Gaited Horsemanship

10/18/2024

10/16/2024

This was written on the Buck Brannaman Facebook and I couldn’t repost the original but wanted to make sure to give credit

HORSEMAN
There are horse trainers, horse traders and horse whisperers. There are show men, show boaters and show offs. There are fast talkers and would be magicians.

But then there are true Horsemen and Horsewomen, and these are harder to find and sometimes even harder to recognize because they are often tucked away in quiet hidden places, working slowly and silently without national recognition or appreciation.

Often times, the true horseman or woman does not have the most horses in training or those horses that are exceptionally bred or high priced. Often times, the true Horsemen and Women do not have access to big money owners or run through dozens and dozens of prospects in order to find the few that can take the pressure of aged event prize money or high profile exhibition. Many times, the true horsemen and women are slow and steady, methodical and patient, training on an individual horse's timeline and not to a rigid show schedule set by the seasons or show management.

These people recognize a horse's physical and mental capabilities and showcase their assets without sacrificing their bodies or minds. Horsemen and women take their time developing their horses' skills and confidence through a traditional steps, one before the next, placing just as much credence in their teaching relationship and equine partnership as they do in show pen results. Horsemen and women are humble because their reward comes from within; from knowing that they have taught through kindness, patience, fortitude, and logic. Their rewards coming from creating a confident horse that works with them and not for them, horses that are not scared or intimidated, horses with solid foundations that last season after season and that carry a gamut of riders from the experienced non pro to the Amateur to the Green Reiner. Always Dedicated. Always Patient. Always Consistent. Whether it be riding young horses, resurrecting older horses, or maintaining the Steady Eddy, a True Horseman is one of

10/11/2024

Friday tip!! Seat:)

10/11/2024

Ok I will have Friday tip coming later today but had to post this!! I can honestly say I’ve done probably every single one! The clucking while grocery shopping works great btw:)

10/04/2024

Friday Tip - Lets talk about Bend

10/01/2024

Giving a treat every time you need your horse to do something will work against you sometime. Two things we never want a horse to do is do it for a treat. Because the treat is primarily what he is thinking about and not what you want him to learn. He may only do it to get a treat. If this is the case, when things happen out on the trail and he becomes anxious, he will not do the trick. The second thing is we never want a horse to do something we ask, out of fear or being punished if he doesn’t do it. We need the horse to learn to do things we ask because it makes him feel better and have more confidence.

09/14/2024

Or animals ❤️

07/15/2024

Been a crazy summer and now get to get ready to head to Germany and see my horsey friends again!! Can’t wait to see everyone at Clay Pit Stables July 27 and 28!!

06/17/2024

Happy Father’s Day to the extra dad I have always had in Larry Whitesell!! Family isn’t only blood but who you choose to be part of and so glad Larry has allowed me to be part of his. Happy Father’s Day Larry!! Or Arry as my girls growing up called him ❤️.

05/24/2024

A good description of how we view other trainers. You can never stop educating yourself. You never know who can give you a morsal you can use.

WHAT I WANT IN A TRAINER

I try to watch as many horse people working with horses as my busy life permits. In particular, I am always interested in observing other professionals to see what they do that maybe I could adopt or do better. I’m always on the lookout for good ideas that could make me a better horseman.

Add to that I am regularly asked for my opinion on the horsemanship of other horse people. “What do you think of so and so?” and “Who do you think I should get help from?” or “Isn’t so and so brilliant, what do you think?” are very common questions I get.

Most times I know at least a bit about the people being referred to, sometimes I know a lot but sometimes I am not familiar with the name at all.

Before I talk about the topic I want to discuss, I want to say something about the political correctness of giving an opinion on someone’s horsemanship skills.

Despite being criticized from time to time for giving my honest opinion, I will continue to give my honest opinion. I believe the importance of this is beyond the niceties of the adage “If you can’t say anything nice about somebody, you shouldn’t say anything at all.” I feel that is a nonsense view that does nothing to help horses or the horse owners who ask for my opinion. I am more interested in the welfare of horses than I am in the courtesy of being supportive of people whom I think work in a way that does not benefit horses. Nevertheless, I always try to be polite and respectful and fully explain the reasons behind any appraisal I make.

I have said before on this page that I believe it is the responsibility of professional horse people to openly and politely discuss the methods and philosophy of each other so that the students who are looking for guidance can examine the pros and cons of each trainer or clinician. I don’t believe a polite “no comment” helps anybody – particularly the novice horse owner.

This is why I don’t censor different views and criticisms of my work on this page – as long as the comments are polite and respectful. I might debate people with different opinions on my page, but I don’t censor them. Yet, I keep coming across other professionals who have a strict policy of deleting dissenting comments and banning those who make them.

So having made that clear, what I want to talk about is what I look for when I am weighing up the quality of a person’s horse work. I’m talking about skills or experience. There are plenty of trainers who are very skilled at what they do, but I don’t like what they do. I want to discuss what makes a person a good trainer that I would like to work with.

It is my experience that many people get so caught up in the hoopla of a trainer’s presentation that they don’t see the real quality of the horsemanship behind the smoke and mirrors. Things like clever catch phrases, humorous presentations, a gift of the gab, wow-factor horse tricks, polished videos, a long list of competition ribbons and awards, etc, contribute a great deal to how we perceive a person’s horsemanship. The glitz, the tricks, and the smooth talk are so upfront and attractive, that we often fail to see the emotional state of the horse behind it. It takes a lot of self-discipline to put that stuff aside and focus on how the horse is doing.

The person who can stand on the back of his horse and start a chainsaw attracts a lot more attention than the person who can inspire a nice soft trot from their horse. The person who can be riding an unbroken horse in 2 hrs gets a lot more cheers than the person who has a horse happy to see him when he walks into the paddock. The person who can train a horse to perform high-level movements after 4 months of training attracts a lot more students than the person whose horse will softly lower its head to accept the halter.

It is the nature of people that we are impressed by the glaringly obvious and miss the brilliance of the subtle things.

Now back to what I look for when I am watching another horse person working.

The first criteria that is super important is kindness. A trainer needs to be kind. They need to care more about how a horse feels about the work than the work itself. I think kindness possibly goes to the top of my list.

For example, I look for how the trainer approaches a horse for the first time. I want to know if they adjust their approach and touch for what the horse is feeling to help the horse feel more comfortable. That tells me how much they care about the horse in front of them.

The second thing that is important to me and that speaks volumes about the kind of horse person I am watching is how a person uses driving and directing pressure. When a trainer asks a horse to do something I look to see if they start by trying to direct the horse’s thought or do they immediately begin by driving the horse. If they start by driving the horse, I am almost immediately turned off. I don’t mind if they try to initially direct the horse and then find they have to drive them. But if they begin by driving the horse; it is an immediate loss of 100 points of credit. They would have to be pretty bloody amazing in everything else they do to make up for the crime of going directly to driving horses.

(As an aside for those who don’t know the difference between directing and driving a horse, directing is sending a horse toward where it is thinking, and driving is sending a horse away from where it is thinking. More information is in my book “The Essence Of Good Horsemanship.)

This thing about first directing a horse’s thought is fundamental as to whether a person is the kind of trainer who is only concerned with a horse being mindlessly obedient or whether they are interested in a horse willingly following an idea the trainer presents.

The classic example of this can be seen at clinics and in groundwork videos when a trainer asks a horse to lunge around them in a circle. Trainers who begin by approaching a horse while at the same time spinning the tail end of the lead rope or slapping their leg or waving the coils of a lariat etc are missing the part about working co-operatively with the thoughts of a horse.

However, let me be clear, I am not saying that it is wrong to drive a horse if a horse does not understand how to respond when you try to direct its thought. But starting by driving a horse speaks volumes about whether a person sees a horse as a slave or a friend.

The third important thing that I look for when watching another professional horse person is how much they understand and have thought about why they do what they do. I believe a person needs a clear and rational understanding of the things they want a horse to understand. If the explanation does not stand up to critical scrutiny then I can’t see the point and I question the credentials of the person doing the teaching.

Take for example the exercise of lateral flexion, where a horse is expected to stand still while a rider uses the reins to flex the neck left and right. I have seen this hundreds (maybe thousands) of times and have asked the question “why” nearly as often. I have never received a logical explanation from anybody that made sense to the horses or me. Yet it is an almost universal exercise.

To paraphrase Albert Einstein, “If a person cannot correctly explain a concept in simple language then they do not understand their subject well enough.”

Other aspects of a person’s horse work can influence my view of them, but I consider the four elements I have mentioned form the basis by which I judge the horsemanship of everybody I come across. You may have your own set of criteria that differs from mine, but whatever they are, I urge you to utilize them with everybody you see working a horse.

Photo. This was taken at the Tom Dorrence Benefit in 2001 in Forth Worth, Texas. These are the participants that were invited to ride in the event. I met and saw a lot of trainers. Some were there to honour Tom and work horses and some seemed to be there for different reasons.

05/16/2024

https://www.facebook.com/100063856669752/posts/907414201397127/

You know how your great aunt can’t be around you without commenting on your weight?
You know how your mother in law can’t stop asking when you’re gonna have a baby because she’s dying for grandchildren?

You know how your mom licks that napkin and squeezes your face while she whipes dirt off your cheek?
You know how, when you were a child, your parents brushed your hair too fast, pulled on your hair, and your feelings were dismissed? “Oh you’re being such a baby!”

You know the way that family dinner is so stressful, but your aunts make amazing food- so you have the draw of the food, and the stress of the discord and passive aggressive comments? You know the pressure to have seconds, to not offend, coupled with a comment on your weight?

You know all those tiny, nitpicky, well meaning things that drive you crazy? You know how horrible the hands that fuss over you feel? You know how terrible the dissonance between what’s said and what’s felt is?

They’re made to sound like they’re for you, but they’re not- they’re for the person doing them.
Don’t be that guy with your horse.

Pinching, picking, constant cleaning, fussing
Nitpicking every little step
Fussing with buckles, forgetting about the horse and wrenching leather over soft, sensitize surfaces
Yelling, smacking, emotional corrections and making up for it with food

Those are not for the horse- they’re for you.

Every touch should be for the horse.
Touch with intention
Focus on the task AND the horse
Guide, with care
Say no when you have to, without judgement or emotion
Say yes when you can, without going off the rails
Bring the horse to center
And be someone they find peace standing next to.

05/11/2024

Ok sorry for the day late Friday tip! All I gotta see did anyone else watch the sky last night!! Natures amazing show of lights! Thank you all for following me, if you enjoy these videos please share and like my page. Happy Trails!!

05/06/2024

Boundaries, what do they mean to you?? As I watch two horses graze in a large field they look so happy. But 30 minutes later they decide to go into their paddock and lay down. Where are they most comfortable???

The most amazing thing I have witness in the last month is the routine I have watched with some of our horses here at the farm. They graze in the large pasture but when they want to rest they go into their small paddock. They lay down for 30- 80 minutes and then get up and either stay in their small pen(dirt paddock) or go out and graze. They never lay down for extended periods of time in the large pasture.

This all could be just coincidence or the comfort of a boundary. Almost all of our large pastures here at the farm have a small ”pen” in relation to a field where the horses can graze. I feel it is very important for a horse to graze or run while they are in training. I do find it interesting tho, as I have watched in the past month, they enjoy the grazing time (who wouldn’t, huge pasture with green grass) when they want to truly get REM or sleep time they go into the small paddock (which we call dry lot). The boundaries of the small paddock seem to be relaxing.

How does this relate to horse training. When we give the horse boundaries and they know where they are we can relax. When these boundaries move, we get confused. These boudries are our aides to the horse. When the aides move how does this feel to the horse, it’s a guessing game.

Aides give the horse comfort, give the horse guidance. When we know the boundaries or the aides we provide the comfort.

05/04/2024

Friday tip! These will get better quality soon. Thank you for everyone who watches!

04/28/2024

So much fun talking with Warwick Schiller and Jen Johnson!!!

04/23/2024

Getting ready for the MN Horse Expo this weekend April 26-28th! Will be presenting 3 times each day. Hope to see you there!

04/17/2024

I’m sorry I had to post this!! Oh the many times on my shin!!! I think I have a permanent mark.

04/13/2024

Friday tip, this was posted before but love this exercise so wanted to repost it!! Yes I just did this exercise again this month with another horse and helped a ton!!

04/11/2024

I guess my cats like shedding season! Wish somehow we could do something with all this hair!

04/06/2024

Friday tip!!