Uncategorized – Page 3 – Hope Horsemanship

Twisted.

This is not the dynamic I want in my barn. This is not the dynamic I want in my life. When I feel that frustration rising in the dark space of my heart it is now a warning signal: you have become twisted again. Stop. Regroup. Begin again and ask: how can I help?

I thought I understood…

If we cannot meet fear with fear… then the better choice is to meet fear with LOVE. Love in fact, must have boundaries because connection is worth protecting.

Strange Companions

A good horsewoman or man gets adept at seeing where the broken parts are, which system has the greatest weakness, and can find ways to help bring strength there, walking the horse toward ever more complete wholeness. Maybe along the way we can also find our own way to being more whole. Maybe we can find our way back to Kansas…

The Way Down

The story of Wyoming and me seeking a better place hasn’t been easy for me to update very often because there isn’t much of a clear line path to tell. Some days I have sight lines toward an island in the sea… and some days I think we (or probably just I) will drown outContinue reading “The Way Down”

The Good Citizen

What do YOU think the most important thing a horse should be taught?

The devil in the details.

I have a feeling this is going to demand more from me that I currently possess in knowledge, skill, creativity, grace and most of all patience. As I got started, I realized this horse is probably going to be the kind that makes me or breaks me – meaning I will either grown and learn, or she’ll be too much for me and I will truly fail her. I can not at the moment accept the latter as a possibility, so I’m prepared to be changed from this process.

Complicated

I do have a fairly “uncomplicated” horse in the herd and I enjoy her immensely. I am not the kind of person who has to have a problem to solve at all times. Ok. That’s not true, I am that kind of person. However, I am also the kind of person who can enjoy an uncomplicated horse. In fact, I am grateful that the complicated horse will make me better for the uncomplicated one as well.

The motions of emotion

I spent few days with Harry Whitney last week. I hope I will never be the same. I have been to a handful of horsemanship events and clinics ranging in size and popularity and I did not know what to expect from a Harry Whitney clinic. Harry doesn’t have much media out there to getContinue reading “The motions of emotion”

Avoidance

Have you considered avoidance? In my somewhat “off grid” experiments with Wyoming this fall, I am changing my approach to her education away from the direct pressure paradigm and trying to lead her mind and emotions by guiding instead of driving. I am finding myself yet again back at the basics with this mare. LastContinue reading “Avoidance”

I don’t JUST…

I have been re-inspired recently with the concept of brace in horses. I am seeing in a fresh way that if we are willing to look, the layers of brace in even the simple things we do with horses hold practically infinite opportunity. I am taken by the fractal nature of it… astounded how theContinue reading “I don’t JUST…”