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Quimerico and Paul Dufresne Video Link!

I have been training horses of different breeds for many years which has been instrumental in learning and gaining experience. For quite a few years, even though I have trained many a challenging horse, this has paled compared to the challenge of educating the owners. This is something that is far more important than training the horse for the long-term happiness of the horse and owner. To be effective everyone who owns a horse must understand some basic training principles otherwise they are an accident waiting to happen we just don't know when. Avoiding situations we don't know how to deal with is prudent, not finding out how to change rude or dangerous behavior is not. Letting a horse be a tyrant or boss is not a safe and happy situation. For this reason I have focused on teaching people not to ride but to have the confidence to ride by having control of their equine partners in a healthy productive relationship governed by the rules of Natural Horse behavior. Once people gain control and understand how to guide their horses to do what they would like in an accepting manner it is amazing how a riders seat changes to a natural balanced position where they don't hang on the horse and impede its movement.

There are many instructors who train to teach to ride, I am a believer that you have to learn to operate with your horse as a team before you are ready to refine riding skills. This is where I see my role as an educator of people learning to "Play with Horses" in a positive leadership role and building Courage, Confidence, Compassion, and Understanding in both partners. I find this rewarding and instrumental in developing more owners that are happy with their horses and not changing them like underwear or too often getting out of horses altogether.

My clinics are based on always first developing a good foundation on the ground then later show how these skills and exercises can be transferred to riding or driving or anything else for that manner. First a horse has to learn to be Respectful, then Obedient, and then more significantly later Responsible. To do this positively you have to temper the experience with the flavor of what makes a horse comfortable to reward the most minute try in learning a new skill. When a horse feels that you are fair and kind with strong leadership they usually will start to follow the lead in a more cooperative fashion. The more a horse is allowed to feel good about its attempts the less it will be worried about trying new tasks even though they may have natural apprehension of its nature. This usually begins to liberate the horses natural ability to be athletic.

"Training for Courage" is what some friends of mine have coined what I do. The term seems to be more and more appropriate. My approach is to build Courage in the horse and the handler in everything they do, from basic respect exercises, from simple to complex riding skills, and also confidence building tricks (Cercensic Dressage). I start at the same place with everyone but where I go with each participants will vary with what they are ready for or have laid the groundwork for as well as their desires. As I have said often the horses don’t' care what hat or tack you ride in but rather the way they are allowed to be comfortable and secure. The difference in most disciplines is the degree to which a skill is developed. The start is usually the same, the expression, embellishments and fortitude may change. One of the most common road block encountered is that people don't know where to start in gaining respect and the starting more complex skills. This is my purpose to act as a guide to assist them where they might need it but to allow them to struggle enough to develop self-sufficiency for when I am not there.

Creativity is one of the key components needed to develop a harmonious relationship. It prevents boredom, builds confidence, athleticism, and expands our limits as to what we can do. The key for me is to teach people to think of what they could do not what they can't. This is one of the reasons I like to teach youths or to teach adults to be more youthful. Guaranteed, in my clinics participants will learn to safely expand what they thought were limits. In doing so one of my prime responsibilities is to trouble shoot where owners don't read the horses language appropriately and not aware the horse is stressed or threatening. In these occasions I offer help in terms of suggestions or offer to substitute for a few minutes so they can learn safely how to deal with such a situation safely. It is imperative that neither handler, nor horse be injured in the journey.

When you want to improve your riding skills go see a riding instructor. If you need to improve the cooperativeness of your mount in following your suggestions safely and to gain the confidence that you are in control go see someone who trains people to lead horses in the "Way of the Horse". In setting up clinics I try to be flexible to the area and group trying to organize the clinic so that more people can develop improved relationships with their equine friends on a two way street.

Anyone interested in hosting a clinic people feel free to call or email me. Questions are welcomed, the only bad one is the one not asked!

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