Kathleen Lindley Clinic

I had a really great horsey weekend with Kathleen Lindley, and I am here to write what I learned! It took about 6 hours to get there, and we arrived with the weather being wet, dreary, and cold. We watched the last two sessions on Friday when we arrived (the hosts had access to an indoor arena down the street, which was nice and dry, but the participants had to trailer over every day). After the sessions we headed back to the farm and took care of the horses so we could go out to dinner with Kathleen. We had a really good visit and she is a realy great lady and horsewoman who knows a LOT. We talked about some possible training opportunities, which included some possible day trips on her part to our farm this winter for some lessons. Also, a possible week long study with her at the farm she winters at next winter. My mom and I think it would be a bit too much for me to handle this winter because it is a pretty independant type deal.

The next day, Saturday, I was signed up to ride at 4:30. The previous day the owner of the farm had taken me to meet Grace, the horse they chose for me to work with and ride. She was a dark bay thoroughbred who had gone through a very forceful trainer before they had gotten her. He had been working with her for the past little while and she was getting better, but she still had some issues with going forward and she was known for cowkicking and testing her riders. I tacked her up and spent some time getting to know her, then we trailered her over and, after a little on the ground, mounted up. She IMMEDIANTLY put her ears back and gave me a very ugly face. I asked her to walk off with my leg and, again, she gave me an ugly face and cowkicked.
Kathleen told me we were going to take an inventory of what she knows and how she responds to things. After this, she pointed out that when she got stuck (she kept balking and not wanting to go), that her hindquarters couldn't be what was stuck because she was kicking up with both legs. So, the forehand must be what was stuck. She had me practice asking her for a turn on the haunches to "unstick" the forehand and walk off from there. She also pointed out that she only got ugly when I used leg, so maybe I should try another forward aid. I had a dressage whip, so I would tap my boot and if she didn't respond tap her. She responded fine to this aid, and she walked right off. Once she got going, Kathleen told me it was important to get and keep a big walk in Grace.
It was a really good lesson in that it taught/reinforced to me that horses don't read "the book" and some don't respond to the traditional aids. So, as a horsewoman, I need to listen and adapt to each and every individual horse, because they are not the same.

I had another lesson on Grace on Sunday at 1:30, so I tacked her up, trailered her over, worked with her, then mounted up. Again, ugly face. I asked her to walk off with the whip and she did fine. If she got really stuck, I would ask for the forehand to step over and go from there. After walking a bit, I asked her for a trot which was met with more ugly. She broke into the trot though, but she went with minimal effort. After going around a bit, Kathleen set out several objects such as a cooler, a halter, the mounting block, a cone, and a hat. She placed them different places in the arena, then explained she would call out an object and I would ride as fast as I could to it, stop, then go to the next she called out. At first, Grace was very unwilling to go, but once she caught onto the game, she was too focused on her job to be ugly, and she even offered a small canter once. The game then changed to touching different things, which she caught onto quickly and did really well with. She got the thought, "where we going next?" rather than, "don't put that leg on me." It was really cool and once both her and I had a job she was raring to go and focused and straight. All in all, Grace couldn't have been more perfect for me to work with because she was a mirror image of my old horse, Sassy. Sassy would balk, get evil with the leg on her, and you would have to unstick the forehand to get movement.

The clinic was really great and I really liked Kathleen as a person and horsewoman. She is a really good teacher, and she is not critical at all. Here are some additional notes I got from the clinic:
*when riding or working with horses, its best when your center of power is in your core, not your heart or head.
*eliminate limiting beliefs (past experiences) because they only inhibit you.
*when riding, strive to align the shoulders, hips, and heels.
*if I am keeping a horse away from his food, I should be asking and seeking for something specific. Once I get that, I allow him to return to his food.
*in breathing, your exhale should be longer or equal to the length of your inhale.
*breathing is extremely beneficial because if your not breathing when riding, your horse will feel that tension and be more likely to hold his breath too. Once you begin breathing, its hard to brace or make tension which allows your horse to relax and breath as well.
*focus on the effort, not the result.
*when we breath relaxed and rationally, it helps our brain and body to relax.
*Tom Dorrances book, True Unity, discusses the differences in reaching for the foot and cuing the foot. Strive to reach.
*baby behavior: kicking out (cow kicking), tantrums, going without a cue, stopping without asking.Many horses exhibit baby behavior because when they are first started the person doesn't teach him manners and help him understand and live up to 'the standard' (what is acceptable). Therefore, horses exhibit his behavior as if to say, "I don't have to do that. Don't you know? I'm a baby, I can do anything I want." This is how babies act in both the wild and in captivity, they get away with murder. But once they reach a certain age, the members of the feral herd puts them into their place, teaches them manners, and lets them know what is acceptable and what isn't. In captivity, many young horses lack that understanding and clarity from their owners.
*when using pressure and release to teachm and the horse is struggling, make a bigger contrast between the pressure and relese by making the release even more soft.

It was a great clinic and I am excited to at the prospect of working with Kathleen more. When we talked about what I should be doing now to get better with horses and such, she said I need to ride as many horses as I can. I need to be with all kinds of different horses, and work with and ride them. I agree, and I am on the lookout for riding opportunities. For now, though, I am going to keep teaching Joy's draft horses manners, and maybe some of her other horses.
~Eden