Mountain Trail and Horsemanship Workshop
In order to really learn something new, a person needs to apply that knowledge several times. For example, try to learn to tie a new knot such as the bowline, tie it once or twice and see how long you'll remember it. This new skill needs to be used over and over before it becomes permanently fixed in your brain.
Barry has seen a pattern where people would sort have tune out a clinic in a corral, feeling like the repetition wasn't necessary. Participating in a workshop where real horsemanship skills are practiced is a much more effective way to learn and retain what has been learned.
He has also observed that, no matter who is teaching a clinic, there are those participants that come back year after year and don't ever show much improvement, while others come back ready for the next level. It is his observation that those that advance do so because they have been putting their newly learned skills to work in real situations.
Maybe you've learned to sidepass so you go home and use it to open gates or hang your coat on the fence. Others may have been just as successful learning the skill at the clinic but because the new skills aren't used, the horses and riders quickly revert back to the same thing they've always done.
Barry will help you put your horsemanship skills to use in the real world. We have chosen a beautiful mountain setting for this workshop. Clear mountain lakes and fast running, crystal clear streams make the setting the perfect place to challenge you and your horse with new, natural trail obstacles. This workshop is guaranteed to be a fun filled adventure with never a dull moment.
Barry is a firm believer that unless you use the skills you learn at a clinic in real situations, you're likely to not retain the knowledge.
Lively campfire discussions, camaraderie, great food, story telling and continuing entertainment from Cook Bob add to the satisfaction of this valuable experience.
Workshop Format
Primary purpose of the first lesson is to share safety tips and information about how to handle tough situations - such as bridge refusals. Other topics to be covered may be hobbling, trailer loading and "getting the horse comfortable inside".
More discussions after dinner.
Topics in class - although we have ideas of what will be taught at each step of this ride, true topics will be determined by what issues each rider faces individually. You can expect to learn to control a horses' body by learning effective leg yielding, how to develop a soft feel on the rein, recognize when a horse turns loose at the poll, how to help a horse become more independent and bold so they can address scary things and how to get a horse to listen to your slightest cues.
You will be surprised how much fun you can have while meeting these training challenges.