HELP YOUR HORSE
THIS WILL BE YOUR BEGINNING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR HORSE'S LIFE.
So now you understand that your horse is up-side-down, he is crooked, one shoulder is more pronounced than the other, he is traveling crooked like a crab not a horse, and he is sore and unhappy when you get on his back. WHAT DO YOU DO NOW?
1. Get the "Crookedness Article" so that you understand why his shoulders are uneven, your chiropractor has to keep returning, he doesn't stay fixed, and your farrier is telling you to put shims on his feet. Hold on. Read the article
2. Get the "Release Book," and learn to release the three areas where he is most likely to have some pain. Don't be afraid to E-mail Dr. Lauren if you need help. That's what she does!
3. Consider getting some Icewave (pain) patches from www. lifewave.com/drderock
4. The "Beginner's Guide to Using Lifewave Patches" is also available and will be very helpful to help your horse through this process of getting him straight, functional and happy.
HERE IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS:
I don't care what discipline you like best, what kind of horse you are riding (or driving), what type of saddle you are using, though it needs to fit your horse,
there are principals of training and conditioning your horse that are necessary and universally appropriate. You would not condition your body for Olympic Swimming and then go immediately off to play Tennis or Football. You need to condition your horse's special carrying muscles before you ever get on him. Or if he is broken, and you are fixing his body, you have to go back and start conditioning the right muscles after doing what you can to get him pain-free. Uneducated people talk about "head sets." They will often use gadgets and gizmos to pull the head down. This is totally wrong, and if you follow the masters' guides, you will not only be way ahead in your understanding, but you will end up with a sound horse for years and years.
5. Get the "Long-Reining" book. I will tell you right now, you can buy cheaper books that will take you all the way to Grand Prix through Long Reining. That's not what my book is. It is a simplified version of key conditioning that you can do right now with minimum knowledge and equipment to get your horse pointed in the right direction.
WHAT YOU HAVE TO KNOW TO GET YOUR HORSE MOVING CORRECTLY:
One of my most favorite teachers in "haute ecole" said to me once, "If you can move a refrigerator, you can move a horse!" If you watch a wild horse moving freely, you will notice that when he turns, or does a "180," he will do that turn with his haunches first, then his front end. He will NEVER get off balance, dump on his inside shoulder and throw his haunches away. The most terrifying thing for a horse in the wild is to fall down. That means he just might end up as somebody's lunch. So the most important thing for you to do is to ride your horse in balance. He has to learn how to carry you so that he won't have the constant fear of falling down. People wonder why their horses want to run off, especially a young horse doing first time canter work. Here is where people start breaking horses down. He runs off, because he is trying to prevent himself from falling down. He doesn't have the strength to hold himself in balance with a rider. Back to CONDITIONING! We don't even start canter work on our horses till they are ready to pick up the collected canter from the walk.
More coming.