Tag Archives: exercise

Horse listening extraordinaire

After I had some time to think about it, I think the theme of this past Saturday’s Liberty Foundation Workshop was “horse listening.”

IMG_3206 Continue reading Horse listening extraordinaire

What’s in the dance with horses?

What’s in the dance with horses?

The dance with a horse is one of the most exhilarating experiences you can have.Zuzka_dance01

Continue reading What’s in the dance with horses?

The horse/human care priority list

One day some years ago I was riding my gelding Khami at a fast trot along some side trails, then dropping into a sweet arroyo, then swooping back out of the sand to head up a rocky hillside. The light and shadows created by low hung branches played across the canyon, the sun kissed the tips of my horse’s flying black mane as we moved along together, feeling as one, like we had done for so many miles before.

Khami Endurance El Paso Continue reading The horse/human care priority list

The horse’s self-image

The horse’s self-image is something that we don’t really talk about because it’s hard to envision the horse looking at himself. I would venture to say the horse sees from the inside out because he feels himself in his skin. His nature is like an orb shining from the inside out from his heart through his skin.

cropped-backlit_khami1.jpg Continue reading The horse’s self-image

Wise words from the Skin Horse

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

Kaiden doing a foal feeding with Zuzka.
Kaiden doing a foal feeding with Zuzka.

 

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

—The Velveteen Rabbit (or How Toys Become Real) by Margery Williams, 1922

I always had a great love for stuffed animals, and The Velveteen Rabbit was one of my favorite stories to read to all the children in our family.

You know the pony you outgrew when you began to grow bigger and needed a bigger horse? The attachments formed at an early age with animals are like pure gold. When I read the words of the Skin Horse, I think of all the horses and ponies I’ve known who have become Real, with most of their hair loved off, you could say.rose1

Some horses and ponies are a bit like the Skin Horse, in that children have loved them practically to death. They have been passed around from family to family, but hopefully well cared for, being loved by each one in their own way.

Jazzie_Ruella_cometomeWhen I encounter some rescue horses, I can tell whether they have been well loved. Hard times came on them since then, but they have not lost their trust in humankind. Once they recognize humans who care, they get a shine in their eyes because it’s familiar to them. No matter what neglect and abuse they have suffered, they retain this incredible, indomitable spirit. They know they have been valued, and it is with them forever. Even if they aren’t in the best of health, they reflect a knowledge of love from humans. Some of the most beautiful horses I know are these great champions – perhaps they have won ribbons, perhaps they have carried a child safely over fences, perhaps they have been great athletes.

I’m sure horses have pride in themselves and their accomplishments. In fact, I know they do.  Khami, my older gelding, when I speak about all the miles he has done, would probably gruffly say “it was nothing.” I know he is a proud and very stoic horse and loved being an endurance and trail horse.Kaiden riding bareback

Photo by Katherine Hanson
Photo by Katherine Hanson

Patches was once a show horse and holds his head up proudly when I talk about his past life, about which I know virtually nothing. I only know what he has shown me, what he could do in a show ring, how he could ride the rail like my others may never do, keep a steady tempo and be totally responsive.get-attachment

So just like the Skin Horse, some of these horses are only “ugly to those who don’t understand.” Otherwise they are beautiful.

I think the Skin Horse is right in that people with sharp edges and who break easily don’t often “become Real.” What is meant by becoming Real? Becoming feeling, loved – just like aging really. Those with sharp edges just grow sharper edges and break apart, while those who are loved just soften more. The lines around their eyes and mouths are not set in a frown like the sharp ones, but form more of a curve of amusement.

Those with sharp edges and who break apart easily also do not generally care to keep a horse beyond its usefulness, so the horse will go to the next available home. If lucky, the horse will be treasured by someone who sees his incredible gifts.

I feel I have been polishing Patches for a long time now, burnishing the glow in him, finding what makes him really tick, allowing happiness back into his life. If he is  a Skin Horse, he is no longer even what would be called “shabby” because he has a place in the world with people who love him.

Patches_portrait

I could’ve said, well, we already have a horse for children to learn to ride on, so we don’t really need him now. But I didn’t. Patches had had five homes before he came to us. He had also been a therapeutic riding horse, which is extremely stressful. He so wanted a forever family.

Because he is loved, his amazing sweetness and a huge personality shines through. I share with you this portrait of Patches by Katherine Hanson because, I think she depicted him as he wants us to view him today. Others have photographed Patches but I think this one exemplifies his true beauty.  Like the Skin Horse says, “it doesn’t happen all at once. You become.”

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Keep an eye on the calendar as more events will be added as they are planned.

copyright: Susan Smith, OrthoHorse)

Services: Bodywork: (Ortho-Bionomy for people, Equine Ortho-Bionomy): private sessions,  tutorials, phone consultations, Horse & Rider sessions, distance healing communication and gift certificates

Liberty Coaching: clinics, mini-clinics, workshops, private and semi-private sessions, tutorials, consultations: by appointment:  505.501.2478 or emailing susansmith@orthohorse.info  Scheduling now. Contact me for details.

I’m now putting together the 2015 Clinic Calendar. Let me know if you want to do a clinic in your area. Prices will vary according to location.

 

January 27-March 4 or 18, 2015Horses at Liberty Online Advanced will continue the instruction for those students who have taken an introductory online or in-person clinic from me.

The work builds on what has been taught in the introductory course with refining movements, body language, knowing what and when to ask for change, celebrating the horse’s gifts of engagement. Cost: $311

Payment for the Advanced Online can be made by check, PayPal or credit card. A PayPal button for each of those events is available on the home page of my website, http://www.orthohorse.info

March/April Clinic in Santa Fe: Stay tuned for dates!

April 10-12 – Spring Liberty Weekend in Oklahoma — Susan Smith and Ruella Yates, co-instructors. Contact either of us: susansmith@orthohorse.info or ruella@libertyfoundations for further details.

September 26-27 – Fall Weekend Liberty Foundations Clinic in Oklahoma — Susan Smith and Ruella Yates, co-instructors. Contact either of us: susansmith@orthohorse.info or ruella@libertyfoundations for further details.

Who will benefit from this work?

All horses and humans, but specifically:

  • Horses who have not responded to traditional natural horsesmanship
  • Horses who have been frightened, abused and in other ways traumatized
  • Horses who may be aggressive or too passive in their herd situations
  • Horses who have problems with humans
  • All humans who may be puzzled about relationship with horses and want to deepen their connection.

Susan is a member of the Independent Liberty Trainers Network. libertytrainersnetwork.com/

 

 

 

Do Horses Have Precognition?

I talk a lot about “being in the moment” with horses, but I have not said much about something I’ve been noticing with my own horses over the years – precognition.

jazzie_buddha Continue reading Do Horses Have Precognition?

10 New Year’s Horse-olutions for 2015

It’s 2015! I started to write a bunch of resolutions for working with horses – “horse-olutions” I call them, and then realized: I don’t like New Year’s resolutions!

Zuzka in the pasture Continue reading 10 New Year’s Horse-olutions for 2015

Grow body awareness around horses

Most people who have been around horses for a long while have suffered injuries. These injuries –unless treated deeply, and I mean with bodywork after the stitches or surgeries have healed, may continue to cause restrictions both in the physical body and the emotional and psychic bodies.

Patches with his owner, Ariana, when we first brought him home, August, 2011.
Patches with his owner, Ariana, when we first brought him home, August, 2011.

Continue reading Grow body awareness around horses

Better riding through Ortho-Bionomy on horseback

Riding is the next step in our relationship with our horse. Working with relationship on the ground comes first, then the saddle.

DSC_0480 Continue reading Better riding through Ortho-Bionomy on horseback

Horsemanship isn’t built in a day

Holly Smith riding Roman style
Holly Smith riding Roman style

Yes, this is exciting, but don’t try this without professional guidance! You will need to know your horses inside and out and know you have the balance required to accomplish this feat!

Continue reading Horsemanship isn’t built in a day