Natural Remuda Equine Learning Center 
NEWSLETTER DECEMBER, 2009

CATHY’S CORNER

We want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. Thank you for making the year a good one for us. We very much appreciate all the friends we have made and all their horses.

Goals For The Next Year

This is the time of year to take stock of your goals and see where you want to go and what you want to do with your horses.

What do you expect to get from your horse and horsemanship this year? Do you want to be a performance champion, or do you want to trail ride with your horse? Do you want to advance in your horse goals by learning from someone else, or do you want to do it all on your own? How do you decide where you are with your horse goals? In other words, how do you assess yourself? Or do you let someone else assess you? Do you want to know how you compare to someone else, or do you just want to get better than you were? Humans are competitive animals. Are you and how much?

If you have a horse or you are thinking of buying a horse, you need to ask yourself the above questions. You are, or will be, spending a lot of money, time, and energy on your horse. You need to know why you are doing it and what you want to do with him.

Now is the time to set your goals for 2010 and then make a plan to follow through with them.

UPCOMING EVENTS

This is the time of year that we sit down and figure out our schedule for the next year. We have some new ideas we are going to try out and we would like feedback on whether you would be interested in them or not. In a few weeks our new schedule will be on our web page and we hope you will look at it and choose some events to attend. We will probably be adding events, so check back often. All events are pre registered.

Show Team
We would like to get a show group started to show in some of the Open Shows around San Antonio. I know some of you would like to show if it was fun and if someone could coach you. Jere will be showing some of his horses this year and he will be coaching. So, if you would like to participate in this, please e-mail me and we will get something started.

Day Camps for Kids
We are also thinking about doing some Day Kid Camps this summer. This would be limited in participants to probably four children each segment, from 7 to 13 years of age. They would learn how to take care of a horse, dentistry, anatomy, feet, and veterinary subjects. They would have riding lessons in the afternoons. They will bring their lunches and we will provide drinks. We are also thinking of doing this at Spring Break and Christmas, depending on how much interest we have in it. Children could bring their own horse, or use one of ours.

Trail Riding
A lot of interest has been shown in going on trail rides in the State Parks. If you would be interested in this, just email and we will try to get something started.

Free Seminars
If you would like us to come to your 4-H, Boy Scouts or Girl Scout, or Riding Club, we will be glad to do it for free. We will be glad to bring a horse and show what Natural Horsemanship is.

NEW NEWS

LQ Living Quarters Wanted
We have a friend who is in the market for a clean, used 3 horse trailer with Living Quarters, under 20K. She doesn’t want anything really fancy, and needs a bed, shower and bathroom facilities. A microwave and small fridge would be nice, if possible, but not necessary. If you know of anything like this, please contact us.

A Book for Your Christmas Gift List Beyond the Homestretch, by Lynn Reardon
Lynn Reardon quit her Washington DC area office job and moved to Texas to open the racehorse placement program LOPE (Lone Star Outreach to Place Ex-Racers). Little did she know what she was getting herself into. She shares her interesting story of becoming the director/stable hand/jack of all trades for this high-profile organization that has helped transition more than 725 ex-racehorses into new homes.

At the LOPE adoption ranch, Reardon encountered dozens of unruly racehorses, all with special needs, unusual histories and vivid personalities. As she fumbled to help them make the shift to new careers, they returned the favor — by becoming her most memorable mentors in horsemanship and life philosophy. The horses themselves are a central focus of the book, with their fascinating racing careers, spirited natures and gripping veterinary needs.

In Beyond The Homestretch, Reardon takes readers along for the ride, one filled with fiery racehorses, offbeat horse people, colorful Texas culture clashes, veterinary melodramas and surprising, Zen-like insights.

Beyond the Homestretch is published by New World Library and a significant portion of proceeds will directly support LOPE's mission of providing Texas ex-racehorses with opportunities for new careers after their racing days end.

You can watch the Trailer for the book here on YouTube. http://www.lopetx.org/book/

The book is $16.29 new from Amazon.com It would make an excellent Christmas Gift.

PAST EVENTS

Bluebonnet Horse Expo, Austin, TX
Back in October, we had a booth and did a demonstration for the Bluebonnet Equine Horse Rescue Expo. It was a cold day, but we set up our booth in the wind. We met a lot of nice Natural Horsemanship fans and we had a lot of fun.

Jere also did a live demonstration on horse personalities, and how you deal with them. He worked on three rescue horses. On one of them he was able to show how you keep a horse from going “over the edge”. The other two were both right brained and by the end of the demonstration Jere had them thinking instead of just reacting.

Animal rescue’s in this economy are in a tough economic situation. They have to take many more animals in because when people don’t have money, food for the animal goes first. And there are not near as many adopters for these animals because people can’t take on more than what they already have. Rescue places need volunteers, money and homes for these animals. Please consider giving a family Christmas Present of cash or time to these organizations. They really need you.

JERE’S CORNER

How do the Ground Exercises Relate to Riding.

Very few of the people who come to my clinics want to learn the ground exercises. The reason for this is that they consider them boring and they want to get to the riding!! In this column I am going to tell you how Ground Exercises relate to riding, so you can see how important they are.

Ground Exercises are the foundation of horsemanship. The Ground Exercises let you learn the language the horse understands best, his own, so that you can communicate with him. The idea in Natural Horsemanship is to ride with the lightest touch you can manage. Ground Exercises are the way to do this. Below are how each ground exercise relates to your riding.

DESENSITIZATION - This skill teaches the horse to trust you and to be calm and responsive while you are riding him. It teaches him not to spook and be fearful. It teaches him that he can trust you to get him out of things, instead of yanking or pulling and injuring himself. It teaches the horse to stand still while you mount and wait for instructions. It is probably the most important skill you can teach him.

MOVING THE HORSE WITH STEADY PRESSURE - When you do intricate patterns, such as in Reining and Dressage, and Barrel Racing, this exercise teaches the horse to yield to pressure. It isolates each part of him for movements in Finesse riding. It is used in teaching a horse to neck rein so they will give to pressure. If you have a bolter or a run-off, you can use the steady pressure movement of the One Rein Stop and leg to disengage the hind quarters and get the horse stopped.

DRIVING - This teaches your horse to move away at the suggestion of rhythmic pressure. When you are riding your horse, you are using rhythmic pressure when you bring your energy up to get him to go forward. It also teaches the horse to go where you focus when you are riding, as in barrel racing. It develops the horse’s confidence that he can think for himself.

BACK AND FORWARDS - This exercise is used so that you can teach him to go equally forwards or backwards with the lightest feel when you are on his back. It also teaches him how to be straight, which you need in most any discipline. The horse doesn’t back too much naturally in the pasture. But when we want to ride him, we need him to become athletic enough to back well. This also starts him learning about transitions, by rocking forwards and backwards, from his hind end to his front end. This skill also teaches the horse to move toward pressure, instead of fighting it. The horse learns to stop and think when he encounters pressure.

CIRCLE - If you are showing a horse in a pattern this exercise will teach him to use his own brain to make the circle, rather than relying on you so much. It also instills the skill of not changing gaits or direction, until the rider tells the horse to. It also helps develop nice departures and smooth transitions.

SIDEWAYS - This exercise develops athleticism by learning where to put his feet. This exercise teaches him to arc his body. It also prepares your horse for turns, spins, half passes, cow work, and flying lead changes because all these things are lateral movements.

SQUEEZE - This exercise builds confidence and bravery. It gets your horse over claustrophobia so you can trailer load, put them in stalls and walk them thru gates and get them into the roping box.

I want to thank all our clients and customers over the last year. We are truly grateful for your friendship! Merry Christmas Jere