Well, I finally went out last night to the Half Pint Saloon in Waterloo. It was my first time to a dance club in quite a while and it was fun. The band that one of the boarders at the barn is in, Eleventh Hour, played and they were pretty good. I also did some line dancing with my friend Ashley, and I really suck at it! For one, I haven't line danced since my cousin's wedding, and two I didn't know one of the dances at all. I was also watching her dance while trying to dance alongside her and that just messed me up even more, so I told her next time I am definitely going to have to go to her place to practice first!! I stayed out until around midnight and was still able to get up for church this morning.
Today, LaBella Farm hosted another Pony Club event. This was a natural horsemanship clinic with Bob Smith. Bob was pretty good. In my years spent at Kirkwood, I learned the Parelli Natural Horsemanship techniques and that has stuck with me through the years. Through Sylvia, I learned Clinton Anderson's DownUnder Horsemanship, which is generally the same idea. I have also worked with Jeff Griffith and a few other trainers and they generally use the same techniques: Be fair to the horse, earn/ask for the horse's respect, etc. Even though a lot of people like to point out the flaws in this trainer and that trainer, all of the aspects and goals are the same. Bob was the same. He really believes in creating a calm, respectful horse through patience, body language, and kindness.
To me, those are all good things, but I tend to handle horses just fine using the tools that have been drilled into my head and the style that I have developed over the years. I do greet and approach new horses more slowly than with horses that I have known for a while; I use my voice in various tones to let them know when they are doing something good or when they need to start thinking about what they want to do; I use the lead rope in my hands as an extension of the arm when needed and have the mind to know how much pressure to give a horse and when to stop. I approach and greet every horse as I would another human being. You don't see people approaching other people while cooing to them and telling them how cute/pretty/dirty/big they are in a baby voice, do you ? I don't think so. I normally give a casual "Hey, buddy. How's it going?" then go from there. If a horse gets scared, I am not going to coddle it, I usually get them to do something else to get their mind off what is scaring them, keep them off of me, and get them to listen/pay attention to me. Since I am on the other end of the rope, I want them to see me as a leader, guardian, and guide. I expect the horse to keep a reasonable distance, walking beside me; not crowding me and pushing me around....that is rude!
My brother, Micah, stopped out during the clinic to give me some goodies that Mom sent for me. Thanks, Mom!! Until tomorrow, readers!
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