Fizz Inspiration

Fizz Inspiration !
Read about my experiences on the Mark Rashid clinic.

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Dance with life, dance with yourself, dance with your horse.

Last summer I had the good fortune to participate in the seminars in Solihull and Okehampton with Mark Rashid. I have long been a fan of Mark's, having read all of his books: Considering the Horse, A Good Horse is Never a Bad Colour, Horses Never Lie and Life Lessons of a Ranch Horse.

Ever since reading the first one I wanted to experience training with this man in the flesh, and I wasn't disappointed. The first weekend in Solihull was truly inspiring, so much so that I took Penny all the way to Okehampton (from Melton Mowbray) to do it all over again the following weekend.

One the first day all horses were assessed - they had their physical state and saddle fit checked out by Mark and Dr Dave Siemens, the equine chiropractor who works alongside Mark in the US . Now here were some revelations! Even though we had all had our horses backs, teeth and saddles checked before we came to the seminar, there were still adjustments to be made. Just about all the horses had chiropractic treatment to free up some tightness somewhere, and just about all had saddle adjustments suggested too. Two things that are worth checking in your own saddles: Is there a 'hole' that you can get your hand into under the saddle in the middle area where your most of your weight will sit? If yes, you need it adjusting. Another frequently overlooked saddle issue - are the stirrup bars on the saddle tight? The area underneath the stirrup bars are a common pressure point for horses. Mine were as tight as the proverbial duck's bottom, but easily fixed by prising the open end slightly away from the saddle with a strong screwdriver.

With all the life issues I had been contending with over the last year, Penny and I had got into a bit of a battle of wills and this was not where I wanted to be. Having worked on re-learning to dance with myself this year, I needed some help in re-learning the dance with Penny. Mark certainly helped me do that. Within half an hour we found the key the unlock the dancing partnership: softness. Softness that comes from the heart, and travels out through the fingers. The first thing Mark showed me was how I was still pulling back and bracing against Penny, even when she had 'given' her head to me. It was so subtle, but I didn't realise I was doing it. By allowing myself to soften, and my hands to soften when I felt her give, I very quickly got the result that had eluded me - a softly rounded horse in self carriage.

So the softness I am now practising with Penny, is not just a softness directed at her, but a softness in my whole life starting with me. Some days we get it, some days we don't. Some days I am not soft enough within myself to transmit it to her, and some days she has a mareish monk on and isn't going to be soft with me whatever I do. But the important thing for me is that the days of softness, togetherness and harmony are getting more frequent and the days of fight and disharmony are far fewer.

It was interesting for me that many of the things Mark was talking about in relation to horsemanship were the same things I have been talking about with regard to our relationship with ourselves. Mark's ethos is that horsemanship is about the way you live your whole life, not just how you are with your horse. My ethos is that until you have a good relationship with yourself, it is hard to have a good relationship with anyone else including your horse. Same view, just taken from different angles.

Also inspiring for me was the way in which Mark taught all the participants. He used positive language and humour to help us understand. He has an uncanny knack of reading the horse and helping the rider to understand what the horse needs in order to give the rider the result they seek. At no point was any horse 'made' to do anything, all of them were softly encouraged to do what was asked, and every single one did just that. You could almost hear the horses sigh with relief that finally someone was listening. Mark didn't tell anyone that they were doing anything wrong, he just suggested that there was an alternative way which might work better. He didn't try to correct everything at once, just honed in on what would be the most effective thing to change to get the rider the result they wanted.

As well as Mark's books, I thoroughly recommend you watch his DVD Understanding Footfall and Influencing the Horse's Movement. It is complete common sense, but sadly not something we are often taught in our riding instruction. You can get a copy at www.markrashid.com.