22/11/2024
Spots still open for the SE Qld clinic. Mark is a fantastic trainer and has a way of working with horses that brings them an awareness to what is being asked, that allows them to become soft and willing in their body mind .
When I first started teaching clinics, I thought I was out there to help people by giving them better tools to help them train in a kinder way. There wasn't any aggressive or dominance based training in what I was offering. There still isn't.
But as I started doing more clinics and helping more horses, I started to see common threads of troubles in horses. I also noticed that these were linked to common styles of training.
This made me really define and refine what I was teaching. I wanted to avoid causing the trouble in the first place. As time progressed; I could see that training people was still important, but I started to identify and help horses more from changing their mindsets.
To have a horse that is in a healthy mindset: one that has good awareness of things around it, the ability to process, a healthy nervous system, high level of proprioception. I also want to see horses that have a mindset that can cope with a life living around humans - whether that be in training or just general situations.
People mostly bring horses to me because they are stuck, and they are unable to progress with their horse. Or perhaps the training that they have been doing doesn't seem to work with a horse that they have. For some, it is a bit of working out what to do - what decision to make as to what to do next.
The main thing that I work on at clinics now is shifting the way horses process information so that they can be in a healthy mindset to process information and their environment better. This can be the same thing on different horses - for example, helping a high adrenaline horse to centre is the same principle as opening up a shut down/ shut out horse and helping it to be in a searching mindset. The techniques the different; but the principle is the same - helping each horse to be in a better mindset.
The horses that come to my clinics for the first time haven't changed over the years.
But the horses that come back, I am noticing significant changes: their all round wellbeing is much improved. It's exciting because the horses aren't necessarily coming back more obedient or knowing more tricks - they are coming back more softer, more connected, and mentally and physically balanced.
" After attending Mark's two day clinic last week, we gave us and the horses some time to digest. Yesterday morning I rode Buck in the arena.... It was the BEST ride, smooth canter transitions, clarifying and calming my aids, a willing forward Bucky.
The impact of last week, the Masterclass and the clinic has been immense to both us and our horses. Mark thank you so much the future is looking bright." (Melissa)
>>Glasshouse Mountains QLD: Elimbah - places available on 1/ 4/2 days Fri 22 - Mon 25 Nov. Option to do any number of days from 1-4! Ground work or ridden. Suitable for any person and any horse. More info: https://form.jotform.com/232648741723864
