My students are able to cross disciplines because they are taught to unite with their horses and have timing, balance, and feel with confidence.  I teach my students from the beginning how to balance with their thighs and use their lower leg, seat and thighs to communicate with the horses. They are taught to balance through their bodies. I have them ride in Western Saddles, English Saddles and Bareback. They learn to feel the horse and understand the horse’s movement. My students are taught to be confident and understand their horses, feel what the horse is communicating and support their horses. This allows the horse to feel confidence from their riders and in turn the rider has confidence in their horse. I teach Jumping, Horsemanship, Western and Trail riding and my horses are able to cross over and do their jobs regardless of the saddle type they are ridden in. Ray Hunt has a quote in his book Cowboy Logic, “I donʼt ride my saddle, I ride my horse.” If a rider is feeling their horses through the saddle then the rider is connected to the horse and the horse’s movement. With this connection a rider can develop the skill to ride in any saddle style. Not one saddle style is better or superior to another. Not one riding discipline is any more superior to another.  The horse is the reason any of us get involved in the different disciplines and riding styles. It is about the horse not the saddle.

As a brand new rider, I adopted Oskar, a neglected and troubled horse. It was a risky, if not foolish thing to do. But  Kathe offered to train the both us, and I am thrilled to say that we are doing great. Kathe was the definitely the key to our success.

What distiguishes Kathe as an instructor is her ability to perceive a rider wholistically and tailor her lessons accordingly. Depending on a student’s needs, she might give instruction on technical riding skills, or emotional support to develop self-confidence, or  natural horsemanship theory to improve understanding.  She does it all with humor and great kindness.  Her group classes have a devoted following because of the supportive but challenging environment she creates for riders at all different skill levels.

Kathe’s training has been a priceless gift to me. I had no idea how rewarding it could be to have a connection to a horse, and I am deeply grateful to Kathe for showing me the way.

We have attached a copy of a newsletter written by Madeleine Pickens of the Saving America’s Mustangs Organization

We hope you enjoy the article as much as we did.

Recap After the BLM Advisory Board Meeting in Denver

On June 14, 2010, our voices were heard! Myself, along with dozens of wild horse advocates and supporters banded together to give our horses a voice of their own. I was proud to be among the company of so many distinguished individuals who really care as much as I do about finding a safe alternative to the wild horse and burro round ups scheduled since 2009 until the end of 2010. The BLM (Bureau of Land Management), along with the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board mediated a public workshop where anyone could attend and offer comments on their proposal their Wild Horse and Burro Strategy Development Document .  BLM’s J. Michael Harty mediated the discussion and it was he who initially came up with this workshop format.There was a considerable turnout which shows how devoted Americans are to their horses! These horses are a part of our heritage and should remain free to roam the lands as they did years ago.

Some of the other attendees were:

Elyse Gardner, Humane Observer and wild horse advocate

Karen Sussman, President of the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs & Burros

Dr. Cassandra Nunez, International Society for the Protection of Mustangs & Burros

Neda DeMayo, Return to Freedom (proposed Solider Meadows plan)

Ginger Kathrens, Volunteer CEO of the Cloud Foundation

Deniz Bolbol, In Defense of Animals

Willis Lamm, Alliance of Wild Horses

Carol Walker, Equine Photographer & Author of Wild Hoofbeats

Katie Fite, M.S. Western Watersheds Project Biodiversity Director

Craig C. Downer, Wildlife Ecologist

Valerie Stanley, Attorney

Suzanne Roy, American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign

Andrea Lococo, Animal Welfare Institute

Laura Leigh, Herd Watch Project Manager

Each person had their turn to speak about various issues personal to them. Each issue was discussed passionately and was addressed by the Advisory Board, who hopefully is taking each idea into consideration.  Is has been since brought to our attention by the BLM that they will partner with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to give an aerial census of Northern Nevada and Southern Oregon. Unfortunately, Laura Leigh, the Herd Watch Project Manager for the Cloud Foundation was declined her request to participate in the aerial census.

It has been estimated that these round ups scheduled by the BLM are costing taxpayers around $40 million per year. The costs are for the holding pens and the round up removal process using helicopters and select cattle ranchers paid to carry out the process. This is something that could be remedied, if they discontinued the round ups and I’m able to create a sanctuary, as I’ve proposed several times, for these approximate 33,000 wild horses in holding pens.

They have heard our ideas and our plans, but it will still be a struggle to have something stick to the wall and get put into action, but we will prevail! The best thing any of you can do is to click the Take Action link on our homepage and send a letter to your congressman and our government officials and tell them you want them to listen and that you support preserving the American West’s natural icon: the wild horse.

Warm Regards,

Madeleine

Take Action for Saving America’s Mustangs. With your help, we can give these horses a say.

Wild Horse and Burro Act

Please visit the Saving America’s Mustangs website and show your support at www.savingamericasmustangs.org

The Cloud Foundation is an incredibly important non-profit organization that is based out of Colorado.  It was started by Ginger Kathrens and based on her awareness and dissatisfaction of the roundups of wild horses.  Quiet Mind Horsemanship is a supporter of The Cloud Foundation and recently received a newsletter from The Cloud Foundation and decided to share it with those whom aren’t already signed up for the newsletter.  Please read the newsletter below:

New Foals in Cloud’s Herd

Dear Cloud Fans;

It took four days of searching, but Makendra and I finally found Cloud and his family on Tillett Ridge, or maybe I should say he found us.
 
I think he and the band had crossed through Big Coulee canyon (how I don’t know!) and arrived on Tillett just as we were creeping uphill in our 4-wheel drive vehicle. The whole band looked great with a very pregnant Aztec amongst them. Cloud looks just wonderful for early May—better than I have seen him looking in years.  This is the time of year when the horses are typically the thinnest, having survived the rigors of a Montana winter. Now the grass is coming up and new foals are being born. It’s an exciting time.
 
The weather on our first day on the mountain was a snowy one. At least a foot of new snow had fallen the day before and it prevented us from getting very high, but we were lucky enough to spot Flint and his family on a hillside on Tillett Ridge and we hiked close to them. I call this little family “the Flintstones” for Flint, his mare Feldspar, and son Jasper. The coming three-year-old mare, Heather, who Flint won in 2009 rounds out this four-some, soon to be a five-some or even six-some if Feldspar and Heather foal. They both look pregnant to me. I sat in the snow and watched the family for hours. Flint patrolled the perimeter, on the look out for other stallions and perhaps even mountain lions. Tracks are often seen near the spot where the band grazed. At one point Jasper walked out to join his father. They are quite close and make a handsome pair. When it started snowing harder, we made our way back to the car, thankful we could spend some quiet, quality time with this lovely band. 
 
Over the next few days, we were privileged to be in attendance just hours after three foals were born. One is a striking little filly daughter of  Bolder.
 
Perhaps the single most exciting moment was the discovery of the other foal in Bolder’s band, his son and a Cloud grandson.
 
I felt like I was in a bit of time warp—transported back to 1995. The pale colt we watched racing on a ridge top on Sykes is very like Cloud in color and in spirit. He is the daughter of the flashy black mare, Cascade. Her son is the only living foal she has ever had after years of infertility, an out of season birth, and a foal she may have aborted or lost soon after birth last year. I had trouble taking pictures of him, he ran so fast and turned so quickly only to race back in the opposite direction.
 
He very sweetly went to say hi to his newborn sister on the second day we spent with the band. As he tried to touch her nose, she laid her ears back and tried to kick him. This little filly has spunk and I can’t wait to see her in a few weeks when she too can race with her big brother. We pray these proud Cloud grandchildren can survive and we will work very hard to see they are never removed from their mountain home.
 
As we continue our campaign to protect all wild horse and burros living free as well as legally expand Cloud’s range in the Pryors, it is experiences like these that renew our will to fight even harder for them. Please help us by donating to the Cloud Foundation today. Your support is vital as we lead the campaign to preserve wild horses and burros on our public lands, to fund our legal efforts, to educate our elected officials, to reach out to the general public with our speaking trips from coast-to-coast, to keep the pressure on BLM by responding to plans to remove even more horses and burros in 2010 and 2011, to create press releases and conduct interviews with the media, to care for our precious Freedom Fund horses in Montana, and underwrite our exciting new Herd Watch program. 
 
Our goal is to change the philosophy of wild horse and burro management on our public’s lands. This new philosophy would focus on freedom and family, fiscal accountability, and the need to manage for viable herds on the range, in lieu of managing (at a substantial loss of taxpayer dollars) millions of head of welfare livestock. 
 
Thanks to all of you who have contributed with your donations, your ideas, your encouraging words, and your volunteer efforts.  Trust that our collective voices are making a difference. Change is on the wind. Never ever give up the fight!
Happy Trails,
Ginger

Thank you for reading this touching newsletter brought to us by The Cloud Foundation.  For more information on The Cloud Foundation please visit their official website at www.thecloudfoundation.org

“Confidence is knowing you are prepared”.  Just one of Kathe’s core values that not only translates into my daily life but has made it possible for me to keep myself and my horse safe and moving forward.  Horses are a gift in my life that Kathe has made possible.  Today, not only am I riding safely, I have an adopted Mustang and a group of friends that are invaluable to me.

Thanks to Kathe I look forward to a retirement of continued learning and joy with my friends and the horses.  Thanks Kathe!

The last time I went riding was the day after Thanksgiving 2009.  It had been about 5 or 6 years since my previous ride, so I definitely needed a refresher course (which Mom insisted on).  She gave me a quick refresher course and also worked with me throughout the 3 hour trail ride we took.  I was actually worried that the assistance was going to ruin my enjoyment of the ride, but safety is more important so I went along with it.  As it turned out, I enjoyed the entire ride and learned some new things on top of the quick refresher course.  I’m thankful and lucky to have a mother that can give me this guidance.  I love riding, and will definitely have to start riding much more often.  Thanks mom.

Patty Cho-Zahorecz, DVM

Prescott, Arizona

This is part of a newsletter that Quiet Mind Horsemanship received from IDA (In Defense of Animals) regarding a BLM roundup of wild horses.   Please read this article and submit comments to the link below.  The comments that you submit will be forwarded to the BLM regarding this issue.  Also you may post comments on below on this article and we will forward them to the proper people on your behalf.

Help Stop Another Proposed Wild Horse Roundup

Submit Comments By April 2!

This is the beginning of the BLM’s process to remove wild horses in the Adobe Town and Salt Wells Herd Management Areas in Wyoming. It’s important that we submit our comments now to oppose this newest proposed assault on wild horses.