04December2024

November 6, 2021 - Lakeville, CT / Knowing and Helping Horses in the 21st Century

KNOWING and HELPING HORSES 

in the 21st Century

Demonstration

by

Leslie Desmond

 

November 6, 2021

 

 (Scroll to bottom of the page to read more about the topics covered in this demonstration that will be carried forward through the demonstraion series.)

 

 

9:30 AM  - 12:30 PM  (two demo horses)

LUNCH 12:30 - 2:00 PM

2:00 - 4:00 PM 

(One demo horse, or horse & riider)

Venue:

Mark and Linda Gomez

245 Wells Hill Road

Lakeville, CT 06039

Auditors Welcome $45

Children 16 and under welcome at no charge.

Demo Horses $150 (limit 3)

Rider with a Horse  $150

 

SATURDAY, November 6, 2021 Auditor Pre-pay / $45.00 

 

Saturdays, Nov. 6, Dec. 8, 2021 & Jan. 8, Feb. 5, 2022 / 4 Day Passes / $155.00 

 

SATURDAY, November 6, 2021 Demo Horse Pre-pay / $150.00 

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SATURDAY, November 6, 2021  Horse & Rider Pre-pay / $170.00 

 

Questions?

 +1-603-406-4112

   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

                                                                                   

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                                                        * * * * * * * *    

We acccept Venmo   [@Leslie-Desmond-2]

PayPal, Revolout, Certified Bank Check, Money Order, for Credit Card 

  

 OVERVIEW : FOUR Demonstrations at Hilltop Polo

by Leslie Desmond


This is a custom course envisioned and created for you with the current and future needs of the horse(s), and your accommodations for them, and available time for them in mind. 

Topics to be covered in Part 1.

1.   LEARNING HOW TO READ and  MANAGE HORSES, USING FEEL

You will learn how to shape and improve your ability to "Read the Horse" with a keen eye.
 
Topics covered will include how to:
 -- “read” a horse’s soundness and recognize balance and imbalanced locomotion; 
-- accurately perceive the moods; quickly spot the signs of health (including hooves, teeth and gut health);
-- observe and practice many life-saving aspects of practical safety; --avoid misunderstandings about equine intelligence;
--assess a horse's suitability for specific work;
--learn how to sense, see and respond well to the "inner horse", and know if and when the horse has revealed or suppressed its intrinsic nature and primal responses.

How do horses  communicate with us about their needs, fears and comprehension?   

This is perhaps the most fascinating part of the connection we have to horses. 

Students will learn to recognize the difference between learned behavior and instinct, and learn some ways I have found o help aggressive or insecure horses mellow out and sync with the herd, while supporting other horses in the same herd or social environment to allow those changes to occur.

2.  SHARPENING THE TOOLS THAT LEAD TO KEENER SELF-AWARENESS

A. Understanding the fear of working adjustably and flexibly.

B. Embracing the challenge of working with a horse 

 Developing adjustable responses in yourself and a horse.
This is a goal to develop intentionally while your powers of observation and awareness improve.
 As your feel and timing begins to reflect an expanded awareness, new knowledge and better skills,
the capacity to observe accurately usually starts a dialogue in the mind.   
Growth and positive changes occurring at deeper levels tend to support refinement in a broad range of personal habits. This is where the real work in sustaining change and building on a new foundation takes place.

3. KNOWING a HORSE vs. KNOWING ABOUT a HORSE and the Feel of a Horse
Introduction and study of the horse's anatomy and behavior, locomotion, and mental setup.
Due to the importance and complexity of these components, when taken together with the less tangible things the make a horse whole, a lot of time is needed. 

In discussions about architecture, design and construction projects it is easy to see that form follows function. It seems to be true for horses and people, as well. 

Coincidentally, function also follows form when we are talking about animate physical structures. 
[For example: a set of shoes is not changed on a stalled horse for a few months, 
and he suddenly has an “unexplainable” shoulder pain, a stifle incident, and palpable lumbar weakness; or, the horse
won't strike off at a lope, or run with the herd the way he did before. 

For this reason, and some related but less obvious reasons, many horses in regular use today are
lame (unsound), stiff, diseased.  And, unfortunately, more horses than many people might imagine are dying slowly from poor gut
function and other metabolic issues --  unbeknownst to the owners or custodians.  This is an avoidable shame.

By slowing down and taking enough time to evaluate the symptom(s) of a problem, and their probable causes and possible solutions

Early detection of unsoundness and its probable cause(s) is likely to resolve well, with a positive impact on the long-term outcome. Students will have an opportunity to witness unsoundness that is a result of form following function, and function following form. 


4. TEAM WORK DURING YOUR STUDY   / The Feel of You

Our course for participants with horses and auditors hinges on the establishment of a "buddy system". My adaptation of the concept is to request that you work together closely in pairs (or 3 or 4) from the start of the course.
We will talk over a process for this...and nominated or self-assigned team captains can step up for this organizational 
process, if desired!  If someone prefers to study alone, that is also fine.

5.  CURRICULUM GUIDELINES & ADJUSTMENTS
HOW TO APPLY FEEL & RELEASE, [GETTING STARTED]
Curriculum guidelines are exactly this: a guideline.  When it comes to the mastery of any skill, art, or body of knowledge the need to make adjustments is inevitable. 

The need for this becomes most apparent when a person realizes that  s/he must UNLEARN something that has been practiced over a long period. 
No two people are the same, and no two horses are the same.
No two creatures feel or think or learn in exactly the same way, either.
So, we can decide to remain flexible in order to preserve a learning frame of mind - our own mind, the minds of our students, and the horses' minds too. 

When the need to adjust is recognized, that's the best time to start planning to make a shift. This is a custom course, and modifications to your goals and learning curve will be suggested, and/or implemented to fit you and your horse.  I will discuss this with each student after the application and questionnaires are carefully completed, and received. 


Here are some examples: 

--What changes in diet, exercise and accommodations should I make -- for myself and the horse!?  
--Halter, bridle and saddle fit: generally and specifically.

--Approaching, catching and releasing your horse

-- Bi-lateral handling

--Managing hoof care, understanding Equine mental health and physical soundness.
6. DISCARDING UNWANTED IDEAS AND PRACTICES -- PERMANENTLY

Important questions come up when the process of unlearning begins. 

Re-educating the body necessarily brings up  thought,

7. RESTORING THE INSTINCTIVE WAYS of a HORSE, BACK to the HORSE!
It is important to know when too much of the horse has been removed from the horse's operating system. It is equally relevant to know what to do  in order to set the stage for healing in ways the horse can understand and use easily. 
A warm welcome to everyone!

Leslie Desmond and Antonio Hidalgo, co-founders, Feel of a Horse and supporters of the Feel of a Horse Legacy Project. 
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This project and out international school for continuing education were inspired by the horses we love and care for, and the life and teachings of master horseman and rancher, Bill Dorrance (1906-1999) of Salinas, California.


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On the Horizon!
 
Topics to be covered in Part 2
Topics to be covered in Part 3    
 
DRESS for the WEATHER!! BRING A CHAIR AND A BLANKET / LUNCH and Beverage
Please leave dogs at home, as there are resident dogs on the premesis and a main road close by. Looking forward to this!