MARK RASHID CLINIC

by Beth Ann Doblado

What do you get when you take 4 women who are great friends devoted to training their horses, 2 husbands with a lot of natural ability, a trainer from Estes Park Colorado with an exceptional ability to communicate with horses and a talent for developing partnerships between horses and humans? You get a tot of learning and some great horsemanship going on.

I have been riding horses for 10 years and studying to train my horses for the past 4 years In two short days, Mark Rashid taught me how to communicate with my mare, not to her but with her, on the ground and in the saddle He taught me how to begin to have the true padnership I have always wanted with my horse For this, I will be forever grateful.

We began with Mark asking me to show him what I do with my horse. I decided to be totally honest, even though I thought he would not like everything he saw I wanted to get my time and money's worth, and I wanted his honest opinion I wanted him to see the whole picture He did, and he never once criticized my methods In fact, he encouraged me to keep doing the things that I thought were working He only suggested his methods as an alternative.

Mark does not require a specific style of tack or equipment All he brought with him to the arena was a 30-foot, soft cotton rope. Students showed up with rope halters, hackamores, snaffle bits and more Mark's only requirement was that the horse was comfortable with the equipment.

We learned the difference between feeling the horse and drilling the horse Most of us were drilling our horses. Mark made it very clear that he does not like to see horses drilled. He believes that once a horse learns something, they have it forever If you need it, it will be there (A big pause here because I think that is REALLY IMPORTANT!)

He told us their memory is second only to an elephant's. He would like to see people work less on technique and more on that ever-elusive feel. Therein lies the communication. If you are consistent with your horse and your horse can come to depend on you, the technique will follow 90% of problems with horses would clear up with consistency I believe it.

One of my groundwork drills was asking my mare's hindquarters to disengage. No matter how lightly I did it, she swished her tail I asked Mark what I should do about this I was dumbfounded when he suggested that I simply stop doing it How could I give up to solve the problem? He put his hand near my mare's flank and she stepped over He told me she knows how to do it, so just give her a break Fie bet that if I stopped doing it for a month or so, then asked her to step her hind end over, she would oblige me and not be upset about it He suggested that maybe I only ask her to do it when I needed to, like to open a gate Put purpose to the exercise.

We began each day with a groundwork exercise on a 30-foot rope, a bit like ground driving, but it teaches much more It asks that the horse rate the human's speed and for both to stay in time wdh each other This in turn directly transfers to riding in the saddle. It makes the human very aware of their position, one wrong step to the right made my horse change direction One step too close to your horse's shoulder and she will turn to face you It was hard to get in rhythm and hold the correct position, but once we did all I had to do was pick up my pace and my horse went from walk to a trot If I slowed down my steps, my horse came down from the trot to the walk Did I ever imagine it could be th~s easy after all the drills I have taught my horse on the ground? And what's more, my mare was aware of every step I made That is how sensitive our horses can be.

Our horses are constantly telling us what is goBrig on They communicate all the time Humans usually only communicate to their horse when they want to do something If I start to pay more attention to our horses, we will begin to see what they are saying For instance, one mare was asked by her owner to trot circles around him The horse tugged on the line, wrung her tail and threw her head in circles She was not happy with the exercise and she was clearly communicating this The owner recognized the problems but did not know what to do about it, so he continued to drill the horse Mark thought the lunging was not a fair deal to the horse as the human stood in the center and pointed, and the horse did ali the work by circling around As I watched I could see that the horse needed more support, more direction When this same horse and human began the ground driving that Mark had taught them the mare relaxed and stopped throwing her head She was feeling supported as the human stayed in time with her and helped her.

Another example of communication, my mare was worried about her cinch and she turned her head to me each time I saddled her up. She had recently begun to step away from me I know the saddle was not hurting her, so I figured it was just disrespect on her part I had been dealing with this by taking what she was doing and making it uncomfortable for her, increasing the pressure on her When she did not stand still I asked her to move her feet, back and sidepass or Ionge around me My goal was for her to want to stand still Mark encouraged me to listen to what she was trying to say She was telling me that she was worried and this was important to her I was cinching her up pretty fast If I cinched her up slower and gave her a little time in between tightening the cinch, maybe walk her around some, she would relax I did and it worked How easy was that compared to the sidepassing and longing I had been doing? And the next day as I cinched her up slowly and considerately, she did not even look at me. She trusted me.

I observed an interesting parallel in Mark's teaching method He asked us to ground drive our horses and stay with the horse for support. As we were riding our horses, he walked around the arena with each of us, standing at our side and staying right with us. He consistently asked how we felt, reminded us to breath, asked us if we could feel what the horse was doing, and told us we were doing a good job. He was there for us and for the horses each step.

All of us had one thing on common; we could improve our posture and cues in the saddle Mark encouraged us to sit quietly in the saddle. We all worked on our transitions, walk to trot, trot to lope, stops and back ups Mark wanted us first to get a picture of what we want, and then to use our focus We all were asked to use a whole lot less pressure with our legs and reins. Instead, use our balance and energy in the saddle to encourage forward transitions, and hips rolling under for stopping or backing. He asked us to keep our off of our horses while riding, unless we really needed them He taught us to drop the cue the moment we could feel the horse responding. He reminded us we can always reapply the cue if needed, but to trust the horse as they respond and to give us what we are asking for. This, I know, creates lightness between the horse and rider.

I was amazed at my little mare. I could just tilt my weight backwards and tuck my hips, and she would stop on a dime And here I had been shutting her down with my reins, and she would stop with no rein! At the walk when I would lift my body forward and cluck to her once or twice and she would give me a trot, no leg needed. I have been squeezing her in to each upward transition. Mark would tell us out loud the moment he saw the horses react, "Too much cue" Even when my mare did not respond right away, Mark could see she was trying He encouraged me to stay with her I did and she would tip right in to the trot a couple paces later It was so soft.

Timing is very important. Mark used the analogy of a relationship again and again m teaching us. He supposed that if you made a date with a friend and promised to show up at 8:00 but you arrive at 10:00 every time, pretty soon your friend wont like you much anymore. It is the same with the horse. We have to get in time with them, release the cue immediately when we feel it happening

After the first day I was unsaddling my mare. Without thinking about it, I asked her to step her hind end over because as I was a bit crowded. Remember how I was complaining about her tail swishing when I disengaged her hind end? I realized after she did it. with much astonishment, that she had not swished her tail I was not drilling her, and there was a purpose she could understand I shared this later with Mark and he simply said that she made him look really good.

The second day I could not stop smiling from the moment my horse and I walked in to the arena I was getting exactly what he was talking about and I could feel a whole new soft way of riding my horse about to begin My confidence was shining Mark walked with my mare and I, and he showed me that she has transitions in each of her gaits. When she is walking she is constantly asking me if we should go up or down. It is so subtle that it is hard to see with the eye, easier to feel under the saddle. She lifts up asking me if we should go faster. Then she drops down, maybe her head drops a bit and her ears relax, asking if we should slow down. If I can get in time with this, and then time my stops to her downward transition I will nail my stop every time. If I can feel her lifting, our upward transitions will flow together. The result of this being a partnership. We are riding together.

And finally, let me share something very unique about this patient horseman He believes that if you are not getting what he is trying to teach you, it is his fault. He works one on one with each student and has a maximum of 6 students in each clinic. There is no time limit; the horse dictates the pace The entire time you are with Mark, he is checking in with you while you are learning. If you look uncomfortable he suggests you slow down. He wants each and every person to tell him if they understand. If they do not, he will try another way to explain it. He takes full responsibility for the teaching and he wants each person to grasp what he is saying I have never met someone so dedicated to teaching good horsemanship.

If you have the opportunity to ride with Mark Rashid I sure hope you take it. A teacher like Mark doesn't come around often and your horse will thank you for it.

Beth Anne Alpine CA