Well,the two day clinic was a hit! There were 14 horses from all over the lower peninsula of MI of various breeds. There was a TWH,a RMH, a Paso Fino, four MFTs and an assortment of other non-gaited breeds. I did not bring my 2 y.o. mare. We hadn't progressed far enough in her training to take her. Oh well, it was very educational anyway. I learned alot just by watching. If you want to see pictures of it, go to the Michigan Foxtrotters FB page(the one with the mare & foal). The clinician set up things to walk through(pool noodles,brush,a hard plastic sand box),big logs to walk over, a narrow raised walkway to traverse, a mounted running fan with streamers to walk past, the sand box with sand & water & small plastic balls in it(alot of horses didn't like walking through that), bubbles,fog,sparklers,flares and FIRE! All of the horses made it through the lines and circle of fire. It was really cool! Many of the horses didn't like the bubbles floating toward them.
Susan teaches very effectively and keeps things moving along. A little girl who boards at Susan's rode Susan's bombproof QH through everything ahead of any horse that was afraid to go through an obstacle. It really helped.
Now the participants want to have the clinic again in October. I had a couple of ladies from our association help me with organizing this event. It took us seven months to plan and promote. Hopefully it won't be as much work this next time.
Marilyn
Bud (31 yo MFT) & Kate (2 yo MFT).
Author
Topic: Obstacle Training Clinic July 21/22 in Ionia,MI (Read 163 times)