montana]

Hi Skib,

Sorry to hear you're heading north rather than south. It would have been lovely to meet you. At least this way though, we get to find out what happened at both clinics, and I look forward to the report from yours :p

[cvb]

:D worked out it was worth becoming an IH member to get the ticket discount. May work out "even" on money but then I get all the IH newsletters etc !

[Dales_Lover]

This is SO not fair - I can't get transport up to it - and we don't have 'proper' trains in Devon anyway!

May work on sis about it this weekend...

[cvb]

eek - just took the plunge and booked flights (Exeter). Will miss the first day and be there for the next 4.

Montana and anyone else going to be there - how will we "recognise" each other ? (not sure flowers in button holes will be appropriate for a riding clinic in July ;) )

[Montana]

Hi cvb,

Glad to see you're all sorted. Will see you on the Thursday then :)

Hmm, ID? Well, I'll be the one with the little paint horse in tow if nothing else. If he's having to be stabled full time, you can guarantee I'll feel guilty enough to be walking him out regularly. Other than that, may be wearing my stetson if the weather stays this good! Not quite sure about the flower idea, it would probably get eaten :D Or we could post photos on here, although I usually try to cut me off all photos in favour of the horse!

What about you? :p

[cvb]

Montana

May go for belt and braces and pm mobile no. and - if I can find one - a piccie. Like you I tend to "hide" from photos.

p.s. but your piccie is a chestnut not a paint ???

[Montana]

Hi cvb,

Nope, he's just hiding his splotches in the picture - I'll attach another in his full glory! He's actually Paint/Arabian - Sire was an imported stallion, Sonny Steele, and dam was imported from Chile, all very multi cultural.

Ok - that came out smaller than expected, but I'm struggling to get anything else attached! You'll see him in a month anyhow, if we manage to get there in the terrible hire lorry! :eek:

[varkie]

Oh dear, going to be tricky for anyone to recognise me, as I don't know who I'm taking yet!!! It's either going to be Bess (black heavyweight cob mare), Tia (black welsh section d mare) or Victoria (grey lusitano filly). There are pros & cons to taking all of them. Oh, decisions, decisions.

[Montana]

Hi Varkie,

We'll just have to look out for all 3 then! No, seriously, I was wondering what the pros and cons are for your horses. I've been trying to decide on what I'd like to work on at the clinic, because usually I don't have any specific ideas. It would be nice to hear other people's expectations for the clinic. Perhaps if you wrote down the things you need to look at with all 3, it would help you to decide?

I'll be hopefully working on my trot to lope transitions, because they're fairly random at the moment, in a school environment. I'd love to be able to put a clear cue in place, which would allow me the instant canter depart I get when I'm out hacking. I would also like to work on improving my lateral work, whilst moving forward, because this is something I also tend to give mixed signals about. I love having Mark on the ground giving me the perfect timing for my cues. It really helps me to develop a feel for the movement. Having said all of this, what I plan to do, and what we actually end up working on are usually two different things anyway! :D

[varkie]

Ok, lets see.

Bess is a heavyweight cob, 16 years old, but was never schooled until about 18 months ago. She now works nicely in walk & trot, but her canter is terrible! It's too fast, unbalanced & always on the left lead, even on right rein - she has been physically checked by several different therapists, and all agree no physical issues, just habit. We've tried everything to get her to take it, but not a chance - she used to be the same on the lunge, but we've now got her to take right lead on the lunge. Other than her canter, she lacks impulsion - badly. Once you get her going, she goes beautifully, but getting her going is an effort. The pro of taking her is that she is an established horse, other than her canter, and I could really work on myself more perhaps. The con of taking her is that she is never going to be more than our very loved hacking mare, I only began riding her as my other mare was out of work. Once the other two are working properly, I probably won't ride her often. She has a sharer. She's also not a great traveller - throws herself around a bit in the trailer. Plus she is a big girl, and knows it, and has to be watched in a stable, and she is also very bonded to our other horses, and won't like leaving them.

Tia is a 7 year old Welsh Sec D mare. I have owned her since she was a wild, unhandled yearling, and backed & brought her on myself. Unfortunately she has had a series of unrelated, no obvious cause, illnesses & injuries, so she is no further on than she was within a few months of being backed due to never managing to stay in work for more than a few weeks at a time. She is tense, green, spooky, rushes, runs off - you get the picture! At the same time, she is powerful, talented, straight, correct, smart & clever. She has huge potential, but totally untapped. She will work in outline in walk & trot, but again, canter is an issue for us. Due to a badly fitted saddle (thanks to a master saddler) she turned from a lovely mare who was cantering sweetly for me while we went out alone, into a humping, tight thru the back mare. The tightness is coming unpicked, and I hope to have worked thru the humping soon - again, she has been treated physically & given the all clear - we just have a pain memory now. By the time of the clinic, I hope the humping will be gone, but all the other bits (tense, green, spooky, rushes etc) will probably still be in place. In addition, Tia has handling phobias about being long reined, sprays, and having her jaw hair trimmed! I also feel our bond has suffered recently, and it was suggested to me that taking her would allow us to rebuild. Pros of taking her are that we have a lot to work on, and I do want to do aff dressage with her, so we'd get a lot from the sessions, also she is very independant so won't mind being away from home. It would probably also really broaden her horizons, she really needs to grow up mentally now. Cons are that I worry whether she'll be fit enough or healthy by then (just getting over last problem and only just coming back into work), she is a terrible loader & traveller (but I'm hitching up the trailer every day & loading her, and once she loads happily I'll start taking her out each day), and that while stabled she becomes hotter still to handle, plus she is messy & destructive when stabled (not a chewer, she much prefers to overturn water buckets & trash stable).

Victoria is a 3 year old Lusitano filly. I have only had her a month, and she is unbacked. She is quite sweet, fairly laid back, clever. Pros of taking her are that she is a good traveller, and I want to do aff dressage with her so would be good to have the time bonding. Cons are that she isn't backed yet, and there is no guarantee that she would be by then and I really do want to ride for Mark, but I don't want to push Victoria as she's only three, and even if backed, I don't like them to do much at this age. Also, she's only just settling in with us at home - not sure its fair to uproot her again so soon?

Hmmmm.

[Mossy]

Where ist? any room for spectators and how much Website?

[Montana]

Hi Varkie,

What a lovely sounding combination of horses for you to work with. I'm guessing that we'll be seeing Tia, just judging by the way you write about her. She seems very much 'your' horse. She also sounds like she's worked through a lot of the samer issues as my horse, with saddle fit issues causing behavioral trouble, and the delays in training due to illness & injury (in my case myself as well as the horse!). He's 7 this year, but basically only just 'coming good', after I started him at 4. He's can also be extremely spooky, and tend to rush things. And he's not very impressed when stabled full time either :rolleyes: But, like you say, extremely clever, talented, and bags of personality make it more than worthwhile doing all of the work needed. I don't know if I could have managed to have more than 1 horse at a time, with all of his needs!

Although I would love to meet your filly, I'm sure she's gorgeous!

Mossy - It's at the Grange EC, Okehampton, from 13th -17th July. The details are on www.positivehorsemanship.com. There is also another clinic in Solihull around the same time. And yes, there will be spectators.

[Mossy]

Thanks. Okehampton here I come!

[cvb]

OK - so maybe we ARE back to the carnations in button-holes ;)

There did used to be newrider t-shirts, but as we have no idea what the weather might be, I figured perhaps a badge or something might be better ?

I was going to check out if I could get a badge wth a piccie of Fi on - given she's been "seen" on here. but any better ideas welcomed !

Have made contact with the friend I'm going to stay with, and need to book the tickets, and a hire care, then I'm sorted !

Am in 2 minds whether to bring a laptop down with me - then i could show Montana the western show DVD I'd talked about and write up notes as I went :D

[Showjumper]

I got my ticket today - am only going on the Saturday due to lack of funds...will look forward to seeing everyone! :D

[cvb]

So how are we all going to find each other ? I don't know what Grange is like, is there somewhere we can meet up ? (Other than refreshments or loos, where everyone will "meet up" at some stage :rolleyes: )

Montana will be the one with the horse ;) but what about the rest of us ?

[Showjumper]

Maybe we could meet in the car park before it starts?

[Montana]

I'll probabably be fussing around with Monty in the morning before it starts, leaving tonight to be there at around 8-9pm, so I'll be mucking out or something like that by 8ish in the morning. We could meet by my stable? Monty's a 15hh chestnut paint/arabian, I'm 5'2", blondish...what else - no unusual features I can think of!
Getting nervous now, more about driving down there than the clinic at the moment, but I expect those nerves will hit tomorrow! See you all there :D

[cvb]

Ok

So is it me, Montana, Varkie, and then Showjumper for Saturday ? Oh, and Mossy too.

If so, then Montana and Varkie will probably meet up tomorrow on Weds ;)
Then I'll appear Thursday and try find Montana, who will already know Varkie ;)

Mossy - are you there the whole time or just specific days ?

And on Saturday Showjumper just needs to find one of us to find the rest :D (probably Montana given the horse is always the one we remember :rolleyes: )

If all else fails, I'll find some way to post a message or get an announcement done or something :cool:

[Skib]

I hope you guys have a great time at Oakhampton, both riding and watching. Wish I were there. Apart from distance, it clashes with great Gold Cup polo which is OH's equestrian passion.
So I am home again. Was I the only one in Warwickshire?
I took many notes over four days, which I will eventually write up. But I prefer to wait till after the Oakhampton riders and cvb make their reports. Then I can add any missing bits which seem useful.

[Supercali]

I went yesterday to Solihull!!!

It was really hot in the school and I felt like drifting off to sleep.

I really enjoyed seeing how much the horses had improved just from entering the school - it must have been good to them from the beginning.

I have learned quite a bit that I will be practising some on my horses.

[cvb]

LOL - the blurb says something like "it can still be quite cold in July" !!!

Supercali - I rode and audited the Feb clinic in Scotland and am STILL practising different bits, and reflecting, and learning :D

Thats one of the reasons I was dead set on getting to this one. For example - did he talk about breathing - e.g. in over 8-10 strides ? Well how does that change for other paces (trot, canter) ? And how do I work on timing of cues in different paces ? and... and.... and... ;)

I was so focused on the basics, in walk, and now I want to extend my understanding.

[Supercali]

For example - did he talk about breathing - e.g. in over 8-10 strides ? Well how does that change for other paces (trot, canter) ? And how do I work on timing of cues in different paces ? and... and.... and... ;)


Yes, someone was working on trot to canter transitions while breathing out and then downwards transitions an giving cues to 'break' on a chosen hind leg - good for getting onto the right diagonal if needed.

I am lucky if I get a transition, nevermind a techical one such as this! but it was all fascinating and just shows how there is a LOT more to riding.

[lucyloo]

I was the short fat blond girl with the black welsh cob mare :)

[Supercali]

Hi Lucyloo

Can you remind me what you and your mare were working on? I saw so many that day! :o

[cvb]

Well Showjumper, Montana and I hooked up - but I spent the 4 days trying to guess which one was Varkie and whether Mossy ahd made it or not :rolleyes:

I have a TONNE of notes and a full head.... watch for it to start to spill out in all directions :rolleyes: I've already used the "I just got back from a clinic and..." in a reply :p

[Dales_Lover]

CVB - notes, out, now, on here, posted - for us who couldn't make it!!!

[cvb]

LOL - by the end of day 2 my head was full, so I figured I'd make some space by writing some of it up (took my laptop). Just started when the couple I was staying with came up with an alternative way to empty my head - a LARGE glass of red wine :eek: :D

So I have all my hand-written notes but nothing really "processed" yet.

There was some common elements with the earlier clinics: breathing, footfall and timing

softness (for me anyway) went to a new level
lots on braces
something on confidence and belief and "thought" as a cue

but loads of new stuff (for me) on energy

and some really neat non-ridden stuff which Montana can say more about than me as I missed the first day...

[jinglejoys]

You ought to read Lucy's notes she posted up on the I.H. site they're great!
I took Malaga for an assessment with Dave on the Monday afternoon (Got back from Mule Camp at 4.30am so was knackered)He thought the car park and areana was great for rolling in :D

[cvb]

Lucy's notes are here (http://www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk/forum.asp?action=forum&cmd=msg&f=mark%20rashid&tid=107625)

[Skib]

Lucy, Your notes are very good.
And a revelation for those of us who only saw (and admired) the public part of your experience, I mean the teaching from Mark.

[Showjumper]

cvb, it was great meeting you and Montana - and the one day of the clinic that I saw was great. What did the little "jumping pony ;)" do on the last day?

[cvb]

cvb, it was great meeting you and Montana - and the one day of the clinic that I saw was great. What did the little "jumping pony ;)" do on the last day?

They worked with Kathleen in the morning and went over the previous work. I gather Kathleen also did something new (which I think is really neat, considering the problem). She put two poles together, and got him going over that. And then gradually moved them apart, until he decided he could put a foot inbetween.

Anyway, the afternoon sessions they set up a mini-course, starting really low and getting him confident over that. he ended up hopping happily over all of them, with both small cross-poles and they made one a little upright.

Interesting comment about the upright was that he needed to take a look to see whether he should put a foot between the ground pole and the jump pole - but he actually looked and didn't stop :D

he was "looking" at things a lot less, even when mark changed them. They did comment that you'd need to work slowly on this to build his confidence and make it solid, rather than going mad now he'd do it :p

Everyone had big grins :D

[Montana]

Well, I thought I’d get the ball rolling since I know cvb has so many notes it’ll take her forever to get them organised! Cvb/ Showjumper – it was fantastic to meet you both. SJ, I’m sorry we didn’t get to ‘visit’ more, as Mark would say, but there was just so much going on to watch!
Cvb – thanks for being my videographer, I’ve watched them back since, and they are quality productions! Since you volunteered me for 1st day notes, I’ve tried my best! I’ll probably move on then to describing my riding experiences from the clinic, and other valuable things I picked up, and leave the detailed descriptions of the other riders and what they did to someone else……..!

Clinic Notes – Mark Rashid – Okehampton - July 13th – 17th 2005


I arrived at the Grange EC at 10:30 on Tuesday night, having planned to be there by 9:00, so not a good start! The hire lorry I had (hereafter referred to as the rust bucket…), did not seem to like the long slow hills in Somerset and Devon, and turned my 3 hour trip into a 5 hour ordeal! Monty travelled well though, and coped with being led through a strange dark yard to try and find a stable to put him in by torchlight!
(I did have a brief worry that I’d got the wrong place, and had just settled my horse into a random stable, and proceeded to sleep in the rust bucket in a stranger’ s yard….!)
Anyway, I woke up in the morning and all was well, I’d even managed to put Monty in exactly the right place….So, onto the clinic.

Day 1
Assessment and anatomy day

Mark and Dave Siemens (One of the US’ leading chiropractors) began by explaining the way that the first day would work. We would be discussing the anatomy of the horse, how it compares to that of the human, and how various different factors can affect the horse’s ability to use itself effectively. The afternoon would then be for assessing the horses which were to be used in the clinic, and ‘point scoring’ them on a scale of 0-10 for soreness, where 0 means that the horse is in peak condition, with no pain at all, and 10 meaning that ‘you might as well shoot him now’!

The anatomy discussion was really fascinating for me. I only had a basic understanding compared to many people there, of how the horse is put together, but everything that Dave was saying made sense to me. Luckily, a great friend of mine had given me Mark’s latest DVD, ‘Understanding footfall and influencing movement’ for my birthday a couple of weeks ago, so this session ran along the same lines as the first part of the DVD. The most important points I gathered are as follows:

· The horse’s basic structure is exactly the same as the human, with their legs echoing our arms and legs in both joints and limbs. Dave explained how what most people consider to be the front knees of the horse are actually equivalent to our wrists, with the foreleg being the tarsal, and the fetlock the metatarsal. The hoof is our digits, and includes a joint (our lower knuckle joint), within the hoof. Basically, our horses are walking on their fingertips…..! Dave also made a comment that if a chiropractor claims to have adjusted every joint in the horse, they must have dissected the hoof wall/pedal bone to do so!

· The weight bearing part of the horses back stretches from behind the wither, to the end of the rib cage. This is strongly supported both by the ribcage, and also by fascia (Sp?), which is an incredibly tough material. Dave explained this by using a ‘steak’ analogy, describing a particularly bad meal he’d had, where the fascia on the meat was so tough, even his dog couldn’t get through it after Dave was done trying! Behind this area, any weight from a saddle will begin to cause damage to the horse.

· The saddle therefore needs to fit this area, and should always be fitted to the horse’s ribcage structure. He disputed the claims made by people where they state that the saddle used to fit their horse, until it put on/lost weight in the Summer/Winter. He believes that a well fitting saddle would fit regardless of weight changes, the only difference being a slight raising/lowering on the back.

· Pictures were shown of the horse’s skeleton and muscle structure. Dave had also snuck some bones through customs (!) and we got to see two of the vertebrae, which had come from the wither area, and a rib, and how these fit together, forming a very strong, rigid structure.
We also got shown a picture of the structure of a cat, to illustrate that animals other than horses and humans can be structured very differently. The cat, should you wish to ride it, would need to be turned upside down, and saddled that way up, as all of its fascia and strength is on the underside!!

In the afternoon then, we moved on to assessing the horses. Around 8 were brought in initially, and one by one, Kathleen led them around, for us to try to spot any problems. Dave and Mark then both gave the horse a point score, without consulting with one another first. Mostly they were within ½ point of each other, although Dave was hands on with the horse, and Mark was more looking at their reactions, and expressions in conjunction to the movement. Most of the horses ranged from a 51/2 - 8 ½ , so obviously far from perfect. Many of the issues were fairly subtle, to my untrained eye. I could generally pick up that something was wrong, but couldn’t narrow it down to specifics initially. Dave explained as he went along what he was looking for, in terms of symmetrical movement, hips rising and falling evenly, equal stride length. He had several owners walk alongside their horses, in time with their footfall, and this made any unevenness far more obvious, for the owner, and spectators, as they shuffled and stretched to match their horses. By the end of the first few horses, I think we were all getting much better at picking up on the more subtle signs of tension.

I took Monty in later in the day, having worried hugely about the verdict. When Dave had seen him in January, he’d told me he was in a lot of pain and discomfort, and his asymmetry had become really obvious to me. I’ve had him worked on 4 times since then by a great McTimoney chiropractor, and she had managed to make him far more even, as far as I could see, but still……..you never know!

Anyway, the verdict was far better this time. He said he looked a different horse, some soreness, but not a bad overall appearance. He and Mark both scored him at a 5, but other than one horse (who Dave had already worked on earlier in the week!), he had the lowest score of the day (I think there were a couple of others on a 5 also). So not great, but very fixable. He had some soreness in his left shoulder, and right hip. Dave explained that these problems could often be seen diagonally in the horse, and that generally, this is an easier problem to fix than a soreness which is all on one side.

More to follow......

[Montana]

At the end of the afternoon, Mark wanted to show us all some exercises which were based in Aikido, the martial art he studies and teaches. Aikido literally translates to ‘The way of Harmony’, and Mark explained that when dealing with horses, or in any other part of our lives, the principles of Aikido could be applied successfully.

We paired up, and did several exercises exploring the effect of words on our behaviour, both positive and negative, and also the effect of fighting against a fight (if that makes sense! Bracing against a brace may be a better way to describe it!)

Firstly, Mark asked for a volunteer, he grabbed hold of her wrist, and asked her to tell him which parts of her he did not have. Easy enough you might think, except that with her attention so firmly focused on her wrist being grabbed, she couldn’t name anything else for at least 2-3 minutes! We were paired up to try the same, and initially it worked fine – I got grabbed, was fully expecting it, and started ‘hair, forehead, cheeks, nose, eyes, lips, teeth, neck, shoulders, etc, etc……’ As I was about to start taking my partners wrist, suddenly Mark snuck up behind me, and grabbed my wrist! And what did I do?! Yelped in surprise……..!

Mark explained afterwards that sometimes we get so focused on one thing, that it ends up being to the detriment of all of our other senses/reactions. We can cope as long as things are in a controlled situation, but once something unexpected happens, it throws us completely. Only one of the people he took hold of calmly started reciting body parts, the rest overreacted, one lady nearly collapsing in horror! He explained that to ride effectively we need to allow our minds to still, like water on a lake, and absorb any unexpected events as if they had never happened.

He said explained that most people, when their horse spooks, take at least 2-3 seconds to react, by which time the horse is 99% certain to have got over it, then we jump, and really give them something to get concerned about!

Another exercise we then went on to do was the ‘fist on fist’ (He called it something like ‘monkey fist’ ?? When a monkey puts its hand into a jar, and grabs the food inside, it cannot then get the food out, as it keeps gripping with the fist, which makes his hand too big to fit back out of the neck of the jar)

One person put their arm out in front of them, fist clenched. Their partner took hold of the fist, by gripping their own fist around it. The first person would hold their arm as strong as possible, and not allow their partner to move it. The partner would try to use all of their strength to shift the arm. It ended up in a big power struggle, with not much movement on either side, but huge amounts of wasted effort. Then the second person was shown how to open up their fist, allow themselves to go soft, and just smoothly guide the fist of their partner around. The first person had nothing to brace against any more, and the fight could not happen, as much as the first person tried to keep their arm strong, they were unable to resist the movement.

The next exercises we did were based around ‘The Unbendable Arm’. These were a series of exercises relating to the power of words and thought. I’m not too sure I can do them justice by my descriptions, but basically it was all to do with thinking positively, in the face of negative input from another person, and your own negative thoughts. I’ll try to get my thoughts together on this one, and I’ll describe it more fully at a later date.

Day 1 over……more to follow!

[Skib]

Lucy, can you help.
About the mounting block technique?
I was really glad when Mark showed you how to get your pony to the mounting block. Someone asked to do this at Bristol in January, but was shown how by Kathleen right the other end of the school so we in the audience didnt see how.
Mark said that moving the mounting block to the horse (my usual way) is doing the horses' work for them. So, inspired by you, I stood on the block and positioned the horse.
Did you have a lead rope and collar on her when you did that?
I dont have a lead rope and head collar when I lead the horse out for my lesson. So I found myself on the block, horse in the right place but with the reins in my hand, as for leading, not over her head.
The mare is 15.2 hands and I couldnt work out how to get the reins over her head. So I had to get down off the block again and stand in front of her to do that. Because it is the only way I've been taught.
Can you or any experienced rider tell me, Is there a way to get the reins over a horse's head when you are already up beside them on the block, ready to mount?

[Crystal Fire]

Here's one I prepared earlier on a different site... First make sure there are no physical issues obviously. (This is what I've seen Mark teach on several occasions and I always use it myself. The main problem I have now is my pony trying to join me on the mounting block! :D ) The query was about the horse swinging the quarters away, but the principle is the same, if the horse moves then send the hindquarters away and then direct the horse back round you.
I would swing the quarters away even more, by swinging a rope at them (not hitting). Then move the horse around me as I stood on the block, relaxing and giving them the chance to stand still when they were lined up nicely. If they didn't quite get it right I'd encourage them, but if they moved away I'd move them about a lot more, leading them alongside me and relaxing and they came alongside. I'd repeat this until they realised that if they stand still they get nice rubs and scratches, and if they move away they get to move away a lot more.
I'd then go as if to mount, but not do it. Jump up and down on the mounting block and do the moving about stuff if the horse moved away. Progress to foot in stirrup and going up and down. Then mount and get off. Always if the horse moves, move him some more and give him the chance to find a quiet nice place standing still beside the block ready for mounting.
Then when mounted, stand still for a minute or two before riding off. That means a minute or two with nice rubs and scratches - not 30 seconds :-))

[cvb]

Skib

I haven't seen Mark teach this, but may have some other tips that might help ? My mother helps out with RDA locally. Her own pony was the classic "walk up to mounting block and then ... at the very last moment... take one step out with bum" :rolleyes:

She picked up one really useful tip from RDA. Lead the horse up to the mounting block from the other side to the block. Walk them up and stand them straight. Then walk around mount.

If they walk forward or swing away, you have 2 choices. One is simply to ask for one step back or sideway (*). The other is to walk a small circle and represent. and represent and again and again - til they "get it". Its a lesson again ;)

(* the problem with asking for the single step over is that in their mind you are asking them to step INTO something (the block). We saw this at the clinic with a guy who wanted to work on opening gates. Just asking the horse to sidepass up to a fence was difficult as all the previous training is about not walking into things !! Its something you need to practice.)

You asked about reins. In this case I personally lead with the reins over the head already, so a soft grasp of both reins not too close to the jaw (or you have the nutcracker effect "on" all the time :( ).

The other classic mistake - which I'm guessing you are not making, but for completeness I'll include it - is that the first rein they gather up is the near one. This actually asks the horse to look towards the rider and step out :p so the horse is just doing what we ask. If you pick up the offside rein first, you shouldn't have this.

And finally, another classic ;) watch that when you put your foot in the stirrup you (again) do not cue the sideways step with your toe ;) When using a mounting block I tend not to use the "facing backwards" approach but phase the same way as the horse and have my toe forward from the start.

[Skib]

Yes, cvb, I too usually lead up to the block with the reins over the head already.
But what Mark showed involved correcting the horse's position at the block by sending the horse off to the right and getting the horse to repeat its approach to you on the block. I thought I could not do this with the reins in riding position! Which left me stuck. But maybe one can if one holds them both under the horse's chin? I will try.
In fact, I didnt have to do any correction. My additional air of authority after watching Mark and my decisive stand already on the block, persuaded the horse to take up the correct position.
It is difficult to explain his method without a diagram. But imagine you are standing on the mounting block with the horse facing you, its nose to your tummy. Most of us might move the horse's head to our left. Instead Mark said, With your right hand you move the head of the horse out to your right and then bring the horse round in a circle and back to you, parallel with the block. Ask the horse to stop, correctly positioned. If he does not, or fidgets out from the block, bring his head round towards you again and off to the right, to repeat the whole approach. Mark taught this to Lucy's pony who is very young. But someone else may remember it better than I do.
Most of my mounting is done in a congested school yard where everyone moves the blocks as there isnt room to manouvre the horses. But sometimes I mount in the open air school where my teacher (already mounted) naturally wants me to leave the block out of the way against the fence. Mark's lesson on how not to move the block came in very useful.
You are so right that any pressure on the near side rein moves the hind quarters out from the block. But I have it in my notes that he said to avoid this by lifting at the same time.

[cvb]

Ok, I have to stop fussing over getting these right, and just post them for some feedback :rolleyes:

Part 1 is on softness (footfall and pressure)
Part 2 is on impulsion

Part 3 is not yet written but is likely to be about putting it into practice - including "confidence levels" and some of the concepts that Mark introduced which don't fit in the previous sections. OK - I need to split part one as its too big ! :rolleyes:

[cvb]

part 1B

[cvb]

part two - impulsion