Hello to you all,
I trust that life is good and hope that you are getting to do more of what you love. I am writing from Margaret River WA where I am currently teaching courses. I have just come from Albany where I was so happy to see the progress that the girls there had made since my last visit. We were able to build on that progress and expand into a whole new level of feel, connection and softness which resulted in more responsiveness and lightness in the horses. Riders started to get the feeling of effortlessly maneuvering their horses around rather than feeling heaviness on the reins. Helping the horses find a better state of balance, as a result of the rider being in a better state of balance, was the key to this. They discovered that the subtleties of just opening their ribcage slightly or relaxing weight into one seat bone or having more of a lifting and forward feel in the rein made a BIG difference to the horse. It was very gratifying to see the smiles on both the horses and the riders faces as they had moments of experiencing the feel of harmony, oneness and effortless and ease in riding.
In recent clinics I have also been talking a lot about how to motivate horses with different types of motivation – intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation and positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Adding positive reinforcement can be a very powerful motivator and can be a great enhancement to all of the training. You can read more about this in the article below or by clicking here.
A positively motivated horse who is willing, the feeling of harmony, effortlessness and ease and moving together as one being, is the dream that I believe all riders are ultimately looking for and how people imagine riding and being with horses should feel like. Unfortunately, it is not the actual experience that most people and horses have. Instead there is usually a lot of resistance, brace, heaviness, pressure and a feeling of discord between the horse and trainer or rider. It is so great to see more and more students and their horses starting to feel connection, harmony and softness together and where riding feels more like floating rather than jarring, heavy and hard.
I have spent my whole life time on this quest of how to be in harmony with horses, to ride as one and have them as our best friends. While that quest will never end because I will always keep learning, I have come a long way in finding out how to achieve this beautiful connection with horses. I have travelled the world, worked with thousands of horses, had many mentors and done the hard yards to learn this. Part of my dream is not to just have this experience and learning for myself but to create a better deal for horses. I want to make the world a better place for horses and that can happen through sharing what I have learned with others. Horses are so amazingly generous and they deserve to be better understood.
For those of you who have dreams of beautiful connections and adventures with horses and riding in absolute harmony and synchronicity, I can help you achieve those dreams. To expedite that learning I offer an easier and more direct path than I had, through the courses I offer. The highlight of these courses is the 6 week module at “Alchemy Place” Aug 31st – Oct 9th this year. This is where you can exponentially accelerate your learning and gain a real depth of knowledge, change patterns and embed skills deep within you. You don’t have to do the whole 6 weeks, but if you can, I would highly recommend it.
Achieving our dreams requires action, risk, faith, courage, commitment and dedication. They never just get handed to us on a plate. We have to take the opportunities that arise and then put the work in. So often I see that people never really take positive and progressive action toward achieving their dream or that they procrastinate, because they don’t believe that they could ever really achieve it. A lot of times this is due to the subconscious limiting beliefs that we are carrying. This is what our recent Easter retreat with Sandra Wallin was about and these beliefs can quickly and easily be changed and we can help you do that. Because of limiting beliefs, people often don’t believe that they can or that they deserve to achieve their dreams. We all deserve to live our dreams and our passions are what our souls are calling us to do. Living our dreams is why we are here and our hearts deepest desires are achievable. It all starts with believing it is possible.
For those with dreams of harmony with horses, I look forward to sharing time and knowledge with you. The 6 week module is the highlight of the learning courses I offer and if you can make it, I would love to have you along. There are big savings with the early bird specials for the courses, so check those out and you will need to book early to secure a spot, as the some of the weeks are filling quickly – week 6 is nearly already full. You can find all the details about the 6 week module here.
The next best learning opportunities with me are the shorter courses around the country or the articles on the website and educational anecdotes and inspirational quotes via Facebook, where you can access information to help you on your journey with horses.
Until next time or when I see you at a course,
I wish you all the best,
Mel