Horsemanship Clinic

July 22, 2007

Solve Problems Due To Trust/Confidence Issues Level 2

Key Objectives:

This clinic expands both you and your horses confidence by introducing more challenging situations than were presented in the Solve Problems Due To Trust/Confidence Level 1.

At the end of the clinic, you will:

1. have gained more of an understanding and appreciation of how much of horse’s behavior is related to how much trust and confidence he has in you.
2. have gained more of an understanding and appreciation of how much trust and confidence you have in your horse (and yourself) is related to your behavior and your horse’s behavior.
3. have gained more of an understanding and appreciation of the underlying principles of self-confidence and the process of building the trust and confidence in yourself and in your horse.
4. have had more hands-on experience in building the trust and confidence in yourself and in your horse.
5. have had more hands-on experience in knowing what to do and how to solve more intense problems due to lack of trust and confidence, i.e., trailer loading, spooking, river crossing.
6. have been introduced to more key principles and practices of horsemanship that will further your understanding of knowing what to do and how to do it when faced with any problem.

Clinic Format:

At the beginning of each segment:

1. I will talk briefly on the principles and practices involved.
2. I will demonstrate and teach the principles and practices with a suitable horse.
3. One-on-one, I will help each participant put into practice the principles involved with their horse. Afterwards, each participant can either continue to practice with their horse in the arena while I help another participant or continue watching other participants.

Note:
This clinic is a combination of ground work and on horseback.

Key Points of the Clinic:

1. After gaining the respect and focus of your horse and thus making all the decisions for your horse, your second biggest responsibility as your horse’s leader is to build his confidence and trust in you and then in himself.
2. In order to be able to help your horse build his self confidence, you need to have and project self confidence.
3. In order to project self confidence, you need to be truely self-confident.
4. In order to be truely self confident, you need to know what to do and have confidence in your mental, physical and emotional ability to do it.
5. In order to have confidence in your mental, physical and emotional ability to do it, you need to practice the process of developing the incremental skills required.
6. It is hard to gain an horse’s trust and confidence but it is easy to lose it.

Clinic Agenda:

12:00 - 12:10 Overview of Clinic Objectives & Agenda
12:10 - 12:30 Principles and Practices of Growing Your Horse’s Trust/Confidence
12:30 - 01:30 Growing Trust/Confidence Level 2.1
01:30 - 03:30 Growing Trust/Confidence Level 2.2
03:30 - 03:45 Coffee Break
03:45 - 05:30 Solving Specific Problems Due ToTrust/Confidence Level 2

Note: If you'd like even more detail, i.e., a description of all the exercises we'll cover in this clinic, email me and I'll send you the file.