February 21, 2013                                         Issue #21
Dear Friends~Thank you for taking the time to check out this latest newsletter. We hope you enjoy it. ~Jacquelyn  L. Leuener~Equi Partners, LLC
NEW Horse Festival in Mid-West 
Lisa Diersen of the Royal Lusitano is going big!  
She and her company, Equus Concepts,LLC, in St. Charles, Illinois, announce this summer festival.
Performances, Film Festival, Photo Contest, Equine Entertainment & Education.

 "Festival Of The Horse & Drum"�  
 August 17 - 18, 2013 at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, Illinois.  

Visit the hub for all the details: 
http://www.festivalofthehorseanddrum.com/

Tips for a Picture Perfect Halt
Equi Partner
Mario & Neffy~Dutch Warmblood Mare
~Mario A. Contreras
Chicago's Head HorseTrainer   www.medievaltimes.com www.mchorsetraining.com
 

THE HALT

The first thing to always remember with your halt transition is to think forward. As you prepare your horse for a halt, you want to be sure that he is moving forward into the bit and is in front of your leg.  He needs to be round and over his back in order to make a square halt.  One of the exercises that is very effective in pretty much every horse is: While you are working along the wall at the walk, maintaining the elements that I mentioned earlier, picture traveling straight forward to the right; take the mechanics of a leg yield and transfer them to a halt. Your inside leg needs to be at the girth engaging your horse's hind end to travel underneath himself. When you feel that he has good energy, rhythm, and is round over his back, is light and soft on the bit and supple in the neck and shoulder gently and gradually close your fist on your outside rein while applying a steady pressure with your inside leg.  As you are doing this, sit tall in your saddle and deep with your seat. By closing off these aides you are harnessing the energy that you had created and sending your horse forward into the halt.  

Mario in Halt with RA Santiago~Andalusian Stallion 

 

It is always good when you are beginning this exercise to have someone on the ground so that they can tell you when your horse is square. This is how you develop the feeling. If you don't have someone on the ground, try to use mirrors. One of the things that you want to be sure doesn't happen is: upon stopping, your horse grabs the bit and shoves his neck forward and out!  If he does this,  make sure that the horse learns to have a steady contact first and listens to your seat aides.  The energy that you create with your leg travels to the horse's mouth, to your hand, to your elbow, to your shoulder, to your lower back to your seat.  

 

The softer you can be with your hand and leg and use more of your seat, the better quality  halt you will end up with.   AND don't forget the most important part of training your horse is to enjoy what you are doing. Always one step at a time!

Tips for Better Balance
Cindy Schleuss~Owner & Trainer~ Horse Savvy Ranch~Petaluma, CA
www.horsesavvyranch.com 

 Building the Bridge to a Better Place of Balance

 

The more I teach, the more I learn.   As I educate my eye, I realize how important it is for a rider to stay balanced over their horse.  Making sure the riders spine stays perpendicular to the horses spine is key.  A balanced posture also gives the rider the ability to use their core power. How does a rider look like they are doing nothing?  Core Power is the answer.   

   

Rotation of the Spine 

In the photo on the right, I drew a white vertical line perpendicular to Pirate's spine.  My seat is evenly balanced on both sides of the line.  The horizontal lines show that my hips and shoulders are level.  How I am turning Pirate is thru my core.  I am pushing the left side of my core forward toward Pirate's left ear along with my left shoulder.  As I do this, Pirate pushes his left shoulder around and we turn.  The misconception that you must keep your shoulders level and straight is only missing the words "to your horses".  In this picture, my shoulders are level and straight to my horses because we are both turning.   

Manolo Mendez teaches "keep your shoulders parallel to your horses shoulders" 

~ Rescue of HoneyBadger~
Thanks to Karen in Oregon for sharing. Read the progress on the 
Karen McCarthy & HB in Oregon 

Just one of many wounds
Severely injured and abandoned young mare~HoneyBadger 
was found alongside Hwy 97 in central Oregon on Nov 8th 2012.
Had she fallen out of a trailer or been hit by a vehicle? We'll probably never know! 
Her extensive and severe wounds were treated pro-bono. She is stabled at our farm and has been improving! 
 
Send your equine news to us. Please email: jac@jackpotequine.com