At 23:00:59 on 25.10.09, plodalong wrote:
has anyone had any experiences with Dave stuart? i am taking bo to do a clinic with Dave next weekend in gainsborough, i looked on his website and scared myself.His website says that we will be learning balance while cow cutting, now that fires up the imagination, one piebald cob,one old woman .one rein, one carrot stick and one cow.lol. i rang the organiser and she made me feel better by explaining that the website hadnt been changed and it would be a multi level horsemanship clinic.so i just wondered if anyone has done a clinic with this ex parelli proffessional.or is anyone going next weekend?

At 21:56:31 on 26.10.09, horse tails wrote:
no expereience ..but sounds like your gonna have a lot of fun :)

At 19:26:57 on 27.10.09, Flicka wrote:
That sounds great fun and as we've been discussing in other threads I think doing the cow cutting really focuses you and the horse because you have a job to do. Our horses need to work and that's what they're lacking very often. Have heard good things about Dave Stuart. Please, please, please take a camera and get someone to takes pics of you, Bo and the cow!!!

At 18:41:54 on 02.11.09, plodalong wrote:
Well we completed the weekend with Dave Stuart,he took me away from the parelli stuff and helped me and bo progress. Dave first asked all who attended what problems we were having with our horses and talked to us about progression and and moving on in our riding abilities.he watched as we rode around and helped us individually to adress issues that we were encountering while riding.All this took place on Saturday, On sunday most of us were back with bits and bridles.as he thought we were now all riding with lighter hands and not hanging onto the reins for balance.He rode some of the horses and tought us the use of rhythm in our legs instead of just squeezing, this helped those who had more whoa than go. the most interesting time was when he was working with a very challenging young mare that had no confidence in anything or anybody.Dave took control of her feet then played with her for a while .The end result was amazing the mare became calm and didnt protest as she had before, to having her bridle put on, she appeared not to want to leave Dave and looked very relaxed in his presence.when he rode her he allowed the mare to go where she wanted and at the speed she wanted, a bit like a passenger lesson, the mare did buck a little and ran around as though in a panic. Dave explained that he allowed her to do this only for a short time then she had to listen to him, Dave then began to ride and direct the mare in the direction and gait that he wanted, the change was very obvious, the mare let her head down and began the licking and chewing.June (the mares owner) was then invited to put the mare back in her stable while Dave worked with Romaldys horse,Hardy.(i will let Romaldy post about that)later the mare returned and june taced her up, the mare didnt attempt to bite,kick or jump around.The look on junes face said it all. later june mounted and the mare went really well for her.and didnt display any dangerous behaviour.What a treat to watch a real cowboy do such good work with a horse that needed help,and an owner at her wits end,not knowing what to try next.sorry peeps the cow thing didnt happen, the weather on sunday was awfull, but i learned a lot and wouldnt have missed it for the world.

At 18:51:43 on 02.11.09, plodalong wrote:
everyone headed to the local for lunch, including Dave Stuart.

At 08:09:47 on 03.11.09, plodalong wrote:
forgot to say, the young slim lady in the pub with me is Romaldy,just in case nobody knows.

At 08:10:13 on 03.11.09, Flicka wrote:
Hi Plodalong sounds like you had a fantastic time even without the cow!! So would be interested to find out how Dave moved you on from Parelli- I started doing Parelli years ago (but didn't continue with it) and think the games are good for teaching the handler pressure and release but it did worry me that a lot of people just got 'stuck' with the games and didn't progress.

At 09:02:32 on 03.11.09, plodalong wrote:
Dave moved us not very far from parelli but sideways ,if that makes sense, he was harsher and firmer with the horses,he explained to me that all the lovely stuff Bo and i do at liberty was good but what happens on the day im not paying attention and Bo comes trotting up to me and suddenly puts his ears back?He made me aware that bo is usually very friendly but he is still a horse with teeth that bite and that bo could and would strike and kick with lightning speed. i spent a good few weeks teaching Bo that when i whirled the rope it ment nothing ,it was just being whirlred,Dave on the other hand says that it should mean something,if i whirl the rope at bo i should get instant response,to my actions,either using the rope to drive or backup.Dave also suggested that some of us get crops to back up our leg, and put the savvy strings or wipwops away,Dave wasnt being cruel or hurting the horses he said use our tools with intent to move rather than intent to hurt.he tried to explain about moving the riders weight to get different responses and explained that is was good that we were all riding well and had learned the natural way to go with the flow and move in fluidity with the horse but i have to say that riding with only the hackamore and one rein has helped us all. so now we progress back to bits and bridles as we all were not relying on the reins to balance ourselves or direct the horses or pulling on their mouths.gone has the softly softly approach and the hours playtime before mounting up, we should all know if our horse is rideable within a very short playtime.we were also riding the gaits at different speeds and the horse was expected to remain at those speeds until we asked for a changeand not when they decided to .I think that we will all end up at the same place we just choose different ways to get there.the games have taught our horses a lot of what we expect from them but now we will be asking for more. my goal now is to get Bo moving off my leg quicker and on the whole moving faster. Bo doesnt go very fast because i didnt want him to, romaldys horse Hardy wouldnt go straight into canter because Romaldy didnt want him to. we are now talking about emotions and we were advised by dave that we should now have more feel, timing and balance than heart and desire.we learnt where the horses feet were and how to understand that the horse feels everything and the rider only feels what he doesnt like.it was about getting the message to the horses feet. Parelli does explain all this in books but i think that maybe people just go on to the games and dont read or listen when these things are being taught to us,i include myself in that group. I learnt a lot, and now i need to find a nice riding instructor to help us continue our journey.

At 09:14:28 on 03.11.09, picsnicky wrote:
Thanks plodalong for such informative and interesting posts. I've really enjoyed reading them - so glad to hear that you all had a good time and obviously reaped the benefits of Daves teaching. Sounds great! ( I'm now hoping Romaldy writes about the day too!.... Did you know her before the course? You both look to be having a good time......)

At 17:51:39 on 03.11.09, plodalong wrote:
hi Flicka .Yes i met Romaldy and Hardy on the 5 day Russell higgins course. She is so lovely and very easy to get along with, i think if we lived closer we would be very good friends. (we are friends now and stay in contact and support each other when needed.)