FrancaV
05-21-2007, 03:08 AM
I wish I had the time and energy to post a full report, but it's well after 1 a.m. here and I'm beat. The short version is it was a fantastic clinic. Lots of good riding and plenty of good watching, too. Things would come up with individual horses and riders and Peter would stop and help. I learned so much from watching Peter teach "stuck" horses how to move their feet and keep slack in the rope. And from watching Peter help us humans become more effective in our communication, directing our horses through the rope or rein to the mind, through the whole body and to the feet.
It was the first time I'd ever ridden in a clinic with a mule, really interesting. Peter said that mules are just like horses only more so. If you don't have your horsemanship skills down pretty well you'll have trouble getting on with a mule. They're not stubborn; they're very sensitive and things either feel right or wrong to them. It's easy to send them into self-preservation mode. If you aren't clear in your direction mules won't fill in for you the way horses can and so often do. I loved watching Peter work with the mule. She was incredibly smart and picked things up very quickly.
I rode in both the Foundation Horsemanship and Horsemanship classes, first time I'd ever signed up for more than one class in one of Peter's clinics. What was I thinking?!? LOL! I was one tired puppy at the end of each day. Oh, to have the energy I had twenty years ago!
But actually it was incredibly satisfying and rewarding. I know it was great for Seven and me to have the extra saddle time with Peter's good guidance. Over the course of the four days I really felt Seven gather herself up and try to follow my seat and legs. Big circles, small circles, turns on fore and hind, halt to trot, trot to halt, backing half circles with no pressure in the reins ... she got incredibly soft and responsive. There were times when I hardly needed to do a thing with my hands. A suggestion here, a bit of support there.... It was wonderful.
She was so tuned in to me that when I started to get really tired and I bit stiff on the afternoon of the last day she got kind of confused and sticky going to the right. This happens when my body gets crooked - I'm physically not able to offer her the same signals. She does her best to fill in for me but it isn't always pretty. :-p This is something I've been working on with regular therapeutic massage and it's made a huge difference. My horse was never crooked - I was!
Anyway, Peter called it a day just in time as far as I was concerned because I was getting really klutzy. I banged my knee hard on the arena railing when we were mounting up after a water break. (Nice big bruise there now.) Peter saw me bending over taking a "moment" and asked if I'd gotten stepped on. Hah - no such excuse. After I got on again and had been riding for a bit my right hip started to seize up, and leading Seven back to the pens I turned my ankle in a hole and nearly did a face plant. Sheesh. In spite of my exhaustion, though, I was grinning from ear to ear. I sooo love my horse! She did great.
There's much more to tell but it will have to wait because my brain is mush. Oh yeah - I wasn't the only member of the Eclectic Horseman forums at the clinic ... perhaps Someone Else will speak up about his experience. (Hint, hint.) It was a great group. Carlos and Heather were wonderful hosts and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and riding with all of the participants.
It was the first time I'd ever ridden in a clinic with a mule, really interesting. Peter said that mules are just like horses only more so. If you don't have your horsemanship skills down pretty well you'll have trouble getting on with a mule. They're not stubborn; they're very sensitive and things either feel right or wrong to them. It's easy to send them into self-preservation mode. If you aren't clear in your direction mules won't fill in for you the way horses can and so often do. I loved watching Peter work with the mule. She was incredibly smart and picked things up very quickly.
I rode in both the Foundation Horsemanship and Horsemanship classes, first time I'd ever signed up for more than one class in one of Peter's clinics. What was I thinking?!? LOL! I was one tired puppy at the end of each day. Oh, to have the energy I had twenty years ago!
But actually it was incredibly satisfying and rewarding. I know it was great for Seven and me to have the extra saddle time with Peter's good guidance. Over the course of the four days I really felt Seven gather herself up and try to follow my seat and legs. Big circles, small circles, turns on fore and hind, halt to trot, trot to halt, backing half circles with no pressure in the reins ... she got incredibly soft and responsive. There were times when I hardly needed to do a thing with my hands. A suggestion here, a bit of support there.... It was wonderful.
She was so tuned in to me that when I started to get really tired and I bit stiff on the afternoon of the last day she got kind of confused and sticky going to the right. This happens when my body gets crooked - I'm physically not able to offer her the same signals. She does her best to fill in for me but it isn't always pretty. :-p This is something I've been working on with regular therapeutic massage and it's made a huge difference. My horse was never crooked - I was!
Anyway, Peter called it a day just in time as far as I was concerned because I was getting really klutzy. I banged my knee hard on the arena railing when we were mounting up after a water break. (Nice big bruise there now.) Peter saw me bending over taking a "moment" and asked if I'd gotten stepped on. Hah - no such excuse. After I got on again and had been riding for a bit my right hip started to seize up, and leading Seven back to the pens I turned my ankle in a hole and nearly did a face plant. Sheesh. In spite of my exhaustion, though, I was grinning from ear to ear. I sooo love my horse! She did great.
There's much more to tell but it will have to wait because my brain is mush. Oh yeah - I wasn't the only member of the Eclectic Horseman forums at the clinic ... perhaps Someone Else will speak up about his experience. (Hint, hint.) It was a great group. Carlos and Heather were wonderful hosts and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and riding with all of the participants.