|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by way of introduction…
I rode a lot of horses for ranches and outfitters in the ‘80’s. Now and then, I’d get on one that just had a different feel and way of traveling. I couldn’t define it, but it sure made me curious. Pretty soon, I was climbing on every horse and colt I could beg, borrow or saddle, quizzing everyone who had ever turned a horse around in less than 40 acres and reading anything that mentioned feel, timing or release.
Between riding jobs and research, I still managed to finish college and started teaching kids in ‘87 in Whitehall, Montana. Now, I don’t mean to insult either group by implying there’s a similarity, but teaching gave me an education about horses as well as kids.
Trust and respect must be earned. If you listen, they always have something to tell you. They like a little grain before class starts, look forward to field trips and they both:
- need each skill broken down and presented step-by-step
- don’t want to be bored into glazed-eyed zombies by unvaried, unrelenting repetition.
- want to learn a little each day, apply it soon, and get the pressure off when they’re trying.
In ’94, I went from teaching kids to teaching horses fulltime as the owner, trainer and head maintenance guy at Perfect Circle Horses. Working mostly by myself and taking a limited number of clients at a time, I help horses and their troubled humans renegotiate their relationships. I also conduct clinics, start colts and train and show reined cowhorses. My approach?
- combining natural horsemanship and techniques for performance horses
- striving for a horse with lots of feel, lightness and lateral flexion, who moves willingly off my leg and uses his hip and loin for balance and collection
- giving a horse lots of opportunity to extend and move freely
- taking as many field trips as I can
So on a field trip or in the training ring, I’m still…looking for that perfect circle.
