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Post by sarah on May 5, 2012 17:10:10 GMT 1
I am SO excited ..... Karen, owner of the lovely Crispin, is coming to stay with me tonight, and tomorrow, Karen and I, and Simon and Meg are all going to see Mark Rashid at an all day demo, hopefully meeting up with Helen and Akis too. ;D
Having read his many books and been touched deeply by his approach to dealing with horses and their owners, I cant quite believe I have the opportunity to see him work.
I will let you all know how it goes.
Sarah. xx
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Post by angelac on May 5, 2012 18:07:27 GMT 1
OOOOH How lovely !!! I would love to going to that. Its great that you have all managed to get together too Have a great time and please say Hello to everyone Angela x
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Post by avril on May 5, 2012 21:54:53 GMT 1
How exciting for you girls! Would love to been able to attend and relying on you to tell us all about it!
Hope the weather behaves itself.
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Post by nellie on May 6, 2012 23:16:52 GMT 1
I so enjoyed today, every part of it (well, nearly, see below!), seeing Sarah, Simon, Meg and Karen again and being able to have a bit of a catch-up was wonderful, Mark Rashid was truly impressive and such a quiet, unassuming, modest man. I have come away with a lot of food for thought and some exercises that I think Mina and I could benefit from practising as well as have some fun (watch out Mina!) and then we stopped off in Lymington for dinner before driving home and had a wonderful meal, Akis's treat for being so patient . But boy, was it COLD !!! I'm so glad none of us had taken a camera, I had so many layers on Akis said I looked really fat (cheers, Akis!) and on top of them I had a blanket round my shoulders and a fleece and yet another coat on my knees not to mention hat and gloves! Akis abandonned the indoor school and went and sat in the car with a book where it was much warmer . So, Avril, we were lucky with the weather - it didn't rain, and this evening was beautiful, the sun came out just as the clinic was finishing and we were lucky that we were in an indoor school so there was no risk of cancellation due to rain sodden ground. It therefore seems a bit churlish to have wished for a warmer school! I really liked Mark's approach: quiet and thoughtful, but with a sharp eye for the detail (tense a muscle, he'll notice it!), he breaks things down into little steps, introducing the minimum to produce a difference and then building from there. This is really helpful for someone like me who struggles to remember more than one thing at a time... But the results are there for all to see. He talked a lot about intent, about how the horse thinks in 10 directions to our 1 (which is why the showjumper was knocking the fence down - the rider was thinking forwards, not up, He got her to look and think upwards and the horse cleared the jump again and again and again), about preparing ourselves so thinking what you want first, imagining the rhythm of what you want (a steady trot beat, a 3-time canter footfall), looking where you want to go and then finally the ask by which time, to be truthful, most times the horse was already doing what the riders were visualising, without the need for the aids, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who has done one of Avril's courses. I am sure Karen and Sarah will be able to think of lots I have forgotten: I suspect I have remembered the bits that meant the most to me. But all I will say is, if you get a chance to ever see him in action, take it! He is very different to Monty Roberts partly because he spends longer with each horse and he works with the owner riding the horse so you can see the results you can get yourself but also, because of this, the emphasis is less on the show for the audience and more on the owner, the horse and their relationship, which I really liked. I think I need to go back and re-read his books... again! And, if any of you are interested, do read his blog on degrees of separation. I just sat open mouthed as I read it because it so describes how I end up in a pickle... but then it offers a way out of it... www.markrashid.com/blog.html
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Post by sarah on May 7, 2012 10:13:07 GMT 1
It was wonderful for me to have Karen to stay, and to meet up with Helen and Akis - I didnt know one person to actually move with SO many layers on Helen. ;D Mark was truly inspirational, and the transformation he achieved with each partnership was there for all to see. The most amazing session for me was with a novice male rider, very like my Simon, who potters along happily, sometimes taking charge, sometimes doing what the horse chooses ..... First of all, Mark suggested he should maybe give the horse direction more of the time ... if he wants to trot on, he should have "intent" in his mind, picture it happening, and have the attitude we ARE going to trot, and we are going to do it NOW ... and hey presto, that is excatly what happens. Now, we all know that riders, under stress, have been known to hold their breath. Mark asked the rider if his horse was breathing when it cantered, the guy laughed ... but then Mark explained that actually, the horse was for whatever reason, holding its breath when cantering, and would drop back in to trot when it ran out of air! So work was done on keeping the horse in canter until it had to start breathing, and then reward it by slowing ... gradually building on this exercise. Then came the most amazing part for me .... this horse had a very heavy footfall and lumbering canter, and Mark challenged the rider to try and make the footfall lighter, but didnt tell him how. The rider thought for a bit, visualized how he would like it to feel, asked for canter and ..... immediately the horse floated round the school with the lightest footfall, soft and harmonious with its rider - breathtaking to witness. ;D So, a day watching and listening to a man who is truly an inspiration, has given me lots of things to work on, adding to what Avril has already taught me. I could go on and on ...... what a wonderful person. Best wishes, Sarah. xx
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Post by avril on May 7, 2012 12:19:10 GMT 1
Huge thanks Nellie and Saran for your accounts of Mark's demonstration, especially what you got out of it individually. He is clearly a most perceptive man who misses nothing with an overall awareness we would all aspire to. Loved the part about the horse not breathing which caused him to come back to trot. That must happen more than we realise and makes perfect sense. The degrees of separation are a must read, especially for those of you booked on the Connect with Your Horse course as we are covering exactly that in the practical sessions, along with a mindset packed with intent of course! Thanks again girls for sharing your moments of the day spent absorbing knowledge from one of the world's most gifted horsemen.
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Post by liz on May 7, 2012 15:29:28 GMT 1
The reason Mark spends more time with each horse than Monty is because he runs clinics rather than demos and the horse and owner/rider pay for a place as well as the spectators. I saw him in Okehampton quite a few years ago now and his teaching is very much the same as that of a friend of mine in Somerset. I had lessons with her over a period of about 18 months and it was so very different from anything I'd done before (very, very few lessons over the previous 20 years!) and I got quite a buzz when I htought "trot" and my horse did just that! I got an even bigger buzz when I thought "walk" and "stop" and he did! Pip told me it was what I had always done but was simply unaware of it and to an extent that was true. My beloved old Honeydew seemed to know what I wanted almost before me but, of course, he was recognising my tiniest action and movement! Kelly, Barney and Ryan were the same - I didn't ride Duke often enough to build quite the same relationship which was sad. I'm going to see my lovely Ryan next week. He was put up for sale but his owner, Chloe, emailed me to say she simply couldn't do it and had withdrawn his advert. Yay! Sadly, I've lost track of Duke now I contacted the woman who was selling him but after an initial contact, she has not answered my emails and I suspect he's now been sold.
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Post by angelac on May 7, 2012 18:41:18 GMT 1
Thank you for your accounts of the Mark Rashid day. It was just lovely to get an idea of it, esp as I so love his books. No doubt being able to meet up, so added to the enjoyment. Helen, how I laughed about your account of being all muffled up, and Akis sitting in the car. I can just imagine it. It has been absolutely horrible here. We were pelted with hail and snow on the day of your outing.Thankfully it is better today. Much better I visited my parents at Easter and went back to the farm where I kept my horse ( well my half share of him ) It was so sad really, but I was comforted by thinking of Mark Rashids visit to the Old Mans yard, after his departure. I think that was in " A Good Horse Is Never A Bad Colour" Glad you all had a lovely day Angela x Liz ~ Sorry about the turn the Duke saga has taken. What a pity the person can't just be upfront. I hope you enjoy your visit to Ryan Angela x
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Post by sarah on May 8, 2012 10:47:32 GMT 1
I would like to share a bit more of my amazing day, if you all don't mind. There was a lady who was having trouble doing gates in Le Trec type comps, her mare would rush too much. Mark asked to see how she attempted it, so she approached the gate but didn't quite end up in the right place, so she sat there thinking for a bit, asked the mare to move a bit, but ended up in a different position where she still couldn't reach the gate, sat pondering ...... eventually she got through. Mark said she was breaking it down into too many sections, waiting too long when they ended up in the wrong place, so that the mare felt she was getting no instructions at all and had switched off and put her head on the ground, and the lady was thinking so much about correcting each movement she had lost focus of what she set out to achieve. Mark told her to picture ... riding up to the gate opening the gate riding through and closing the gate. I have typed that without punctuation, because that is how Mark described it ... as one simple, flowing movement.Tthe lady sat and thought about it for a while, then did it .... all in one smooth, calm movement! ;D Finally, I hope Simon wont mind me sharing this with you all ... Freddie really does not enjoy working in the school, and is known to be hard work. He work ok on the lunge, with some encouragement from the whip, but Simon has really struggled to get him into trot and keep him in trot off the lunge. Simon took him in the school yesterday, with a clear intention in his head that they were going to trot round the school ...... and that is exactly what they did! ;D I cant begin to tell you how proud I was of both of them. Hope I havent bored you all. xx
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Post by sarah on May 8, 2012 10:49:14 GMT 1
PS. I meant to say that was a great example of "degrees of separation" - a very thought provoking read. x
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Post by nellie on May 8, 2012 21:44:39 GMT 1
That is so interesting, Sarah - I just have to share a bit more too . I have just got home from a marvellous lesson on Mina. It was not with Mark, who is on holiday, but with a very senior and experienced instructor who is marvellous at breaking things down into little bite size pieces with which I can cope. Today we were working on canter transitions. First a quick refresh of the Aids (I have never found two instructors to agree on what these are so no wonder I get confused and in a muddle) today's version was: sitting trot, wait til you are balanced then relax/stretch/drop your outside leg back a bit, a little spongy feel on the inside rein, and then nudge nudge with the inside leg and away you go. However, I took this lovely relaxed, non-rushed way of traditionally asking for canter and combined this with Mark Rashid's way of doing it. Think 1-2-3, 1-2-3, look where you are going and then the aids (over about the same time span as my instructor was advising, ie not rushed). Well, what a revelation! I thought 1-2-3, 1-2-3, Mina started to listen, I relaxed my outside leg back and... away she went in canter, just like that, the most dreamy transition ever ;D. It works from walk too! Oh my goodness, I just want to keep practising his little nuggets of wisdom before I forget them! And I want to see him in action again!!!
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Post by sarah on May 8, 2012 22:07:45 GMT 1
Oh wow Helen, CONGRATULATIONS on such a wonderful moment with Mina.
Like you, a mere 8 hours listening to him was no where near enough .... I feel a mass exodus of MSC followers to his ranch in America to become a sponge for his knowledge whilst soaking up some much needed sunshine is on the cards .... now where is my passport ..... ;D
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Post by nellie on May 8, 2012 22:22:28 GMT 1
Oh now you are talking: wouldn't that be marvellous? Though I'm not sure Mina would like flying... I think we just have to find out how often he comes to the UK and persuade him to do some special clinics just for us - I know an indoor school we can rent, it even has an attached, heated cafe - oh, and it's really handy, junction 5 of the M3 or junction 11 of the M4, only about 40 mins from Heathrow... Avril - we could put you, Michael and Annie up for the night . I love to dream .
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Post by em on May 9, 2012 21:11:20 GMT 1
Hi All I hope you dont mind me sharing an experience today with my EFT lesson.. I think it is relevant because it backs up what is being said about the riders needing to visulise and have intention with what they want the horses to do .. anyway hope you find it interesting.. Today I rode a beautiful horse called Ellie after warming up my therapist asked me to do the following excercise.. I had to let go of the reins and not pick them up again unless I felt worried.. my only responsibility was to keep Ellie walking.. I was not to try and turn her with my weight or turn of my head I was just to let myself be taken anywhere Ellie wanted to go .. it also meant even if we headed to a gate or fence I couldnt pick up the reins I just had to concentrate on keeping her walking.. So all good.. off we went in a nice relaxed but forwards walk ...straight into the corner that was in the direction of her stable and there we stayed for a minute or two while i tried to work out what to do! so not being allowed to control steering I just kept using my legs and eventually she moved out the corner and started walking again... immediatly in a small cirlce back to the corner!!!!! aaaaaargh .. this went on for ages.. out the corner circle back stuck in the corner!!! my teacher then asked me if when I got Ellie walking again and only if I felt comfortable would I shut my eyes and feel her taking me all over the school.... well amazing immediately she took me everywhere all over the school turning this way and that .. I opened my eyes and imagined a halt and she stopped immediately.. My teacher asked me if I could remember what my absolute first thought was when I heard her talk about the excercise... and yep you guessed it my first thought was " well we are not going to go far as she is bound to want to go back to her stable She told me that a horse will always remain in the PLACE where OUR problem IS... my problem was that I believed she would want to go in so she mirrored that.. when I closed my eyes and imagined really moving around and not being visually aware she really chose to go every where ...so it follows if we believe our horses cant trot fluently then it wont be fluent etc we also started doing this in trot and the feeling was amazing just letting the horse choose where it wanted to go whether it wanted to turn sharply or circle... it helps get you in touch with your body and balance because you have no idea where the horse will go so you have to allow your body to become soft and fluid The strangest thing was that if you found yourself heading for a fence etc you had to excelerate! but it really worked the horse would just turn... Theraputically I learnt alot about myself in regards to responsibility but thats not relevant here so wont be a bore.... Sorry its long but hope you found it interesting x x
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Post by angelac on May 9, 2012 21:46:16 GMT 1
Thank you for sharing extra bits from the Mark Rashid day. Really interesting and lovely to get an idea of the day.
Em your piece is really interesting too. I am re reading Tao of Equs at the mo, so it is very topical for me. I have been thinking about our incongruency ( which really we are brought up with ) and how sensitive horses are to pick up on this. I remember being in a really stressed out mood, though thought I had internalised it beautifully. Jet however reflected it right back to me by doing a bit of rodeing far too close for comfort as I poo picked in the field. He is normally so calm and super safe and is happy to graze quietly alongside me. Good material for a discussion one day !! Glad you are enjoying your sessions. Fantastic how it is all coming together. Angela x
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