Three solid days of wonderful natural horsemanship – the Tasmanian Spirit of Horse clinic
An excerpt from Cynthia’s newsletter, with comments and photos from me!
A love of books has led me on an incredible journey over my lifetime with horses. There are those books that mark a true turning point in the direction of my horsemanship and life.
And there are books that add to the information, confirming the direction, making it clearer and inspiring me to keep exploring.
One of the those major ‘turning point’ books has been ‘Bobby’s Diaries’ by Jenny Pearce (and Bobby!). This book gave me a much clearer understanding of how to do anything with a horse while taking into account their physical, mental and emotional needs, always!
Photo left: Cynthia on young Zac, newly started, finding the beginnings of the elevated back that comes automatically from a horse deep in their comfort zone.
Bobby’s Diaries urged me to get back in touch with Jenny and invite her here for a three day clinic. Prior to that, it led to me sharing the journey with a lovely group of horse lovers at our Comfort Zone Days, most of whom attended the clinic on the Anzac Day long weekend.It has also inspired me to get on with writing my own books (yes I have several on the go!) which is why I’m not instructing, training horses or hosting workshops these days.
Jenny and I had known each other from early Parelli days. We met at the International Study Centre in Pagosa Springs during the first year it opened in 1996. Then I watched Jenny and Bobby at a couple of the Braidwood Instructor camps and although we shared mentors in Ken Faulkner and Philip Nye, we lost touch as our lives took different paths.
Looking back, it was actually fortunate that Jenny had trouble with Bobby, or Bobby’s Diaries might never have been written.
But it was, as was Jenny’s new book ‘Pathway to Heaven’ and between them, there is a wealth of information on how to give your horse and yourself a life of joyfulness.
The philosphies in these two books formed the basis of Jenny’s teaching at the clinic and made for some interesting and though provoking discussions amongst the group.
All eight of us were given the freedom to do what we needed for our horses, and seek out Jenny’s ‘one on one’ help when we needed it. This clinic format was a revelation in that it worked so well for us all, especially our horses. No more trying to keep up with the rest of the class or asking our horses to do a particular exercise if they were not ready.
Jenny: Vanessa identified that her horse was not truly in his comfort zone with a human on his back. Before the clinic, she had already done a heap of very positive work with him and his problems had already reduced dramatically.
The key to success in their case was Vanessa working her horse’s comfort zone in the task of mounting up and breaking it down into tiny baby steps of progress and relaxing him back into deep comfort frequently. This attention to his deep comfort had her horse in self carriage on a long rein, lifting his back with soft rhythmic strides … in a morning’s work. Most dressage riders would kill for that!
Joyful horse, joyful rider – a great day’s work!
(Jenny: Bernie learned how to work the deep comfort zone for her stunning mover “Easy”. At just two years old, she had different needs to the older horses and needed longer breaks to keep her learning motivated. Bernie took that opportunity to further her own learning by watching others.)
Cynthia’s article again: We could explore how it felt to get true connection and relaxation from our horses – how to stretch them just far enough out of their comfort zone in small increments that they learned so fast. 
And we could do this for ourselves too – if we were out of our comfort zone for too long, then learning could not take place. We realised that fear or frustration is an emotion we should listen to, not ignore and tough it out, for to do so often results in a fearful, unconfident horse – they are our mirror after all!
(Jenny again: Finding Belle’s comfort zone for Laurel came from changing her riding position, something that is easily explored when WE are in our own comfort zones as riders – and REALLY difficult to do when we are in the tightness and tension of the “not too sure zone”. Laurel had dreamed of a connection “like Klaus Hempfling’s” as a dream for some time in the future. She had already done a stack of work before she got to the clinic and used the clinic to achieve her dream. Woo hoo!!)
While the weather wasn’t always bright and sunny (typical after weeks of glorious autumn days) we had enough breaks in between showers on the wet day to try out some ridden exercises and test our Dry seat saddle pads (which worked a treat I might add). (Jenny: I was pretty impressed with this saddle pad, which you can get from Cynthia’s website if you’re interested)
Three days whizzed by but the emotional discoveries within us and those moments of pure magic with our horses gave us a taste of how good it can be if we just listen to our horses and to our hearts.
This journey of discovery will be a fascinating one I’m sure …. and it all started with a book! Thanks Bobby for sharing your mind with Jenny and thanks Jenny for sharing those insights with us.
(Left and right) For many people, this connection with their horse can be an awesome spiritual journey. Toni made some wonderful discoveries about herself and her lovely thoroughbred, Romulus.
(Right) Katrina discovered a whole new depth to the comfort zone model when she discovered that an umbrella was not part of it. Her horse, already a sweet tempered and generous boy, positively glowed as she worked that umbrella consciously and deliberately into his deep comfort zone. It sounds like a funny story, but the outcome was positively gorgeous!
“Bobby’s Diaries – Straight from the Horse’s Mouth to You – How your horse can teach you to become a confident and gifted rider” You could be reading this electronic book in five minutes through one of the most secure financial sites in the world. click here for the shop
Here’s Cynthia’s website to subscribe to her newsletter or look at those dry rider saddlepads at www.naturalhorseworld.com
