2/9/2012-  Well the weather has made for an interesting winter.  It has been unseasonably warm which has been nice for us horse people that want to get out and ride.  I have had some interesting experiences this winter as I have had the opportunity to develop some different horses.  It is such an amazing process getting to know different breeds and different Horsenalities.  The most interesting has been playing with a few Arabians that have a very easy time moving their feet.  Every good horse developer knows the skeleton Catch, Standstill, Motion and Goal.  You should be able to Catch their attention, have a good Standstill, set them into Motion to achieve the Goal.  Many times people teach horses to to hurry up and move or to react to pressure versus respond to pressure.  Using another skeleton Mind, Flexion, Weight and Feet can help us to know which one is happening.  If the feet move before everything else is in position, they are more than likely not confident in the response or potentially not present in the conversation. (Kinda like when you listen for your name and smile shaking your head when you aren’t sure what is going on in a conversation. Happens to me all the time 🙂 )  As I have been developing these horses I many times have to go back and undo things they have learned in the past not always on purpose, they just are smart animals.  It all has started to come together and I had a great play session yesterday where the gelding named Phoenix finally was able to be there with me and have a conversation.  I spent a lot of days of waiting for him to see no one or thing was going to get him and he just had to be present enough to hear what was going on.

I am getting ready for a big month of Horse Development in Illinois at Blue Moon Farm. They are excited to have me and I am really looking forwards to seeing some friends and making some new ones.  Before I go though I have a big weekend in Howe, Indiana.  I will be a presenter at the Michiana Equine Expo with my horse Newton and I will be speaking twice a day.  We also have a booth where people can come and speak with us and ask questions.  It should be a good time and I am thankful for this opportunity. I even got a fancy name-tag made and some business cards that I won’t have to use the Sharpie to change the 2 to a 3 Star.  ( I ordered 2,000 2 Star cards and got my third star a week later, oh darn!)

I hope you are ready for the weather to warm up like I am because we are going to have a great year getting things happening here at Pear Tree Ranch and bringing the experience to you on the road. If you want to bring the experience to your barn Contact Us to pick a date.  See you sooner rather than later!