﻿<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><rss xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" version="2.0"><channel><ttl>60</ttl><title>BLOG.LIGHTHANDSHORSEMANSHIP.COM</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com</link><lastBuildDate>Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:14:41 GMT</lastBuildDate><pubDate>Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:14:41 GMT</pubDate><language>en</language><copyright /><itunes:subtitle> </itunes:subtitle><itunes:author /><itunes:summary /><description /><itunes:owner><itunes:name /><itunes:email>donna@silvermoongraphics.com</itunes:email></itunes:owner><itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:category text="Arts" /><item><title>Round Pen Reasoning</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/12/13/round-pen-reasoning.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>LightHandsHorsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"&gt;
&lt;P class=body&gt;Round pens are very popular at stables and ranches across the country. Yet, I’m not sure that people always have a good plan on how they’re going to work their horse once inside the round pen. Any time we work with our horse, it’s important to have an objective and be able to clearly communicate our ideas in a way that our horses can understand. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=body&gt;When a client brings me a horse for training, I like to begin opening the lines of communication while working in a round pen. It’s a safe environment for me to introduce myself to the horse. I can learn a lot about a horse and establish my leadership in the first and second sessions. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=body&gt;Here are a few things that I keep in mind when I work my horse on the ground at liberty in a forty to sixty foot round pen: &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;BLOCKQUOTE&gt;
&lt;P class=body&gt;1) I want my horse to learn how to travel around the pen in a consistent manner without inadvertently changing directions. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=body&gt;2) I want him to stay out on the rail and not cut the corners when moving around. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=body&gt;3) I don’t want to have to beg him to move — In other words, I do not want to have to run around the pen chasing him to keep him moving. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=body&gt;4) When I take the pressure off my horse by backing away, I want him to turn and look at me. This is how I will help him understand how to face up in a willing and respectful manner when I step into the pen to catch him. &lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;
&lt;P class=body&gt;My body position is very important as my horse moves around the pen. I want to direct the energy toward his hindquarters. If I step towards his front end, I take a chance of cutting him off and he inadvertently changes direction. I want to see my horse move around with purpose. You don’t need to be aggressive as you send your horse around. However, you do need to be assertive. During this exercise, I want to see my horse begin to move around the pen efficiently. In other words, if it takes twenty pounds of energy to trot or lope around the pen, and my horse is putting forty pounds of energy into it, then I really haven’t helped him relax and he’s really not in a receptive frame of mind. I am looking for that point where my horse is not only physically warmed up, but he is mentally warmed up and engaged as well. This is the point when I will invite my horse to turn in and look at me. As I prepare my horse to turn in and face up, I envision my round pen as a clock. I’ve been keeping subtle pressure at my horse’s hind end, encouraging him to keep moving around the pen. As he trots around to 12 o’clock, I back straight up to 6 o’clock. (I won’t do this when he’s loping because things would probably be moving too fast and he would miss my suggestion.) In doing this, I’m taking all the pressure off my horse and trying to create a “draw” and inviting him into my space. I’ll back all the way up to the panel of the round pen. At this point, he has to make a decision. He can stop, turn and look at me (that’s the bare minimum positive response). He can keep on moving around the pen (if so, he’ll come right up to me anyway). Or he can turn into the fence and go off the other way. If he turns away from me, or if at any time he shows me his butt rather than his face, I’m going to chase him out of the way. I want him to realize that he can be comfortable if he faces me. If he chooses to be evasive and show me his rump, it will turn into more work for him. This round pen game exemplifies the horsemanship principle of “making the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult”. This is how horses begin to hook on to us at liberty and willingly follow us around the pen. It’s not because we’re big pals, or that I’m a horse whisperer. It’s simply because a horse realizes that being with me is the best deal for him. Keep in mind that I mentioned backing straight away to 6 o’clock. Many people start backing up in a semicircle. Body language is what your horse understands, and it’s important that we are clear and consistent with our body movement and posture. Some horses learn this behavior quickly and want to come right in and be with you. Others offer the bare minimum and will only stop and face up. Once you’ve established this behavior, it’s important that you don’t allow your horse to come in to you whenever he feels like it. Keep your horse consistently moving around the perimeter of the pen until it is clearly your idea for him to come in. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=body&gt;Whatever you do, your goal should be to engage your horse’s mind and not just chase him around until he’s hot and sweaty. Having a plan when you step into the round pen will help you develop a horse that is not only physically fit, but mentally and emotionally fit as well. &lt;I&gt;Please Google “Richard Winters Horsemanship Youtube Channel” for footage to compliment this article. &lt;/I&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=body&gt;&amp;nbsp;by Richard Winters&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.wintersranch.com"&gt;www.wintersranch.com&lt;/A&gt; &lt;/P&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;</description><category>Clinician</category><category>Horsemanship Clinics</category><category>Clinics</category><category>Richard Winters</category><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/12/13/round-pen-reasoning.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">d2298f40-60b0-48d3-9db0-f36a1b35e0d4</guid><pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:36:16 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Pearls from the Manure Pile #1 Aug 09</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/11/29/pearls-from-the-manure-pile-1-aug-09.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>LightHandsHorsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"&gt; 
&lt;P&gt;Every once in a while a pearl of wisdom, new found knowledge or a hard learned lesson comes my way. From time to time I would like to share some of these "epiphanies" with you. Most are not profound but are somewhat noteworthy. I am not sure what to title these "tidbits" of information. I have thought of "A View From My Saddle" although clever and fitting it is has been used. I do like it's close relative "My View from the Manure Pile” in my case I have had to shovel a lot of it in my life so it seems quite appropriate. As a young boy I was sure there was a pony under that pile of manure and it kept me inspired and shoveling. What I eventually learned was that there was no pony, just more manure.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;As a horseman I "felt" much of my horsemanship. It was not book learned or lessoned into me. I was a keen observer and had a strong work ethic. I made mistakes but learned from them and it was during my observations of other trainers that I would learn as much about what not to do as much as what to do. I went through stages, as a young man in my 20 and 30's where I was a constant student of the horse. In my 40's and 50's I thought I knew it all and then in my early 60's I found out I still had a lot to learn. As humbling as it was it was very productive. So it was back to being a student again. Maybe I should give myself a bit more credit. By the time I was 50 I had a lot of "wet blankets and saddle miles" on me. But in my early 50's I found I wanted to fully understand and know more. I think what inspired me was when I became a teacher and started doing clinics I felt a huge responsibility to have correct and educated answers. I could not teach people how to feel as I do but I could define things in a manner that was easy to understand and they could then develop their own feel. One of my biggest concerns was that a student would ask me a question I would not have a correct answer for. It was time to go beyond feel and start to articulate….. Hence a new journey and a new DVD.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;As I did research for my latest DVD, Poetry In Motion, (&lt;A href="http://www.cowboydressage.com/storefront.html"&gt;www.cowboydressage.com/storefront.html&lt;/A&gt;) I wanted to take basic equine anatomy along with footfalls and cadence and create a presentation that was easy to understand and digest. (I tried to use as few big words as possible). I used animation and video footage of my own horses as I worked them. I added chapters and a menu to make it student friendly. What I learned while making that DVD changed the way I ride my horses. I actually can now ride the horse from the inside out instead of just from the outside. This is a huge benefit for both horse and rider. Because of what I learned I am now able to take that "feel" and put it into words that I can share and teach others with. I knew that to be a good horseman you needed to have control of the horse’s feet. In order to have that control you need to know where the feet are at all three gaits. Walk, trot, and lope/canter. If you can master this and it is not as hard as you think, you will be enriched beyond your horse crazy dreams. I know I have been. It has now become one of the main topics of my clinics. I know fellow horseman, teacher, and friend Jack Brainard includes this study in his clinics as well. Dr. Robert Miller makes a point of it too during his lectures. "Control the feet and you control the horse." Profound and simple but highly overlooked and often miss-understood.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;So my first pearl from the Manure Pile is: The four beat canter or lope....what is it? If you show or observe western pleasure horses you will often see a horse that is four beating at the lope. Many can recognize it but few can define it. If you can’t define it how can you improve or fix it, or avoid it in the first place…. So listen up, here goes: The western lope is a 3 beat gait that consists of a 3 beat footfall. Within each lope stride there is a diagonal pair that should hit the ground at the exact same time. When the diagonal pair is out of sync or broken you have a four beat canter or lope.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Correct example: Right Lead. The horse is asked to engage with his right rear leg. This is done by moving the ribcage to the outside (to his left) creating a soft arc. He then pushes off with his left outside hind leg. It is then followed by the diagonal pair, the left front and right rear legs that is then followed by the leading right front leg. 1-2-3 beats &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Correct example: Left Lead. The horse is asked to engage with his left rear leg. This is done by moving his rib cage to the outside (to his right) creating a soft arc. He then pushes off with his right outside hind leg. It is then followed by the diagonal pair; the right front and his left rear legs and then followed by the leading left front leg. 1-2-3 beats&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Four Beat. Right or Left lead. The diagonal pair does not hit the ground at the same time. Most often the front diagonal will hit the ground first and then the diagonal rear will follow. This will give you 4 beats. 1-2-3 and 4…out of sync and incorrect.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;The four beat lope or canter can be the way the horse moves naturally because of conformation, breeding or training etc. It can be also be man made, or trainer made in this instance. You do not create a jog by slowing the horses down. He will loose his cadence if you slow him down to much. The correct way to create a jog is by shortening the stride thus keeping the horse in sync. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;If you know your footfalls and can feel where one foot is you will know where the other three are. In theory you can then ride to prevent or improve the broken or out of sync diagonal pair.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;It is not enough to know the how and why of footfalls, you must also know at what time during the sequence of footfalls to queue a horse to send the proper message. It makes it so much easier for the horse. Both horse and rider are set up for success….ah yes, timing is very important….. My next DVD&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;EITAN&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;</description><category>Pearls from the Manure Pile</category><category>Eitan Beth-Halachmy</category><category>Clinician</category><category>Training</category><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/11/29/pearls-from-the-manure-pile-1-aug-09.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">8f45228e-639f-4422-b43a-490d7c0fa00c</guid><pubDate>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:22:32 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>LHH wanted to share some interesting thoughts by Filippo Smedili of Germany</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/11/29/lhh-wanted-to-share-some-interesting-thoughts-by-filippo-smedili-of-germany.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>LightHandsHorsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;Filippo attended LHH last year and will be returning again in 2012. We look forward to his return as any horseman that has this kind of passion is always a welcome guest&amp;nbsp; at LHH.&amp;nbsp; Thank you Filippo for your thoughts.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Actually I would have a few topics to talk about. Maybe they are not strictly related to LHH but surely they are related to the LHH mission. I am talking about the “Revolution in Horsemanship”. I have found LHH an excellent LAB and very fertile environment for promoting the Revolution in Horsemanship. Whoever I met at LHH was a very kind, interesting and skilled (or willing to be skilled) person.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;I am honest when I say that LHH is an incredible positive experience.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;I find very true that the Revolution in Horsemanship has not to do just with a few techniques about how to deal with horses. Of course it is also that but it emphasizes or it helps us to understand that we need to change from the inside and then we will see the great results. Who can better remark how we are changing inside if not a horse ? I was not surprised when I read in Dr Miller book that some people turn into tears when they watch Eitan dvds. That’s art and art penetrates all barriers and reaches our hearts.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;With my introduction I would like either to share my ideas with you or to tell you something additional which is basically also the topic for the hypothetical blog.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;I have tried, with my very few experiences and poor skills to meet people in Germany who are interested in the Natural Horsemanship and to be honest in the last months I have found some (actually I have realized that there are even more interested people than I was thinking of). However people are spread into far away distances and there cannot be any community. Or let’s say there can be and there are several spread and fragmented web communities but not communities where people can really meet and support each other every day. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;I can summarize in another way by saying that I find really important that people who want to live and practice Natural Horsemanship have the chance to do it in our daily lives, at our barns. Clinics, seminars, web communities are all very very important but at the end we need to have the chance to practice in our daily life otherwise we cannot really feel and live the change. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Why I am telling this story? Because I find really hard for people who practice Natural Horsemanship to have an easy lives. I am experiencing this at least in Germany or better saying in this part of Germany. Several times no facilities are offered to the ones who want to follow this way, many times the use of equipment/tools for desensitizing horses are not tolerated, criteria (strongly promoted and recommended by any horsemen) for developing/build a better relation with our horses are strongly criticized. People sometime deride, etc. Of course as many people like me are (which means beginners), we make several mistakes and this does not help us too much. The result is often that a lot of people move often from barn to barn with the (often vain) hope that in the next place it will be better.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Last summer at LHH 2011 I have talked to many people about the idea to find a solution for having entire barns where the majority of people follow the Natural Horsemanship and I got a quiet interesting idea from Susan Sember. She said something like, we could try to create a network where all people have the chance to join together. As an example she said that she has a few hundreds of customers in Germany and if we could all create a network where Natural Horsemanship oriented people could meet and make projects like create barns or being in the same barn or talk to business men for investing in the Natural Horsemanship, this could help us a lot.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Of course the network would not be limited to Germany but worldwide open. I am just talking about Germany because this is where I live.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;I have seen that in Germany there are people like Monty Roberts, Pat Parelli who are quite popular and a lot of people are interested in what they offer. These are not the only horsemen people know and follow. Last September I was at a Linda Tellington Jones clinic and there were a few hundreds of people who participated. Also Mark Rashid is quite known, Gawani Poniboy, Steve Halfpenny, Peter Pfister (a German horseman), Buck Brannaman, Frederic Pignon (a French horseman), Leslie Desmond, Lester Buckley, Dr Miller, Dr Heuschmann (a German vet) and surely several others. If all these people could promote the creation of such a network I am sure soon there would be thousands of people connected together with a unique aim: the interest for the Natural Horsemanship. And this could be an additional and strong impulse for widely spreading the message.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;When I went to visit Ellen (DiBella), she was encouraging me and very kindly supporting me and my idea. And I asked her: why do not you come all LHH/WDAA/Cowboy Dressage clinicians periodically to Europe and organize clinics constantly? I am sure soon people would start to convert. I am sure of it. I might be wrong for Germany (at least at the beginning) but definitely not for Italy, Netherland, Spain, France, etc.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;I think nowadays also the barn owners are a little bit in crisis. The society is changing and those tournaments that in the past were bringing thousands of people (and money) and making barn owners happy are nearly gone. The new generations are probably looking for a different relationship with their horses and the answer can be either quit the equestrian sports or the Natural Horsemanship.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;If I can tell you the truth, Germany is a quite tough country and it is not easy to deal with ! &lt;BR&gt;Maybe people like Dr Miller could make change their mind to Germans. Why? Because Dr Miller is far away above bigotry, localism, hypocrisy, etc.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;I hope for your big help and I also hope to see you and Eitan soon here in Europe.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Many thanks.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;With my best greetings,&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Filippo&lt;BR&gt;Filippo Smedili&lt;BR&gt;Düsseldorf, Germany&lt;BR&gt;E-mail: &lt;A href="mailto:filippo.smedili@googlemail.com"&gt;filippo.smedili@googlemail.com&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;</description><category>Testimonials</category><category>Misc</category><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/11/29/lhh-wanted-to-share-some-interesting-thoughts-by-filippo-smedili-of-germany.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">6465fc8b-0bb5-4aae-bd81-5f3835ae3bcb</guid><pubDate>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:50:05 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>John Alcorn - LHH Staff</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/11/29/john-alcorn---lhh-staff.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>LightHandsHorsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"&gt; 
&lt;P&gt;&lt;IMG style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: 1px solid; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-TOP: 1px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 5px; BORDER-RIGHT: 1px solid" alt="John Alcorn" src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/6/7/9/7/8/198696-187976/DSC5966.jpg?a=81"&gt;John Alcorn has been a part of the LHH staff since it’s first year. He is what LHH is about. Be sure to introduce yourself to John, he makes sure all our guests are happy and comfortable.&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;I don’t know if this is something you would be interested in for the blog but since June of this year I have been volunteering with a horse rescue here in San Diego county, &lt;A href="http://horsesoftirnanog.org/" target=_blank&gt;The Horses Of Tir Na Nog&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp; They have a website but can also be seen on Facebook if you have a second to look them up.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Mostly we rescue horses who have medical issues. However I was contacted to work with a “wild” horse they have. Her brand was cut out and she was abandoned in the desert east of here.&amp;nbsp; This group has volunteers who come out twice a month to scoop poop and brush and groom the horses but most of them are not horse people.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;I saw what a great job these folks are doing and I felt compelled to help out.&amp;nbsp;I was asked to give a talk to them about general horse handling and that turned into “Horsemanship 101” clinics every other Sunday. There is no riding involved.&amp;nbsp; Otherwise I mostly do remedial work with the horses helping to get them over issues like fear, won’t pick up feet, can’t be haltered etc.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;It is great fun and a terrific learning experience for me teaching the basics to folks who are interested. It also keeps my edge sharp working on problems since my own horse is pretty well along.&amp;nbsp; Being involved with these folks is one way I can spread the word about PROPER care and handling of horses.&amp;nbsp; It also gives me a sense of satisfaction that I am GIVING BACK some of the time and effort people like Jon, Lester, Bob, Eitan and all the others folks I’ve met and known in horses have given me.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;On another note, I spread the word to every poor soul who come in earshot about LHH. There are several people around here who I think will come up next year.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;I look forward to seeing you all every year and do so again now.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Love to you all,&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;John Alcorn&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;</description><category>Testimonials</category><category>Misc</category><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/11/29/john-alcorn---lhh-staff.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">5f040d15-d346-4682-a794-48d6660c7c6d</guid><pubDate>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:40:38 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>A Lonely Number</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/11/16/a-lonely-number.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>LightHandsHorsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;P align=left&gt;&lt;FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;IMG style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-LEFT: 8px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 8px" border=1 alt="Lonely horse" src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/6/7/9/7/8/198696-187976/iStock000015354922XSmallSINGLEHORSE.jpg?a=25"&gt;&lt;/P&gt;When I see a horse standing alone in a field, I’m reminded of Harry Nilsson’s lyric: “One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do.” Just how important is it for horses to be with others of their kind? You decide. Dr. Bob Miller (of imprint training fame) tells of visiting a European Premarin facility where scores of pregnant mares were confined in short-walled tie stalls, side by side, for hours on end. &lt;IMG style="FLOAT: right" border=1 alt="Rick Lamb -  The Horse Show" src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/6/7/9/7/8/198696-187976/DSC6006.jpg?a=1"&gt;Confinement is a natural stressor for horses, yet these horses were happy as clams. Apparently, being in a herd was more important to them than being free to move. The converse is also telling. At New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, horses sometimes present with an odd symptom: Collapsing for no apparent reason. What the horses have in common is that they live alone. No herd. No companions of any kind. In my radio show this week, you’ll learn how going solo can affect a horse.&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://thehorseshow.com/_audio/e4a99590-3e4f-4009-9a92-1b44479b72dc.ram"&gt;Listen to interview with Dr. Amy Johnson&lt;/A&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;
&lt;DIV&gt;Thank you Rick Lamb for sharing&amp;nbsp;this article.&amp;nbsp; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://thehorseshowblog.blogspot.com/" target=_blank&gt;Click Here to visit Rick Lamb's "The Horse Show Blog"&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><category>Rick Lamb</category><category>Clinician</category><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/11/16/a-lonely-number.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">3deaa602-f280-4a7f-ba66-f95eb3afa132</guid><pubDate>Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:16:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>New for LHH 2012</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/11/10/new-for-lhh-2012.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Light Hands Horsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;font face="Arial"&gt;Sheila &lt;span class="RadEWrongWord" id="RadESpellError_0"&gt;Varian&lt;/span&gt; was such a huge hit last year at &lt;span class="RadEWrongWord" id="RadESpellError_1"&gt;LHH&lt;/span&gt; that we have asked her to return. She &lt;span class="RadEWrongWord" id="RadESpellError_2"&gt;willl&lt;/span&gt; be sharing her Vaquero Horsemanship knowledge with all our guests. Sheila alone is worth the price of admission so don't miss out on her horsemanship or sense of humor.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Famed&amp;nbsp; horsewoman &lt;span class="RadEWrongWord" id="RadESpellError_3"&gt;Leslie&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="RadEWrongWord" id="RadESpellError_4"&gt;Desmond&lt;/span&gt; will be joining Sheila as one of our guest clinicians, I know that &lt;span class="RadEWrongWord" id="RadESpellError_5"&gt;Leslie&lt;/span&gt; has put a lot of thought and preparation into her presentations. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Each of these ladies know their stuff and our guests won't be disappointed.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;</description><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/11/10/new-for-lhh-2012.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">579cf637-222a-452b-8da2-6fb799d6efa1</guid><pubDate>Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:38:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>LHH Gears up for 2012</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/11/10/lhh-gears-up-for-2012.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Light Hands Horsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;font style="font-size: 12px;"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial"&gt;LHH will be gearing up for 2012. Their annul production meeting will be held in Las Vegas Dec 8, If you would like to add some ideas or in put please let us now. Registrations are coming in very early this year. It promises to be an other sell out crowd. Don't miss out.&amp;nbsp; The earlier you book the more you safe &lt;img src="http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/emoticons/smile.png" border="0" /&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;</description><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/11/10/lhh-gears-up-for-2012.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">baf9b107-5c71-48bc-9b54-173535ee43ba</guid><pubDate>Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:34:51 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Congratulations</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/11/10/congratulations.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>LightHandsHorsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;font style="font-size: 12px;" face="Arial"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 12px;"&gt;&lt;/font&gt;Light Hands Horsemanship is pleased to congratulate LHH clinician, Dr. Robert Miller on his 2012 Western Horsemen Magazine award of Western Horseman of the Year. This very prestigious award will be presented to Dr. Miller at the 2012 Road to the Horse in Murfreesboro, TN. &lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;Last year’s recipient was LHH own Jack Brainard. Looks like LHH and Western Horseman are of like minds. &lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;Eitan Beth-Halachmy was inducted into the American Morgan Horse Hall of Fame at their annual convention in the winter of 2011.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;</description><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/11/10/congratulations.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">b865cfe3-26c5-49fb-b5d1-c566bd957915</guid><pubDate>Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:27:13 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Light Hands Horsemanship 2011 presented by Spalding Labs</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/08/02/l.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>LightHandsHorsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;P align=center&gt;&lt;EMBED height=292 type=application/x-shockwave-flash width=460 src=http://www.youtube.com/v/kyJnth3cXsc?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US&amp;amp;rel=0 allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P align=left&gt;“LIGHTNESS” is their cornerstone, it is what all 9 clinicians strive for from their “first touch thru advanced training”. You will see “lightness” from the hand held touch of a lead line to the hand and rein communication of the advanced horse and rider.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Click here to Visit &lt;A href="http://www.lighthandshorsemanship.com"&gt;Light Hands Horsemanship &lt;/A&gt;today.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;</description><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/08/02/l.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">8e44ed41-22ca-442c-900b-9508dccf1e7e</guid><pubDate>Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:12:34 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>A Hands On Visit with the Masters of Light Hands Horsemanship</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/07/21/a-hands-on-visit-with-the-masters-of-light-hands-horsemanship.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>LightHandsHorsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;DIV align=left&gt;Dr. Bob Miller pretty much summed it up on Sunday evening May 22 during his closing comments —"There is nowhere else in the country that you could go and get this level of training from the ‘Masters of Horsemanship." &lt;BR&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;DIV align=center&gt;
&lt;P class=body&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.lighthandshorsemanship.com/articles/2010/LightHands611TMH.htm"&gt;&lt;IMG border=0 src="http://www.lighthandshorsemanship.com/articles/2010/button.png" width=425 height=163&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/07/21/a-hands-on-visit-with-the-masters-of-light-hands-horsemanship.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">14e952e2-2dc9-457e-9c3b-da1c60dba8da</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Jul 2011 23:23:20 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Light Hands Horsemanship Continues to Awe</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/07/23/light-hands-horsemanship-continues-to-awe.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>LightHandsHorsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;P&gt;For 2012 the number of openings for attendees will grow slightly but don’t expect LHH to ever become a large event.&amp;nbsp; LHH proves that an event doesn’t have to be big to be good.&amp;nbsp; In fact it is the goal of LHH to stay small and keep this a very personal, up close event and allow easy access to all the presenters.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Presenters this year included Eitan Beth-Halachmy, Richard Winters, Jon Ensign, Lester Buckley, Jack Brainard, Dr. Robert Miller and Rick Lamb. All presenters focus on a light handed approach to horsemanship but each has their particular perspective to offer. Those in attendance receive the best education in Light Hands Horsemanship available.&amp;nbsp; Each of these presenters are dedicated, sincere, funny and most importantly they are excellent teachers.&amp;nbsp; They joke with each other, with attendees, share camaraderie and just really have a good time.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;This year’s event celebrated the Californian Vaquero. Sheila Varian and Ernie Morris – two people that illustrate the style and philosophy so well – presented this year.&amp;nbsp; Sheila, owner of Varian Arabians, was influenced by Tom Dorrance in the 60’s and his “soft approach” to training and interacting with horses.&amp;nbsp; Ernie Morris is an artist that works to maintain the California Vaquero history and tradition.&amp;nbsp; Ernie has celebrated the California Vaquero in tack, paintings, sculpture and as an author.&amp;nbsp; Both Sheila and Ernie added a true Vaquero feel to LHH this year.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Light Hands Horsemanship 2012 will be held May 31 through June 2nd.&amp;nbsp; Eitan, Richard, Jon, Lester, Jack, Dr. Miller, Rick and Sheila will be presenting in 2012.&amp;nbsp; They will be joined by Leslie Desmond, co-author of the famous Bill Dorrance book, “Horsemanship Through Feel”, many other books and DVDs, trainer of trainers and educator for the “finer points of feel and release.”&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Keep a close watch at lighthandshorsemanship.com and spalding-labs.com for registration information for next year’s event.&amp;nbsp; Light Hands Horsemanship can be described and explained but this is an event that truly needs to be experienced.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Spalding Labs continues to sponsor Light Hands Horsemanship.&amp;nbsp; Tom Spalding supported the event when it was just an idea brewing and has continued to support it for the last five years and will do so again in 2012.&amp;nbsp; It takes many dedicated, hard working people to produce an event of this caliber and the folks at Spalding Labs are proud to be among the many that makes Light Hands Horsemanship possible each year.&lt;/P&gt;</description><category>Clinics</category><category>Spalding Labs</category><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/07/23/light-hands-horsemanship-continues-to-awe.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">579abd4b-6b46-49af-aee8-2f440287d44c</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Jul 2011 23:21:21 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>LHH 2011 Sells out and hits a home run...</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/06/19/lhh-2011-sells-out-and-hits-a-home-run.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>LightHandsHorsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Recap 2011&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Jon Ensign, Lester Buckley, Jack Brainard, Dr. Robert Miller and Rick Lamb. All presenters focus on a light handed approach to horsemanship but each has their particular perspective to offer. Those in attendance receive the best education in Light Hands Horsemanship available. Each of these presenters are dedicated, sincere, funny and most importantly they are excellent teachers. They joke with each other, with attendees, share camaraderie and just really have a good time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This year’s event celebrated the Californian Vaquero.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Sheila Varian and Ernie Morris – two people that illustrate the style and philosophy so well – presented this year. Sheila, owner of Varian Arabians, was influenced by Tom Dorrance in the 60’s and his “soft approach” to training and interacting with horses. Ernie Morris is an artist that works to maintain the California Vaquero history and tradition. Ernie has celebrated the California Vaquero in tack, paintings, sculpture and as an author. Both Sheila and Ernie added a true Vaquero feel to LHH this year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Light Hands Horsemanship 2012 will be held May 31 through June 2nd. Eitan, Richard, Jon, Lester, Jack, Dr. Miller, Rick and Sheila will be presenting in 2012. They will be joined by Leslie Desmond, co-author of the famous Bill Dorrance book, “Horsemanship Through Feel”, many other books and DVDs, trainer of trainers and educator for the “finer points of feel and release.”&lt;br /&gt;
Keep a close watch at lighthandshorsemanship.com and spalding-labs.com for registration information for next year’s event. Light Hands Horsemanship can be described and explained but this is an event that truly needs to be experienced.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Spalding Labs continues to sponsor Light Hands Horsemanship. Tom Spalding supported the event when it was just an idea brewing and has continued to support it for the last five years and will do so again in 2012. It takes many dedicated, hard working people to produce an event of this caliber and the folks at Spalding Labs are proud to be among the many that makes Light Hands Horsemanship possible each year. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;LHH 2011 update submitted by: Pi Polletta&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="body"&gt;&lt;img width="500" height="253" alt="" style="border: 1px solid;" src="http://www.lighthandshorsemanship.com/archives/LHH2011/photos/6683-sepia_small.jpg" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h5&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For early registration and more pictures… &lt;a href="http://www.lighthandshorsemanship.com/home.htm"&gt;click here.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/h5&gt;</description><category>LHH Up Date</category><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/06/19/lhh-2011-sells-out-and-hits-a-home-run.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">13ba966f-402f-4eed-a436-aaee37f69bc5</guid><pubDate>Mon, 20 Jun 2011 03:02:56 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>LHH still on despite news of EVH virus!</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/05/18/lhh-still-on-despite-news-of-evh-virus.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>LightHandsHorsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;</description><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/05/18/lhh-still-on-despite-news-of-evh-virus.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">8ac49b1a-ac7e-4a54-b9bc-9e52798200b9</guid><pubDate>Wed, 18 May 2011 18:20:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Hotel Rooms</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/04/25/hotel-rooms.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Light Hands Horsemanship</dc:creator><description>If you want to come to LHH but are having trouble finding a hotel room please contact Debbie at 530-346-2715. She may have some rooms available.&lt;br&gt;</description><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/04/25/hotel-rooms.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">b61aa113-91ab-478a-8b58-58aea94b426e</guid><pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:31:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Lights Hands Horsemanship Likely To Sell Out</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/04/05/lights-hands-horsemanship-likely-to-sell-out.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>LightHandsHorsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;P&gt;Registrations for the 2011 Light Hands Horsemanship Clinic in Santa Ynez, California are already double what they were this time last year.&amp;nbsp; If you plan to attend this event we suggest you register soon.&amp;nbsp; Light Hands Horsemanship is held at Intrepid Farm, which is a beautiful venue but has space limitations so registrations are limited.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;For attendees needing a hotel, we suggest booking rooms early as well.&amp;nbsp; The Amgen Tour de California bike race will be in the neighboring town of Solvang on the same Friday as LHH, which may limit hotel room availability.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;LHH continues to grow as an international event. Currently there are registrations for attendees from the UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Norway, Scotland and possibly Hungary and Argentina too. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;The vendors at the event display an array of products and services and make for great shopping in between clinics.&amp;nbsp; So far there are 14 vendors that have committed to exhibiting. Some of the clinicians will be exhibiting their materials as well.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;With clinicians such as Eitan Beth-Halachmy, Richard Winters, Jon Ensign, Dr. Robert Miller, Lester Buckley, Sheila Varian, Jack Brainard, Rick Lamb of the HorseShow on RFD-TV, Ernie Morris, great vendors, great food, museum tours, entertainment all in a beautiful setting, LHH continues to grow in popularity. It is certainly a “don’t miss” event … so register now and secure your spot for 2011.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Register by visiting &lt;A href="http://www.lighthandshorsemanship.com"&gt;www.lighthandshorsemanship.com&lt;/A&gt; or by calling 530-346-2715. For questions call or email LHH at &lt;A href="mailto:lhh@foothill.net"&gt;lhh@foothill.net&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;</description><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/04/05/lights-hands-horsemanship-likely-to-sell-out.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">d552d434-6f5f-46af-8838-c412c28d1c9e</guid><pubDate>Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:31:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Light Hands Horsemanship 2011 update</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/01/19/light-hands-horsemanship-2011-u.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>LightHandsHorsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16px"&gt;New schedule posted as of 1/17/11 so&amp;nbsp;be sure to check it out.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;Remember to get Hotel reservations early as they are going fast!!!!&amp;nbsp; Visit our website for a list of hotels in the area. &lt;A href="http://www.LightHandsHorsemanship.com"&gt;www.LightHandsHorsemanship.com&lt;/A&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Watch our new promotional video filmed&amp;nbsp;at&amp;nbsp;our 2010 clinic; brought to you by Spalding Labs and Spalding Fly Predators.&amp;nbsp; We would like to thank Tom Spalding for his&amp;nbsp;continued&amp;nbsp;support and sponsorship.&lt;BR&gt;
&lt;P align=center&gt;&lt;EMBED height=261 type=application/x-shockwave-flash width=420 src=http://www.youtube.com/v/ArnLilBzbR0?fs=1&amp;amp;hl=en_US&amp;amp;rel=0&amp;amp;color1=0xe1600f&amp;amp;color2=0xfebd01 allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P align=center&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.spalding-labs.com/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 190px; HEIGHT: 40px" border=0 src="http://www.cowboydressage.com/images/logos/spalding-fly-predators.png" width=350 height=81&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Click Here to Visit Spalding Labs&lt;/A&gt; &lt;/P&gt;</description><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2011/01/19/light-hands-horsemanship-2011-u.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">21114c7c-7175-4a42-865d-60b2738c3117</guid><pubDate>Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:29:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Light Hands Horsemanship 2011</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2010/12/20/light-hands-horsemanship-2011.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>LightHandsHorsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;FONT color=#411d1d&gt;&lt;FONT face="Book Antiqua"&gt; 
&lt;H3&gt;BOOK&amp;nbsp; HOTEL ROOMS NOW!!!&lt;/H3&gt;The Amgen Bike Tour will be in Santa Ynez the same&amp;nbsp; weekend as LHH. They will be in competition for hotel rooms so book your rooms NOW!!! &lt;BR&gt;
&lt;H4&gt;Rooms will be at a premium. Do not delay!!&lt;/H4&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.lighthandshorsemanship.com/hotels.htm" target=_blank&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Click Here for Hotels in the area.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;</description><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2010/12/20/light-hands-horsemanship-2011.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">76bbd03e-3469-427a-84f3-df719d61c704</guid><pubDate>Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:02:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>LHH May 19-22, 2011</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2010/11/15/lhh-may-19-22-2011.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Light Hands Horsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;font style="font-size: 14px;"&gt;The updated LHH Website is up and ready for business. Book attendance early and SAVE $$$. This year we have our best line up of horsemen and horsewomen ever. It is going to be a "knock your socks off"&amp;nbsp; event.&amp;nbsp; Admission is limited&amp;nbsp; so don't miss out, book early to assure your spot. Eat, shop, laugh and enjoy. Learn from the best of the best! &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2010/11/15/lhh-may-19-22-2011.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">f053f3be-ed00-484e-aabf-640cd2a3503f</guid><pubDate>Tue, 16 Nov 2010 03:10:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Eitan is Back in the Saddle Again</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2010/11/15/eitan-is-back-in-the-saddle-again.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Light Hands Horsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;img src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/6/7/9/7/8/198696-187976/IMG0037email.jpg?a=65" style="border: 0px solid;" width="215" height="295"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 14px;"&gt;Eitan is back in the saddle! It was a good day at Wolf Creek Ranch. Eitan and Santa Fe shared their first ride together since the World Equestrian Games last Sept. Eitan said it was like "coming home."&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2010/11/15/eitan-is-back-in-the-saddle-again.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">975844f0-7800-4df9-a3b9-90baee896952</guid><pubDate>Tue, 16 Nov 2010 03:04:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Eitan and WEG</title><link>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2010/10/17/eitan-and-weg.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Light Hands Horsemanship</dc:creator><description>&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"&gt;Eitan is doing well after his attack at the end of the Opening Ceremony at the World&amp;nbsp; Equestrian Games this last Sept 25. He is recovering and showing progress each day. The Drs. say he will be able to ride and go back to the horse life that&amp;nbsp; he loves so much. You can visit &lt;a href="http://www.caringbridge.org"&gt;www.caringbridge.org&lt;/a&gt; and put in cowboy8 to read more about his condition. Thank you to all&amp;nbsp; for your care, concern and well wishes. We are truly blessed.&lt;/span&gt;</description><comments>http://blog.lighthandshorsemanship.com/2010/10/17/eitan-and-weg.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">a573c4af-34ba-40e2-8635-e8486426818c</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Oct 2010 00:04:00 GMT</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
