Happy Holidays! 

My kid recently moved back into the state with her husband, Andrew (a non-rider, he trotted and cantered on her bareback on-line). Up from Yuma for the weekend, we had a great time playing. All new stuff for them and Black Diamond had never had anyone else on her asking these things yet it was so easy for all three of them to do great things. Yes, a bareback with a halter piaffe when Courtney never did one before in her life. If you're not familiar with Black's killer previous behavior click here for her story. 

  My Christmas wish: for everyone to be able to be this comfortable with their horses. 

Ahh... my favorite kind of email from readers: 

I think this is your best newsletter yet!  (Of the ones I have read.) 

The video was a perfect example of a bad relationship.  People might say no relationship, but there is always a relationship.  I cannot imagine how much that horse dislikes that rider to deliberately turn and kick at him.  That was certainly a comment from horse to rider.   I also found it very refreshing for someone to actually SAY that people spend years trying to accomplish even the simplest things because they will not change what they are doing. [paraphrasing a bit here] Some people train their horse to ignore them - but we can't get them to hear that. You cannot help those who believe what they are doing is right - even though it is not working!  

People so underestimate the intelligence of horses.  As a professional barefoot trimmer I meet a lot of people and it's very discouraging to see people who want good relationships with their horses, are actually afraid of them in many cases, and a vast majority have no real understanding of horses at all.  So many women want their horses to love them and so FEED them.  Food is not love to horses.  Some listen and some don't.  I wrote a book about the horses who have passed through my life and the truly amazing things they did, which no one could have trained them to do.  We should spend more time LISTENING to our horses. 

I wanted to let you know I like your newsletter and I do pass it on to clients. 

 Maureen Tierney

So this goes to some of my continuing concepts. In a past newsletter I wrote questioning if you loved the pimply teenager at the fast food place because they gave you your food? No.

Folks frequently are at least in the same book and maybe in the same chapter when the term horse-whisperer is used. But, my comment to that is "Yeah, pretty much everyone talks to their horse. The problem is they don't listen!"  We tend to listen more when we're forced to. Eventually, the horse will force their person and then the person will chalk it up to an accident. I know for a fact that many people don't take lessons because they don't want to listen to something other than they're already thinking. Basically, that's a refusal to learn.  

"Don't believe everything you think. What you think is what you know. Wisdom goes beyond what you know. Wisdom is what separates average people from extraordinary people." - Andy Andrews  

"The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: Be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge." -Elbert Hubbard 

Now then, Maureen has a great website with a ton of info on it, so check it out.

While you're on her home page, click on the Hoof Guided Method tab and then Book Figures. A whole ream of fascinating hoof pictures. Don't miss 'em!

Give your favorite horseperson something they can really use--a little help and make holiday gifting easy on yourself at the same time. 

Hop yourself over to Amazon and snatch up my new book,

"Balky, Balky, I Ain't Goin' ".  

It's something every horse and person is going to do, but the skill isn't taught. So, get it here - print or Kindle! 

Holding the clip

Twice, yep twice in the last 10 days this has happened. So, it must mean that I need to write about the travesty.

Let loose of the clip!!!

It's a pet peeve of mine and connects to leading issues (my biggest peeve).

How often do you allow someone to take a hold of your face?

WHAT??? You mean you didn't answer 'every day, every time I'm near'?

Folks can claim they LOVE their horse until they're blue in the face, but if they're grabbing that clip and dragging him around... I don't think the horse will feel that. I know I wouldn't. Love and acceptance are not the same thing. Are they?

It's a habit that indicates that you don't TRUST your horse. I could just say, "Think about it." But, it's not enough to just think about it, one must think the right things in order to do right. 

Now that you know how I feel (because I'm so subtle J ) I'll tell you one of the stories so it's clear and you can decide if you're doing the same thing to your beast you LOVE so much.

Story time:  

I'm at a student's place with her horse standing-ground tied-while I'm saddling him as she goes to the house to get an item and tells me a friend of hers who has had horses is coming to watch. Friend now approaches and walks straight up to the horse and...

I stick my hand in front of her just as she's reaching for the clip and say, "Hi, I'm Lauren." After she shook my hand she reach out and grabbed the clip on the lead to the halter. She just held on to it with the weight of her hand hanging on his head.

"Why are you doing that?" I asked.  

"Doing what?" she said.

"Holding on to his head." I replied trying not to curl my lip. 

"I don't want him to bolt off." She said. She's still holding on to the clip.

I pried her fingers off and then took a light hold of her chin (maybe it was light. I'm going to say it was anyway) and asked her if she liked that. She was obviously uncomfortable having a stranger have a hand on her face. But while I was still holding on, I explained that I might say/do something she doesn't like and "I don't want you to bolt off." I said smiling.

I let go and she said, "I never even thought of it that way."

Think people! In addition, you can't believe everything you think, so re-think your thinking all the time for better results.

"Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in."

-- Alan Alda

Got a friend who always has their hand on the clip? Forward this email to them with a smile  and tell them to go to my website and sign up for their own newsletter.