August 2011

  I hope this newsletter finds you all enjoying this wonderful riding weather. In between saddle fitting training
and lessons, Easy, Fancy and I have had some awesome rides in the outdoor ring and on the back 40. I wish
everyone the same pleasures! To help with that I have included a couple little training tips that I thought might
be helpful. I am also listing the fall clinic dates. We still have openings at all 4. And we have Jochen scheduled
to come here for saddle fit evaluations, fittings and a lecture. Everyone that puts a saddle of any kind on a
horse's back will benefit from hearing one of Jochen's lectures. I personally guarantee it.

FALL CLINIC SCHEDULE 

  We getting ready to start the clinics back up again. Although I try to keep the same format, every clinic is
different because we basically just go with the goals and needs of the riders. Starting at 9 am we will discuss
our plans and goals for the day. Then we'll go into some group ground work and demonstrations. Over the lunch
time hours we'll work with each horse individually and then we'll get back together and work as a group. There
are 4 different levels of clinics now for riders of any discipline. Since we focus on the basic balanced seat and
horse psychology the work we do applies to all disciplines.

Kindergarten groundwork clinic Sept. 11, 2011
Level 1 groundwork & riding clinic Sept. 18, 2011
Level 2 groundwork & riding clinic Oct. 9, 2011
Level 3 riding clinic Oct. 30, 2011
Rider's fee is $100. Auditing is $25. For a complete description of our clinics visit
http://www.bucknhorsehollow.com/clinics.cfm
Rider's must pre-register. Space is limited to 6 riders.


TRAINING TIPS

1. Think of feeding time as training time. Every day when you feed your horse, walk in the stall or pen with him,
ask him to step back and wait, put the feed or hay in and then release your horse to eat. This action at feeding
time tells him that you are the leader of the herd, the leader always controls the food. This is a huge opportunity
to improve the relationship with your horse.

2. Check the underneath of your saddle regularly. I have found uneven wool, twisted trees, nails & holes and that
was just this month. The general rule for saddle pads, girths and bridles is to use natural material like horse hair,
cotton, wool and leather. These materials will produce less friction and irritation. Your horse’s skin is very sensitive
just like your face. Would you put your face on your saddle pad?

3. When loading your horse in the trailer, always close the divider, bar and/or door behind the horse before you
attach the trailer tie to the head. When unloading unhook the horse and put a lead rope on before you open the
back of the trailer. Sometimes a horse will panic and pull back in the trailer, this is very dangerous and frightening
to the horse.

Favorite link of the month http://www.inspiritusequine.com/ Dr. Joanna Robson and Jochen Schleese have
apparently worked together very closely because much of the information in Dr. Robson's book is the same as
what I have been learning from Jochen in our saddle fitting courses. We need to learn to listen to our horse, if he
is misbehaving, it is his way of trying to communicate to us that he is in pain. Horses don't know how to lie. It is
our job to learn how to listen. In our clinics we talk about red lights and green lights which are basically interpreting
whether or not the horse is understanding and ready to go on or if he is nervous and confused and we need to go
back. Dr. Robson teaches us the "red lights" that signify a horse in pain, possible causes and cures. Saddle fitting
is only a part of the equation. Nutrition, hoof care, proper training
and veterinary care also all contribute to a happy healthy horse.

HAPPY HORSES = HAVING A GOOD TIME

Why do we want our horses to be happy? Because we love them. To most of us, the horses in our barns are like
our kids, our family, our partners. A happy horse is fun to be with and will usually do everything that is asked of them.
They are calm, confident, relaxed and eager to please. They are not spoiled rotten. Horses don't love us because we
give them treats. Horses want to be with us because we are good leaders and they feel safe with us. It's very simple,
if your horse isn't happy, you are not going to have a good time.

As always, thank you for reading our little newsletter and for letting me be a part of your riding goals.
And happy holiday weekend!

TTYS & God Bless
Terry