WOOT! Here's the cover of my new, soon to be released book. 

How cute is THAT?

Next: This is a letter from Diana Gogan of Fire Horse Ranch who is the vp of After the Home Stretch TB rescue. Diana and I have only known each other a short time but I did a Curbside Service demo at her ranch and used her and her horse Princess to teach the "best training skill in the world" - Curbside Service. :D

Then a bit ago, she asked me to come over and do a lesson with her and one of the TB's she was fostering at her place. She wanted help with going out down the road and into the desert. It didn't start out well. I asked if she had taught him to Curbside so she could mount from my trailer fender. Her answer was, "pretty much." THAT is not a good answer for me. I promptly said, "Show me."

Alki tore loose from her when she climbed up on the trailer...  obviously we got him back. But, he doesn't give to his head--right?  

Well, That Sucked!   

I said, "Take care of that! As that's where all the trouble starts." So, being the good girl she is and a good learner and doer, she emailed me with her results. Then, I recently got this email: 

Remember a few weeks back when I taught Alki how to Curbside and rode him around a bit bareback for the first time since he'd been here - 1 ½ years!  He's also the biter you worked with for a few minutes some time back. The past two months he has had a huge transformation, he no longer bites, pins his ears, or kicks, AND is now playing, running, and is really very pleasant to be around.  And he found Kara, who's going to adopt him this Sunday.

Fabulous, eh folks? Now if you haven't read the book (I can't even believe that's possible, but...), it's important to note that Curbside Service is NOT leading the horse along a fence or pushing him over to where you want to get on. It's a series of skilled requests you teach so your horse changes how he thinks about you and vice-versa. And then when you step up on anything or even put your hand up and click your fingers, your horse puts his back right at your knees. It's a pretty good read if I do say so myself and it really is a game changer. Get it on my website or on Amazon,  print or kindle. 

 btw- I've got a new index scroller thing-y on my training blog. Check it out!

Hover your cursor to the right of the titles and then scroll. On my mac, I can scroll anywhere in the invisible box area. Might need a tweak or two.   

Humor

Having laugh out loud fun while learning. Laughing at yourself, your friends and your horses! There is a difference between being serious about your skills, concepts, intent, responsibility and such and being serious as in not laughing and enjoying the learning and time spent doing the best thing on earth. 

Of course, I'm not prejudice! Merely stating a fact. When it isn't going as you plan, your attitude can be good or bad. The situation is the same.

I see so many people with really nasty looking faces while trying to make their horse do something and then tell me they love riding and are having so much fun. Sheesh! Fun doesn't look like that to me. I'm not saying to not do the maneuvers or whatever. And, I'm not saying not to strive for the best, because I certainly do. But keep a good mindset. A 'well, I'll keep trying with the best relaxed mind I can. Maybe this will take a few more moments than originally planned.' Throw in an occasional "HuH! That was interesting. What do I need to do differently?"

What I hope to really have you start looking for and laughing about is all the times your horse really gets one over on you. They do it all the time and people either don't know it or ignore it or deny it. Still happened. And the thing is that it's a fabulous opportunity to laugh at yourself and the situation and give your horse the points he deserves. Saying you're your horse's leader and being the leader are not the same thing. Even if you are the leader, your horse is still going to pull some clever moves. Acknowledge and appreciate their intelligence. 

One time in a new lesson the horse did something really funny and I started laughing and the person got all huffy and with eyebrows furrowed, demanded, "Are you laughing at me?"

"Yes, it's funny!" I replied still laughing.

The second cow is responsibility. Basically I look at it like this: It's your fault. Period. Either you did something you should not have, or you didn't do something you should have. That's it! It doesn't make you an ax murderer so don't get your panties all in a bunch. I didn't say you killed your parents and buried them in the backyard (although I don't know all of you personally so I suppose that's possible...  see, that's funny!) It's just so much more productive to take responsibility instead of making excuses and blaming. Check yourself to see if your sentences start with 'my horse does ____' or better/worse yet 'my horse needs to _____' frequently filled in with 'respect me' or 'do as I say'. News flash: Your horse NEEDS water, food and sometimes shelter. He doesn't NEED to respect you -- you want him to respect you. These are not the same thing. Ponder point, yes?

"I was taught that the way of progress is neither swift nor easy."

-- Marie Curie, Physicist

 For exceptional results, think "how and how can I".

• "You get out of the horse what you put in - the way you put it in." - Ray Hunt