Continuation of April's Clinic:
Hear what participants had to say about April’s Clinic!
A group of dressage riders hosted Caroline for a 2 day ground
work clinic in Southern Maryland. We had a diversified group
of horses, most of them working well under saddle but with
areas that could use improvement, from spooking at strange
objects to not loading in the trailer.
Caroline's approach is to get the horse to focus on the handler,
using rein backs and engagement of the hind end. Some of the
horses had more trouble focusing on the handler than others
and it was wonderful to watch Caroline work with the horses
and determine what they needed and by the end of 30 to 40
minutes each horse would be standing calmly totally focused
on Caroline.
Her basic techniques to improve mental engagement under saddle
began with softening the horse to the bit. Each of us was
taught to massage the rein, creating a light feel/contact
for our horse's nose to follow. It also encouraged stretching
the horse's top line, specifically the center of the neck.
Center of the neck was the goal since so many horse's are
taught to bend at the pole, however they still maintain tension
through their top line, thus heavy on the forehand. The softening
and stretching exercises not only helped us achieve more mental
engagement from our horses, it helped to physically prepare
our horses to move more effectively off the hind end. Caroline
then asked us to begin backing our horses, all the while maintaining
softness through the hands and top line. This encouraged communication
through the bit and rein aids as well as helped break away
any brace or opposition our horses may have been expressing.
Of course there is much more to it but in a 2 day clinic you
start at the very beginning. Most of the handlers were able
to accomplish all three by the end of the first day.
On the second day of the clinic, a tarp was laid down in the
arena, which of course set all of the horses back. But the
same techniques were applied from the day before and by the
end of each lesson, the horses all walked calmly across the
tarp. It was really lovely to see.
Another clinic is planned in a few months and we are all looking
forward to it!!
Mardee Rochelle & Kosmos
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