A video of interest…

From Moshi

Less is more. It’s true.

When you’re first learning something new, you usually try too hard. We all do that. Once we have the skills we find we can achieve the same thing with little effort.

Life is like too. Sometimes you just need to sit back and let things unfold. In some ways the less you do, the more that flows to you.

Where in your life to you do TOO much? What if it could be effortless?

Try doing less this week. See what happens, and notice what comes to you on it’s own.

Meet me at the barn and let’s see how little you have to do for success to show up!

Love, Moshi

From Indy

I love to run. It is my favorite thing. I like to swim too. Maybe that is my favorite thing. No, on second thought, I love playing with Jane and Rhett. They are my favorite things. Hummm I’m not sure… now I’m confused.

I’m pretty good at concentrating on one thing at a time. But I get distracted on occasion.

Just for today I’m going to pick one thing and give it all I’ve got. Thinking about too many things makes me confused.

How about you? What the most important, or the most fun thing you could do today? If you could choose just one thing, what would it be?

Let’s go do that! I’m right there with you!

Love, Indy

From Moshi

QUESTIONS

Jane talks a lot about high quality questions. To understand what that means, you have to be able to know the difference between a low quality question and a high quality question.

A low quality question can only give you a low quality answer and tends to create more of what you DON’T want. A low quality question usually starts with “Why?” or “How come?”

Such as, if you say, “Why did I pull on the left rein in that transition…” your mind will search for an answer and probably tell you, “…because you’re uncoordinated and not a very good rider.”

So, instead of saying, “Why did I forget the ten meter circle at E?” you could say, “What’s the best way for me to remember to do a ten meter circle at E?” Another example might be, “How come my horse is so resistant to stretching into the bit?” rephrased into, “What’s the best way for me to learn how to teach my horse to stretch into the contact?”

One way looks for problems, which programs you for more problems and destroys your self-confidence. The other way looks for solutions, which programs your mind for solutions. It may seem like a small difference, but it really isn’t small at all. It’s HUGE!

Your horse is very excited to know you’re going to be at the barn soon!

Love, Moshi

From Indy

Rhett and I have a lot of fun playing together. He’s very good at throwing the ball. He can throw FAR! Sometimes I bring the ball back, and sometimes I like to keep it. Rhett doesn’t like it when I won’t return the ball. He chases me and makes loud noises. It is great fun!

Jane asked Rhett one day why I don’t always bring back the ball. Rhett said he didn’t know, but decided to watch what happens if he doesn’t make a big fuss over me not retrieving the ball.

The next time we played I decided I’d keep the ball for myself. Rhett didn’t get mad. He just turned away and went to do something else. He left me with nothing to do! That was no fun at all. It was much more fun when he chased me and tried to get me to give it back.

So, I took the ball to him, dropped it at his feet, and asked him to throw it for me. He did!

I caught it and considered keeping it. But I realized that I wouldn’t get any attention if I didn’t take the ball right back to him. When I did, Rhett praised me and gave me a good pat. Then he threw the ball again. That was wonderful! I decided that I like attention I get doing the right thing more than I like keeping the ball and being ignored. I decided that from now on I’m going to take the ball right back to him.

Many training issues are like that. If you don’t give them attention or energy, they dissipate. If you give them lots of attention, they fester and grow.

Positive reinforcement for doing the right thing is much better than a correction for doing the wrong thing.

Let’s go play ball! I promise I’ll bring it back.

Love, Indy

10 TIPS TO HELP YOU SIT THE TROT

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, “Can you give me some tips to help me sit the trot better?”
So here are some quick tips to help you with this all too common challenge.

1. First and foremost, your horse needs to be on the bit. If his back is hollow, stiff, or tight, you’ll find it impossible to sit comfortably. (And, in turn, you’ll make your horse uncomfortable too!)
To put him on the bit, use the “connecting aids”. Start in the posting trot on a circle and do the following:
–Close both legs as if you’re asking for a lengthening.
==As your horse starts to surge forward toward a lengthening, close your outside hand in a fist to capture, contain and recycle the power back to the hind legs.
–Keep giving those aids for about 3 seconds.
==If your horse starts to bend his neck to the outside, give some squeezes and releases with your inside hand to keep his neck straight.
–After 3 seconds, soften back to maintenance contact with your legs and hands.

2. Slow the trot down. Ride “sub-power” and when you can sit easily, increase the impulsion for just a few strides at a time. Then slow down again.

3. Put your horse on the bit in posting trot. Once he’s round, sit for just a couple of strides. Start posting again before you feel like you need to grip with your legs. Reorganize your body, relax your legs, and sit again for just a couple of strides.

4. Cross your stirrups over the front of the saddle. Post without your irons until your legs are tired. If they’re tired, you can’t grip so you’ll sit deeper.

5. Focus on your hips. Notice how they open and close in the walk. Mimic that motion when you’re in sitting trot. You can even exaggerate the motion by pretending you’re sitting on a swing and you’re moving your hips to make the swing go higher.

6. Pretend you’re a belly dancer. As you swing your loose hips, use a buzz phrase like, “Do the hootchie kootchie” or “Swing, swing, swing”.

7. Hold the front of the saddle with your inside hand. (Or use a “grab strap”.) Use that hand to pull you deeper into the saddle so you can learn the feeling of sitting close to your horse and moving “with” him in sitting trot.

8. Attach a small strap (like the bottom strap from a flash noseband) to the outside D ring on the saddle. Pull straight up to pull yourself down deeper into the saddle. This also helps to keep your hands forward in the “work area” so you don’t pull back.

9. Relax your knees and thighs by taking then an inch or so off the saddle for a moment, letting them drop, and then placing them on lightly again.

10. Take longe lessons. This is the best way to develop an independent seat so you can sit the trot easily. Don’t use any reins or stirrups. Let the person longing you handle steering and controlling the speed. Do exercises where you move one part of your body while you keep the rest of your body still. (Arm circles, scissor kicks etc.) Also, just practice sitting deeply on your horse in his traveling gaits as well as through upward and downward transitions.

To learn more about sitting the trot, check out: www.programyourposition.com

From Moshi

I often hear Jane talking to people in sounds that I don’t understand. I may not be clear on the distinctions of her human words, but I can hear and feel the meaning behind them.

She has suggested that people eliminate the word “not” from their vocabulary because there’s no picture in the mind for the word “Not”. None of us can picture “not”! Since I process the world in mental pictures, the word “not” creates mind pictures that are just the opposite of what the person really wants.

Saying, “Don’t shy.” tells me there’s danger ahead, and I SHOULD shy to keep us safe.

Jane speaks to me in positive words, whose meaning creates the picture in her mind and my mind of what she DOES want. That, I can understand!

How do you speak to your horse, and to yourself? Train yourself to always speak and think in what you DO want, not in words describing what you don’t want.

Let’s go riding!

Love, Moshi

From Indy

Jane doesn’t want me chewing up her shoes. At first I was confused, because I kept hearing her say “chewed shoes” and thought that was what she wanted! I could not understand why she seemed unhappy when I was just doing what matched her mind pictures! So… I chewed up more of her shoes, and then started in on Rhett’s shoes, since her mind seemed to be asking me to do just that.

Then one day she handed me a nice rawhide chew stick and I heard her say “chew stick,” with a happy voice. I could see her mind picture of me chewing the stick. I realized I could chew on the stick and Jane would be happy. Then I would be happy, too! She showed me some new shoes in perfect condition and I heard her happy voice.

I got it! Chew stick, happy. New shoes, happy.

Got it!

Let’s go to the barn and see Moshi! And then throw the stick!

Love, Indy

Solve Horseback Riding Fears

A couple of moths ago I started a Facebook Fan page called Solve Horseback Riding Fears. It has become so much more!

You’ll find free video clips, articles, and training tips on the Wall.

To get to the page, click on Horseback Riding Fear.

From Moshi

A winning attitude isn’t hard to achieve, but it does take some effort. For some reason, many people find it easier to wallow in negativity than to make the effort to turn things around and be positive. Horses aren’t like that. We don’t think about the past or the future. We just live now.

I’ve noticed Jane using the tools she’s learned and developed over the years to change her attitude. You see, even Jane has bad days. But she doesn’t stay in a bad place. She’s learned how to consciously change her thinking, and, therefore, change her experience.

One of Jane’s most powerful tools is deciding to have an attitude of gratitude. She’ll tell me how much she appreciates me, my soft coat, my powerful muscles, my long, pretty mane, and my work ethic. She’ll go on and on about how good my tempi changes are, and how wonderfully my piaffe is developing. Even when I make a mistake, she’ll tell me how grateful she is that I willingly try my best. Yes, gratitude is the fastest way to turn a bad day into a great day.

So today, look for things to be grateful for. It doesn’t matter if they’re big things or small (like the fact that you’re breathing!). Just pay attention to all the good stuff in your life. There’s no faster way to turn that frown upside down than developing a sense of gratitude!

Now get to the barn! Your horse is grateful for your attention!

Your friend, Moshi

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