What’s New?

Colts and Problem Horse Project – June 8 – 24, 2007    

Kathleen and Erin spent 2 weeks at Rancho del Perro Feo in Durango, CO for the Summer horse development project. These “horse only” classes are scheduled about twice a year when there are a sufficient number of horses signed up. There are a few spaces left in the October Horse Project!!! In this class the “students” included a spoiled, bottle raised Appaloosa filly who was ready to be started under saddle; a 17 hand mule who was hard to catch, scared of about everything and had figured out how to pull away like a champ; several Spanish Barb mustang mares who needed to get comfortable with basic handling (one had been involved in a trailer loading that resulted in a lady losing two fingers when the horse got scared and pulled back to escape); a Spanish Barb filly who was born on Father’s Day; a Quarter Horse with MAJOR issues with ropes or other things around his feet and who refused to even put a toe in the water; a mare with long term catching issues; and a newly purchased horse that needed to be “checked out” for any problem areas for the new owner.
After 16 days of “private lessons” with Kathleen and Erin all the horses (and the mule) had made good progress. The mule and the Barbs were happy to be handled, leading with slack in the rope, loading into trailers with no hesitation, swimming in the pond, and showing greater confidence in general. The little filly and her mom were able to be handled and comfortable with people. The Quarter Horse was slowly getting better about his feet and decided that swimming in the pond was pretty nice, especially on a hot day!!! The entire herd got to practice getting caught and how to be polite at feeding time. The mare that was the worst to catch ended up following Kathleen around the pasture at liberty on several occasions. Quite a stunning change of attitude for her to accomplish!!! And the Appy filly, Kate, made huge changes prior to her “field trip” to get her first rides at a colt class taught by Bryan Neubert.

 
Kathleen and Kate meet Bryan Neubert – June 29 – July 2, 2007

Kate completed the colt start with flying colors!!!

Kate's third ride included negotiating ground poles.

Summer Clinic Report

The summer schedule was quite busy with Kathleen traveling to several Colorado locations for clinics. Kathleen is always excited to meet new students and their horses. This summer brought lots of new faces to her classes, but also were full of students who have been studying with her for a number of years. It is always rewarding to see the familiar faces and notice the progress the horses and students have made since the last class.

Recently, Kathleen has been sought after by numerous Parelli students who have been struggling to make the transition from the old to the new Levels programs. Her ability to combine her background in those programs along with her current focus on teaching students Feel, Timing and Balance has led to some exciting breakthroughs for those students. "It's all about controlling the feet by staying connected with the mind."

Student Feedback by Kate Burke
I’ve been to lots of Kathleen’s clinics (four? five?).  I’ve also dropped in on a couple of her workshop or problem-solving days and taken several private lessons from her.  I can’t see why I’d ever stop seeking out chances to work with Kathleen—the more time I spend at this stuff and with her, the bigger and deeper and more intriguing it all becomes. 

Some things about the clinics are very similar.  Mine have been held at the same place.  We almost always do ground work in the morning and ride in the afternoon.  There are certain exercises we do with our horses almost every time. 

But the similarity stops there.  Once we spent all afternoon working with our horses to get in the pond for a swim.  Mine wouldn’t get near the water and he and I learned a lot from that about the importance and finesse of “sending.”  During another class, I was trying out a new saddle prior to purchase. My horse was exhibiting unusual crabby behavior that turned out to be caused by the poor fit of the saddle. Kathleen used the situation to show us some basic saddle fitting concerns and how to avoid them.  At yet another clinic, the group wanted to work on trailer-loading. Even though most of the other people had loaded more horses than I probably ever will in my life, every person there was able to learn something valuable.  Kathleen had 4 or 5 different trailers available for us to use and when we were done, all the horses had managed to load calmly and willingly into all the various trailers. One woman who had worked with horses for decades and had trailered her horses a zillion times was close to tears with relief at how she and her horses were able to improve that critical task. 

Not only do clinic activities change from time to time, but the people and their horses change.  Even the same people and the same horses will be different from clinic to clinic.  My very own horses are different guys from day to day.  What we do at the clinic and how it goes and the “ah ha!” moments we get all depend on the people and the horses that are there that day and what they bring to the mix.  I’ve been in clinics with lifelong cowboys and middle-aged dressage riders and 14-year-old kids; with show horses and sleepy old ponies and green colts.  Each time, the human and horse personalities and the unforeseen opportunities that arise shape the clinic into something different and valuable.

But most importantly, this work Kathleen is doing itself has infinite levels to explore.  It must have been my fourth (or fifth?) clinic when I was asking my horse to yield his hindquarters away from me, as I had many, many times at several other clinics, when I suddenly had a real “ah ha!”  After months of playing with the exercise and thinking we were doing pretty well at it, Kathleen called my attention to the position of my horse’s head and neck (probably for the millionth time) and I suddenly got what she meant (finally!).  I’d been so focused on moving his hind feet that I had no clue what the rest of his body was doing while we worked this little dance step, and it turned out that it wasn’t doing particularly good things!  My ability to work with his hind end had improved enough that I could now simutaneously give attention to his head position and posture at the same time, which would let us seek more grace in the movement.  Haven’t quite nailed the grace part yet, but now I understand that, beyond getting his hind feet to move, there are worlds to consider in his head position, the rhythm in which he’s moving, the size of steps he’s taking, the mood he’s in, the relaxation—or lack thereof—in his neck and a myriad of other critical subtleties involved in this simple exercise.  No matter how many times I do any particular exercise, it can always get better and go deeper, which certainly happens best and quickest with Kathleen’s expert and well-timed guidance on where to put my attention next.

I’m heading to another clinic soon (five? six?) and I can’t wait to see what people and horses are there and what catches our attention and what new depths of understanding my horses and I will gather.        

Something to Think About

Feel Down to the Feet
by Kathleen Sullivan

If I were to ask you, while mounted, to turn your horse around 360 degrees, how would you do it? Turn on the haunches? Turn on the forehand? 180 on the fore, 180 on the hind? Walk forward in a tiny circle? Back a circle? Or pull on one rein and let your horse figure out what to do with his feet and his body to get turned around, so you will let go of his mouth? This last option usually results in the horse full of brace, lurching around and turning like a pop bottle spinning on its side. As you can see, some of these options require precise communication between horse and rider, others can be more vague, and the last one is simply sloppy riding and abysmal horsemanship. Where do you fit in this range of skills?

I often have my students “test” their ability to direct their horse’s feet both in ground work exercises and then mounted. One such “test” involves making an 8-10 foot square out of ground poles. Ride into the box so that all four feet are inside the poles. Now, using a direct rein to “talk” to the front feet and an indirect rein to “talk” to the hind feet, turn your horse a full revolution in the box. You must only move one foot (and therefore one end of the horse) at a time, you must make the revolution using a combination of front and hind foot steps, and the horse must not step out of the box, or touch or move a pole. AND, just in case you might be tempted to “fudge” a bit, you will need a friend who will confirm or deny that the foot you said you were moving was in fact the one the horse moved. This exercise is more difficult than it might sound. But, if you manage it with flying colors, then for the next challenge, reduce the box to 6-8 feet on a side and complete the revolution with your reins on your horse’s neck, your arms crossed over your chest!!!

The secret to passing the “test” with softness and finesse is understanding how your horse moves, balances and thinks. It requires your basic ground work exercises to be well executed, your horse understanding how to shift his weight from front to back and back to front, and your “feel” through your seat, legs and reins to be meaningful to your horse through his mind, right down to his feet.

The ability to communicate to your horse through feeling down to and directing his feet is attainable, to some degree, for anyone who chooses to slow down, get the basics right and put some dedicated time in with their horse. It will not result from hours of watching videos or reading training manuals or attending (especially auditing) endless clinics. It will only be developed through hours of thoughtful riding, using an understanding of the horse (which you hopefully gleaned from the videos, manuals and clinics), to find a place where the horse can understand and then allow you to direct his mind and therefore his feet.

What's Coming Up?

• Fall Horse Development Project - The month of October will be dedicated to Kathleen and her talented associate Erin McLaughlin working with young horses, colts and older horses with various behavior or training "issues."
  
  Now is a great time to have your young or old horses get some expert handling.  It is an excellent idea to prepare weanlings and yearlings in the fall and give them the winter to "soak" on the skills they've learned. Older horses also retain new or improved skills after some time to “soak” on what they have learned.
  
  Teaching young horses to lead, tie, pick up feet, stand for grooming, move softly away from pressure, back with a soft feel, and to even be saddled is advantageous in the long run.  By starting horses early with 20 - 40 hours of handling, the time it takes later is reduced and those horses are more confident and willing as adults.
  
  In past experience, weanlings that are handled for ten days or so and then brought back in as yearlings retain most of what they were taught the previous fall.  The horses are fresh when they return, do very well and the time it takes to get them back to where we left off is very short.  The following year, those same horses can be brought back as two year olds for 40 hours of riding and almost all can be successfully ridden outside on their second or third ride.
  
  Older horses benefit from re-starting or continued education at any point in time.  It is helpful for an advanced rider to "build in" basic skills that your horse may not have been taught.  Some of the most important foundation blocks are often missing from an older horses' skill set.  This can be from a lack of knowledge or simply not taking the time to work on fundamental and important skills.  When a horse is missing important basics, it can lead to scary or dangerous rides due to a lack of effective communication between horse and rider.  Continued education for any horse is important to advance both the horse's skills and those of the rider.  
  
  Generally, horses are trained for a specified amount of hours (not days).  This format allows for days off when the horse needs it most and the ability to customize the focus of the training to the needs of the horse and owner.  Depending on the horse’s situation, time is offered in 10, 20, 30 or 40 hour blocks.  Less time (10 - 20) is recommended for horses needing "tune-ups" and weanlings that have a short attention span.  More time (30 - 40) is recommended for older horses with problems or horses that are ready to be started under saddle.    
  
  Do you have a horse that would benefit from some experienced handling or riding time, or a horse at any stage of development that you don't have the time and/or skills to deal with.....this is your chance!!!
  
  All horses will be housed on site at Rancho del Perro Feo in Durango, CO. Only a limited number of outside horses will be accepted into this module. When the available hours are booked the module will be closed. Don't miss out on the opportunity for a great educational experience for your horse!!!
  
  Contact Kathleen today to reserve your space.

***Check out the "Events at a Glance" page for up to date info on all of Kathleen's events***

©2007 Kathleen Sullivan