12/29/2024
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He was a man who spoke softly but carried wisdom forged in the saddle. A man whose words were measured and deliberate, as if he knew each one carried the weight of a lifetimeâs understanding. Ray Hunt didnât just train horsesâhe transformed the way people thought about them.
Born in 1929 in Paul, Idaho, Hunt grew up in a world where horses were a necessity, not a novelty. They plowed fields, moved cattle, and hauled wagons. They werenât companionsâthey were tools. But even as a young man, Ray saw something deeper in the horseâs eye. There was a question there, an unspoken dialogue waiting to be understood.
Rayâs journey into the world of horse training wasnât immediate or linear. Like many of his generation, he worked hard and learned by doing. In his early years, he followed the traditional methods: force, dominance, and brute strength. If the horse didnât obey, you made it obey. Thatâs just how it was done.
But Ray Hunt wasnât satisfied with âhow it was done.â The harder he pushed, the more resistance he feltâuntil a man named Tom Dorrance crossed his path.
Dorrance didnât see horses the way most men did. He didnât see them as animals to be broken, but as partners waiting to be understood. It wasnât about forcing the horse to submit; it was about giving the horse a reason to trust. âFeel,â Dorrance called it, and Ray Hunt listened. He listened to the horses, too.
Hunt became a student of this new philosophy, but more than that, he became its most vocal advocate. His mantra was simple yet profound: âMake the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult.â To Hunt, training wasnât about punishment; it was about creating a space where the horse could make its own decisionsâand choose to follow the human.
Rayâs clinics became legendary. He didnât sugarcoat his words or offer quick fixes. âYou need to think like the horse,â heâd say, âbecause the horse is already thinking about you.â He taught patience, presence, and respectâfor both horse and rider.
But perhaps the most revolutionary idea Ray Hunt championed was this: the horse is never wrong. If the horse didnât understand, it wasnât the horseâs fault. It was the humanâs. âItâs amazing what the horse will do for us,â he said, âif we treat him like heâs one of us.â
And thatâs the part most people miss. Ray Hunt wasnât just teaching horsemanshipâhe was teaching humanity. He was showing people how to listen, how to be present, and how to respect another beingâs point of view.
Over the decades, Huntâs influence grew. He traveled the world, spreading his philosophy to cowboys, ranchers, and hobbyists alike. His clinics werenât about creating perfect horsesâthey were about creating better people.
Ray Hunt passed away in 2009, but his legacy endures in the hearts of those who understand the quiet magic of a horseâs trust. His teachings live on in the clinics of trainers who follow in his footsteps, in the soft eyes of a horse willing to try, and in the patience of a rider willing to listen.
Ray Hunt didnât just change the way we train horses. He changed the way we see them.
đ¨ The Art of JOHN RALPH SCHNURRENBERGER
https://www.jrsfineart.com
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