There are so many things to say about our weekend at Kerri Joosten's place, Trails End, near Austin, Texas. There are so many things to think about, I will have to organize my thoughts as I go.
The energy at Kerri's place was peaceful and relaxed. It was very good for me, as life in the last months have been anything but peacful and relaxed. My challenge will be to bring a little of that home with me so I can draw on it when I need it.
Spring was starting to show there just like here in Houston. Kerri's playground was covered with the most wonderful spring green grass. Walker loved it there. It was easy to find a way to reward him as we were playing together, I just had to point to the grass all around us. At the same time, it was a little hard to compete with the grass for his attention but I could not give him to hard a time about it. Once we started to play and he was connected, it was a great place for both of us to learn.
Walker being Walker, he still has lots confidence challenges, especially when it comes to zone 3, the area between the break in his withers and the point of his hip. The good news is that Walker is gaining more confidence the savvier I get. Any foreign object that comes under zone 3 makes him very nervous. Kerri determined early that he was not ready for even small barrels, so the first thing we played with were many of the obstacles scattered all around her horse/human playground. I asked him to put the obstacles under him, like a giant tire pedestal, a stone bridge, the creek, a punching bag, tree trunks and the large trailer. The obstacles that presented the largest challenges were the giant tire, the punching bag and the trailer. By our last morning, he jumped in and out of the trailer easily, though not entirely left brained, he put three feet on the giant tire pedestal and he put one foot over the punching bag. The punching bag was the most difficult and required more leadership from me on that morning because it was the easiest one from which Walker could evade. I made being anywhere but in front and over the bag very difficult, and he finally put one foot over it, stood there and looked at me with ears forward as if to say, "Hah! Got it!!!"
Kerri is a very interesting person, it was fun getting to know her a little better. She is an interesting blend of mom, horsewoman, people person and teacher. Many horse properties I have been to are efficient and horse friendly, but Kerri's place is unique in its feel, which is hard to explain. It may have to do with the backdrop of the desert hill country around Lake Travis, but it probably has more to do with the owner who brings her own special inviting but down to business attitude rolled into one. Her three son's are as friendly as their mom, and they all help out around the place. Her daughter just had a baby girl, and Kerri's face glows when she talks about her.
Kerri brings a quiet zeal to her responsibility as a teacher of natural horsemanship. At the same time, I never felt harried or judged. I hate feeling judged, probably something to do with my upbringing. It doesn't make much sense, because to get through college and dental school, you are judged every day, often by people who barely know you, but I hate it anyway. Kerri never made me feel that way, and she always acknowledeged the things Walker and I did well, which made me feel good about what we have already accomplished together. To get acknowledgment from someone like Kerri about my horsemanship really felt good.
I will try to sum up what Walker and I learned under Kerri's watchful eye. Well, mostly what I learned. It seems that whatever Walker can do, he already knows how to do, it is up to me to draw those talents from him. So . . . here is what I learned.
I have to know when to quit. The more Walker learns, the shorter our sessions need to be. If he is in learning over load, than I have to give him time to absorb what he has learned. I must focus on what my horse is telling me, more now than ever before. I have to acknowledge that my horse is a fast learner if I set him up for success. If he doesn't learn quickly, I have to reaccess my approach, my energy, my leadership and/or my emotions. I have to take my ego OUT OF IT. It's about the relationship first!
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