Category Archives: Jane Savoie

Community/Charity, Jane Savoie

Motivation from Moshi 93, by Jane Savoie

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The dentist stopped by today. I hate the dentist. He scares me. But I know once he’s floated my teeth and taken off the sharp points on my back molars, I’ll be much more comfortable when I chew. It’s something all horses have to deal with, so I just “man up” and let him do it.

Are there things you have to do that you don’t like doing? Visiting the dentist is one of those things that’s at the top of almost everyone’s list of things they’d rather not do. That, and pay taxes. Oh… and cleaning the cat’s litter box. Oh yeah… also standing in line to get a new driver’s license or plates for the new car. And don’t forget shoveling snow… and… Wow… There are lots of things people have to do that aren’t much fun!

If I were to stop right there, you’d probably find your mind swimming with ideas for the next several hours pondering all the stuff in your life you’d rather not have to do. How would your day be? A mind spinning around looking for things to be negative about will always find them. And when your focus is on finding things to not like, I guarantee you will attract more things to not like!

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Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi 92, by Jane Savoie

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I was watching someone work with a frightened young pony today. The pony had never been handled before and was terrified. The person was using a clicker and treats to help him get over his fear, and was teaching him how to think before he reacted out of his natural fight or flight instincts. The scared little pony learned fast and made a great deal of progress in just one day! The trainer was training the pony how to learn and helped build his desire to be with people.

Jane’s friend, Shawna Karrasch, teaches how to do this with her clicker training programs (www.On-Target-Training.com). She learned this method at Sea World in San Diego while training seals and killer whales (also known as Orcas). When Shawna got into horses, people told her clicker training wouldn’t work with her equine friends because we’re not “food oriented.” Shawna not only proved them wrong, she created a whole industry around horse clicker training! She found that we horses are actually much easier to clicker train than the wild sea creatures she was used to. Her work has made a huge difference for many people, dogs, and horses. It’s a good thing she didn’t listen to the neigh-sayers (lol), or Jane might never have learned this terrific way to communicate with her four-legged friends!

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Disciplines, Dressage, Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

What Does It Look and Feel Like When Your Horse Is on the Bit? by Jane Savoie

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Many riders are confused about how to tell if their horses are honestly on the bit. Below is a description of what it looks and feels like when your horse is honestly connected.

What Does It Look Like?

  • Hindquarters: You want to see active hindquarters and your horse stepping well under himself.
  • Back: Just behind the saddle, the back should look round, not dipped and hollow.
  • Neck: If you’re sitting on your horse and looking at his neck, it should be widest at the base, just in front of the withers, and get progressively narrower toward his ears. If you’re looking at your horse’s neck from the side and you see a dip 4 or 5 inches in front of the withers (or a narrow area when viewed from above), that’s a visual signal that he is not really ‘through’ and connected. If the neck is widest in middle, or widest up by the ears, then your horse is being pulled into a frame instead of being correctly connected from back to front. He should get ‘pumped up’ or ‘bloom’ at the base of the neck, meaning it’s the widest point.
  • Poll: Ideally, the poll is the highest point.
  • Nose: The nose should be 5 degrees in front of the vertical.

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Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi 91, by Jane Savoie

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A new fellow moved into the barn this week. His barn name is Joe, though his registered name is a mile long and beyond my ability to pronounce. We’ve had some interesting conversations. Joe’s been around. He’s very smart and worldly, and a really nice fellow.

Joe and I watched the barn’s farrier working on one of the young horses, and started talking about our experiences with farriers. He told me about a guy who was so sure he knew everything there was to know about feet, that he wouldn’t listen to anyone else. This farrier told the horse owners that HE was the trained professional, and they had to agree with anything and everything he decided to do with their horses’ feet, no questions asked, or they had to find another farrier.

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Disciplines, Dressage, Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi 90, by Jane Savoie

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“You are really smart. You are very talented. You are a good rider.”

All those things make you feel good right? I used to think so. I used to compliment all the other horses in the barn, thinking I would be helping their self-esteem by reminding them how great they are. But, new studies indicate that this may not be the case.

An article by Po Bronson, posted in New York Magazine, states that certain types of praise can have a negative effect on the behavior of people. (For the entire article, go here: http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/.)

A study was done that indicated that if a child is constantly told they are “smart” or “talented” or “the best,” it can create a situation in their minds that makes them “risk adversant.” They become so sensitive to any task that isn’t immediately easy, that they stop trying. They won’t take risks that might prove to their parent(s) or teacher(s) that they don’t have the natural talent or brains with which they’ve been labeled. In equestrian terms, it takes away their “try.”

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Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi 89, by Jane Savoie

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I was thinking about how slippery it is out on the wet grass, and sure enough, I slipped. I was thinking about how angry that gelding at the end of my stall row makes me, and sure enough I became angry. I was thinking about how I sometimes get a headache when a storm comes, and sure enough, I got a headache.

I keep saying that what you think about expands. Over and over and in many different ways I share my belief that we attract whatever we concentrate on. And yet, I still find myself putting my own attention on things I don’t want. Why do I do that when I KNOW that’s going to create the very things I do not want? Oops, I just gave my attention to getting what I don’t want by seeing that I get what I don’t want by thinking about what I don’t want! ARG! It’s crazy making!

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Dressage, Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi 88, by Jane Savoie

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A friend of mine in Australia wrote to me this week, expressing her excitement about learning dressage after a career on the race track. She had been a bit discouraged at her progress because she was used to being successful on the track mostly by her strong will and a strong hand. Neither is very conducive to an artful picture of riding. Once she realized that she could break dressage down into small, understandable pieces that fit together like an elegant puzzle, her sense of self-worth soared. She didn’t have to force her way into success… she could gently finesse her way to success!

The level of worthiness we feel makes a huge difference in how we live our lives. It’s true that we can never rise above nor outperform our own self-image. So if you want to improve your life, the first order of business is to improve your view of yourself.

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Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi 87, by Jane Savoie

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Focus. It’s the most driving force in anyone’s success. Oh sure… occasionally there are successes that just fall into your lap. But that is incredibly rare. Focus is one of those things that creates opportunity. It creates a vibration of success. The energy of the Universe aligns with your vision, and you become unstoppable.

I decided I wanted to beat Indy in a race. He’d already beat me once, so I had some history to overcome. I could have wallowed in my failure, I could have given up and just accepted that he’s the faster fellow, or I could focus on a goal and not stop until I reached it. My desire to win wasn’t about Indy at all, it was about proving that I could change my experience though my own focus and will.

So I started dreaming. That’s right… dreaming. I imagined Indy and me running the circle around my turnout with me in the lead the entire time. I imagined “that winning feeling” of joy I was going to feel when I reached the finish line first. I did the physical work of challenging myself each time I was turned out or ridden, pushing myself a little bit farther than I thought I could go, but always added the mental emotions of joy in success and winning with each workout.

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Community/Charity, Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi 86, by Jane Savoie

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What makes the difference between success and failure? Not reaching your goal is often as simple a matter as giving up too soon.

I’ve seen this over and over in dressage competition. Someone has a bad day in the ring, and they give up in frustration. They get so upset they scratch from the rest of their classes. It may have been a simple mistake, or a forgotten element, or a skill that wasn’t quite ready to be performed for a judge. The fix might be one tiny tweak. But the experience of failing makes some people throw in the towel.

Toughness in the face of adversity is one of the most valuable assets you can cultivate. If you’re not naturally brave or in the habit of pushing through the discomfort of “failure,” you can change this. All you have to do is DECIDE to change. Decide that nothing is going to stop you from your goal! No matter what it is — business, relationships, riding, showing. Make the decision that you’re going to use mistakes and setbacks as your roadmap to success!

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Jane Savoie

Motivation from Moshi 85, by Jane Savoie

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Sometimes things don’t turn out the way you think they will. The disappointment can be tough to deal with. When I first heard I was moving to America, I thought I’d be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade someday. But instead I’m headed to another dressage show. I could be upset, but it wouldn’t help. I just have to find a way to let go of my previous expectations, and find my joy in where I am right now.

Have you ever spent a lot of time and effort working on something that didn’t pan out the way you thought it would? Hurts… doesn’t it… but that’s just part of life. We can plan, direct, effort, and push, and still not end up where we thought we should. So what do you do about it?

There is a time for wallowing in the disappointment and allowing yourself to feel the feelings. Let them be. No matter how much it hurts, let the feelings come. Don’t resist. Give the feelings a chance to be expressed and released. But also, don’t stay there. Look at the elements of what you were trying to achieve, and then make a new plan.

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