Hope you are all taking advantage of this wonderful winter weather and riding! ......Yeah right! Thought I would send another newsletter just to make sure you have an opportunity to join in at a clinic nearest to your area. A few recent ones have just been set-up and also a couple of new special events you might want to get involved in. I would also like to thank Karen Clousten for coming up with the design for the 2008 clinic posters. It also inspires me to see Acacia celebrating her equine relationship. She has always been a keener but since the Oregon trip she is even more dedicated and positive in her horse journey.

 My winter plans to produce DVDs on Training topics are falling behind schedule. My website is still needing allot more updating as my sales list of horses ready to go to new homes is not near as ready as the horses are. Time to get it sorted out and make it more accessible. Still waiting for footage from the Mane Event to see if there might be a shorter edited version I might be able to post. There is so much too do while still trying to maintain training, writing articles, preparing and teaching clinics. Getting another larger trailer for clinics and exhibitions, maybe a sponsor (any suggestions on this topic would be appreciated). The patience I am still developing training horses will serve me well in developing all of these other projects.....atleast I hope so!

  Now in our Winter Wonderland in Kelowna the barn girls here are not getting detered by the winter weather at all. As a matter of fact you would almost think that every time there is some kind of snow storm they are all sure to come out riding. Anything that can be safely pulled behind a horse in the snow gets used (tobboggan, sled, snow-board, even tried a big snow scraper, bare-foot skiing- just kidding about that last one just seeing if your paying attention to what your reading). Winter time is a great time to break out of the ordinary. Be creative and have some fun, you might be surpised how much useful training comes out of the experience because you didn't expect it. Make sure you dress warmly in layers. The toughest thing about winter riding is the initial getting out there and starting something. Try it you might be surprised by how much fun it is to ride in the snow, or moonlite night. Remember a horse has to trust the lead much more significantly as visibility gets poorer. If your horse stays calm and brave in the lurking shadows, your horse will surely be even steadier under good light conditions. Pepare for any changes safely. Rodeos are only worth it if you are getting paid the BIG BUCKS! Scaring yourself or your horse is not what you are looking for (like I need to tell you that). Practice safe ground leadership exercises and go from there. Once your horse realizes its ok to follow your lead in the dark they will be an even better follower. Keep in mind that when riding in the dark a horse's vision is better than your's, but if you ride from a lite place to a dark place your eyes adapt to the changes way faster than a horse (ie. bright lights from a car might leave your horse quite blind for 20-30 minutes... ergo the deer in the headlights look). Ride smart and prepare. With some luck we might just get a slide show of some of the winter antics here. Problem is allot of the fun happens in very poor light and very difficult to take pictures.

This season is also a great time for bareback riding and free play. If you choose bareback riding, try to use clothes (especially when you are well insulated) that are not slippery, practice your emergency dismounts practice your yeilds from the ground first.....try not to act your age and make sure you get off your horse before you lose it. This can be great for your balance and allot of fun. Make sure your balance is secure before you ad speed. As for Free Play or Liberty it is about controlling space. Remember it allows more natural expression in the horse but be sure to maintain the leadership position so you are not a recipient of jubilant kicking up the heels. You can use props to play with such as balls, tarps, whips, plastic bags, clothes, ropes, tubes, whatever you choose make sure it doesn't become dangerous in the wetter or slipperier conditions.  The safest props are the ones you can remove from play when you want as you want. Watch not to put yourself in the escape path of your horse should it decide to launch over a prop. Launching over props is allot of fun when it is under your control....not much fun if you become the landing pad.