Feedback from students about Karen's
coaching & clinics
(posted with kind permission of authors)
Article by student Gretchen Gogesch, describing her two-day coaching
experience with Karen
Hi Karen,
We had a quiet, uneventful trip home, which is always good.
I can't begin to tell you how much we enjoyed the clinic. And I say "we"
because I know Cisco did too. Your calm and thoughtful manner was very
conducive to learning and the whole atmosphere was relaxing and comfortable
and allowed me (and Cisco) to be completely at ease. I am really pleased
with Cisco's responses this weekend and I think we are on a good
path. Yesterday, he moved off on my first attempt to release his shoulder! I
could hardly believe it. I'm looking forward to playing with feel and
release with my other horses too. And I'm anxious to re-read True
Horsemanship Through Feel; I'm sure I will have a better understanding of it
now.
I will certainly keep in touch and hope that this weekend was just the
beginning...
Thank you so much for a wonderful clinic.
Ellen Butler and Cisco
Karen,
Just wanted to reiterate how much I enjoyed working with you this weekend. I came home and shared what I could with my
daughter and am anxious for both of us to apply these principles on an
ongoing basis. I loved the moments that I saw coming through in Hook and
I'm sure we'll be able to build on them. I keep thinking about how I was
squeezing him at every stride. Jeez, I wonder why he doesn't seem like a
happy horse! That was just one light bulb moment for me but there were
certainly others.
You did a nice job of balancing your time among each of us participants and
working with everyone where they are at. Not an easy task! But I think
everyone felt that you did this effectively.
I hope that we'll meet again in the not too distant future. I'd love to
host a clinic at the barn where Karen trains, if we can fit it in the
schedule. There are so many people that I wish would take hold of Bill's
methods.
I will keep you posted on our progress. I am very motivated to get more
feel working for Hook and me. I really believe that we're on to something
big here in our relationship.
Thanks again.
Best regards, until we meet again.
Claire Hammond and Hook
Hi Karen,
By the way, my friend Eva (she audited on Saturday and helped you
demonstrate the friends walking down the trail scenario) and I are
interested in checking on the possibility of getting you back up this way
to work with us and all our horses. We are both so impresssed with you and
your teaching style and very excited about the concepts you presented.
Ellen Butler and Cisco
[re-posted here with permission, original post on MNH yahoo discussion group]
Re: clinic in Milford
Hi Everyone,
I'm usually a lurker, however, I wanted to post about Karen Musson.
She's a neighbor and very good friend of my sister's, and through
her, we've become acquainted. I've had many conversations with her, been to her home numerous times, my kids have lessoned with her, our
kids have played together, we attended Equine Affaire last year with
our horses together, and so on. She is an outstanding horse woman and
is terrific with people of all ages. She's been studying with
Leslie [Desmond], however, in my humble opinion she was already an outstanding
horsewoman and teacher. I've always wished I lived in the same
community, as she was the person I was looking for to work with me and
my horse as he was getting started and for my children for
lessons. Alas, I live 6 hrs from my sister and Karen.
Anne Ward
Hi. I'm green. My 6 yr old horse, Cole, is green too. Within a short amount of
time, Karen has brought us both a loooong way. Cole just sort
of fell into my lap, but I believe that he and I have a road to travel
together.
Through Karen's amazing ability to see the horse as he is meant to be, an
animal that has feelings and meaning to everyday life, she has opened my eyes
to the world of the real equine.
Cole was only ever ridden about a dozen times total. A couple of those times
by me, and looking back at those first couple of rides, I had no idea what I
was doing. Poor Cole, he didn't know what I was doing either! Cole has a lot
of energy. He can, on the drop of a dime, literally go from zero to 50 m.p.h.
in a heartbeat. My goal as a horseman is to ride and understand THAT horse,
the one that can explode into a blurr in only a couple of seconds, that bucks
and scares me half-to-death because he seems unpredictable. The other horse in
Cole is my buddy. For being so young, he has a big heart. A very funny,
curious side. He can be and is becoming , very sweet, very gentle.
Through Karen, he has learned to trust me. Through Karen, I have learned how
to help Cole FEEL that he can trust me. That I am his protector. He FEELS that
I watch out for him, won't let anything happen to him in his world of
"horsiness". I am convinced by working with Cole through Karen's teachings, he
gets it. He understands everything that I ask of him. The important thing
here, is that I am learning how to present that "feeling" to him. Of what I
want him to do, and he will do this with the greatest ease, no baulking, no
tension, no pressure. Just through a rope, through the feel of my hand, and
especially through my own life-energy, Cole feels what I want him to
accomplish.
Karen presents the owner and the horse with such a natural, easy to
comprehend, way of being together. My green horse and I still have a long way
to travel, but we are building a partnership, a bond. He amazes me every day
with his actions toward me.
Karen is helping us to reach this goal and I now believe, that it is
attainable. It is attainable for anyone that has doubts about their horse
and/or themselves. You will come away truly amazed with your horse if you let
Karen help you, and you will become even more amazed with yourself.
Nikki and Cole
Dear Karen,
When I first came to you, it was with a story of a young girl’s
horse-centered dream. Constrained by an urban up-bringing and a pinched family
budget, the dream was never realized. But, like many longings that have their
origins in the innocence of childhood, they do not dissolve simply out of
practical concerns.
Prior to meeting you, the dream emerged and asked that I reconsider it and,
despite the fact that I am now almost 55 years old, I found that nothing really
stood in the way of saying "yes" to its urging except for my own disbelief.
This long-buried dream might never had been so joyfully re-animated had it
not been for you and your coaching philosophy of true horsemanship through feel.
For me, your approach brings my un-conditioned "beginner’s mind" to the
experience, shows me the exquisite power of staying present and offers the
awareness of a relationship in which power with replaces power over.
In addition, and as odd as this may sound, I felt a true joy in my knowing
almost nothing at the start and I was thrilled at having that joy reflected back
to me instead of incompetence. Only a very gifted coach could teach from a place
of such empathy, enthusiasm and experience.
With much appreciation,
Rowan Evans
