Natural Remuda Equine Learning Center 
NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER, 2009

CATHY’S CORNER

This month I want to talk about support. By support, I mean supporting any horse groups that you belong to that you feel are worthwhile.

We have been to several horse activities this summer that were dependent on volunteers. The volunteers that work in an activity can make or break your activity.

Some of these activities had lots of enthusiastic volunteers, who were happy to be there and were very helpful. This makes the activity go so much better for the participants in the activity.

Other activities we have been to, were short on volunteers, with a heavier workload, and these volunteers were stressed and overworked and unhappy. This makes your the event a chore for the participants, instead of a joy.

We all belong to horse groups and think someone else will volunteer. If all of us think that, there will be no volunteers, or at least not as many. So, if you belong to a horse group of some kind, you need to support them and volunteer.

UPCOMING EVENTS

August 29, 2009
Problem Solving Clinic Natural Remuda Equine Learning Center Utopia, TX
This clinic is for people who have some problem with their horses. It is also for if you just want to work your horse and learn more. It will start at 9 a.m. and go until about 4 p.m. Bring your lunch, snacks, water, and sunscreen. There will also be several breaks to relieve the heat and we will eat lunch together and talk horses.
jdmcjohnson@swtexas.net 830-966-6119

September 12 thru November 15, 2009
Our Short Apprentice Course starts on September 12, 2009 and ends on November 22, 2009. We will be working every Saturday and Sunday in September, October and November, here at the center. We have created this short course on the weekends so that people who have jobs or have children in school can participate. The course is 20 days long and 5 ½ hours per day. It will start at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. It will mostly cover horse behavior, not riding. You will learn how the horse thinks and what to do to counter what he thinks. We will have many horses for you to work with, from colts to problem horses. This is an excellent course to start learning how your horse thinks, which is the foundation for good horsemanship.
jdmcjohnson@swtexas.net 830-966-6119

January 5, 2010
This is our long course for apprentices. It will start on January 5, 2010 and end on March 25, 2010. The classes will run every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday during these months. This class is on horse behavior and runs along the same lines as the Short Apprentice Course. It is just longer in hours. There will be lots of horses to work with, from colts to problem and wild horses. This is not a riding course. It is a horse behavior course, where you will learn about how your horse thinks.
jdmcjohnson@swtexas.net 830-966-6119

NEW NEWS

Advertising A New Business!!

As many of you know, our daughter, Jereny Johnson, has had a long and excellent relationship with Helen Miller of Post Oak Farm in Burnet, and all the people who ride there. She is now starting to give lessons and train horses on her own.

She gives English and Western lessons, on your horse or a school horse. She teaches children 6 and above and adults. She trains outside horses from colts to problem horses, using Natural methods. She will come to your barn or home.

Jereny has shown on the Texas Paint Horse Assn Circuit for many years and has ridden all her life. Burnet is in the Austin area, so if you are interested in a very talented teacher and trainer, talk with her at 830-613-7550 and
jerenyj@gmail.com

New Web Site

Our friends, JD and Dena Wilks have a new web site for their business, Rocking S Enterprises. It is….

http://rocknsenterprises.com/default.aspx

They give lessons, do boarding and have a really nice facility about 4 miles from Lampasas. They have about 100 acres on which to ride, and a big arena and round pens to ride in. JD and Dena are the nicest people you will meet. If you live in that area and are looking for someone to give you lessons or a great place to board, go out and visit them. You won’t be sorry!!

OLD NEWS

Intermediate Clinic

Most of the riders in this clinic have been coming to Jere’s clinics for several years. This time they worked on Ray Hunt type exercises, where they stopped, did half turns both directions, and trotted faster and slower. These exercises help the riders have enough variation to keep the horse’s attention on the rider and the horse and rider both develop a lot more precision.

Ground Clinic

This clinic was strictly for ground work. We had a couple of people who already knew their ground work and just wanted to get it better, and others who wanted to learn it. Jere emphasized how important ground work is in getting your relationship good with your horse. He also tried to show how each movement on the ground related to the riding.

BOOKS TO READ

I want to recommend a good book to you. The name of it is “The Soul of a Horse, Life Lessons from the Herd” by Joe Camp. Joe is the person who created and directed the Benji movies and programs.

Joe and his wife Kathleen stumbled into horses like most of the rest of us. First he got one for his birthday, and then he liked another, and then a rescue horse needed a home, and so on. So far, they have 6 head of horses. Along the way he went to a Monty Roberts seminar and was inspired to try the Natural Methods with his horses.

This book explains what Natural Horsemanship is and what it does. Along the way, Joe tells us about his horses. It is a very interesting book and I liked most of what he said about Natural Horsemanship. The only thing I did not like was the chapter introductions, where he tells a story of a young Indian boy who interacts with a horse, and also wild horses activities. But you may love that part.

I recommend this book for a good read in the hot dry days of August. Especially if you are just getting started with horses and Natural Horsemanship.

JERE’S CORNER

Why do we put anything on a horses head when we ride? The first reason is for control. The second reason is for refinement.

There are two kinds of tools to use on your horse’s head. The hackamore and some kind of a bit.

A hackamore is a non-metal device. It can be made of leather or rawhide or a rope. It can be a rope halter or a bosal. All of these were built for vertical flexion but if used properly you can attain lateral flexion with them. The hackamore saves the horses mouth, the most delicate place on a horse.

The only hackamore I have a problem with is the mechanical hackamore. When you try to pull to lift one side of the horse, the side of the hackamore digs into the horse’s face, instead of leading him in a direction. The mechanical hackamore works like a giant nutcracker on the horse’s jaw. It squeezes on the bottom and the top at the same time. There is no way to isolate the parts of the horse so you can help if he needs it.

The other kind of device you can use is a bit. There are a million kinds of bits. If you don’t believe that, just go look in your tack store. I mostly use the o-ring or d-ring snaffle. They are a bit with no shanks, and are used with a direct rein to lead the horse thru the turn. With the snaffle, even when you are riding your horse, you are still leading your horse. The snaffle is used for lateral flexion and lateral flexion is the key to vertical flexion.

People say why should I use a bit when he works so well with a hackamore? You don’t have to, but if you are trying to get refinement and elevation, you will get more with a bit.

There are hundreds of bits out there and they all claim to cure all the problems you are having. People seem to think the bigger the bit, the better performance you get. In my opinion, most of the problems you are having with your horse are caused by lack of knowledge and poor hands. But the biggest problem is that people don’t take the time it takes.

In my barn I have only O and D-ring snaffles, two grazing bits, and the rest are hackamores.

Remember, the reins are hooked to the feet, not the mouth. And the best bit is a bit of knowledge.

Happy Trails, Jere