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May 2015
Exceptional Horsemanship Newsletter

 

HOORAY! The inaugural Horseman's Round Table event on the 18th was a huge success. Teaming up with my friend Brian Bausch, who just happens to be a 5 time National Champion mounted shooter and fab horse trainer and Jody Swink who is the guy behind the Trainer's Challenge, currently running at the Verde Valley Equine Festival, we had a great panel of trainers answering in-depth and sometimes controversial questions. We had a great big audience all gathered at the Cottonwood VFW with plenty of food and drinks while the trainers discussed various subjects.

Horseman's Round Table  

The panel at this premier event consisted of Lanny Leach, well known trainer in these parts now working at the Montgomery Creek Ranch - a sprawling ranch in California and home to 200 Mustangs. Paula Bausch, mounted shooting champion and horse trainer, currently at Orme Ranch a prep school in the middle of, frankly, nowhereAZ but it's been around forever with students from all over the world. C. L. "Lee" Anderson, trainer, historian and author from the western side of AZ, Chelsie Kallestad from the northeast part of AZ and Greg Robinson now training in Texas.

 

We had a great time and are on course developing the Horseman's Round Table website, getting the new logo and having each trainer contribute training articles to the website's blog. As we expand the concept, the trainers will change as we develop the program into various areas of the country. We will be bringing in all the various disciplines to exchange and discuss current issues in the horse biz. We're looking toward world domination! Horsemen from everywhere discussing different opinions on the same subject.

 

I made a bunch of new friends and am really looking forward to expanding all these great horsemanship ideas with the trainers and horse people out there. And we'll keep you updated on when you can log on to the website and start getting all you're going to get there.

 

In other news, my friend Sharla Wilson WON the Extreme Mustang Makeover in Queen Creek, AZ on the 26th. Huge congrats to Sharla and Riverdance!

I sure would appreciate it if all you fine folks would forward this newsletter to one friend. I accept that some won't... sad but true - when they could help that friend advance and have more fun with their horse.  

Plus, if you get 4 of your friends to sign up for the newsletter, YOU get a free deck of beautiful Exceptional Horsemanship playing cards!

 

From a reader (slightly shortened for space): Thanks for saying in your last letter about your knee and the healing cream you have used. I used the Ruta Graveolens for 4 weeks before having another X-ray evaluation. The Dr. was shocked at my healing process as well as my range of motion at the age of 63. So thank you for your letter and putting me on a quest to healing quicker! 
I wish I lived closer to you so I could learn first hand training. Thanks again for all you're giving in your communications.     Shandel   

Catch up on all the training ideas you've missed on the blog
So... Are You Horseman Material????

If you're not willing to experiment and fail - you are stuck with incremental growth instead of exponential growth. Or in my simplest terms - WHO THE HELL CARES about what's stopping you? Let's go. The action doesn't have to be world record breaking - sometimes it's just sitting there when you'd rather not.

Students choose to attend expensive colleges but don't major in engineering because the courses are killer.

Finding a new path up the mountain is far more difficult than hiring a sherpa and following the tried and true path. Of course it is. That's precisely why it's scarce and valuable. 

The word economy comes from the Greek word for scarcity. The things that are scarce in the world are the things that are difficult, and the things that are valuable are the things that are scarce. When we intentionally seek out the difficult tasks, we're much more likely to actually create value. And difficult is different for everyone. But, the feeling that it's difficult isn't. 

EXCEPTIONAL HORSEMANSHIP IS NOT EASY! But, it sure is rewarding!

 

"When a horse gets in trouble, if you'll listen, he's saying, 'I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, and besides that, I was scared." - Buster McLaury  

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

Patch has taught me so much about timing and feel.
She gets mad at being rushed or asked to do something she doesn't fully understand or she understands perfectly but doesn't want to due to being pushed too hard with a previous trainer. And the new trainee Stella struggles with the same issues. Both get aggressive - seriously - when they think they're being asked too much or pushed. It's important to set them up for the situation and then ease them through the mental issues they have. Patch has difficulty squeezing at the fence while circling online, trying to drag off the other way, slam the brakes, roll eyeballs, rush through when pressed. She needs to hear my reassuring voice and that it's okay for her to come in and dwell with me for a bit. Tell her she's a good girl and ask that she try it again. 
Stella on the other hand is a professional rearer. In all my years, I've never experienced a horse with the capacity to maneuver in such a way. She rears straight up and either leaps at you or spins a 180 while making sure the rope wraps along her body while she ducks her head. This positions her butt right at you at which point she backs toward you while kicking at you.
It took me several times to even figure out how to approach an answer but we're working it out and I'm really pleased with her progress. We also found out once Stella came to my place that her head, neck, back, shoulders were so out she could hardly function. Luckily, my new horse chiro helped her immensely by adjusting her. She has stomach and intestinal ulcers, some strange hair discoloration due to malnutrition, bad feet and her teeth locked her jaw up so she had difficulty eating. She's in detox now and starting to do better, but she was sold to her new owner as a ready to go hunter.
I wonder when we start holding other trainers accountable for the treachery they practice. This was a subject I brought up at the Horseman's Round Table and one we will re-visit in the future.

Why not share the love and let your horsey buddies know how to benefit from this FREE training, too? Just send them over to the Exceptional Horsemanship website and we'll take great care of them!   
 
There's a difference between techniques and technique.
For exceptional results, think "how and how can I".
Upcoming stuff:

Accuracy - what does the movement look like? ex:  on the galloping bridge. Drift. Would you know what side of the balance bean you'll fall off?
A horse invading your space as opposed to being in the same space.
Dressage Mastery
Riding into your 90's.
Asking your horse to do something way above his level and way above yours! 
 Deer in the headlights
 "awareness" - the need for calm.  maintain boundaries in order to create focus, both in yourself and your horse.  ladder jumping - the art of waiting   timing/feel   come
Managing space around other horses
  • "Think." 
Advance your horsemanship! Accelerate your knowledge, commit to going for better, headin' for Exceptional, in all directions, confidence, refinement, skills and fun on a whole new level. Call or email me to schedule a lesson, training session, phone or email lesson/consultation today.
Don't forget to check the blog for more training and put in your questions and comments!

Sincerely,
ME

Lauren Woodard
ExceptionalHorsemanship.com
Lauren Woodard
Scottsdale, Arizona 85254