Horseman's Arts » Videos

JP Giacomini’s Equus Academy

sharon — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:52:51 +0000

JP Giacomini, from the Equus Academy site

Jean Philippe (JP) Giacomini is an internationally recognized teacher, training, author and coach. His latest project is Equus Academy, an educational subscription website dedicated to teaching the classic principles of horsemanship.

Among his many training accomplishments, JP is also an innovator. He developed a method for cultivating improved relaxation and movement through a percussive massage technique called “Endotapping”.

I experimented a bit, about 10 years ago, with JPs endotapping technique. At the time I found it “interesting” but put it on a back burner for lack of real certainty about what to do with it. I’ve talked here about my experiences with the Masterson Method of Equine Massage. With these experiences under my belt I think I have a better sense of how and why something like Endotapping could work to facilitate a relaxation response from the horse. So, I’m going to bring the idea back to a front burner as I bring my mares back to work this spring.

Anyway, the Equus Academy website is currently available to anyone on a FREE 3-day trial. The regular subscription rate is $24.95/mth or $249.00/year. There are numerous videos in a variety of categories from beginning Endotapping in a stall to work in hand and under saddle. Additionally, there are several articles on a variety of topics related to classical horsemanship and riding. JP plans to add (a very ambitious) TWO new hours of video to the site each WEEK. It will interesting to see if that comes to pass. If so it could be worth the $24.95 a month.

I don’t love everything I see from JP but someone with all of his experience can surely teach me a thing or two! And, I have learned things. I especially appreciated his take on positioning for half pass. So, I appreciate his willingness to share his knowledge. Plus, I know how much work goes into a site such as he’s created.

I would certainly encourage folks to do the free trial and make your own decisions about whether the full subscription investment is right for you.

The Right Way

sharon — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:54:07 +0000

On the DressageDisgrace.com site there is a discussion about some videos which have been posted as representatives of the ‘right way’ to do dressage. The idea is to identify riders who are not using rollkur as a regular part of their training program and support them. Interestingly, one of the videos posted was of a rider who has taken a stand against rollkur. YET, the horse still showed signs of the same disconnection seen in the rollkured horses. What gives?

This is my theory. What really is the difference between “deep and round” and “hyperflexion”? Where is that line that makes one OK and the other not? Just blue tongues? I guess. But really the only difference is degree because as the second video demonstrates (or demonstrated since it has since been removed by the user) the result is the same–disconnected toe flinging trots and no real collection.

So, we need to see riders who really follow the actual facts of classical training. I submit Cathy Morelli as one person who is competing very successfully and who does not just talk the talk, but walks the walk. If you head over the the DressageDisgrace.com site you’ll see that I posted a link to a video of Cathy on her horse BeSe. What’s interesting is that (unlike the rollkur crowd) she warms up her horse the way she rides the test–up, open and showing that collecting actually involves bending the hind legs. If you can’t wait to see the video just check it out right here…

Cathy also has a great DVD where she explains her system for training, titled “The System: Understanding the Neck”. You can buy it on her site as well as see a preview there. It is also available for rent on Giddyupflix.com. Worth every penny!

World Cup Travesty

sharon — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:31:11 +0000

I’m really glad that this incident is causing quite a stir. Here in Tennessee we’re all too familiar with the abuse taking place within the ‘big lick’ Tennessee Walker community. We’d like to think that Dressage riding would somehow be ‘above’ that. But, not so.

For some years now, it is scary to think of the parallels to what happened to the TWH, certain individuals in high level international competition have been advocating for ‘hyperflexing’ the horse’s neck during training. This was purportedly to further enhance the super bred horse’s already extravagant movement. Unfortunately, the reality is while the legs might get ‘flashier’ the bottom line result is the destruction of the horse’s natural paces.

Evidently, humans being who they are, if some is good, then more must be better! Today riders are not just ruining the horse’s correct way of going they are torturing horses in the name of More More More. Does this not have a sickeningly familiar ring to it? (Thinking big lick here.) For those of us who love dressage for what it is supposed to do FOR the horse, this is abuse and it has to stop.

If you can’t play the video you can go here to read the article associated with the footage on Epona.tv. Actually, you should read the article anyway since it provides more details about what was filmed and answers some questions people have had. You can also go straight over to YouTube to see the video.

Equine Massage for the Performance Horse

sharon — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:35:26 +0000

Another video rental. This one features the work of Jim Masterson. In this video he demonstrates the Masterson Method for Integrated Equine Performance Bodywork which he developed.

Like a lot of people I’ve watched horses getting massage therapy numerous times. I’ve read some books too. Sure, I’d rub on my horses but I had no illusion of thinking anything I did was actually beneficial from a massage point of view. How was I to know what area should be worked on? Or, for how long? No idea!!

Anyway, what I loved about this video was it did more than make me feel like I could do some massage on my own horses in a manner that might actually be beneficial–which it did. But it also gave me some real insight into reading the most subtle signs the horse will offer about how he or she is feeling. For instance, the very first signs to look for are eyes blinking and twitching around the mouth. As you move your hands over the horse (the video demonstrates where and with how much pressure) these signs are an indicator you’ve found a spot holding tension. When the horse releases the tension, after your gentle massage of the area, the horse will lick, chew and (sometimes even) yawn. After viewing the video I tried out some of the techniques on a few different horses. Each responded as expected per the video. Really cool!!

The horse I was most interested in hearing from was Tulsa, my introverted 20 year old mare. I was watching an episode of House recently. In this show the patient was unable to speak or move. Yet, he was fully aware trapped within his body. One of the doctors had the idea of hooking the patient up to a machine that would allow him to communicate by learning to control a cursor on a screen with brain signals. He was then able to at least answer yes or no to questions. This proved to be the breakthrough needed to resolve the problem because they could communicate.

This so reminded me of working with my horse, Tulsa. It is, to me, as if she is trapped in her body unable to outwardly communicate. I’ve always had the feeling that Tulsa was hiding in a ‘cement suit’. Does she hurt? What does she protect? Why? Unlike many horses who will act out and let you know clear when something is wrong, Tulsa holds it in. So I was both curious about how she would respond to these techniques as well as hopeful that this approach might be the key to connecting with her and drawing her out.

Once I became attuned to the signals I found that even Tulsa gave the initial subtle signals. SO tiny… SO subtle. What she didn’t do, at least not quickly like the horses in the video or even the other ones I worked on, was offer signs of releasing the tension (licking/chewing/yawning). But, decided to persist in the slow and gentle manner that Jim advocates and began to find areas where she DID offer releases–sometimes huge releases! This made me Very Happy.

It is still early to tell how much this will influence her overall way of going. But, I’m hopeful that if I just keep chipping away at the cement suit her inner beauty will shine as much on the outside as the inside. I will be sure to document her progress here.

My horsemanship journey already had me on a path that depends on observing and rewarding small changes. So, this is just a continuation of all that and a good fit with what I already am doing. A way of going even deeper and giving me tools for helping even more horses. I love how these things integrate.

Jim has a website where you can read more about his methods: http://www.mastersonmethod.com/articles

And, here’s a short video of Jim working on a horse. This is just one of six available on YouTube.

And here’s the link to the video:

Now that is SOME riding!

sharon — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:11:43 +0000

You have to watch this. Make sure to watch all the way through. It just gets more impressive!

Teaching a horse to stand for mounting

sharon — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:15:53 +0000

OK I’ll be honest!! I can’t stand watching the little dance of line up horse to mounting block, he moves as soon as rider starts to get on block, so rider stops getting on and repositions the horse, and the whole thing starts over again ad infinitum. Good grief it doesn’t need to be like that.

Here’s the thing. If a person is unable to change this situation in a few sessions then what it tells me is one or both of the following: a serious lack of ideas when it comes to actually TRAINING (not just hoping they figure it out) and/or a serious lack of willingness to pay attention to how the HORSE is feeling.

Here’s what I would do instead. First, turn the horse on to clicker training. This is especially valuable when you are dealing with a horse who comes to the table with a whole lotta ‘ideas’ that aren’t the best. Second I would spend time with that horse on the ground showing him how I’m gonna make the ‘right thing obvious’. I get his attention and he starts to let go of the worry he’s carrying inside and the need to flee that comes with that. Through rope work I show him how to follow a feel. I do this rope work in a variety of locations not the least of which is while standing ON the mounting block.

With me standing on the mounting block, I have the horse do circles around me and most important changes of direction (a figure eight). This allows me to lead the horse up to the block without getting off. I don’t make him stand. But I do click him every time the saddle is right in front of me. Pretty soon, because click means treat, the horse is putting the saddle in front of me pretty regular. They aren’t stoopid. Then I put a foot in the stirrup, click/treat. Repeat that a few times. Move the saddle around, click/treat. Put a little weight on the stirrup, click/treat. Start to swing my leg over, click/treat. And so on till I’m sitting in the saddle, click/treat.

Now you go through that process every time you mount (it will get shorter every time), which is not that big of a deal, and soon enough (in a few days) the worst that is happening is that the horse expects a treat as soon as you get on. Now IMO that is a LOT more pleasant that being off to the races as soon as the leg swings over.

How the horse feels after you get on is a whole ‘nuther story but I’d handle that pretty much the same as the above.

Check out this video for an example. This is an actual training session with a horse who is in the habit of taking off as soon as the rider gets in the saddle. It is all connected to her general worry about being ridden. A step by step, positive reinforcement based approach has made a world of difference for this mare.

Hard to Catch

sharon — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:32:00 +0000

I have been working for the last couple/few months with a 6 yr old gaited mare named Pamela. The mare is owned by a lovely, but mostly inexperienced, older couple who are so tickled with the change in their horse. When we started this mare was so not OK. The slightest sudden move would have her leaving just as quick. Even though this mare had been ridden before (in fact had been a ‘show horse’) it was full of tension and worry. As soon as the rider mounted the mare was… outta there. The previous owner apparently thought this was normal and ‘just the way show horses should be’. Huh? OK not my world. But the fact is, the horse is now in my world and I say, it just doesn’t need to be like that!

So I decided to work with the mare as if she’d never been ridden before. I’ve been visiting with Pamela once a week and working on haltering, leading, ground work, and preparations to ride. My goal has been to ride this girl bareback wearing just a halter and lead rope.

Initially it took a good 30 minutes to get her to agree to let me put a halter on her! She lives with her son in a good sized paddock so I spent a lot of time convincing her that she should even let me approach her and touch her. In the beginning as soon as I touched her back she was gone–to the other side of the paddock! Now the process is down to 5 minutes.

I’ve also been doing a lot of ground work in preparation for riding. It’s all been about getting her relaxed, focused, and softly following my feel. Clicker training has played a crucial role in getting her to believe that maybe she’s left that other world for good. I’ve been very happy with her progress. And yesterday I achieved my first goal which was to ride her bareback! I even managed to get it on video.

There are three videos. The first one is the haltering process. The second one is the ten minutes or so I spent prepping to getting on. The third one is getting on and walking a little ways. It may not seem like much. I guess you’d have to have seen how uptight this mare was before to appreciate just how sweet, calm, and OK she is in these videos. A great start to a new life. (read about more progress here)

Take a longe lesson!

sharon — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:37:00 +0000

Just the way top ballet dancers practice and take class at the barre, longe lessons are for everyone. Longe lessons are a great way to discover those little things we do that get in the way of the horse so we can eliminate them. My approach to advanced rider longe lessons is to challenge the rider in creative ways that result in the rider discovering within him/herself the balance and suppleness needed to ride effectively. It is all about being able to access and control one’s own body parts so that which leads to the possibility of influencing a horse in a positive way.

For beginners time on the longe line is the best way to learn. My training philosophy for horses is to break things down into achievable steps and only add next steps when the horse is ready. Stands to reason that that approach would work for people too and it does! The fact is riding is a lot like rubbing your head while patting your belly. It can be very frustrating when you are just starting out to have to do it all at once. Having the option of longeing the rider really helps to build skills one step at a time.

This gentleman came to me after quite a few years of self-taught riding. I was very impressed with his willingness to do what it took to improve his riding. And improve he did. This was after a couple of months of once weekly lessons.