Second week of our giveaway

Hi everyone! Sorry I'm a bit late in posting this week's blog - the second week in our free shirt giveaway! Congratulations again to SUNJACK1 who commented last week and won a free shirt. SUNJACK1, please email us at info@gothorsemanship.com to let us know the size t-shirt you want and give us your mailing address so we can get it out to you.

This week I want to hear who your favorite clinician(s) are! There are so many wonderful trainers and clinicians out there and perhaps you know one that is not getting the recognition they deserve. Tell us about them here and maybe we'll do a story on them for our next Featured Clinician of the Month!

Let's get some comments going on. We may open this contest up to our My Space friends next week and they love to comment!

Best wishes,

Dana and Scott

Road to the Horse 2008 is officially under way!!

A day of competition has unfolded at Road to the Horse in Murfreesboro, TN. Over 5,000 spectators watched as Chris Cox, Tommy Garland, Ken McNabb and Mike Kevil chose their horses and started their training in four separate round pens.

And this starts the first post in the GotHorsemanship.com giveaway! Everyone who leaves a comment in March has a chance to win a GotHorsemanship.com t-shirt each week and the Grand Prize at the end of the month of a sweatshirt, messenger bag and bumper sticker.

So if you need something to get you started, we'd love to hear how you found out about natural horsemanship and what were your first thoughts about it. Were you instantly hooked and wanted to learn all you could or were you skeptical at first but came around to it afterwards?

I had been training and showing horses for almost 25 years before my husband Scott and I went to a Parelli Tour exhibition in February of 2002. We were both amazed at how they were able to communicate with their horses and work with them using such soft and gentle techniques. It was such an eye opening experience that we both decided to learn all we could about this wonderful method of communicating with the animals we love. We have studied many different clinicians techniques and attended clinics with our own horses.

We are looking forward to hearing how you found natural horsemanship!

We're having a giveaway!!

The countdown to one of natural horsemanship's biggest events of the year has started. Only four days to go until Road to the Horse begins in Murfreesboro, TN!

In honor of the event and to celebrate GotHorsemanship.com's color ad in the RTTH souvenir program....we are having our first ever giveaway!

For the month of March, we will write one new blog post per week. Everyone that leaves us a comment that week will be put into a drawing to win a GotHorsemanship.com t-shirt. We'll give away a shirt each week for the first three weeks.

At the end of March we'll put everyone who commented from the whole month into a drawing to win the Grand Prize - a GotHorsemanship.com prize pack featuring a hooded sweatshirt, messenger bag and bumper sticker together worth over $50!

Check back here at the blog to see if you've won! If you see your name, please email us (after you stop jumping up and down and screaming!) at info@gothorsemanship.com to tell us your shipping address and preferred shirt size and we'll get your prize sent out to you.

We look forward to hearing some thought provoking, insightful, humorous, or fun comments on the world of natural horsemanship! Good luck to all!

Scott and Dana

GotHorsemanship.com in Horse & Rider!!

In the December issue of Horse & Rider (H&R) there was an article on good horse web sites to visit. Of course, we at GotHorsemanship.com were bummed that we didn't know about the article ahead of time and that we were not included. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the article and decided to write in to the Mail Call section to let them know what a great job I thought they had done on the article.

So, last night I get home from work and retrieve my March 2008 issue of H&R from my mailbox. I always take a quick flip through when it first arrives before sitting down to read it cover to cover. Imagine my surprise and excitement when I started perusing the reader letters and mine was in there complete with a mention of GotHorsemanship.com!! Woo hoo!! I did a happy dance right there in the kitchen! LOL!

I won't put on here verbatim what I said because, after all, I'm sure the good publishers of H&R want you to go out and buy your own copy, but let's just say I was ecstatic!

This is so great as a precursor to our advertisement in the 2008 Road to the Horse souvenir program at the event on March 1. Check GotHorsemanship.com for an exciting contest we are doing in conjunction with the Road to the Horse ad.

Dana :O)

The Natural Horsemanship View

A friend sent me this funny little email about becoming a better equestrian and as I read it, I couldn't help but think of how this might be changed with a little natural horsemanship flare!

So here are the TEN WAYS TO BECOMING A BETTER EQUESTRIAN - and the alternative natural horsemanship view

10. Drop a heavy steel object on your foot. Don't pick it up right away. Instead, shout, "Get Off, Stupid! GET OFF!"

NH View - Gently press the side of the object with your finger and continue increasing the pressure until the object moves off your foot. Make sure to release the pressure immediately as the object's reward for moving away.

9. Leap out of a moving vehicle and practice "relaxing into the fall." Roll into a ball and spring lithely to your feet.

NH View - Practice the "one rein stop" by turning the vehicle sharply to the left and pulling the hood around to the side door thus avoiding having to leap out of said vehicle.

8. Learn to grab your checkbook and write out a $200 check without even looking down.

NH View - This one never changes! LOL!

7. Jog long distances carrying a halter and a carrot. Go ahead and tell the neighbors what you are doing - they might as well know now.

NH View - Sit out in the pasture and practice patience - let the neighbors know you are preparing to be patient while your horse "joins up".

6. Affix a pair of reins to a moving freight train and practice pulling to a halt. Smile as if you are having fun.

NH View - Don't start moving said train until the train is flexible and soft.

5. Hone your fibbing skills: "See, moving hay bales is FUN!" and, "No, really, I'm glad YOUR LUCKY PERFORMANCE and multi-million dollar horse won the class. I am just thankful that MY HARD WORK and actual ability won me second place."

NH View - Hone your fibbing skills: "No, I can see your way of training works great. I'm sure your horse is going with his ears pinned back because he's just too tired of holding them forward. I'm sure he loves being with you."

4. Practice dialing your chiropractor' s number with both arms paralyzed to the shoulder and one foot anchoring the lead rope of a frisky horse.

NH View - Practice dialing your trainer's number to find out what the next game is.

3. Borrow the US Army's slogan: Be All That You Can Be - bitten, thrown, kicked, slimed, trampled, frozen . . .

NH View - Be all Your Horse WANTS you to be!

2. Lie face down in a puddle of mud in your most expensive riding clothes and repeat to yourself, "This is a learning experience. This is a learning experience. This is . . ."

NH View - Every experience with your horse IS a learning experience if you begin to listen to what he/she is telling you.

AND THE NUMBER ONE EXERCISE TO BECOME A BETTER EQUESTRIAN:

1. Remember, its never the horse's fault...

NH View - It REALLY is never the horse's fault...

Dana :O)

Self Defense for Trail Riders

So, I'm finally back to normal after battling this head cold which everyone seems to have. Most people I have talked to have been sick with it for over a month, so I'm feeling pretty blessed to have gotten over it in 2 weeks. Now Scott has it, but he might not have gotten it from me, but possibly he could have caught it from our house guests of last weekend who also had it. I prefer to think it was one of them who game him the bug and not me!

I did manage to get out and ride on the afternoon of my birthday on the 9th. We took Buster and George over to a resort near us and trained in the arena and went on a trail ride spending the afternoon in a lovely way. I could not think of a better way to spend my birthday than on the back of a horse.

Speaking of trail riding...I received an email a few days ago with a link to a wonderful video clip about self defense for trail riders. Due to the recent murder of a hiker here in GA and several more across the country, I thought I really needed to pass this on.

The short clip shows several ways to use your horse to help protect yourself should someone try to assault you on the trail or on the ground near your trailer. The clip is a short preview of a longer DVD which can be purchased from Scot Hansen at www.HorseThink.com. Scot is a retired mounted police offer. You can see the clip from his home page. He also offers a "Self Defense for Trail Riders" Clinic.

I highly recommend taking a look at this video. Good information that every trail rider should know.

Until next time we "Make the Connection",

Dana

New Year's Resolutions for 2008

Happy New Year from GotHorsemanship.com! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday filled with family and friends. Did any of you get any of the things on our top ten list? We have a lot of new and exciting things planned for the site in 2008 including expanded trainers listings, featured clinicians, special guests and contests. Look for a new contest here on the blog in March to win free GotHorsemanship.com merchandise!

New Years Resolutions

My husband surprised me with a new show saddle for Christmas, something that I had been wanting for some time now but hesitant to spend the money on even though I really needed it to start showing my 4 year old in western pleasure this year. Unfortunately, it rained the whole week after Christmas here in Georgia except the 26th and George (the palomino in question) was WAY too muddy to put that pretty, shiny new saddle on. I just rode in my work saddle.

So, now I have no excuses for not showing my horse this year and this week of rain left me plenty of time to repose on the couch and contemplate my horsemanship resolutions for the year.

First and foremost, we will continue to support our mission here at GotHorsemanship.com by providing up-to-date natural horsemanship information in the hopes that we can help more horse owners make the connection with their horses and improve their relationships.

Secondly, to continue my personal journey along the road to better horsemanship. To this end, Scott and I have already booked a trip to the Road to the Horse in March and have reserved a rider and an auditor spot in a Buck Brannaman clinic in October. I can't tell you how excited we are about the chance to study with Buck! Especially Scott who has been getting deeper and deeper into ranch roping with two green horses. He will be riding in the clinic and I will be there, notebook and camera in hand, to record the event. We'll be sure to do a review here at GotHorsemanship.com. I know it's going to be amazing!

I also vow to spend less time watching tv and more time riding. We've got some bright lights coming to light up our pasture for "after dark" riding this summer when the weather gets too hot. Reading books, attending clinics and watching videos are all a part of learning more, but nothing can substitute for time spent with your horse and in the saddle.

We look forward to sharing this journey with all of you in 2008. We'd love to hear your new resolutions for this year and how you hope to accomplish them....maybe even with the help of this site...in our comments section. Talk to you soon!

Dana and Scott