Dressage, Naturally with Karen Rohlf

Creating healthy biomechanics and stronger partnerships through combining natural horsemanship principles with the art of dressage...

photo: Terri Miller

never underestimate the potential for harmony & lightness to improve in ways you cannot yet imagine

This Month:• Student Mail

• Another 6 day clinic at Teme-nos Fields, completed.

• Ancora Imparo

Upcoming Clinics: Clinic schedule: CLICK HERE

April 23-25 Finding the Sweet SpotOxford, NCContact: Lauren Kahn

April 26-28 Upward Spiral of SuccessOxford, NCContact: Lauren Kahn

May 8-9 Finding the Sweet Spot Lindstrom, MinnesotaContact: Sally Taylor

May 10-12 Upward Spiral of SuccessLindstrom, MinnesotaContact: Sally Taylor

May 15-17 Finding the Sweet SpotHamilton, Ontario, CanadaContact: Fawn Anderson

May 18-19 Upward Spiral, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaContact: Fawn Anderson

M A R C H 2 0 0 9

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Welcome back to the Temenos...Temenos is an ancient Greek word. It refers to a sacred space that has no lim-its, where special rules apply and extra-ordinary events are free to occur.

“Just know that for everything we say about our horse, our horse could be saying it about us.”~Karen Rohlf, (From The Dressage

Naturally Book)

Photo Above: Dana RasmussenAuditors welcome at all events!

Home of:

Dear Karen R., I recently purchased the book "Tug of War" by Gerd Heuschmann as it was listed as a resource on your website. I found the book equally interesting and disturbing. I just wanted to thank you for listing it on your website, as I may have missed it. I enjoyed the book and feel a great sense of relief that I am on the right track and now I am armed with concrete knowledge of why the fast and flashy methods of training are so detrimental (my horse would NEVER put up with it anyway;)). Unfortunately, I believe peo-ple in the horse industry are coming to think that this way of training is the new normal. Obviously many trainers and judges *know* that it is incorrect and harmful--no vet. degree needed. Then there are the masses that will blindly fol-low what they are told/shown because they get into sport horses for the sport and not the horse. I see greed and recognition/ego at the top of the list that drives these practices. Enough said.

I continue to follow NH with the parallel of your program. Never has riding and train-ing been so rewarding to me. You are an inspiration to me. I really enjoy your writ-ing in your monthly e-newsletter. I love to see pictures/video of you and your horses. So naturally and at ease...I only get jealous when I get impatient :) Any-way, my whole point here is just to give you a big heartfelt thank you from me and my horse.

Take care, Nora A.

Karen's place is so peaceful I felt that I had gone to a meditation spa instead of a training clinic. In fact, when I got home, I felt very centered and happy...not at all tired....More rejuvenated. I got everything I hoped for from the clinic and so much more. All the people and all the horses involved were the best. I can't wait to come back in the fall. Temenos is indeed a magical place where harmony and lightness did improve in ways I could not have imagined.

Thanks for everything,Geri

Dear Karen:  Life has been a whirlwind upon my return home from my outstanding ex-perience at Temenos Fields; making the time there even more special. It seems a shame to not (at least) attempt to convey what a wonderful time I had in more ways then one; and yet how can you put it into words? I can say in reference to one of Karen's excerpts from her book that I have clearly "found my diamond in the dark".  I have searched for years to find an instructor that can convey with clarity the concepts of dressage yet acknowledge the feeling and individualism that comes with a part-nership and it's journey.  Karen has done that for me and it was even more special to see it in the other participants. There are so many aspects that made the visit a complete package, of course above all, Karen and her instruction and ability to address the variety of challenges that come with welcoming 8 "strangers" and horses to one's home.  Her ability to address the person's personality needs and the horse's horsenality needs in each session and to adapt and change as the horse and rider did was undeniably the best I have ever seen.   And yet, it was so much more.   There was something special about the 6 day length of the clinic.   It allowed me to spend the first few days breaking out of some of my old habits, trying to see Karen's vision for where she wanted to take me and of course adapting to being away from home.  The next couple of days were addictive and almost made you feel as if you could never leave (and believe me that feeling is still there too!) but then the last couple of days you almost felt like you could go home and replicate some of what she hoped for you to do.  You could feel your-self getting excited

about the next time you could see her and share your work and hopefully move forward. It was also the fellow participants and Breanne .  To say there was a positive camaraderie is simply the understatement of a lifetime.  The connectiveness and unity felt in their experiences and the support give to each other was simply a feeling I have not felt at another clinic.  That is not to be disrespectful of all of the great four legged energy as well, equus, canine and feline! The english language and my lack of flu-idity with it will never honor the fulfillment I felt in my experience at Temenos Fields.  I will work my tail off for another opportunity to return.  To make a poor and politically incorrect assimilation that was shared with me once from a Portu-guese gentleman regarding the lusitano horse festival in Golega Portugal (while I was stammering to explain what it was like) Temenos Fields is like a drug to me, once you have had it you wonder . . where can I get more of that drug?  When can I get more of that drug?  Why is it such a great drug?  I will do anything to get that drug!  It is intoxicating. Thanks for making it happen . .. Sincerely Shelby Hume

S T U D E N T M A I L

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Photo: Dana Rasmussen

Dear Karen, I am sure you have been asked this question a hundred times but I am at a stage in my training and career where I would like to understand natural horse-manship to a greater level and how it could influence the way I manage/work with my horses. I also am very confused as to a definition of what actually Natural horsemanship encompasses. With many methods available Parelli, Monty Roberts etc I am not sure where to start looking then I found your site. My history equine history is very tradi-tional I grew up doing Pony Club in Eng-land and went on to event to affiliated Intermediate level in the UK. I also trained through my BHS exams at The Talland School of Equitation with Pammy Hutton where I gained all my exams. I then went on to specialize more in dressage and have trained with Carl Hester for the last 4 years and have also trained in Ger-many. I have competed at National level at Medium and trained several horses successfully to PSG. I try to satisfy my horses needs to the best of my ability and education and try to look after their physical and emotional needs whilst trying to produce a horse to compete. There my confusion starts as to where to draw the line? The horses all seem happy with their work which I keep varied hack, jump, turn out 24 hours where needed or possible and have great results in the competition arena.

But whilst my horses have a job to do I want them to be happy. I feel that there is no straight forward answer to this and without being too evangelical and expect-ing a definitive answer or believing we should never domesticate any animal where should I start to look at the natural and traditional combination and is it pos-sible?

I feel that you may be able to help as you have obviously experienced both side of the coin. May I thank you for taking the time to read this email and any thoughts help or advice would be gratefully received. Kind Regards, Mark. United Kingdommark@progressequestrian.co.uk

Hi Mark, Thanks for your thoughtful email... I certainly can relate to your ques-tions and I love how you are thinking.  Not many people with horses who are "al-ready happy in their work" take the time to look any further!

Perhaps you are already 'natural' in how you are with your horses.  Yes, it can be a very philosophical question and it comes down to definitions of 'what is natural' and 'what is dressage'.  When you look closely at the objectives of each, they really do start to overlap.

My best answer for you today, is that by immersing in both worlds, I now just have different priorities than I used to, and for sure more strategies.

It is more a way of Being.  There are days where I can look very 'normal': go get the horse, groom, tack up, ride dressage.... And days where I can look very 'natural' 

(I really hate those different tags, but it makes communicating easier) : My horse comes to me, I do some liberty, get on bridle-less.... or maybe I do a funny thing with the horses; putting their feet on something.... in both cases I am assess-ing the whole horse all the time, and eve-rything is important.

For whatever is happening with the horse I try to diagnose the different issues:

partnershiprespectfearcommunication/understandingmotivationhealthgymnastic

Then I try to guess the root issue and use the best strategy (often problems that show up in a dressage movement have little to do with a dressage problem)  I guess my idea is to be very ‘wholistic’, looking at the whole life of the horse and wondering what he would say about it.   And realizing that what is happening with how I trailer-load a horse is the same that is happening when I do a half pass (and vice versa)... everything is connected.  and I have more places to solve the is-sues.... not just in the arena... but at lib-erty, on line, with no reins, in the groom-ing stall, in the trailer, on the trail, on the way from the pasture to the barn....  I don't let a non-dressage issue cause me to have a bad dressage day.

I have written a book that teaches the basics of dressage to people with a 'natu-ral' back ground, and am now starting to write a book that seeks to answer pre-cisely the questions you ask.... how to learn to incorporate natural horsemanship principles into dressage training.... I am happy to know someone out there is in-terested! ;-)

I hope this helps.  I am planning a trip to the UK late July, also feel free to sign in on my website to get my monthly newslet-ter.

My BestKaren

S T U D E N T M A I L

Copyright 2009 Temenos Fields, Inc March 3

P H O T O S F R O M T H E T E M E N O S

4 Nullam arcu leo, facilisis ut

Some Images from the most recent 6-days at Temenos Fields, Dressage Naturally Clinic

I am so proud of their progress... Not only during the clinic, but since I had seen them last.

Participants in top group photos from left to right: K2, Cori Hickling, Sandy Usher, Claudia Milton, Martie Burkett, Dawn Roth, Gina Torrell, Bonnie Neff

All Photos Copyright: Dana Rasmussen

W O W !

copyright 2009 Temenos Fields, Inc March 5

I often talk about helping horses find their “RAAaaaaa!”

Bonnie Neff’s Arabian mare certainly showed us some of her natural power while playing with Bonnie in the round-pen at Temenos Fields.

And we were lucky enough to have Photographer Dana Rasmussen on hand to capture the moment.

To book your own private sessions with Dana, see contact info below:

dana@photonstudio.comwww.danarasmussen.com

352 .262 .3879

This photo (top) of Karen ‘K2’ Jones (my clinic or-ganizer) was taken at my 6-day clinic last week. And it made me really chuckle. I am not sure K2 really understood what she was getting herself into when she started taking lessons with me! I wonder: If she had known that we were going to take her nice smooth quarter horse and make her as power-ful and bouncy as possible... Would she have still signed up? :-)

When I first met K2 and Sage several years ago nei-ther of them did a lot of breathing. Their tension was palpable. You could feel it in the air near them, and could feel it when you touched either of them. But on both their parts, it was tension that came from a general heart-felt concern to do the right thing, not make mistakes, to be careful and aware of what they did not know and a desire to find comfort .... Of course we all know how easily those concerns can sometimes end up tying us in knots!

But Karen knows how to get help, how to trust in the process, and in her own instincts. She has done a lot to get Sage and her relationship stronger...getting help from Aimee Brimhall, Parelli, David Lichman. With me we have focused on her

biomechanics and opening her body... Releasing her tension, finding alignment and balance and then developing her potential power... But in a way

that also strengthens their partnership. Opening the mind can open the body and opening the body can open the mind.

I know in many of our lessons Karen has to just trust me; often before things improve, they feel worse, or at least unfamiliar. The photo above shows Sage at a trot that is at the edge of her com-fort zone, but within her capabilities.

It is not easy to have confidence when you don’t always understand. This is not something I take lightly, nor should any teacher. When students genuinely don’t know where they are going, or what is possible, it is a big responsibility for the teacher to take them there with respect and care. So I thank Karen for her confidence.

As for the ‘ignorance’ part of the quote above... Well, in a way, the more we all know that we don’t know much, the better students we are. When I have a student come to me who doesn’t know any-thing about dressage, I smile a bit on the inside... Because I know they will eventually be amazed at what is possible. ‘Ignorance’ can be good if you don’t know what you can’t do! (By the way... Is she

riding english or western? ~Karen (K1)

Top: K2 & Sage 1 year ago

Bottom: K2 & Sage 1 week ago (doing her impersonation of a

warm blood!)

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Ancora Imparo...

“All you need in life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.” ~ Mark Twain, (Letter to Mrs. Forte)

Photos: Dana Rasmussen“Ancora Imparo” is what Michelangelo is quoted to have said upon finishing the Sistine Chapel. It

translates: “I am still learning”

Instructional Book / DVDs

BOOK:

Dressage Naturally... Results in Harmony: A Guide to the Basics of Dressage from a Natural Horsemanship Perspective.

A result of Karen Rohlf's combined experience as a dressage professional and her immersion in natural horsemanship, this book/DVD bridges the gap between these two worlds. The material will take every horseman on a practical and philosophical journey to create healthy biomechanics and stronger partnerships through combining principles of natu-ral horsemanship with the art of dressage.

Spiral Bound / Hard cover

184 pages

59 Exercises

Forewords by Anne Gribbons and Linda Parelli

53 Illustrations by the author

Almost 3 hours of DVD

DVDs:

Results in Harmony Series 2 DVDs so far, 2 more coming out soon.

Reins

DN Reins: The best of both worlds!

These reins have the elegant look and quiet connection to the bit of a leather dressage rein, but the 'live feel' of a rope. They are hand made from qual-ity yachting line and leather.Available in 10 and 12 foot lengths

T-Shirts & Riding Pants

Organic Cotton T Shirts Available in Women’s style in Chocolate and Black

Unisex style in Black

Sonnenreiter Riding PantsON SALE! A limit number are left... Buy

now before we stop carrying them!

copyright 2009 temenos fields, inc march 7

Visit the Web shop www.dressagenaturally.net

FINAL NOTE: That’s it for this month...

Please send me questions or comments as well as photos for my student gallery slideshow I would like to put together!

Until next month... I wish you harmony and light!~Karen ‘K1’ Rohlf