Clinics
2020 taught me a lot about clinics - mainly they don’t have to be done in person. I would never have attempted a virtual clinic if not for the pandemic. The virus pushed me into them - but now that I’ve made the shift, I’ve discovered what a wonderful learning opportunity they are.
I get to work with you and your horse in YOUR home environment. No more - “he never does that at home!” Geography no longer is the impediment that keeps us from working together. So this year I am going to continue to give virtual clinics. Once travel becomes safer, I’ll decide what I’m going to do about doing some in person clinics in the fall. For the spring all events will be virtual.
Scroll down the page for the Schedule or click on the links below.
Full Clinic Descriptions
Clicker Expo
Science Camp
Clinic schedule
Register
In 2020 I experimented with different formats to accommodate different time zones. I "traveled" to Australia, taught in the UK and Europe, dashed off to the west coast - all without leaving my own home. Zoom is wonderful! We do live in the age of Star Trek! We may not have transporters - yet - but we can still get together across huge distances.
The clinics were a great success, but keeping track of all the time shifts was head spinning for me. So this year I am experimenting with a different approach. Clinics will either be held over 5 consecutive days with one teaching session per day. Or they will be held over two consecutive weekends. For a full description of these formats visit the Stay At Home Clinics page.
I have set the start time to make it easy for you to attend - no matter what time zone you live in.
For detailed descriptions of the clinic visit the Stay At Home Clinic page. I recommend that you go through the clinics in the order in which they are presented there..
Conferences:
The Clicker Expo is January 29-31,2021. For the first time the Expo is a virtual event. Instead of conference presentations, you'll be traveling the globe watching live demos from top clicker trainers.
On Saturday and Sunday I'll be doing a virtual barn visit with one of my local clients. She has a new horse in her barn. She got him a week before the corona virus shut everything down in our area. He's still in the early stages of learning about clicker training. Through him we'll be showing you the early how-to-get-started steps, teaching strategies that help a horse transition into a new environment, as well as ground work exercises that take you to improved balance and riding success.
I'll also be participating in several panels.
To learn more visit clickerexpo.com
Science Camp Feb 18-21 and Saturday Feb 27, 2021
This event is sold out. If you would like to be put on the waiting list, email me at kurlanda@verizon.net
To learn more about Science Camp visit the Science Camp page
Clinic Schedule for 2021
This year I will be doing a lot of traveling - via zoom!
Getting Started Clinic: Held over two weekends
March 19 (Introductions) 20-21 and March 27-28
The start time for this clinic is 12 noon eastern time.
Register in the Getting Started Clinic
Three Clinics Scheduled for Australia and New Zealand
I have set up three clinics for Australia/New Zealand. Because of the massive time difference, we have spread the clinic out over five days with one block of teaching per day. Each of these clinics also has a follow-up clinic day scheduled as part of the event.
If you live in Australia or New Zealand, the clinic will be starting in the morning. The dates are listed below:
March 4-8, 2021 clinic - "What Do You See?"
April 3, 2021 Saturday clinic follow up
May 13-17, 2021 clinic - "Rope Handling"
July 3, 2021 Saturday clinic follow-up
August 19-23, 2021 clinic - Managing Energy and Emotions: The Goldilocks Principle - Getting To Just Right
clinic follow up date to be announced
For more information or to register contact:
Sarah Nickels: info@abbeysrunequestrian.com.au
Note the dates for these clinics are listed for the Australian time zone. The sessions will begin in the morning. Check with Sarah for the start time of each clinic.
If you are in North America, these clinics will also work for you. The time difference means the clinics will start the evening before the dates listed. The first clinic will start at 5 pm, the second two clinics will begin at 6 pm eastern time. So the March "What do You See?" clinic will be starting on Wednesday March 3 at 5 pm. The last day is Sunday March 7. Hopefully the time difference makes sense to you.
The rest of the clinic dates listed here will be held over two consecutive weekends. For a more detailed description of these clinics visit the Stay At Home clinic page.
***Note: The start time for these clinics is 12 noon eastern time.***
If you want a wonderful weekend immersed in the world of clicker training, please join me for one of these events.
April 9-11 and April 17-18: Extinction Friend or Foe? (Series 1 clinic)
April 23-25 and May 1-2: Energy and Emotions: The Goldilocks Principle - Getting To Just Right (Series 2 clinic - new in 2021)
June 4-6 and June 12-13: What Do You See? (Series 1 clinic)
July 9-10 and July 17-18 Getting Started
August 6-8 and August 14-15: Connecting the Dots: What Have Hugs Got To Do With Lateral Work and Riding? (Series 2 clinic new in 2021)
Sept 10-12 and Sept 18-19: Rope Handling (Series 1 clinic)
October 22-24 and Oct. 30-31: The Tai Chi Walk and Reversibility: Understanding Lateral Work
To Register in these clinics: click here.
Remember; the clinic group size is small so sign up early to reserve your spot.
For more information or help with the registration contact:
Alexandra Kurland kurlanda@verizon.net
Additional clinic dates may be added in 2021. If you are interested in organizing a clinic for your area, please contact me at: kurlanda@verizon.net
YES! To Virtual Clinics
Here’s what people saying about the virtual clinics:
"Thank you! Your enthusiasm and passion was infectious. It’s the middle of the night and I can’t sleep. Thinking about so many light bulb moments that will help me to make changes to my training.” Julia Field
"I have attended many in-person clinics ranging from 2 to 5 days. I honestly think I learned more from this virtual clinic than from any of them. I puzzle out why, and one reason shines above all others: no distractions! No logistics for travel, overnight stays, strange place, new people, horse concerns. Entire clinic time 100% focused on the material to be shared. 110% of my time and focus on what you were sharing. Easy to ask questions, and viewing the videos in real time with you was priceless. It may be remote, but it is face to face and 100% interactive. I loved it." Wendy King
To learn more about the new Stay At Home Clinics click here
Some of the beautiful horses I have met in clinics
Here's a great clinic before and after. In the top photo this horse consistently stopped all strung out with his weight falling forward onto his forehand. And look at his handler. Imagine if she were riding him. Her knees are locked and she has an exaggerated C curve in her spine. Her own balance is not going to get her the riding results she wants.
Compare this to the "after" in the second photo.
What a beautiful team! Her horse has stopped more underneath himself behind. He's much more engaged and "up hill" in the way he's standing. Even his expression is more pleasant.
And look at the change in the handler. She's in beautiful shoulders-over-hips, hips-over-feet balance - exactly what you want for riding.
Ground work IS just riding where you get to stand up.
These changes occurred during a virtual clinic. I couldn't work directly with her horse. What is so exciting about these clinics is the handler created them herself. She knows what she did. She and her horse own the process.
Given the choice, which horse would you want to ride? I hope you can see the difference between the two photos and you answered the second horse.
Here's another dramatic example:
The horse and handler on the left are both out of balance. The handler is twisting to deliver the treat. And her horse is overbent. His nose is curling into his chest. Look at how much of his crest you can see. He's also leaning onto his left shoulder.
Now look at the same handler just a day later. She's so much better balanced and so is her horse.
Think of the thousands of times you deliver a treat when you clicker train. What do you want to normalize in your nervous system? The more you feed out of balance, the more that's the pattern your body will follow. It's easy to make a change - once you understand why it's important to do so.
The virtual clinics let us explore so many of the details that really do make a difference.
Some of the beautiful horses I have met in clinics
