Category Archives: Jane Savoie

Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

Charley and I used to hang out a lot together.

Then one day, Jane told me it was important to surround myself with positive influences.

As you can see from his picture, Charley is a “the water bucket is half empty” kind of guy. He’s negative about EVERYTHING!

He’s what Jane calls a “stinkin’ thinker”. So as hard as it was to do and as much as I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, I stopped hanging around with Charley.

I’ve learned that negative thinking is very contagious, and I don’t want to be infected!

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

Less is more. It’s true.

When you’re first learning something new, you usually try too hard. We all do that. Once we have the skills we find we can achieve the same thing with little effort.

Life is like too. Sometimes you just need to sit back and let things unfold. In some ways the less you do, the more that flows to you.

Where in your life to you do TOO much? What if it could be effortless?

Try doing less this week. See what happens, and notice what comes to you on its own.

Meet me at the barn and let’s see how little you have to do for success to show up!

Love, Moshi

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

Always Use Your Legs before Your Hands When Putting Your Horse on the Bit, by Jane Savoie

December 18, 2012 – If you only use your hands when putting your horse on the bit, you’re making one of the biggest mistakes you can make. By focusing on the head and “getting the head down”, you’ll just be creating an artificial “head-set”. Putting your horse on the bit has nothing to do with “head-sets”.

Physically, when your horse is on the bit, he has a round silhouette that only occurs when you ride him from behind, over his back, through his neck, and into your hands (and at that point the energy can be recycled back to the hind legs).

Mentally, a horse that is on the bit is “on the aids” and anything (like a transition, extension, or stepping into a lateral exercise) is possible within the next step.

When you’re working on putting your horse on the bit, remember to always FIRST use your driving aids before you use your reins. You want to create a surge from behind as if you’re starting a lengthening.

Continue reading Always Use Your Legs before Your Hands When Putting Your Horse on the Bit, by Jane Savoie

Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

QUESTIONS

Jane talks a lot about high quality questions. To understand what that means, you have to be able to know the difference between a low quality question and a high quality question.

A low quality question can only give you a low quality answer and tends to create more of what you DON’T want. A low quality question usually starts with “Why?” or “How come?”

Such as, if you say, “Why did I pull on the left rein in that transition…” your mind will search for an answer and probably tell you, “…because you’re uncoordinated and not a very good rider.”

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

I often hear Jane talking to people in sounds that I don’t understand. I may not be clear on the distinctions of her human words, but I can hear and feel the meaning behind them.

She has suggested that people eliminate the word “not” from their vocabulary because there’s no picture in the mind for the word “not”. None of us can picture “not”! Since I process the world in mental pictures, the word “not” creates mind pictures that are just the opposite of what the person really wants.

Saying “Don’t shy” tells me there’s danger ahead, and I SHOULD shy to keep us safe.

Jane speaks to me in positive words, whose meaning creates the picture in her mind and my mind of what she DOES want. That I can understand!

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

Did You Know I Gave a Clinic in the Midst of Hurricane Sandy? by Jane Savoie

Last month I taught a 4-day workshop at the USET headquarters in New Jersey right in the middle of “Frankenstorm”. I’d like to share a video from that event and mention that next Tuesday, Dec. 4, I’m going to be doing a free teleseminar to kick off an exciting “Surviving Sandy” promotion.

You can watch the video and sign up for next week’s teleseminar here: http://savoiedressageacademy.com/program/leg-yielding/.

But as far as that workshop went, my goal was simple — to give riders and teachers a clear, step-by-step system for training and problem solving.

Sometimes it seems that you need an advanced degree in rocket science just to be an effective rider, doesn’t it? Some teachers even give you the feeling that unless you’re some kind of gifted genius or have been riding since you could walk that you’ll never really get anywhere.

Continue reading Did You Know I Gave a Clinic in the Midst of Hurricane Sandy? by Jane Savoie

Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

A winning attitude isn’t hard to achieve, but it does take some effort. For some reason, many people find it easier to wallow in negativity than to make the effort to turn things around and be positive. Horses aren’t like that. We don’t think about the past or the future. We just live now.

I’ve noticed Jane using the tools she’s learned and developed over the years to change her attitude. You see, even Jane has bad days. But she doesn’t stay in a bad place. She’s learned how to consciously change her thinking, and, therefore, change her experience.

One of Jane’s most powerful tools is deciding to have an attitude of gratitude. She’ll tell me how much she appreciates me, my soft coat, my powerful muscles, my long, pretty mane, and my work ethic. She’ll go on and on about how good my tempi changes are, and how wonderfully my piaffe is developing. Even when I make a mistake, she’ll tell me how grateful she is that I willingly try my best. Yes, gratitude is the fastest way to turn a bad day into a great day.

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

You know that horses are flight animals, right? I’m sure you do. It means that we naturally run away from danger. Our size and our speed are our best defenses, so we like to RUN when things get scary.

Humans have this amazing ability to do things in spite of their fears. Jane says that courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is being afraid and doing your job in spite of your fear.

It’s okay to be afraid. It’s natural and most of the time it’s smart. It’s only a problem if it stops you from doing what you want to do.

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

Love is a verb. Love is active. Jane knows that love does wonders for your winning attitude! You can’t hold a negative thought when you’re in a state of love.

Horses show love by scratching each other’s backs and guarding each other while we nap. We often equate love with respect. That is why we love the people who consistently guide us and keep us safe. When we’re confident that you’re a good leader, we find ourselves loving you and wanting to please you. We love the good herd-boss because he or she is the one who makes us feel secure.

Love is something you give away. The more you give it away, the more you have in your life.

Where can you demonstrate love today? How do you feel inside when you demonstrate love?

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

The Connecting Aids Are the Key to Putting Your Horse on the Bit, by Jane Savoie

October 8, 2012 – No matter where I travel, the most frequently asked questions I get are, “How do I put my dressage horse on the bit… and how do I keep him there consistently?” This concept baffles many riders. My hope here is to simplify the process for you by explaining how to give what I call “connecting aids”.

First, you need to know that the “connecting aids” are the SPECIFIC AIDS you’ll use to put your horse on the bit. It’s an AID just like there is a specific aid to ask for canter or for a leg yield.

Now for some information on the connecting aids:

1)     The reason we give connecting aids is to bring the horse to a more perfect state of balance.

Continue reading The Connecting Aids Are the Key to Putting Your Horse on the Bit, by Jane Savoie