The Art of Natural Dressage

Hi all,

Hope you aren't just sitting down to lunch.



Well, today we had a lovely time, though it was bitterly cold. 28f degrees and Dakota and I working mostly in the shade.

We are in a kind of alley between tall trees that is cleared for the hightension powerlines. The open ground is about 200 yards wide, and it runs from mountain top to mountaintop, with us, Dakota and his paddock mates, at the low point. The cold air feeds right down to us held in by the border of high trees.

Both water troughs were frozen and I had to break them open with my training stick handle for the two to get a drink.

Dakota didn't like the rougher spots in his circling area, as they had frozen up into hard pointy clods. Oweee! I stomped them down for him.

Here are the vids I had promised, though we didn't get one of me actually riding along the highway, where I usually ride (you can see it in the background on the end of the clip were I am swinging the umbrella with Dakota carrying me along.

He's watching me and the umbrella but calm about it.

Just wondering what silliness I might do next. I often swing it under his belly and even put it gently in front of his face. He gives me SUCH a look when I do that.

The other is self explanatory, and fulfills my promise to show, if I could, Dakota and his Rotting Deer Hide moment. Ugh!

(You must click the graphic to view the video from photobucket).



Doesn't that look like fun? The hide was frozen today, not so fragrant -- thank goodness. It's rotted bad enough now to make one gag.

Dakota established some time ago all objects he "touches for treats" are HIS by right.

In the next vid you see him after moving his head out of the way of The Clumsy Trainer That's Always Waving Things About Like a Mad Fool, then establishing ownership of the Umbrella Monster. I don't think he even cares much about the treat once he has ownership, though he does lick his lips. No, he's not afraid. Notice I'm not even holding the line.



The deer hide is becoming 'owned' similar to the umbrella. Two touches on the hide today, and an "I'm bored, Clumsy Human...can we go Walk In The Woods now please?"

He loves the woods. He's curious and wants to look at everything, even those things under low-hanging branches and in thick brush.

Before we left the deer hide out by the highway, we had to have one more game with the umbrella. Then I stopped to make an appointment for my wife to come back and pick me up before we went up the highway and into the woods.

People still look oddly at the little dark horse carrying the old man who waves an umbrella around. I can't imagine why they stare.

Doesn't everyone do that with their horse?

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Love is Trust, trust is All
~~~~~~~~~
So say Don, Altea, and Bonnie the Wonder Filly.

Great videos! Everything seem s to be so smooth between the 2 of you.

By the way, quite an handsome man when you were competing!

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Madeleine

Wonderful to see you moving around!

I also love when Dakota touches the umbrella when you hang it onto the saddle. I've taught both Sjors and Blacky to touch things when they thing that they are scary, and it works miracles as they really realise that even though they just touched it with their nose, it didn't eat them.. Great to see Dakota following the same principles too!

... how can one lose by starting with targeting then moving the target to "The Fearsome Horse Gobbling Monstrosities?"

He does tend, when curious, which he is mostly rather than afraid these days, to just walk up and put his nose on things, if I'll let him.

Imagine, having to hold a horse back from things he's anxious about. The people in the larger horse world that haven't picked up on this yet wouldn't believe it.

There is a sawmill next to his paddock. I'd hate to think if he got loose and decided to see if that moving blade (which likely looks still to him) was something to target.

Soooooo I keep him on 'command to touch' as much as possible.

I think we should put that into every activity we do with our horse. The safety factor for the horse as well as humans.

I guess I'm a little puzzled by your comment about seeing me moving around. Do you mean the difference between still pics and the action of vids, or that a geezer my age it's a miracle he's still moving?


Donald, wuffling

Dakota's target is on one picture below. Can you tell which one, and what it is?

That was his first day learning to touch the target. And he was HOOKED. He actually did try to reach it where you see it.

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Love is Trust, trust is All
~~~~~~~~~
So say Don, Altea, and Bonnie the Wonder Filly.

Thanks for the videos! Dakota looks great, and very posessive he is quite calm, Avra would destroy the umbrella immediately

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"Never just follow the crowd." Margaret Thatcher

Very nice videos Donald!