The Art of Natural Dressage

My name is Heidi, and I live in California. Moved here 10 years ago from Denmark, which explains the grammar mistakes and misspelling!

I have 3 horses. The love of my life, Knar a 12 year old icelandic gelding. He came with a bunch of baggage. Long story short he had bad bolting issues, and I fell in love with him at my trainers place. And ended up paying a lot of money for a messed up horse. But we are doing great together and I haven't regretted it one bit. I have done a bunch of mental rehab with him, he was also very depressed. I've had him for a little over a year and he is just here within the last 6 months starting to bloom again.
Nattfari is my youngster, he is also icelandic and just getting started under saddle. I've taken my time with him, and he knows his groundwork very well and is nicely build up muscle wise before I even got on him.
Bella is an 18 month old thoroughbred filly, with a bit of a story on her too. Bred in Florida, sent to Colorado with a bunch of other nicely bred thoroughbreds. New owner went bankrupt. My friend who breeds horses stumbled into him at a store the day before the filly was going to be hauled off to the killer auction. She didn't have much use for a young tb filly but took her, I happened to talk to her and she gave her to me. I met her in Las Vegas where I picked Bella up and brought her to California!
She is a bit of a hot little girl (not so little she is already 16 hands), but oh does she like to play with me We have a lot of fun. She won't really run in the arena when turned out unless I run around 'galloping and bucking' too.

I work with horses for a living, give lessons to people too. I'm very much against using gadgets and force with the horses. I try to teach people how to strengthen their horses through proper groundwork, also how to ride as light as possible and how their own faulty riding affects the horses.
I'm exited to explore this forum further and learn a lot!!!

Heidi

Welcome, Heidi!!

So nice that you have joined us! How did you find AND?

Your horses sound absolutely gorgeous and I am looking forward to your stories about them. I hope you will enjoy our forum.

Warm Regards,
Romy

Thanks for the welcome!
In my work with Knar I have learned a lot. He was scared to death of heavy hands and most importantly nervous rider energy. That's where his issues came from. He spilled a kid in a show by accident, which really affected him emotionally. He was shaking in his stall for a while. Plus the bolting, they send him out to pasture for 6 month, but it didn't fix it either. One of the trainers managed to get him rideable again, but I think just because the horse learned to trust him. He is not a horse anybody can get on. He let me ride him the first time fine, but I think it was because that trainer was with us and kinda holding his hand. This guy talks a lot. And that calms Knar a lot. Second time he got upset and started shaking. But I didn't pull on the reins or get upset, so he was mostly ok. Trainer wasn't with us that time. For some reason Knar liked me, and I kept floating over to his stall. I was not horse shopping but helping a client find a horse. They were ready to send him off to some kid program which would have been a big mistake. My trainer knows me well, and found me in his stall once. He asked me "you really like that horse, huh". And Knar put his head on my shoulder and looked straight at the trainer. We managed to pull him out of the deal, I got him on a payment plan. (I'm unfortunately not made of money).
I realized soon though that he wasn't fixed. I had to learn to keep my head clean when being around him. I have spend hours and hours in his stall sitting with him doing nothing. And falling asleep up against his belly. I got to the point where he would let me ride him fine. But he didn't really have his heart in it. I took a clinic with a really good icelandic master trainer, and he suggested some games with him that got him somewhat out of his shell. I took it a bit further and did a little bit of Nevzorov work with him, getting him used to a cordeo. And I started SPRINTING with him daily, rewarding him for want to attitude in the cordeo. Where he didn't feel like his head was restricted. We would run as fast as my little legs could carry me, jump ditches and just have plain fun. We did this for two months before I got on him again. Now he will read my energy either on the ground or in saddle where it feels like riding by thought only. And he is slowly changing from an old slop of a plow horse to a fire spitting little dragon, because he wants to and has fun. I still haven't ridden him in cordeo, have so much to learn still. He has been the best teacher ever. I usually tell people that horses like when you laugh and I now know not to take worries with me around horses. That in itself is a huge lesson learned
I guess that was the long story long. Sorry.

Heidi

hi there Heidi.

lovely having you here. i like reading your experiences, and i think that you will very much enjoy yourself here.

i cant wait till you start a diary, because i will love reading about the experiences you have with each of them more and more, and i especially cant wait till you have photos up. icelandic horses are so new to me, and i just find them to be beautiful!

so welcome and i cant wait to hear more.

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just keep swimming, quote from nemo!:)
love jessy

Welcome, this is a lovely site and always made to feel very welocme

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Freedom where thou art freedom...my saying

Hey Heidi, welcome!

I love long stories!! And yours with Knar is a splendid one.

I'm looking forward to hearing more...and, of course, pictures...

I'm in California, too -- in the Ojai Valley. Whereabouts are you?

All the best,
Leigh

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"Ours is the portal of hope. Come as you are." -- Rumi
www.imaginalinstitute.com

Hi and Welcome!

The name Knar reminds me of a Startrek adventure,

Warm regards,

Josepha

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www.equusuniversalis.com

Greetings, Heidi,

Isn't this a lovely place though?

Knor's story sounds so typical of horses that are sensitive and especially if they are carefully bred to be both tolerant and liking to be with humans. They are so easily hurt in emotion and spirit.

It makes my heart happy to read what you are doing with him and being the companion he obviously needed. At the point I read that he was turned out for some months I felt physical pain...this is not what this kind of horse needs.

He needs exactly what you discovered, or brought to the relationship; joy, fun, happiness, peace. But most of all, being with him. You are both so lucky to have found each other.

I hope you'll soon go to the Training Diary forum here at AND and allow us to read of your progress. Pictures too, I hope.

Here's how to get there. And just start a New Topic to start your diary, or your horse's diary:

viewforum.php?f=5

Did I mention pictures too?

I'm far to the North of you, by the way. And have an mostly AndalusianX1/4-Arabian mare and her one month old mostly Andalusian foal.

Best wishes to you, Donald

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

Welcome
I am curious to find out more about you.

Sorry that I say this here, but Donald that picture µ
Did some prof toke this picture?

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I wish I knew your world

Yes, Tlove, our own Annaliese took that one and many more.

http://www.artofnaturaldressage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2320

As you can see even the professional had a similar reaction as yours to Bonnie and her pictures. Annaliese took hundreds of pictures. In time I think she'll have a gallery done at her website. Either most or all of Bonalaria.

Naturally I'm in love with them all.



As I recall I was wuffling the top of Bonnie's neck in the picture above. It's quite calming if you aren't afraid of having the horse break your nose by jerking upward.

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

Let's see if this works. That is Knar and me.
Thanks for the warm welcome.
Donald that is one cute baby!

Heidi