Creating healthy biomechanics and stronger partnerships through combining

natural horsemanship principles with the art of dressage...

never underestimate the potential for harmony & lightness to improve in ways you cannot yet imagine

This Month• New Website/Webshop!

• New Products!

• New Discount Code:DN09Spcl gets you 10% off!

• Contest Winner!

• From Students

Upcoming Clinics: Clinic schedule click here:

October 12-17 6 Days at Temenos FieldsFULL, closed to auditors

November 1 - 6 6 Days at Temenos FieldsFULL, closed to auditors

November 21 Private Lessons at Temenos FieldsContact K2@dressagenaturally.net

November 22Open Format Workshop at Temenos FieldsContact K2@dressagenaturally.net

O C T O B E R 2 0 0 9

1

Welcome back to the Temenos...Temenos is an ancient Greek word. It refers to a sacred space that has no lim-its, where special rules apply and extra-ordinary events are free to occur.

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

John F Kennedy

Auditors WelcomeNov 21 and 22!

Karen Rohlf

New website!Welcome to the new website! I thought I would just point out a few of the features. At the top of the home page you will see a large photo with 4 smaller photos underneath. You can click on any of the small photos to see it larger, and to read about that subject. An introductory paragraph will appear to itʼs left, and you can click to read the whole story.

Keep scrolling down and you will find a search tool, a featured photo that will change each month, links to information about the Ansur saddle I ride in (that so many of you have asked me about), Upcoming Events, as well as latest news.

You will also find a place to register on the site, or login if you are already registered. See the next column here to read more about that!

Across the top you will find a menu that will lead you to everything from the clinic schedule, to my training philosophies, to stories about my horses. There is a lot for you, and I am still in the process of adding even more content!

Members Only!When you get to the home page, you will register or login in on the left side of the page. Once logged in, look to the right side and you will see the Memberʼs Menu. Here you will have access to the entire news-letter and podcast archives as well as any currently active Discount Codes for my special registered guests!

If you were already registered on my old website, I apologize that you will need to re-register. Because of this there is a chance that you will receive a du-plicate newsletter email. If this happens, you will be directed where to email to let us know so we can rectify it. I know what it is like to get more emails than you need!

New Shop!The shop has a whole new look. It is still a secure credit card processing site and now offers an option to pay by Echeck, which is just like writing a paper check, but the info is transferred electronically rather than through the mail with a physical piece of paper.

International customers, please check out the link to a feature called Bordelinx. This is a delivery serv-ice that allows you to see all import/customs fees that your country may charge you, in advance! It will also give you tracking every step of the way and delivery to your door. It works out to be a little more expensive than my standard delivery, but for some of you who have missed your packages at the post office, or have been surprised by fees, you may really appreciate this service.

The web shop has a separate log in. So even if you have logged in to my site, you will need to log in again to the shop. This is because the shop is a separate entity, and can remember all your informa-tion securely. Look for the My Account tab at the top of the page to manage your account and track all orders. I think you will find it a really user-friendly site.

2 copyright 2009 temenos fields, inc october

Instructional Poster

This 22” x 34” poster reminds you of the Big Picture of Dressage, Naturally in a single glance. The reality of horsemanship is that we are in many stages at any given time. That is why simple recipes only work to a point. We need to have the big picture of where we are and where we are going. I de-signed this poster so that from across the room, you can be reminded of how the whole process fits together. Then, you can come up close and read through the ample text to get more detailed check-points regarding the qualities and skills that are important for each stage.

This poster reflects the way my brain organizes and processes information. I am really proud of this and hope you find it as useful as I dream you will. It is printed on material that is water and tear resis-tant, too so it will hold up to being posted in a barn, and will still look good in your home! Oh yeah, and no trees were cut down to produce this poster!

#5 in the Results in Harmony Series

This DVD is about Developing Lengthenings. Ovation re-turns to show you his first attempts at lengthenings. I will dis-cuss the necessary ingredients and how I prepare them. Then once again, you will watch an entire session (with minimal editing). The entire time I am narrating while I am riding. Lengthenings are all about building potential energy. The skills learned in developing this movement will set you up for success for powerful move-ments and true collection later.

NEW PRODUCTS!

New Caps and Visors.New design on new hats and visors. The visors are organic cotton and the hats are bam-boo, a material desired for its wicking and antimicrobial properties as well as it being a sustainable resource.

Enter this code: DN09Spcl

To get 10% off your order, now thru Dec 31, 2009

Gift Certificates Now Available!

CONTEST WINNER!

Debbie Raynor of Bozeman, Montana is the contest winner. Many of you submit-ted the correct answer to the question: What is the movie that is playing on the TV in DVD # 3 of the results in Harmony Series.

The correct answer was, indeed: Casa-blanca, (one of the best movies of all time, in my opinion!). Debbie has won a $100 gift certificate plus one free shipping in the Dressage, Naturally Webshop!

New 6-day Clinic opportunity at

Temenos Fields!

I just added a new 6-day clinic January 24-29, 2010 at my place in Ocala, FL. There are only 8 rider spots. It is closed to auditors in order to keep this a more private learning experience. However, all riders are allowed to bring one guest to audit (at no charge) for the duration.

The current 6-day clinics have been booked full the past 2 years, so I am now adding a new one to give more students the opportunity to study with me.

This is open to riders who meet my nor-mal clinic prerequisites (you can find this info on my website under Education/clinic Prerequisites). It is a small enough group that individual instruction can be given at a range of abilities, so whether you con-sider yourself advanced, or simply just meeting the basic prerequisites, you will have a great learning experience!

For more info, contact Karen Jones at K2@dressagenaturally.net.

Karen to teach the Equus Projects dancers

I just arranged a day with the dancers from the Equus Projects. They will be holding a 2 day clinic in Yahala, FL March 6 & 7, 2010. The next day, March 8, I will be working with them to help them with their horsemanship and creaKve possibiliKes... And you are invited to observe!

 When the dancers and I collaborate, it is usually a really fun day of brain‐storming, creaKng ways for them to beQer interact with the horses, and to improve their horsemanship, as well as to help them create ‘scores’ to per‐form.

It oTen proves to be a really interest‐ing day, and we thought it would be 

nice to share this with you! So it is open to auditors. You will be able to observe us working together, and we will also interact with the auditors to answer quesKons, etc.

I personally find it so rewarding to be around the dancers, as it helps me to expand my vision of what sort of body language is possible, as a human. Since we use our bodies to communi‐cate with horses it is like geWng a whole new vocabulary list to use! For informaKon, contact: JoAnna Shaw at: jmsnyc@aol.com

Australia 2010Wow, We have gotten amazing re-sponse to the announcement of the Australian tour of Dressage, Naturally!

Registration has begun and already rider spots are being reserved. We highly recommend registering sooner rather than later.

All clinics are open to auditors. I love having a great auditor gallery at these clinics; they can really give a positive energy and support to the riders. I also make time to take questions from the auditors.

With this said, there are logistics in-volved, and in order to plan a great experience, it is important that we know how many people are going to be attending! We realize that often auditors wait to make the decision at the last moment, but spaces at ven-ues can be limited, so please email Pat Miller at pmi23806@bigpond.net.au to save your place.

Copyright 2009 Temenos Fields, inc October 3

Sunrise at Temenos Fields, Photo: Dana Rasmussen

Photo: Coco

Student Question: The Role of Bits

Karen,I would love to hear your thoughts/opinion about the role of the bit in training.   I have been working with my horses to develop beQer balance, rhythm, energy and relaxaKon at all three gaits, and to help them each discover their "let loose" posture in each gait.   This has been fun and re‐warding for all of us!   Now I am also asking my two older horses to start thinking about (and experimenKng with) the transiKon from stretched posture to collecKon (at the walk so far) under saddle.  

 I ride my horses in the Parelli hackamore exclusively (or bridleless occasionally).   I am not interested in showing or compeKng (my focus is simply on training and teaching horses… and helping other humans train their horses when I can).   I use clicker training as part of my ap‐proach, and it's easy for my horses to take and chew hay pellets in the hackamore, which is an added bonus.   However, I've had many people advise  me that I'm making things harder on my horses (and myself) by not using a snaffle bit.   So far, I do not see or feel that the hackamore limits either me or my horses in any meaningful way.   My horses are very soT and light in the hackamore, but they also accept and respond to a soT "handshake" type feel on the reins without trying to evade the discussion.   I know you ride your horses in "col‐lecKon" with the hackamore (and fre‐estyle), but did you teach them col‐lecKon in the hackamore?    Is there any reason why using the snaffle bit to teach proper collecKon would be beQer or would make things easier for my horses?   What about moves 

like shoulder in and haunches out, etc.?    Do you feel these can be taught effecKvely in the hackamore?   I am not opposed to bits and I know that in well educated hands/minds, bits can be quite friendly.   But, since I  don't show I really don't see a reason to go back to using one if I can ac‐complish the goal of teaching my horses proper basic dressage move‐ments in the hackamore.    I am also curious (in case I do someday want to show my 2 year old that I'm raising and in case dressage rules change) what you think of bitless bridles such as Dr. Cook's? Thanks in advance for considering my quesKons! Kim Sturgeonwww.claritycanine.com

Hi Kim,Thanks so much for your great, and fre-quently asked question.

First, I want to clarify a term. ʻCollectionʼ is word that people often use as a syno-nym for riding in connection with the reins, but it is a separate subject. In ʻdressage-landʼ there are ʻworking gaitsʼ which is what we call it when the horse is moving in a round posture, accepting a positive connection with the reins. A young horse will spend a year or so here before beginning collection. Collection is when the horse becomes more clearly up-hill through increased engagement and carrying-power. Many students make the mistake of intellectually (and physi-cally) skipping the working gaits stage and have a picture of collection in their mind as soon as they take up the feel on the reins... This often causes riders to artificially and prematurely ask their horses to come ʻup and shortʼ instead of through their backs.

I stress this point because it is important! The role of the bit is not to shorten the horse! A horse who is already confident and in self -carriage in the working gaits will develop collection as THE BODY be-

comes stronger in its carrying power through gymnastic exercises for THE BODY.

The reins have a few functions that they alone are good at: 1. As another point of connection between the rider and the horse, so the rider can receive sensory information about the body of the horse. 2. to explain clearly to the horse, the pre-cise position for his head and neck, and 3. To complete the circuit of energy through the horse and rider.

If things are going well, in the hackamore, the bit can be even more precise and fine-tuned. If things are going well, it is a sensitive place to make a mistake, and this can cause even more problems.

This is a double-edged sword, though, because sometimes with some horses and riders, the hackamore allows more mistakes that the horse can happily toler-ate. Whereas with a bit, the rider will be made more aware of their hands and will be caused to get better in their technique quicker.

For me, I want everything to be well un-derstood in the hackamore, and then this will make things go even better in the bit. If the body is ridden well, the connection will be good. The head and neck are a reflection of the entire rest of the horse. But... sometimes the precision and light responsiveness that can be created with a bit in good hands, is just the piece that the horse needs to understand and carry himself. when trying to decide when to use the bit and when to stay in hackamore, as with most of my an-swers... the answer is ʻit dependsʼ!!

But I think the more we intellectually real-ize that we want to create free, loose bod-ies that can elongate and reach forwards (to what ever contact you have)... Then we want to create gymnastic athletes who learn how to carry on their hind quarters, it can make the skill of riding in connec-tion (which can be tricky and artful to do) at least not difficult to conceptualize.

I hope this helps!!!

Karen

4 copyright, 2009 temenis fields, October

Release: When to walk, when to stand?If you observe people doing ʻnatural horse-manshipʼ and people doing dressage, there are of course, many differences, but one thing that you may notice, is that when natural horsemenʼs horses do something they are really happy with, they tend to stand... And when a dressage riderʼs horse does some-thing they are happy with they tend to walk.

As a natural horsewoman and a dressage rider, I needed to understand why this was the case. Why did these two groups do this differ-ently? Was there a reasoning behind it, and if so, then how would I choose when to apply each method of dwelling? Here is my answer to this question:

In natural horsemanship, the priority is mental and emotional balance... Understanding and Calmness. Standing still is the best way for a horse to have a chance to process informa-tion... Nothing else is going on and they have an opportunity to really lick and chew on something. It also gives us a chance to really observe them; their subtle facial expressions and postural changes.

It also is a chance to see that they are calm. Often (but not always) horseʼs tension will show up as a need to move their feet. Ability to be OK standing still can be a good indicator of their calmness and satisfaction with where they are.

Of course, some horses have been taught to stand still and not move even when stressed out... Or are simply exploding on the inside

and are frozen in place, but hopefully you have learned how to not be fooled by this!

Standing still has a down-side, though: Lactic acid is building up in the muscles. If the horse has really been moving around and then you just stand still, they can become over-heated, as air doesnʼt pass over them, and their mus-cles can become stiff.

So from a physical point of view, continuing to move freely at the walk is the best way to al-low them to recover aerobically, yet stay loose and limber.

If a horse already understands the concept of dwell time as a release and reward, it is abso-lutely possible for the mind to feel released even as the body continues to move. It also

helps the horse to learn that relaxation can happen during movement, something that will serve a dressage horse well.

Walking has itʼs down-side too: tension can hide in the movement, with the mind never really feeling like it gets a break. Often riders feel they MUST keep the horse focused or they wonʼt be able to get back in to work. (For me, that would be a red-flag of a training is-sue). What happens is what I call ʻThe dressage-zombie walkʼ. The horses keep walking but they are checked out mentally and are not relaxed.

So... with this information, when playing with my horses, if I feel that the horse just made a mental breakthrough, an emotional shift, or really understood something, or changed a pattern, I will tend to stop, get off, or stand with them.

If I felt that they were already in a great state of mind; understanding and comfortable about their work... but I want to give them a break, I will allow the body to keep walking to stay loose and free.

I put such a strong emphasis on making sure my horses understand when they can relax, that they recognize the feeling of me thinking “Wow, that was great! take a break!”. I also teach myself to recognize the feeling of a horse thinking: “Wow, I really did that great!”. If we are on the same page with that, then I can allow the body to walk.

And, since there are no recipes... Also keep remember that body and mind are connected, so sometimes taking the body for a walk is what will calm the mind, and letting the mind be calm through standing still is what will re-lease the body... Good Luck! I hope this helps.

Copyright 2009 Temenos Fileds, Inc October 5

Photos: www.danarasmussen.com

I just finished a 6-Day clinic here at Temenos Fields, and I just wanted to take this opportu-nity to say: “Wow”. I was really blown away by the progress of these students. This is a group of riders that I have worked with on several occasions, over the past few years.

I was incredibly impressed by the dedication and focus they showed, not just during the clinic, but since I last saw them. Each of the 8 riders/horses showed up on the first day look-ing better than their best moments from the last time I saw them.

Of course, I could brag here about how amaz-ing my program and information is, I could use this as evidence of how I am such a great teacher... :-) but, to be honest, the over-whelming thought I had, was that I was creat-ing students who didnʼt need me anymore! It was less that they are students in MY pro-gram, and more that I am part of THEIR pro-gram to realize their dreams.

These were students who have obviously made a commitment to take charge of their learning experience and to invest their energy towards achieving their dreams.

I have witnessed, and been on the receiving end of teachers who either consciously or unconsciously want to hold their students back. If they get too good, they find a way to show them just how much they still donʼt know. I have seen students who diminish themselves in order to appease their teacher... They learn to not have confidence in order to preserve the relationship.

The paradox of the teacher/student relation-ship is that although dedication to methods is vital... In the end, it is the student who must be confident, and the teacher who must be hum-ble.

When you think of the apparently separate ʻdisciplinesʼ of dressage and natural horse-manship, you could get confused and intimi-dated. One definition of ʻdisciplineʼ is: “The practice of training to obey rules, using pun-ishment to correct behavior.” However, an-other definition of discipline is: “An activity or experience that provides mental or physical training.”

I tempted my students to continue to look at Parelli and dressage and Dressage, Naturally

as knowledge-bases that they can consult... Tools they can use in order to create their reality, not just as systems that they must ʻdo rightʼ.

When the teacher is there to serve the stu-dents, and when the student takes charge of their learning experience, amazing things can happen. So with reference to the quote above, maybe I personally might have to work on the part about “talking little” but for sure my goal is to have students realize what they can do themselves.

The word education after all, means: “to bring out latent potential” to bring out that which is already inside.

So congratulations to: Ginger Cecil, Donna Blem, Shelby Hume, Kellie Anderson, Geri Dorosz, Sharon Nehrings, Sally Taylor, and Lisa Howell, I will not quickly forget the image of you all riding in my fields. I am happy to be able to witness your progress!

~Karen

6 Copyright 2009 Temenos Fields, Inc October

A leader is best

When people barely know that he exists,

Not so good when people obey and acclaim him,

Worst when they despise him.

‘Fail to honor people,

They fail to honor you;’

But of a good leader, who talks little,

When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,

They will all say, “We did this ourselves.”

— Lao Tzu

Photo: www.danarasmussen.com