Alex Kurland Clinics

[Susan C]

Just wondering if anyone has been to one of the clinics going on just now?  There is one this weekend up here (Scotland) but I have a rather large Horse trials to go to otherwise i would have been there!

[Gillb]

Yes we had three boiling hot but inspiring days in Yorkshire last week with Alex, who is a great teacher. They were a lovely bunch of people, I learnt lots and so did my pony who amazed me with her calm and settled behaviour throughout. It was our first trip away to a clinic and so interesting.
Now we are back home and have lots to work on!

[hilary]

I was at the Yorkshire one too , learnt loads , my head is still full!
We did some really good rope handling exercises amongst loads of other things, one of which is so simple, and yet is so effective.

One person holds a lead rope just below the clip with their hands in a fist in front of them.Be really tende, hold the rope tightly, and scrunch up each part of your body.The other person slides smoothly up the rope (overhand motion) and the person holding the rope says when they can feel them.
Then you repeat the exercise with the peron holding the rope being lose and relaxed - the difference is pretty amazing in terms of how much "feel" they have.And it is a really good way of showing that when our horse are tense , they literally cannot "feel" us in the same way.

Also saw an amzing video clip, with Alex working a horse called MAgic on the west coast of AMerica. She was longlining him, with the horse in full collection, stop, rockback, forward,bit of shoulder in. He then had a little rest, and extended forward to have a good stretch.  Only thing was -the longlines were imaginary, her hands and body were in the position they would be if the longlines were on. If you had seen this browsing on the internet it would be easy to say  the video had been doctored!

Hilary
 

[Danni]

I read in Scottish & Northern about the clinic in Scotland but unfortunately am up to my eyeballs with work  :( Don't think my brain could cope with it at the moment but I'd have loved to have gone too.