Thoughts after travelling with Ross

[glenatron]

Last weekend was the non-clinic with Ross Jacobs - in the end it worked out as a mixture of a few private lessons and a sort of half-clinic, which worked out well. I certainly learned a lot from watching him work and the sessions we did with Cash, although I didn't get back in the saddle- Ross was of the opinion that if I want to be safe with the

Comments

[joycemocha]

As always, some good things and some areas of difference. Keep in mind, though, that I also think one needs to take into consideration a particular horse's work ethic and drive. Some horses have excellent work ethics and like to solve puzzles/physical challenges. Others want nothing more complex than their next meal

[glenatron]

The differences were noticeable to me because Ross has a different background from most people I have learned with, coming more from his work with Harry Whitney, rather than the Dorrance/Hunt tradition that I have learned more from

[joycemocha]

Well, I'm also aware that I'm probably not in the group that these clinics are aimed at (grin). I'm not certain I completely agree with regard to control over thought. But the degree to which you want to exert control over the horse's thoughts is also going to depend upon the equine temperament. There are circumstances where I want to give the horse the right to let me know that there's a disagreement in how to approach a situation. And, depending upon the horse's common sense and discipline, the degree to which I will acknowledge that input and give them a chance to express that concern will vary.

At risk of tl;dr here. Basically, I want the horse to have the confidence that they can tell me "Hey! I'm really worried about this." I can choose to agree with their concern and provide my input on how to deal with it or I can blow it off because I've IDed the problem and the horse really needs to get over it. There's been a few circumstances where I've encountered mountain lions, bear, or something else of concern that the horse

[glenatron]

As Ross says, the people whose horses are going really well don't come along to clinics that often, so he doesn't get as much chance to work on the fancy stuff with people. It's one of the nice things with the clinic group I've ridden with on Steve's clinics is that people have made progress steadily over years so they are starting to get to a slightly higher level, which makes the clinics a lot more interesting.

I don't think that you would ever get to a place where you shut down a horse's self preservation or where you would want to. But as you say, the human needs the casting vote.

[penella22]

Just skimmed this because I am tired but ooo! I want to study with this guy!

[glenatron]

Sadly he was visiting me on his way home from the US, but he's always on the lookout for people who might be interested in hosting a clinic...