Natural Remuda Equine Learning Center 
01 April, 2008 - Newsletter

HELLO FROM NATURAL REMUDA EQUINE LEARNING CENTER

Hello Everyone!

We have been so busy over the last couple of months that I haven’t had time to write this newsletter. But, that is a good problem! Our clinics and seminars have been increasing and we have been doing a few more lessons and demonstrations. And we have done a lot more work on our place.

Also check out the May issue of the Horse Gazette for a great story on our “Center” and Jere. Thank you Marilyn!!

We do have some openings for some of our clinics through the summer. Call us to reserve your place.

We had 12 people for our clinic at Post Oak Farm in Burnet on April 5th & 6th. We had beautiful weather and nice people. Clinic-goers included Jessica Ballard, Carol Isenhour, Donna Sugg, Alyssa Lahmon, Claire Labry, Mandee Harris, John Edwards, and Mike Spann. We also gave private lessons on the 5th and had several enthusiastic people for that. We want to thank Helen Miller for having us at Post Oak Farm. We will be having a more advanced clinic there sometime later this year. Helen has wonderful facilities and if you would like to take lessons or trail ride, that is the place to do it!!

Watch for our schedule.

THE HORSE GAZETTE ARTICLE!!

Jere is now famous! His story has appeared in the May issue of THE HORSE GAZETTE!! We are pretty excited about this article because the Horse Gazette is the premier equine newspaper in Texas. It comes to feed stores, veterinary offices, livestock auctions, Tractor Supply and many other places where they sell equine products. And the best part is that it is FREE and has a lot of really good information on horse events and news in our part of Texas. So, look for THE HORSE GAZETTE in May! Thank you Marilyn Short for the great article!

A GREAT TURN OUT FOR THE TRACTOR SUPPLY SEMINAR IN FREDERICKSBURG, TX

Jere gave a seminar in Fredericksburg, Texas at Tractor Supply Company on March 30, 2008 that was a big success. We had about 25 to 30 people come by to watch Jere and Bandit. The seminar explained what Natural Horsemanship is and Jere did some demonstrations. We made a lot of new friends, saw some of our old clients and booked a couple more clinics later in the year.

There was also an Equine Massage Practitioner there named Erica Egan from Shiatsu Equine Massage who did an excellent massage on Bandit. He thought he had died and gone to heaven when she was through with his massage. We have her card if you are looking for an excellent massage practitioner.

PRIVATE CLINIC AT THE LEARNING CENTER

We had a private clinic at the Center, here at Utopia and it was excellent. We had three riders, Yvonne Gerhardt, LeAnn Segner and Felicia Cornehl, from the Fredericksburg area. They were such willing participants and really worked at making their riding better for their horses. We are looking forward to having more private clinics with them in May and June. Thanks ladies, for the fun!!

UPCOMING CLINIC SCHEDULE

May 17- PRIVATE CLINIC. Fredericksburg area.

May 24 - BURNET, TX 4-H HORSE SHOW. We will be supporting one of our clients, an eleven-year-old girl, who is riding a horse she bought from us. GOOD LUCK MANDEE!

May 31 - SPRING HORSE MAKEOVER, Natural Remuda Equine Learning Center, Utopia, TX. This is a special Utopia and surrounding area Clinic for our friends and neighbors. If you are having trouble with your horse, such as spooking, kicking, won’t load in the trailer, or you just need a tune up to go trail riding, this is the clinic for you. Groundwork will be in the morning and riding in the afternoon. There are still spots in this clinic. The special cost for this clinic is $100. Call us for reservations. This should be a good clinic with neighbors and friends.

June 21 - BASICS OF NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP, Natural Remuda Equine Learning Center, Utopia, TX. Participants will learn about bridles, hackamores and bits, safe mounting, what to do with your hands and legs, rhythm and cadence and footfalls, lateral flexion and the one rein stop, disengagement and stops without pulling. They will also learn about backing up with body energy, focus, and transitions. There will be about 30 minutes of groundwork with this clinic and the rest will be riding.

June 28 - PRIVATE CLINIC, Fredericksburg, TX.

July 26 - NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP BASICS, For the Hill Country Riding Club, at the Fredericksburg Expo Center, Fredericksburg, TX. There are plenty of spots still open for this clinic. Participants do not have to be members of the club to participate. There will be a small auditors charge of $10 for adults, to benefit the Riding Club. There will also be a Concession stand. The clinic will include some ground work and some riding.

Call us for more details. We have quite a fun interesting group in Fredericksburg and know you will have a good time with them.

JERE’S CORNER - RESPECT

The most important thing about respect, is that with Natural Horsemanship, it can be obtained without fear. You get respect from your horse by talking to the horse in a language he can understand. In other words, learn to speak horse.

Horses do have a language. They use body language to communicate with other horses. Respect is not an overnight fix. It is something you establish every day.

A horse establishes his pecking order in the herd every day too. The horse that is at the top of the pecking order is the one who has the respect and he acquires this thru body language. A horse first warns with their ears back, then lunges, bites, turns, and kicks. These actions are what we call phases.

Respect begins with who moves their feet first. Learn to control your horse’s movement and your movement. Your horse can only move forward, backward, up, down, left, or right. If we learn how to move his feet and control the direction, we become the alpha horse and we set the mood for how the horse sees us.

Our body language determines how our horses react to us. If we send out the same body language as the alpha horse, with all the phases in place, and we do this without getting mean or mad and make it very impersonal, with practice on your part, it will be very clear to the horse what you want him to do.

Horses demonstrate lack of respect in different ways. They push you around, kick, bite, and lay their ears back when you are

Cathy