In June NLH took a trip down to Fort Worth, TX to do some training demonstrations at the AmerEquine Festival of the Horse event. This was the first year that the Festival was held, and hopefully there will be many more to come. We had a good time, got to meet new people, make some new contacts, and see some old faces. Later that month I went to Pony Club camp for 5 days, which was a blast. I got to hang out with my friends, and have fun with my horses. I took Jack, one of our mustangs and he was a champ that whole time! He loves to jump, and he did so good for not being away from the farm in a while. Then that Monday we went cross country schooling with Jack which was also very fun. I also took my Quarter Horse mare Jamie to Pony Club camp and played polocrosse with her. For those of you who don’t know what polocrosse is, it’s basically lacrosse on horseback.

In July, we went to a SVRA reining show. My mom and I took our reining horses Cisco, Red, and Kahula, and another horse Nugget. Over all we did pretty good. I was really proud of the horses, and what they accomplished that weekend. They are all coming along pretty well with everything. I really enjoy going to any type of show, also it’s a great way for your horses to get away from home and see all sorts of different things. Also, even though its not an event, we hauled some of our horses out to Rock Springs, where Ag Progress days are held. We went there, because the girls with their mustangs needed to get out in a bigger arena and practice some things like flying lead changes, and such.

In August we went to the mustang challenge on the 10-12th, at the Dream Park, in Gloucester County NJ. That’s where Sarah and Anna competed with their 90 day mustangs, and I was asked to come do a freestyle with my mustang, Jacuzzi that I previously got Reserve Grand Champion on when he was a yearling and I was 9yrs old. We performed for the crowd while they were tabulating the scores for the freestyle finals for the competitors. It was amazing to perform in front of so many people – I’m so proud of Jacuzzi. He never lets me down – ever! You can watch our run on the website videos if you want to!

In October I will be competing in the All American Quarter Horse Congress, Cinch Freestyle Reining with my Quarter Horse Red! Stay tuned for details!

Well thanks for listening, best of wishes to all from NLH!

~Brooke

Friday morning I awoke early with butterflies already fluttering around in my stomach. The first class was handling and conditioning which required me to release Denali in a round pen, exit then re-enter and halter him while the judges observed the relationship that I have with my horse. He did extremely well and followed me un-haltered in the pen.  He showed the judges that he was very much in tune with me on the ground which made me very proud!

The next class was the trail class, which I was really nervous for because Denali was having a hard time in the warm up session.  He spooked at the bridge and was a little rough with some of the other maneuvers because he was somewhat distracted with his new surroundings. But, when it came time to compete he amazed me yet again.  He did extremely well.  It was almost like he knew that it was the real deal this time. We had a great run and scored well enough to put us in the running for the freestyle finals.

That night, I had time to memorize the pattern for the next day’s class.  The butterflies started again. This was my first time showing so the butterflies didn’t ever stop until I left on Sunday.  Early Saturday morning, I was warming him up in the arena and when I tried to canter him he started to kick out on me.  This was the first time that this has ever happened, and I immediately started balling my eyes out.  All the pent up emotion that I had in me for the past two days came flooding out all at once.  There was so much on the line with this one pattern class left to go because I was in 11^th place and needed to make the top 10 in order to do my freestyle.  Denali was telling me that he had had enough.  It was stressful, for all involved including him.  He and I had both worked so hard to get to this event but everyone has their breaking point.  I could understand, I was asking a lot from him this weekend.  The timing couldn’t have been any worse but I needed to take what he would give me and compete to the best of our ability.

During the class, he kicked out twice and I was crying before I was even out of the arena, mostly because I was embarrassed and frustrated.  After it was all said and done, I placed 12^th, overall for the entire competition.  I was very pleased with Denali considering the stage at which Denali was at in his training.  When we started gentling him, he was very aggressive and nearly attacked us numerous times.  Now, at this competition, I had a horse that loved me as his partner and handler; one that was willing to do what I asked within reason, and one that I knew, if not pushed too hard, would continue to improve as we continued our learning together.

But I had to get him home first.  On Sunday, the adoption auction began and I wasn’t certain that I would win the bid.   I’m a student on a limited budget, but when the auctioneer said, “SOLD” and I realized that I was the one that would be taking him home, I cried one last time.  Words cannot express how much fun and exciting and nerve racking this weekend was, and I am so thankful that I now have even more time to teach my little mustang new things.  ~Sarah

I remember our first round penning session.  He was so flighty I wondered if I was going to have a difficult time drawing him off the rail to face me.  But the first time I asked, he turned right into me and stood square.  I think it startled both of us.  His eyes were so expressive it was impossible to not know exactly what he was thinking.  And with the passing of the weeks, the worry slowly left and a softer, content look eased in. With every request I made of him, Zephyr’s response was always, ‘Is this right? Is this what you wanted?’  His reactions to everything have been sincere and his questions legitimate.  He has challenged me to answer his questions with kindness and resolve. Teaching this horse everything it has learned in the past few months has given me a joy unparalleled by anything I have experienced prior.

As I think about the potential of having to go home with an empty trailer after the competition, I have to keep in mind that this is what I signed up for.  I knew that at the end of 100 days, I would demonstrate his trainability and talent in the training competition held by the Mustang Heritage Foundation before an auction.  But with all of our combined experiences, how could I possibly let him go?  Will I be able to say goodbye to my teacher?  If all goes as I hope, then I won’t have to.  But if we part ways at the auction, I can only hope that his new partner learns as much from him as I have.  I will always have our shared memories to cherish.

~Anna Jacob, NLH^TM Intern, 2011-2012

Day 39 was Denali’s first ride under saddle, but it felt like Day 100. There is so much work that has to be put in before getting on a horse for the first time. Patience is so important in this step because it could essentially determine if the horse will buck or not while riding. Denali isn’t sensitive to very many things, so I had no problems introducing him to the saddle for the first time. I hobbled him so he couldn’t go too far just to be safe. The next step was lunging him with the saddle on, which he also did very well with. I then added a long cotton rope that dragged behind him so he could get use to the feel of that on his legs, and I tied saddle bags filled with sand so he could feel some weight bumping on him while he ran. Getting up in the saddle was a whole different process. I spent countless times stepping up in the stirrup with one foot and stepping down to let him feel my weight and get used to balancing himself with me on him. When I finally got to sit in the saddle for the first time, he was hobbled. I practiced several mounts and dismounts. A few days later I put the bosal on him and started flexing him and yielding his hind quarters with the hobbles still on. He finally graduated from it all, and because I took that extra time to solidify his ground work with the saddle on, he didn’t buck on his first ride. To me, that was a great success and proved to me that it was time well spent waiting to get in that saddle.

Training under saddle was all a blur to me because I was working on different things all the time. Suzanne rode the first couple days to make sure he wasn’t going to be aggressive. We had no idea what to expect from him. She started with flexing him and teaching him to one rein stop. Then, we put the snaffle bit in him for the first time on Day 50, which took about 20 minutes to get in. I worked on “follow the feel” with him, which means when I pick up left, he goes left. He really struggled with where to go when I wasn’t pulling in a direction. He didn’t understand the concept of move straight forward. Then, on day 66 I went out on trail with him and he kept blowing through my reins when I asked him to back down a gait. He was so full of energy and ready to run. Then, when I asked him to canter straight through a field, he veered off to the right and started running downhill. I started slipping off and then he threw a happy buck and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground in extreme pain. I had badly bruised my knees and leg bones. I had to take three weeks off to recover, so Suzanne and Anna helped to keep his training going. When I got back, he was in the process of learning how to neck rein, depart on the right lead, and not blow through the reins in the canter. I am so impressed by how far he has come in such a short time and so proud of him. I knew he could do it! It just took patience.

Today, there is less than a week before the competition, and I am confident that Denali is ready to show off his moves. He walks, trots, caters, backs up, pivots on the haunches, side passes and so much more. Starting out in May, I never expected this journey to be so hard and enduring, and yet so enjoyable at the same time. The bond that I have built with this horse is so strong and hard to describe in words. He has taught me so much in 90 days, especially patience, and changed me as a person. My life would not be the same without him. Hopefully I will bring him home with me after the competition!

~Sarah Dengler, NLH^TM Intern, 2012

Last Friday we drove down to Lorton, Virginia to pick up our two mustangs.  I had been waiting for this day for months and expected some sort of chaotic horse round up in a big arena with lots of people and horses everywhere.  But when we pulled into the field where the temporary Bureau of Land Management holding facility was located, it was strangely quiet.

There were about 8 pens of horses adjoining a central chute and trailer loading area with 5 or 6 BLM and Mustang Heritage Foundation personnel overseeing the operation.   I walked up to the registration table, filled out my paperwork and was told to look for number 3395.

Meet Zephyr—a 5 year old mustang gelding from Wall Canyon, California, and my greatest challenge and best teacher to date.  We unloaded them at NLH^TM without a hitch and all the next day while we let them settle in, Zephyr stood outside the stall and just watched.  His curiosity and alertness were apparent from that moment on.

We had our first round penning session on Sunday.  I was immediately impressed by his sensitivity to my body language and willingness to move his feet when asked.  During that first session, we established drive and draw pressures and I was even able to get him to come off the rail and face me consistently.  In our subsequent sessions throughout the week, we revisited these concepts and I asked more and more of him.  By the end of the week, he was following me a few steps and moving off subtle cues.   And all this before we even got a halter on him!

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I worked with him using obstacles (he’s a jumper pony in the making, for sure!), a long pole and ropes.  Because of his sensitivity to stimuli, he was quite reactive and I knew that it was going to take a while to get to a point where I could touch him.  In the short time Zephyr and I have been a team, he has taught me the importance of patience and consistency.  Too often we rush things—with everything, not just with horses—and I knew I couldn’t do that this time.  If you pay attention to your horse, he will tell you everything you need to know.  All I had to do was look at Zephyr and listen to what he was telling me.  Of course I wanted to have a magical moment that redefines horsemanship and ride off into the sunset bareback, but he told me he wasn’t ready for that… yet.

It took me 4 days until I could touch him with my hand.  Four days of building a solid foundation of trust so that he knew I wasn’t going to rush things and force him to do things he wasn’t comfortable with.
On Thursday Suzanne helped me halter him and in the days after that, I was able to work my way down the rope.  Using first the cue stick and then my hands, I slowly inched my way down his head, neck and body until I could pet him all over.  I had been waiting for this moment since I saw him in Virginia.  This was it! I could finally touch him!!  His trust in me was the reward for my patience.

This past Saturday, I worked on desensitizing him to the stick and string, approaching him from different angles and leading him around.  His ears were always working and I could see him thinking and processing everything.  We even went on a little walk outside the arena and grazed for a while.  It was a great opportunity for me to let him know that he doesn’t have to be on guard around me all the time—that he can relax and just chow down!

This is my first time working with a wild horse.  Suzanne has been amazing at teaching me the best ways to approach Zephyr’s training and I am so thankful for her giving me this opportunity.  I fully anticipate continuing to learn in leaps and bounds from both her and Zephyr in the coming weeks, months, and years.

The new year brings new beginnings and a flurry of activity for many.  At NLH^TM things are no different.  This year is already off to a running start with a new group of trainers of various breeds and disciplines, and a brand new schedule of clinics and expos.  And, there is a new face around the farm these days too, one that is becoming more and more well known by the people that come and go at NLH^TM, and of a gal that is becoming an integral part of the day to day operations of the farm.

NLH^TM happily welcomes Anna Jacob as the newest training apprentice and barn manager at NLH^TM for 2012.   Anna has had a lifelong passion for horses and horsemanship and a history as an equestrian which includes endurance riding throughout the Mid-Atlantic,  competing in Hunter/Jumper events, and giving riding lessons to many at various locations.

Anna is interested in a wide variety of equestrian disciplines including eventing, reining, and dressage  and has a strong desire to learn more about Natural and Classical horsemanship.  Her pursuit for knowledge and more experience led her to NLH^TM.

She began volunteering at Next Level Horsemanship^TM in the summer of 2011 and dedicated her time learning the routine of the daily operations including feeding, turnout, and health management practices, and soon began assisting with training sessions after learning the basics of the NLH^TM Program.

Anna proved to have the ability to learn the timing, feel and balance necessary to become a exceptional horsewoman.  She is a strong rider and has the rare and raw talent needed to be successful as a horse trainer across disciplines.  She has a keen eye for detail in the exercises she performs with the horses, has the patience and persistence necessary to be steadfast in her interactions with them, and is tough enough to handle the most challenging situations – including constructive criticism from her teacher!

And, she’s smart!  In May of 2012, Anna will graduate from The Penn State University with a degree in Toxicology and minors in French and Global Health.  Afterwards she will continue her apprenticeship at NLH^TM throughout the following year.

Anna is an exceptional person as well as an equine talent.  She has a special knack for teaching and loves to help others learn to ride.  As she learns the NLH^TM Training Program in depth, she will also be helping other riders improve their skills through lessons.

In August of this year, Anna will put her new-found skills as a trainer to the test by competing in an Extreme Mustang Makeover challenge to be held in NJ.  She will have just 100 days to gentle and train a wild American mustang and compete with her peers to showcase the talents and abilities of her horse.

I have no doubt she will be a huge success and will forever be blessed by the experience.

Please join us in welcoming Anna Jacob to Next Level Horsemanship^TM!

Some of you might be wondering how I can still ride horses while I’m in school, maybe some of you aren’t, but what I’m going to explain to you in today’s blog is a normal day for me.

First I drag myself out of bed at 5:00 a.m. and start to get ready for school. My bus comes around 7:15 and I have to leave my house at 7:00. Don’t ask me why I get up so early but I just don’t like to be rushed and I like to have some time to veg in the morning.

Then I get on the bus and enjoy a nice 45-minute bus ride. When I get to school we all wait in the cafeteria until our teacher comes to dismiss all of us. This year I have Language Arts and Math and also Science and Social Studies depending on what day it is. Now I’m also taking keyboarding, music, gym, and art. It keeps me very busy but homework is not actually that bad – yet!

When the bell rings I get on the bus and am on my way home to go ride horses… unless I have drama club practice or yearbook which I would stay after school until 6:00 p.m. and then I wouldn’t be able to ride because it would be too late by the time that I got home.

So if I ride the normal bus home, I would get home and go inside and go change and get something to eat, then head outside to ride horses!
When I’m done ridding I will get cleaned up and then go to bed and set my alarms for another fun filled day!

Recently Mom and I went to an expo in Maryland to give demos and talks. I took Jacuzzi, my mustang and did a round penning demo and also showed people how easy it is to build your confidence around horses when you can get them to do cool stuff in the round pen and other stuff like bowing and laying down. It was really fun but mom and I were very busy!

We got to stay at a Sheraton Hotel that was attached to a very big mall! After the expo we would walk to the mall and shop a little bit and then have dinner at some good places to eat.

We’re doing it again in Harrisburg PA in February – I can’t wait really! Maybe I’ll see you there!

A trail ride on a beautiful day in January to close the week-long PSU/NLH externship.

Hi Everybody,

Well already this year is getting off to a running start and we are so excited about our 2012 schedule!  We hope that all of you will join us at some point through clinics, demonstrations, and/or workshops that will be hosted at NLH^TM throughout the year.  Our schedule commenced this year the week of January 2nd when we hosted two Penn State University students for a week-long training externship.  We have been participating with Penn State to host externship students for three years now.  We typically accept 2 students both on winter break and spring break weeks.  We look forward to working with the students because it is a great way to introduce people to horsemanship like they’ve never known it before!

The NLH^TM Program is very broad based and comprehensive, both for the horses and for handlers.  I know this because I developed the Program through nearly 27 years of working with horses of all breeds and most disciplines.  I’m finding out more and more through talking with people that I’ve trained horses for and those that have participated in our clinics, that most had no idea what was possible with their horses until after they’ve gone through our Program.   I sometimes assume that everybody should be aware of how well trained their horses can be but the reality of it is that many horses are not being ridden at nearly what they are capable of being because they are missing specific elements of training.  And, they stay that way until something prompts their owners to want more from them.

Working with the extern students is a fantastic way to introduce them to what is possible in the training of the horse.  Many of the students have never seen horses do what we teach our horses to do, or they have never witnessed or fully understood what it takes to get horses to a particular level of training.  It truly gives me great pleasure to give them a glimpse of how to develop the Partnership with a horse and pave the way for Performance and Possibilities  on many fronts.

Similarly, we teach many what is possible with their horses when we take our Program on the road.  The weekend of the 19th of January we participated as clinicians at the Maryland Horse World Expo in Timonium, MD where we talked to many about how to build confidence as a rider,how to coach your horse to the Next Level of Performance, and how to stay fit while having fun with your horse.  People had a chance to see what some of our horses are doing and I hope that it motivated them to realize what is Possible for them and their horse as well.

It is always great to get out and about and mingle with people at the expos.  I love talking with passers by at our booth and hearing the stories of their horses and experiences in horsemanship.  This time of year is a perfect time to get people motivated to make a plan for their horse and for themselves for the coming year.  If the department stores are hanging the new line of bikinis for 2012 on the racks already, shouldn’t we be making an action plan for our horses and horsemanship goals for this year now?!

It does pay to plan ahead and this time of year we’re doing just that!  We don’t want to miss out on anything including the chance to work with you all!  We have a lot in store for 2012 and we’re hoping you will join us for fun and an exciting exploration of what is Possible for you and your horse.

A well trained horse is not a fixed asset. Your investment in training will only be secured if you can maintain or improve that level of training with a firm understanding of what your horse knows, how to ask for it, and how to effectively thwart off unwanted behaviors.

At Next Level Horsemanship^TM we encourage people to become involved in their horse’s training by inviting them to watch, participate at a level that is comfortable for them, and providing them with training materials such as our Foundations: From the Ground Up DVDs to ensure that they can continue the Program well beyond when they take their horses home.

Ultimately it is up to the owner to ensure the success of training beyond the trainer’s barn so here are a few NLH^TM Cue Tips to help you out:

Watch your horse in training and at some point take lessons on your horse so that you know how to ask him to perform the maneuvers he’s been taught.

When your horse comes home from training, make sure that you are ready to take the lead to keep improving on his training at home.

This will ensure that you know the details of the training your horse has just received.

This will be especially useful to keep working on little quirks that may not have been ironed out during the length of time your horse was at the training facility.

If you build a relationship with your trainer, you can expect to get more help beyond the initial training period.

Consistency and repetition are key to the long term success of your horse’s training.

Build awareness to how your horse behaves and pay attention to the details. Only then will you be able to correct unwanted behaviors or reward good ones to keep your horse improving.

Often we become complacent and let things slide because we either don’t know how to fix them or we just don’t want to be confrontational. Your horse will only improve if you have the ability to train on him and seize opportunities to do so.

There are many ways to ensure the training you put on your horse becomes solid and lasts a lifetime. Ultimately you are responsible for that. Become educated about your horse’s training and have fun keeping him tuned up or even teaching him something new. Build the Partnership, then Performance and Possibilities will be realized!

NLH gals with Einstein's Revolution: courtsey, Kyle Ranch.

Hey Everybody,

I haven’t had a chance to write a blog since we all got back from Texas, and that was all the way back in September, but it’s never too late! I’m just going to tell everybody about our trip to Texas for the Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover. First we took two mustangs to Tennessee. Leslie Lloyd is the owner of Viggo, the mustang that my mom trained, and Mary Kay Soergel is the owner of Sparrow that Lauren trained. I was going to train a mustang along with my Mom and Lauren, but there was an age limit on this particular mustang challenge.

When we got to Tennessee we stayed over at our friend’s house, who was also participating in the challenge, and we took their two horses down to the competition too. Instead of taking two trucks and trailers the whole way from Tennessee to Texas, we drove together. We both wanted to go down a few days earlier than the actual challenge started, so our horses could get a chance to adjust to the heat and get some rest from the long ride.

We stayed at a place called Kyle Ranch, which is where Pete Kyle and his wife Tamera live. They are huge into the sport of reining and we got to see a famous reining horse named Einstein’s Revolution. He lives at that ranch – it was so cool! It was really nice for us because we could relax a little and they had a swimming pool, so when it was super hot we went swimming and got a refresher. I even did most of my homework just with my legs in the pool, hoping not to drop anything . While we were staying at their place we also got to haul out to a couple other ranches and work some cattle, because in these patterns you have to either jump or work cattle, and both, Lauren and Mom chose to work cattle because they didn’t really have the jumping ‘type’ of horses this time.

Now its time for the challenge and we are on our way to the Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover! The first day was just haul in and a trainers meeting. Then the second day was the start of the competition and both mom and Lauren did their trail course and a ridding portion where you have to perform specific maneuvers. The next day they both did the course where they had to work a cow. That is a lot harder than you think it is especially when you don’t have cows to practice on everyday! We didn’t do as good as we would have wanted to but lets face it, we only worked cows like twice and the cow work class was really important in this competition scoring wise. Overall we had a total BLAST and we got to go out to eat mostly every night, and we went to the Stock Yards which was really cool.

I also have some more great news to share: mom and I are going to be doing special clinics and demos at a couple of expos next year! I can’t wait to show people how cool my mustang Jacuzzi is!
So I’ll see you all in the next two weeks and share some more exciting news about what’s been happening at NLH!

Brooke