MARK RASHID  SCOTTISH CLINICS REPORT

"Exhilarating, mind blowing, simply amazing Thank you Mark and Trisha for showing me how to listen to the horse...", Heather Ronaldson.

"Mark was a lovely man with a great sense of humour, who had a brilliant way with the horses he was working with", Janet Taylor.

"it was great to see happy riders and smiling faces when horses began to respond to more subtle cues A recurrent theme was the comfort of the horse The facilities at Score Hill are excellent and you are certainly made to feel most welcome.", Katherine Low.

"Marks clinic was fantastic, it really inspired me and gave me confidence in my own abilities to try things he suggested back at home.", Kayreen Jones.

Well, the Scots had been waiting in excited anticipation since last March for Mark Rashid's return visit, and as expected they weren't disappointed. The clinics (2 four day clinics) went really well; the weather was fairly kind to us (we were outdoors), and the atmosphere was great, very supportive and eager(!).

Demo at Gleneagles

Mark's visit started with a demonstration at Gleneagles Equestrian Centre, where he worked with 2 different horses. The first was a huge Cleveland Bay, who had been somewhat let down by humans and didn't know how to look to his handler for help. His owner had some trouble even leading him into the indoor arena. Mark worked him in hand, and soon he was paying more attention and visibly softening and settling his demeanour. He was a little afraid of the mirrors, so Mark used them to show how to help a horse gradually get closer to something spooky. The second horse had been intended to show ridden problems, but it soon emerged that his head tossing etc had a deeper cause; his back was pretty sore, and his saddle (western) wasn't a good fit, there was also some question over his teeth which hadn't been done for a while. Mark makes a point of saying that training issues are the last thing we should look at; if you are having problems with your horse, rule out all health issues first, saddle fit, feet, teeth etc before you treat it as a training or riding problem. So, although the audience didn't get to see much in the way of riding there was a lot of information on related issues.

Clinics at Score Hill

Both clinics went extremely well, and a large variety of problems were addressed. It seemed to me that at the first clinic there were several people with impulsion problems; there was a definite correlation to those same people also looking down at their horses a lot. I'll say no more! Two people with loading problems quickly had them resolved; the first was learned behaviour, and the second was a young horse who'd never really been taught what loading was all about. Bridling problems were fixed (by slowing down and making things a bit clearer), and a horse that had a severe reaction to saddling  again, learned behaviour which originally stemmed from pain and bad saddle fit  was soon sweetness and light, amazing to watch.

Another recurrent theme was positioning horses at the mounting block. Again, the horses hadn't really been taught clearly what was expected of them, and it was fascinating to watch Mark quickly teach them with only a kiss as a cue and a little direction exactly where they should stand. When the horse was facing the right direction or making some effort, Mark would be silent; he would then use the kiss to either ask for a step forward, or to tell the horse he was going the wrong way. Just by varying the speed and intensity of the kiss he could give very clear instructions to the horse.

A fair amount of groundwork was done over the 2 clinics, but there was more advanced riding too, including collection and lateral work. I did several rider position and balance sessions, based on what I've been learning in the States  Mark had me spend time with Kim Walnes, a leading 'balanced' riding instructor. It has been eye opening for the riders and gratifying for me to see the difference in their effectiveness and feeling of security. Mark aims to offer a more rounded clinic experience, and the addition of the 'rider' sessions allows him to then take the riders that little bit further with their horses. After three position sessions John Roy confidently carried out his first ever flying lead changes; and Walter Crolla, who had almost totally lost his confidence, was soon cantering with an enormous smile on his face!