Russell B. Hunston - Central Oregon Professional Horse Trainer - 541-323-6945

The danger of riding half a horse

2011-08-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

Many people mount their horses each day without having done the work of preparing the horse or reading the horse properly and this is a dangerous endeavor. I've been on many trail rides and around many barns where horses are acting-up and out of control yet the rider mounts with the hope that they will return back to the trail head or to the barn in one piece. In these cases both horse and rider, not to mention other horses and riders in the vicinity, are in serious jeopardy.

Horses constantly tell us, without hesitation, how they're feeling and how they feel about what's going on. I guess many people don't listen to what the horse is saying because, number one, they are not insightful enough to rightfully interpret the horses language and, number two, I believe most people wouldn't know what to do about the situation if they could understand what the horse is saying loud and clear.

Horses that are acting up on the ground, when being saddled, when being led or groomed, let alone being ridden, are telling us that we have not done the work with them properly or thoroughly enough. This is not a bad thing in itself. These situations will actually make us better and safer horsemen once we learn the horses language and then once we aquire the skills to deal with those situations in a way that the horse will accept and appreciate; everyone wins in the end. However, to mount an unruly horse, whether we do it alone or with other horses and riders in close proximity, is a disaster waiting to happen. And the more we do it the more the situation will escalate because, for sure, the horse in particular will become more and more misunderstood and frustrated and will begin to consider us, the rider, as his adversary and that's the last thing we want our horse to be thinking; that's like riding half a horse. We want our mount to trust us and to know that we understand him/her and that we are listening to what they are attempting to communicate.

Think about it. Horses are all about being free so they are all ready in a compromised situation. They've basically given-up their freedom and they find themselves totally under our command. Horses are smart, smarter than most people give them credit for, and they figure things out lickity-split. Then they are forced to make psychological adjustments to deal with whatever the command post is deciding to delegate. Unruly, undisciplined and unpredictable horses are attempting to communicate with us. Sometimes their behavior suggests that they are screaming at us to reconsider our approach, technique and our behavior.

As I mentioned above, our horses, if we listen to them, will continually teach us how our behavior around them could be tweeked in order to have a better relationship with them; and a better ride by the way. If we don't listed to what the horse is attempting to communicate the frustration of both horse and rider will continually grow until a wreck happens and someone gets hurt. The frustration of both horse and rider will escalate, that's just how things work, and as we refuse to listen to our horses we create an increasingly more volatile situation.

Would I be so naive to suggest that any horse can be taught to be 100% safe and predictable? Probably not but we can certainly lower the odds of something happening into our favor by doing the work with our horses, first on the ground, and then by listening to what our horses have to say.

Sometimes we find ourselves with a horse that has been psychologically injured by previous ownership. In other words the horse we end-up with in our barn has been traumatized by the handling of a previous owner. This means that the horses bad behavior has been adopted by the horse as a survival mechanism. It is very similar with children who have grown-up in households that were injurious to their delicate psychology. In order to keep their dignity and their self worth they adopt psychological patterns to have at leaast some sense of control over the situation. Horses are quite similar. So, if we get such a horse in our barn, and many people end-up with such a damaged horse, it doesn't do any good to blame, reprimand, abuse or get violent with such a horse. In fact, that's absolutely the wrong attitude to take as is also the case with a wounded child. The only answer to the situation is to, over time and sometimes quite a lot of time, help the horse to learn that we are different and that, even though we look very similar to the person that was previously responsible for the abusive situation, through unwavering patience, kindness and predictability the horse will learn to trust once again. Maybe this is not an easy task and maybe it takes longer than we would like to think it should take but as far as I am concerned it is the only pathway to success.

I have a horse in my barn now that came to me with the reputation of an outlaw. People said lots of negative things about him and many people were actually afraid of him. He is big and stout and certainly looks like he can hold his own in a fight, no question about that. The very first instant I met this horse I liked him and something in his eye told me that he was getting a bad rap. I was asked to work with this horse to get him to load because others were having huge difficulties loading him. With me, and after only a few moments of patience, kindness and technique, he loaded straight away and repeatedly. After being in my barn and with my small herd now for only a few months he is a wonderful horse and a dependable and predictable mount. I feel this is because I was patient and easy with him; I simply dropped all the expectations of how he should be and how he should act. If I saw he was having difficulty with something I'd intentionally get very gentle and soft, slow everything way down, get inside his head to figure-out how to help him, and me, out of the jam-up that was going-on and this seemed to do the trick.

Horses know if we're saavy or not. That's what makes them so darn smart and so darn difficult to deal with if we continue with our inappropriate behavior that's not working. There's a keen beauty about this type of honesty even though we might not like it sometimes. So, if you're having difficulty with our horse, take the time to stop for a moment, take a deep breath and ask yourself how it is that we, the supposed commander of the relationship, can use our creative skills to lead the relationship in a positive direction for both horse and rider. Otherwise you'll continue to ride only half a horse if that.

"He doth nothing but talk of his horses". William shakespeare

Thanks for listening!

Flexibility in Training Procedures - A Horse Named Mouse

2011-03-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

I was called some weeks ago to have at a look at a little horse named Mouse who, according to the horse's owner, was quite a handful. The horse's owner was pretty saavy about horses in general and actually I was quite impressed at his horse knowledge. It seemed that he'd been doing many things right with his horse but he was still having difficulty with Mouse's attitude and rebelliousness. Mostly, while under saddle, Mouse would turn and spin and either head back to the corral or just dump the rider. When I arrived Mouse had dumped quite a few riders so the owner was concerned.

We should realize right off the bat that horses are not horses are not horses. This is to say that although there are general truths regarding how we approach a horse in training horses have different personalities and different psychological orientations. Much of these different personalities and psychological orientations have to do with the horses experiences up until the time of training plus horses have varied breeding propensities and leanings. Keeping these things in mind our training methods and techniques must be modified to address personality and psychological differences; if we are going to be successful.

Often times it is not a simple task to understand how a horse has developed psychologically or, for that matter, to get a clear handle on the personality of the horse however, we do have a window into the horse's overall demeanor simply by observing the behavior. Actually, when we stand in front of a horse, one thing we do have going for us is that horses do not attempt to lie to us; they wear who they are pretty much on their shirt sleeve. It is the trainer's task to modify his/her training techniques to best fit the behavior the horse standing in front of him/her. If this is not done, and a trainer simply uses the same techniques on every horse, the process becomes dishonest and ends-up being unsuccessful.

Timing and feel are absolute necessities when training a horse. Good horse trainers are masters at timing and feel. Without these two elements the process is awkward and clumsy to say the least and the horse usually gets more confused as time goes on. I'm not really sure if these two elements can be learned; my feeling is that one either has them or one does not. Rather like the propensity to be athletic - some people are more inclined towards what it takes to be an athlete and some are not. I know that true horse training is like a dance. Each movement and gesture while around the horse is carefully expidited yet it comes from a place inside the trainer that simply knows the steps to the dance. And as the horse does one thing the masterful trainer intuitively adapts his steps in order to request certain behavior or movements from the horse. It all happens so quickly and so fluidly and as a result the horse steps forward into his trainng. Often times, while observing a master in training it appears quite uneventful, as though there is really almost nothing happening, and this is because of the soft and artful manner in which the trainer moves and dialogues with the horse. I refer to this being in the groove with the horse.

Often times horses are blamed for unsuccessful training outcomes. In my opinion, this lack of success stems from the trainer's inability or unwillingness to adjust his or her training methods to fit the personality and psychological orientation of the horse. This is to say that the trainer is simply not in the groove with the horse. It is not necessarily a simple task I have to say but it is the only honest way to proceed. And it is the only way to truly honor and respect the horse and his individuality.

Thanks for listening!

America's Wild Horses

2011-03-04T11:35:00.000-08:00

SAVING AMERICA'S WILD HORSES

And the Lord God said to (IYOV) JOB:

"Did you give the horse its strength?

Did you clothe his neck with a mane?

Did you make him able to leap like a locust?

His majestic snorting is frightening!

He paws fiercly rejoicing in his strength,

Then charges into battle;

Mocking at fear, afraid of nothing.

He does not shy away from the sword.

The quiver rattles against his side,

His gleaming spear and javelin.

Frenzied and eager, he devours the ground,

Scarcely believing the shofar has sounded.

At the sound of the shofar he whinnies;

As from afar he scents the battle,

He cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds."

IYOV (JOB) 39: 19-25

For years I have been following the plight of America's Wild Horses and for years this issue has brought unbearable pain to my heart. What has been happening and what continues to take place with the removal of America's Wild Horses from their habitat is tragic and heartbreaking to say the least. Viewing the video footage on-line of the brutal and inhumane treatment of these amazing family oriented creatures can only be considered a tremendous injustice.

I have been writing letters, sending emails and telephoning the BLM, government officials and President Obama's office to plead with them to stop the Wild Horse Roundups but the travesty continues as I write this post. As a horse trainer and horse lover and as a decorated Vietnam Combat Veteran I do not appreciate being in this position of what seems to be utter helplessness. It seems that no matter how many voices in our country cry-out to stop the round-up and imprisionment of our Wild Horses our voices continue to fall on deaf ears.

Just over one hundred years ago two million wild horses graced our ranges in this country. Now, over forty-four thousand of our wild horses are in holding pens across this country and the present figures state that less than twenty-five thousand wild horses remain in the wild today; and those numbers are being constantly reduced at this time.

I remember a film of a true story I viewed some hears ago titled "In Pursuit of Honor" starring Don Johnson. This film portrayed Calvary horses caught in the cross-hairs of a military that was suddenly going mechanized and the solution put forward was to simply exterminate the horses since they would no longer be needed or deemed necessary by our government. This is a tragic account of how incredibly insensitive the powers that be can be. This film brought tears to my eyes and outrage to my heart. I recommend this film to any horse lover desiring to witness a historically accurate account of gross governmental insensitivity and a total lack of respect for this dignified species.

Each day when I awaken to go out and take care of my own horses and to run my little ranch here in Central Oregon I desparately attempt to fight-off the invading thoughts of what is happening to our Wild Horses. If I manage to forget about the plight of my equine champions for even a moment there can be a little peace that temporarily rests upon my heart yet this peace never lasts very long. At such times I suddenly realize that I cannot forget what is taking place and when I do manage to find temporary peace in fleeting moments I am left feeling like I have deserted them and the tragedy of what is happening to them. And then suddenly when I find the issue invading, once again, the deepest areas of my heart I again experience deep physical pain that is almost unbearable. I live with this pain daily and am often times unable to sleep for nights on end.

During these painful times I pray to the Lord to give me the strength to act in whatever way necessary in order to aid America's Wild Horses. What is happening to our Wild Horses, even as I write here today, is not unacceptable and it is time for true Americans to act swiftly. Horses are sacred creatures as all of creations creatures are however, in some way that I cannot really put my finger on, our Wild Horses are not only the embodiment of honor and grace and dignity but let us not forget that they embody the Spirit of free people in America and everywhere. As we stand by and allow the round-up, abuse and imprisonment of these majestic creatures free people everywhere will lose a part of themselves that is never again to be regained.

If there is no cause great enough to take a stand for living becomes a passionless, pointless and empty existence of self-indulgence and self-centerdness.

LET US DO THE RIGHT THING AND COME TO THE AID OF OUR WILD HORSES AND BURROS! THEY WAIT FOR US TO DO THE RIGHT THING.

You can't bluff your horse so stop trying!

2010-12-27T22:45:00.000-08:00

This story begins pretty much like most of my stories when I receive phone calls from horse owners. A woman called saying she had a three year old mare - a Shire/Thoroughbred Cross. She asked when I could come to her ranch to give her an evaluation and maybe some guidance about what could be going-on with her "pushy" mare. Unfortunately, it didn't sound at all unusual considering that people call me 90% of the time when there is trouble so we made an appointment for a few days down the road.

When I arrived to the ranch I was met by the woman's husband who began giving me the low-down on the situation. The horse, which they had purchased about six months prior, had never been ridden but had been saddled a few times; and not easily saddled by the way. But the wife had read some books and watched some videos and CD's and had been "training" and driving the horse using a surcingle and long-lines. But the serious problem arose when the wife attempted to mount the horse. Somehow the woman landed on the ground and the horse kicked her pretty good in the thigh leaving a huge bruise. I guess it was just luck that she didn't get hurt much more severely. At this point, and after various other issues with the horse, the husband and wife decided they needed some professional guidance. That's when they called me.

When I arrived the horse was in the field with three other horses and had her own ideas about being caught and haltered. It took quite a while before the owner could halter the horse and this was only accomplished by entering the pasture with a grain bucket. Normally I'd not go for that but before I could begin to change the scenario I figured getting her caught any way possible is sometimes the only way to begin.

In the round pen the mare totally ignored me; constantly looking outside the round pen with her nose in the air and turning her hindquarters towards me at every opportunity. It wasn't rocket science what she was saying loud and clear but then again she had no reason to respect me at this point in the game. But she sure was speaking volumes about what she needed as my training routine began to formulate inside my head.

It was obvious that she had never been taught to lead properly nor did she understand the concept of coming off of pressure. Imagine thinking to ride such a horse? She was always fussing around and jumping ahead of me, bumping into me and then not wanting to move her feet at all. I had a good feeling that all this bad behavior was just about to change. By the way, it's not the horses fault if the horse owner allows the horse to be in charge. And it's not the horses fault if that horse decides to act stupid or silly or even dangerous. It's our job as horse owners to know how to remedy such behavior. A horses behavior is simply a direct result of the training they've had or have not had. Just like in the wild, horses are always attempting to climb the ladder in the herd towards dominance and leadership. If we as horse owners allow them to dominate us then, by nature, they will take over. Not to understand this basic aspect of horsemanship is to start-off on the wrong foot with a horse.

Sometimes a trainer has to come on a little stronger with such pushy and dominant horses. And by coming on strong I simply mean that it is important to establish alfa-ship right off the bat. My job as trainer and the job of horse owners in general is to take over the herd of two and to allow the horse to take second position - but to establish this relationship in such a way that the horses dignity is left intact; that's the real art. After all, if this herd of two is to work harmoniously with dignity and honor in tact leadership is simply established and then we all move forward. So please understand that I don't mean come on strong in a macho and exploitive manner. There has to be rewards and there has to be positive recognition of the horses attempts to take steps in the right direction. Otherwise the leadership is flawed and the horse will pick-up on it. This horse only needed to relinquish her erratic behavior that was getting nobody anywhere and this would happen all by itself when she recognized that an alfa horse was now present. And it should be mentioned here that horses are generally looking for an alfa horse to arrive on the scene. The alfa horse treats them the way they want and actually need to be treated so there is more to training a horse than just getting them to do things - it's knowing how to build and generate a relationship based on honor, dignity and respect. Who in the heck wouldn't want that guy to arrive on the scene :)

So, it should be clear that horses know immediately when the boss shows up. And they know precisely if one doesn't show-up by the way. In the presence of a leader the rest of the herd just steps into place and if the trainer knows his salt it happens right in front of his eyes in minutes if not sooner. When this mare stood with all four feet locked when I attempted to lead her I knew she understood what I was asking but she was just being defiant - after all - she always got her way so why should things change now? With the lead rope held loose in my right hand I took the long tail-end of the rope in my left hand and behind my back I gave her a commanding crack on her hind quarters. I wasn't mad at her I just wanted to be very articulate in telling her that things are now going to change - the first step of establishing alfa-ship. She immediately jumped forward and looked at me out of the corner of her eye as though to say "Hey, this isn't how we do things around here". It took only two more stout cracks on the hind quarters for her to step in line. In only a matter of minutes she was leading properly, backing up on command and relinquishing her attitude. And it was clear that she was even happy to relinquish leadership to someone deserving. From that moment forward she took her proper place in our herd of two and now, and only now, could her training begin.

The moral of this story is simple. Before you decide to train your own horse know that unless you have knowledge, technique, feel and timing you just might be training your horse to do all the wrong things. And it's not the horses fault. You must exude and embody leadership or the horse will become defiant. Horses are absolutely smart in this regard. You can't fake being a leader to a horse. They have you figured-out as soon as they lay eyes on you and especially when you enter their presence with a bunch of gear. Before anything else, know what it is that you are attempting to accomplish. With young and/or totally green horses you must know where to begin the training and how and when to proceed forward. The best place to start with such horses is at the very, very beginning. Saddling and riding your horse should only come after a lot of ground work and relationship building. Primarily, the horse must continue to see you as leadership quality through all the various aspects of the training time you spend together. If this is done properly the horse will be more than happy to let you lead because you have continually proven yourself worthy. But don't fool yourself by thinking that you can wing-it and maybe fool your horse. That doesn't fly as I said before.

If you're going to learn anything from this little story I'd like you to clearly understand that the horse knows if you're bluffing. And if you're bluffing your bluff won't last and you'll get yourself into a wreck sooner or later and most of the time it's sooner. Wrecks, much of the time, happen sooner as opposed to later because horses have tremendous difficulty putting up with people that don't know what they're doing around them. On the other hand if you know what you're doing you'll gain your horses respect and things will build from there but while training a horse one can never stop being the leader. There is no time when you are with your horse when you stop being that leader. Do you think that alfa mares in the wild take days off and get sloppy? Not a chance.

Many people and horses get hurt every year and it's often because the person is trying to bluff, manhandle or exploit the horse. Our horses behavior tells us what kind of horseman we are. Period. This is why I no longer take horses into training unless I train the horse at the owners place and with the owner present. I do this mainly because most of the time the owners are really the ones that need to learn how to be around their horses. So, if you're having difficulties with your horse find a good trainer and learn the basics from him/her. Learn to duplicate the trainer; it could save you from a whole lot of difficulty and possible injury not to mention that this is the only way you are honoring your horse - with proper handling and training. Our horses will make us better horsemen if we only learn how to listen to them and how to understand what they are saying, and many times screaming, to us.

Thanks for listening and Happy Trails!

Horse Training: A tip on riding young horses and colts

2010-10-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

This will be a short little story and may include a tip to be remembered when riding colts; two and three year-old horses just being put under saddle.

Young horses that have just been put under saddle usually can have difficulty resigning themselves to the idea and reality that there is someone on their backs. I've experienced it a lot when starting Mustangs in particular and I've always been looking for ways to remind the colt that all is well. It's interesting how colts can all of a sudden forget that there's someone up there in the saddle. Then all of a sudden they remember and at that instant the horse can become frightened and resort to flight or other types of behavior based on fear.

With older horses that have had lots of miles under saddle one can pretty much just ride without being too much concerned because they know the deal but with colts it's different. It kind of goes without saying that colts are more easily startled during the initial stages of being under saddle so this little tip has helped me a lot and I've witnessed it being very helpful in building confidence with these young horses.

I should say here that I start colts in a very soft manner. I allow the colt to dictate how much he is ready and willing to accept at any given time. Trainers who use exploitative techniques hardly take this into consideration, it's my way or the highway kind of attitude, and in my opinion that's a perfect recipe for disaster. If the colt is having a problem then my job and my goal is to help him and to honor his honesty and this means adjusting my approach. I'm constantly communicating with my colts in order to establish a very clear dialogue between us so that there is very little possibility of getting our signals crossed. With an absence of clear communication the trainer is setting himself up for a bad day not only for the himself but for the horse and for the future of that particular horse under saddle; for the rest of his life. Therefore, I will consciously step-up the clarity of my dialogue just so the horse must do the same in order that his attitude about what's going on is absolutely clear clear to me.

So my little tip is that once the horse is under saddle and especially for the first ten or even twenty rides or more I don't let even five seconds go by without rubbing on the horses neck or his mane just to remind him that I'm up there plus I'm constantly talking to him. As I mentioned before one would think that he couldn't forget that there's this big lump on his back but we have to remember that the colts mind is to a great extent preoccupied with lots of things and if he forgets you're up there and - bang - he suddenly remembers; well, it just might be too late at that point and the entire training process is compromised and injured not to mention some terrible things that can happen.

Constantly talk to your colts under saddle. Constantly rub on them to offer self-confidence and re-assurance. As time goes by and miles begin to accumulate then this procedure can be lessened if one chooses but on those first rides help your horse by not abandoning him and just expecting him to be o.k. with what's going on. Putting Mustangs under saddle taught me this lesson the hard way because when they forget you're there even for a second and then suddenly remember they can be merciless in the way they choose to remind us that we've allowed a disconnect to take place.

Our relationship with our horses and our time in the saddle will be greatly enhanced if we stop trying to muscle our horses and think of them as partners instead. If we, for whatever reason, can't or don't drop the muscle act we will never truly experience what it is to be one with our horses and as far as I'm concerned, if that's the case, then you're only riding half a horse if that.
Happy trails!!

Horse Training: Bullet - a courageous and willing young horse

2010-09-02T22:53:00.000-07:00

Often I get called to work with difficult horses; horses that have been damaged by horse-owners who, possibly unintentionally, confuse and frustrate their equine companions. It is not difficult to spot such a horse. The horse lives in a very quiet and honest world and therefore holds nothing back when expressing his state of mind at any given moment in time. I'm happy to say that this was not the case with Bullet, the 14h1 twenty-eight month old Palomino gelding that belongs to Ted and Darcy Creason of Central Oregon.

As a self-employed horse trainer now living in Central Oregon I often hand-out my business card to anyone with cowboy boots, a pick-up truck, a cowboy hat or just about anyone looking like they have to do with horses. One day about a month ago I gave a business card to a young lady named Charlie, Ted and Darcy's grand daughter) and shortly thereafter I received a call from Ted asking if I could put their gelding, Bullet under saddle.

Bullet is an exceptionally kind and mellow young horse and I liked him the moment I set eyes on him. I could tell immediately that he'd been well taken care of and although the Creasons are not professional horse people, it was clear that they have a more than normal amount of heart and horse saavy. Heart is a major component in working with horses; otherwise the process simply as an exercise in exploitation. .

When I first put Bullet into the round-pen he was a bit confused; nobody had ever asked very much of him; and he was therefore quite naturally a bit spoiled like a child who just doesn't want to go to school at first. Once Bullet figured-out that we were going to have fun boy he took to it like a duck to water. Plus, he's just that kind of curious, let's git'er done kind of horse. By the way, it is my opinion that it is the trainer's job to find a way to keep the horse's interest during training and to keep him curious about the learning process. Bored horses simply lose respect for the trainer and don't see any reason to be interested in this dull, lifeless and often egotistical person with which he is faced.

Bullet took the saddle without even a wink and never bucked once when asked to walk, trot and canter with the saddle on his back. If a horse trainer understands the importance of working with discipline and with techniques that build confidence and self-esteem in the horse it is not often that the horse will feel exploited. One of my intuitive training rules is that I never let even a moment go by when I'm starting colts without praising and building the horses self esteem. Someone asked me once to explain my philosophy of starting colts and all I could say was that I simply continually praise and talk to the horse while artistically and subtly slipping in a question here and there so that the question is asked in such a soft and non-invasive manner that the horse answers the question almost without even noticing. It is kind of like an acupuncturist I went to years agowhile living in Germany. He would take your mind off those needles in such an artful and genuinely kind way that the needles would be inserted without one even knowing.

Normally I start colts in either a hackamore or in what's called a dually halter which was designed by Monty Roberts. With Bullet I began with the dually halter and after a few weeks progressed to the hackamore. Once a horse learns to respect and give to the light pressure on his face then just about any headstall will do the job if, that is, he's not bothered by it. I never force equipment on a horse that he is obviously having difficulty with.

As stated above at first Bullet didn't understand that he simply had to resign himself to his new task. When asked to move-off to the right by a slight direct reign and a little off-side leg he became cranky like a young child when asked to do his homework or make his bed. It is, by the way, a natural and necessary part of the learning process for both student and teacher. Both horse and trainer must learn to respect each other during the learning procedure. Without force or aggression we learn how to ask in a way that has dignity and honor while the horse learns to comply. If we keep this in mind and don't try to force things the horse will always , in a short time, do what is asked of him; patience in the process being a virtue for sure.

With some horses that have been taught to rebel against owners who have forced them to comply there is often a fight mostly because the horse just isn't happy with the attempt to force issues. The whole process of going under saddle, under these circumstances, can be quite difficult to say the least but with Bullet, who had developed a respect and a genuine affection for his owners and for people in general, he only wanted to please every step of the way.

A horse trainer worth his salt does not simply get the horse to do what he wants but rather, through studying the horse, getting inside the horse's head and understanding the language of Equus a good trainer creates a partnership with the horse so that the horse wants to give him what he wants. There is a huge difference in not only the process but most certainly in the end result. With one you get an unhappy horse performing against his will because his will was never taken into consideration in the first place but with the trainer who enters into a partnership with the horse you get a fully spirited, willing and even enthusiastic companion. It is heartbreakingly unfortunate that many horsemen have never experienced the wonder and the joy of the latter. It is something to behold indeed and the horse thus trained is a totally different animal when compared to a horse put under saddle using old fashioned aggressive training methods.

And so it is that although Bullet needs miles under saddle to make him a truly disciplined, predictable and solid mount, for a young colt of only twenty-eight months he is exceptional for sure. Of all the horses I have worked with Bullet has a very special place in my heart because of his courage and his willingness to trust and to trot joyfully into the unknown. Good job Bullet and thank you Ted and Darcy and Charlie. It has been and continues to be a real pleasure for me. God I love my job.

And I whispered to the horse;

"trust no man in whose eye you do not see yourself reflected as an equal".

Don Vincenzo Giobbe circa 1700

Going for a ride

2010-04-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

Today I saddled-up the boys and decided to go on a leisurely ride down the road past Smith Rock. It was

Friday, the week was over, and it was a gorgeous day; sixty-five degrees, light breeze and sunny with breathtaking cloud structures hung just out of my reach. I try to get the boys out at least five days a week and it seems to make them happy and content. I have a hard time just letting them stand around in the pasture. even though it's five acres and nicer than most horse pastures. Sometimes I put them into the trailer and go do my errands; we just hang-out together. Getting the horses out in the world seems to put their heads into a very good space. Often in our travels we'll come across a back country road and I'll pull over, unload and we'll just walk for awhile or I'll ride bareback. I've been observing them closely since I began doing this and they simply seem to like being out and about. Some people could find this odd but my deduction is that they enjoy it plus after an excursion they are always much more ready and content to be back at home sweet home again.

But today was a day for a simple ride; no training or pressure, just an easy day out under saddle. I have to say that when I'm horseback or when I'm just hanging-out with my horses doing whatever, that's when I feel truly at home in my skin. The smell of my horses (any horses for that matter), the little nickers they offer, their honesty and trust makes me want to spend more and more time being with them. There's not a lot of talk so I enter their world of calm and quiet and there's a lot to be said about that world. The more I care for them it seems the greater is their loyalty to me. Horses have brought more joy into my life than anything else I can think of and viewing life from between the ears of a horse is my idea of a real sweet spot.

Riding straight down my road, which heads straight to Smith Rock is a great ride. I can ride for miles down that road and even though it is a paved road and goes right past some amazing scenery, I can ride for hours and only one or two cars will pass us by.

Passing by the main gate to Ranch at the Canyons gated community is always breathtaking as it sits nestled right at the base of Monkey Face and Smith Rock State Park. Sometimes we ride past this entrance four times a week and it's always beautiful and it's always different as the light dances on the rocks in different ways every day.

In all honesty, my life is blessed more than I can express and there's no two ways about that. I thank the Lord every day for my blessings and especially for the honor and privilege of care-taking two of His majestic creatures. Thanks for listening to this little story and have a great day.

Legend - a very smart and willing horse!

2010-04-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

I was called to a ranch here in Central Oregon to take a look at an eighteen year old Polish Arab gelding named Kheldar; aka Legend. His story, or at least what the new owner of two and a half years had been told, was pretty standard in many ways. The owner communicated to me that Legend, in his eighteen years of life, had three or four owners prior to her and that Legend had been a dressage horse, an endurance horse and a three-day eventing horse and the story goes that he'd been quite good at everything he turned his hand or rather his hoof to. The owner now wanted him as a trail horse but she'd had a few experiences that led her to be concerned about his confidence on the trail and his predictability and safety; that's why I was called. I'd seen this horse here and there on the ranch as I was working other horses but I'd never really had reason to check him out up close and personal; I'd heard that Legend was an older horse and that he'd been around (meaning he'd accomplished a lot) and I personally respect and admire that; its kind of like meeting an old cowboy whose been through the ropes of life. In my opinion a person's just gotta have respect for that life experience.

The owner brought Legend into the indoor arena where I was waiting and I asked that she simply turn him loose. I know the horse saw me because I was pretty much standing right in front of him plus I was the only other object in the entire arena outside of him but he didn't even look at me. He trotted to the opposite end of the arena and completely ignored me, as though I didn't even exist. He was not shy about beginning to tell me about himself.I waited a few moments to see what he was going to do and all I got from him was more of what he offered in the first place. He stayed at the other end of the arena as though I was the least important hunk of chopped liver in the universe. Some might say he was not communicating at all but to me he was screaming volumes to me.

It's interesting how once we learn to read horses, how they cannot not tell us who they are. Once enough horses have been observed and once we understand that horses say exactly what they mean, then we realize they're incredibly easy to figure-out especially when we stop making it into rocket science. And in the case of our boy Legend, he thought he was being so very cool to show me that in his world I didn't even warrant a glance from him. But he was supplying me with all I needed to know to make my evaluation as to how to proceed.

So, it was clear that Legend, in his eighteen years of dealing with two-legged's, had come out with very darn little if any respect at all, at least that's how it appeared initially. I figured he'd learned to shut people out and get away with it unless, that is, he was forced to perform and then he was smart enough to understand his predicament of being a prisoner and so he'd do the job at hand and then he could be done with people for a while. That was my initial take on him, my gut feeling. I began to feel sad for him as he ignored me. I had so much I wanted to share with him and so much I wanted to do with him and yet he simply stood there like an abused orphan who just didn't want to talk. Possibly, I thought, when he was a young horse maybe he had hopes that he could become friends with the two-leggeds or develop respect for them but as time went on I felt he'd been let down and disappointed time after time until he just gave up to a great extent; gave up being genuinely curious and interested that is. Horses are so very smart and are lightening fast at figuring things out, especially people.

He was on his fourth owner at this point in his life and although his present owner loves him and wants him to remain in the family it seemed obvious that Legend hadn't understood this until now; nobody had made him understand it. To him it seemed to be just another temporary stop-over and no reason to expect anything different. Somehow I felt that Legend and I had a lot in common. Even though at that moment it was clear that Legend couldn't have cared less about me, I liked this horse and I found myself thinking very hard as to how to get to him and make him interested once more.

I prefer to work with horses and owners as I have mentioned before in some of my previous Blog posts. As I'm evaluating a horse for an owner I always offer lots of commentary because this way the horse owner gets a moment by moment glimpse at what I'm seeing when I'm with the horse and this places the owner right in the middle of the training loop; otherwise there's a disconnect and my working with the horse won't mean anything if the owner's not along on the journey. I really enjoy to work this way and I hesitate to work with a horse if the owner can't or won't be present for much of the training.

Until now Legend didn't even seem to look out of the corner of his eye at me. Usually horses in such a situation will sneak a peek here and there, especially if you're a stranger, but this horse had me totally tuned-out. I'd never had a horse ignore me to such an extent. I sat on a mounting block in the middle of the arena just observing him. He continued to ignore me. After a few moments I decided to make my presence known to him so I began to move him around the arena; just to let him know that I can determine and control his movement and his direction and that I'm, therefore, the boss or lead horse in our herd of two. In his Arab manner he trotted right past me, head held high and looking in a forty-five degree angle away from me he again acted as if I didn't matter at all. Somewhere, somehow in his travels through life he'd learned this attitude of ignoring people and tuning people out. But I'd learned in my travels that this type of behavior really meant that this horse was dying for discipline and someone he could respect. This horse didn't want treats or affection; he wanted genuine discipline.

The arena was too large. I'd move him a bit and then he'd get stuck at the end of the arena. I'd go move him out of the corner and he'd just find another corner. I decided to take him into the round-pen. Even in the round pen he ignored me; always with his head stuck over the top rail of the panels and moving yet not even glancing at me. I put a halter on him and snapped a long line on and moved him once again. This time I could hold his head off the rail and even tip his nose towards me in the center. It seemed to work. Then when I wanted him to stop I'd give a voice command, step in front of his shoulder and ask him with the long line to take a few steps towards me in the middle. He seemed to catch-on quickly. Almost immediately, with just a slight request with the long-line, he'd walk to me in the center. I'd unsnap the long line and ask him to come with me but that was asking too much; he'd just walk away leaving me there alone.

The short training session was now over and I felt we'd ended on a positive note. I was supposed to work with Legend again two days later but that session was canceled and now we're scheduled to work once again tomorrow, April 27th. It will have been a week since I last worked with him and I'm very interested to see Legend's response in this second session. I'll add to this post after our session tomorrow. Hope to see you back here then!

April 29th: I am constantly amazed at how quick horses are ready to step forward and embrace change. And I'm also amazed at how some people, horse owners, can get it and understand what an animal needs at a particular time. Maybe some people are just naturals because I work with a lot of horse people and those that are truly teachable are rare and when found are an absolute pleasure to work with.

The second session I had with Michelle and Legend was, without exaggeration, phenomenal. Somehow Legend just got it that two people were trying to help him adapt to his new life, a life of breaking out of his old mold of showmanship and arenas and stepping out into a new world of trails and trees and no pressure. During the first training or evaluation session, one could clearly see that Legend was worried and that he had a lot on his mind but almost overnight, within a matter of only a few days, he seemed to simply grasp and understand. I'm not really sure what happened in his head but let's just say that he had an epiphany of sorts. My experience is that horses are generally way ahead of people in understanding many things so we could simply attribute his sudden resignation and seeming adaptation to that; he's just one smart and clever horse. I'm not going to try to figure it out but I will say that Legend on the first training day and Legend on the second training day were like two completely different horses. Like someone sneeked another horse entirely into his skin.

An old Native American once said that horses can read a person's heart and I feel that Legend tapped into his owner's heart and most likely into my heart also and saw that we were genuinely interested in his well-being. Now he stands by his owner and me as we chat before the session when before he'd have been at the other end of the arena playing I don't need anybody so just stay away from me. His eye is now soft and inviting whereas previously it was almost impossible for this horse to even register ones existence because he was so interested in everything else but you.

I am happy with where we are now with his new training program and I am happy because Legend took that courageous step forward and said "I will". Good going Legend, I look forward to continuing our work together and hats off to you Michelle it's fun to work with you. Horses and people often just make my day.

Horse Training: Head bobbing horse no longer!

2010-04-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

One day I was called by a man who had owned horses his entire life. It seemed he had a horse that was a head-bobber. The more and the longer he would ride this horse the more violent became his head throwing. He said he'd tried many various bits and he and no one else could figure-out what to do. I made an appointment to go see him and the horse.

The horse's name is Red, a 16h sorrel gelding. From what I was told this horse is wonderful in just about every way except for the head throwing deal. As I groomed and saddled him he was a perfect gentleman. I did a little ground-work to loosen him up and then I mounted. The horse didn't throw his head at all, not even one time for the entire fifteen minutes I rode him.

My intuition whispered into my ear and told me to asked the owner of the horse if he would mount so that I could watch him ride. As he rode it was as plain as the nose on ones face that he was holding onto the horses face which means he was constantly pulling on the reins and on the horses head. I asked the owner to let go of the horse's face and to put some slack in the reins because this was obviously the problem. The horse was constantly trying to tell the owner, first in subtle ways and then in not so subtle ways, to let go of his face.

The owner asked me how he should control the horse if he didn't have a tight hold on the horse's face. It appeared that he had been taught that by having a tight hold on the horse's face that he had brakes or more control over the horse.No wonder the horse kept saying let go of my head and it will be fine.

Anyway, the man realized, after a few lessons, that he didn't have to hold tightly onto his horse's face and that he only needed to contact the horse's face when he wanted to communicate with him and that then the contact should be soft and simple. The horse stopped throwing his head and I'm pretty sure it was a good day for him and the horse's owner became a better rider. A rider's hands are his most important riding aid, and the softer the hands the softer (and usually happier) the horse. It was a good day all around!

Taking some weight off a big boy.

2010-04-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

Tuxedo is a Percheron/Thoroughbred Cross and he is now almost six years old. In the above picture, and prior to leaving Central California for Montana in 2007, he weighed in at about 1350 pounds and he's 16h3. At that time he was only four years old.

Max is a purebred Thoroughbred and he's now eleven years old. In this picture, and also prior to leaving Central California for Montana in 2007, he weighed approximately 1350 pounds. Max is 17h3.

Max, Tux, me and my dog Mr. Parker all lived outside of Missoula, Montana for about a year where I was running a horse ranch. Max and Tux were drylotted so I fed them a good quality grass hay daily and I always gave them as much as they wanted to eat. In my opinion horses are grazers and it is said that they will graze and eat just about 90 percent of the time so if they don't have hay I figure it's like taking a monkey out of the tree; slowly they just go a little or a lot wacko. Monkeys are made for trees and vice-versa and horses are made to graze so if they don't have anything to graze on I feel it's very possible that it could be the beginning of psychological behavior problems or issues. So, I always fed my horses all the hay they could eat and it never seemed to be a problem.

When we all packed-up and moved from Montana to Central Oregon in late 2007 the only place I had to put my horses upon arrival was on green pasture. Because I thought the pasture would only be for a few weeks I really didn't give it too much thought as I concentrated on finding a home for my little herd. The problem ended-up being that it lasted almost two months. For Max it couldn't have been a better deal because as a Thoroughbred he can eat grass until it comes out of his ears just about all day and all night without difficulty but Tux, without me even noticing, packed on about two hundred pounds just like that. And because I was seeing him every day I simply didn't notice the pounds going on until one day I just stood there looking at this huge horse and scratching my head. Was Tux always this huge or did something happen when I wasn't looking? He was looking more than kind of chunky so I loaded him into the trailer and took him up the road to the truck scale and weighed him: sixteen hundred pounds, I could hardly believe it. Percherons are a very large breed of horse and they can easily grow until they are around seven years old but I just never expected him to have such a growth spurt; boom over two hundred pounds. Whoa!

So, now Tux and I have our work cut out for us this Spring. Although I have a four acre pasture on my property I can't let Tux out there (until we get the first big freeze in the Fall and now it's only April) because he could fat founder quite easily so I've decided it's time to begin to take the weight off this big boy. Now I ride him and exercise him for a good hour at least five days a week. I began slowly and easily for the past week or so but now I begin to pick-up the pace so that he's getting lathered-up during our workouts.

It's not easy having two horses that have such different metabolisms. And I really don't like the idea of letting Max out on pasture and making Tux stay on dry lot; I'm sure Tux would feel slighted. So they will both stay on dry lot until the first freeze. I plan to exercise at least one hundred fifty pounds off of Tux in the next six or eight months so - wish Tux and me lots of luck? And if you've got a young upstart Draft Cross, keep an eye out for weight gain if you put him/her out on pasture. Thanks for listening.

Loading Tatanka with my new crew!

2010-03-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

I just posted a story about a horse named Tatanka when I suddenly realized I'd not mentioned his loading "story". So, I will tell it here briefly because it is quite interesting and telling.

During the weeks and months that I was working with Tatanka and his new owners it was slowly revealed that Tatanka did not like trailers. He disliked them to such an extent that it was just short of impossible to load him or transport him especially in a non-stock trailer where he felt more confined; the exact kind of trailer his new owners had.

As days and weeks slid by in Tatanka's training the owners and I would often find ourselves discussing the inevitable upcoming trailer training. All horse owners know what a problem it can be to have a horse that is a pain to load and transport. It can be incredibly frustrating not to mention extremely embarrassing and even dangerous. At the same time, if we think about it, it makes total sense that horses instinctively just don't like to get closed-up in those steel boxes; I can relate to that. So, we knew that one day soon it would be time to change Tatanka's attitude regarding loading and trailers.

First, we all know that if a horse is put in and out of different trailers from an early age, as part of their training, most of the time there are absolutely no issues. We also know that the longer we wait to introduce horses to the whole trailer deal the more difficult it can be. And let's not forget that if we introduce a horse to trailering with aggression or violence then, quite naturally, they are going to become afraid and will not trust. After all what we are really teaching the horse is not necessarily to go into the trailer but to trust us and when they learn to trust us then they will do just about anything for us. The perfect training scenario is to begin by putting a mare, that knows how to load, and her baby into a trailer as soon as the baby can walk, and when I'm working with babies that is a daily aspect of their training routine. Also, I will use as many different types of trailers as possible and I never, ever get impatient or aggressive, that's a sure-fire way of causing a problem that can last a very long time.

The day finally came for me to see what the scoop was with Tatanka's trailer story. I was thinking that more than likely his difficulty had more to do with the people and their lack of patience and solid technique. I could hardly imagine that this horse was going to be a problem because for the past weeks I couldn't have asked for a more willing and obedient horse. None-the-less, I gave myself a large time window because the last thing to do is to bring even the slightest feeling of "hurry-up" into the situation. Horses feel "hurry-up" right away and then get suspicious and basically say no. One must simply create an atmosphere of "I've got at least nine years to get this done" and then it will normally take only minutes. The bottom line is to create a situation and an atmosphere where the horse eventually just kind of yawns and saunters in because he wants to and doesn't feel any pressure or anxiety. As a matter of fact, when they do go in, after no matter how much time it has taken, I'll simply take them right back out again, very softly and quietly, so the pressure is taken off immediately. There's an old saying regarding horses: "act like you have five minutes and it will take you five hours, act like you have five hours and it will take you five minutes".

The first day Tatanka was somewhat worried about the trailer but nothing like I might have expected after what I'd heard. After about fifteen minutes of just letting him stand at the step-up he put both front feet inside and then stepped back out again. Something suddenly said I should end the session for the day and when I thought about it I realized it was a good idea. I had weeks to accomplish the task so why should I hurry and risk causing a problem. All things considered I felt Tatanka and I had accomplished a lot for the first day. I should also mention here that one of the issues I had to be concerned about was that, from what I'd been told, he had previously reared-up inside the trailer and banged his head on the trailer roof so that was one of my major concerns; to get him to go in and out of the trailer without even the thought of rearing. Each time a horse rears in a trailer the more he becomes frightened and the harder it is to eventually overcome the bad memories. It is truly an art to teach an older horse, a horse with issues, to load and to trailer without incident. A little hint here is that I had to make sure I was totally relaxed and calm about the whole thing because horses tap into our energy and act accordingly. If I get anxious the horse will feel it for sure.

At this point I should say that when I am training a horse to do anything I do not really concentrate too much on what it is I'm wanting the horse to do or to learn. I simply spend time admiring, rubbing and talking to the horse and then when the horse least expects it I'll slip-in the question in such a soft and subtle way that he can't help but answer: to occupy his senses in such a profound way with admiration and the feeling of "you can take forever if you like". Training speeds along when one creates this type of atmosphere. And horses love it that we don't bring our world of hurry-up and noise to them. That's a great part of most people's difficulty with horses; horses just can't handle our world of chaos, aggression and noise not to mention violence.

The second day Tatanka and I stood at the step-up to the trailer once again. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and it was warm. I was in no hurry and could have stood there with Tatanka for the entire day. It certainly wasn't a bad spot to be. Within two minutes Tatanka stepped-up into the trailer with his front feet and I immediately and softly asked him to back out again. This happened two or three times and the fourth time I led him to the front of the trailer where he stood quietly and ate his hay. We've done this every week now for some months and now my new little helper friends Avery and Dawson hang-out with Tatanka while Trish, their Grandmother, gives our special boy a good brushing. Later with Dawson in the manger while Tatanka munches hay it solidifies the experience as special and unique for everyone. Thanks Avery, Trish and Dawson for your help , you brought just the perfect element of relaxation and calm to the situation.

Tatanka loads and transports like a champion now and I believe this is because there was not one moment during his trailer training when I allowed him to become concerned. Between the touching, soft words, genuine concern for his well-being and Avery and Dawson's tender touches and innocence Tatanka trusted and that's all there is to it. Good job Tatanka and hats off to the boys. It's amazing what one can accomplish with patience, honest-to-goodness caring and just a tiny touch of creativity. It keeps me coming back for more that's for sure.

Tatanka the Outlaw?

2010-03-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

As I drove up to the ranch it was pretty difficult to miss all the action. People were running here and there and as I observed the situation closer I noticed a well built sorrel horse who didn't seem to want to be caught. I later found out that they'd just unloaded him to his new home and he'd broken loose and everyone and their sister was scurrying around trying to figure out how to catch this bad boy.

I'd never been to this ranch before. I'd been hired over the telephone to come take a look at a few Mustangs that some people wanted to put under saddle. I'd pretty much learned in my travels to keep my nose out of other people's business especially if it appeared that there were all ready enough cooks in the kitchen. In the horse business, especially if one has been around for awhile, one gets a gut feeling when to offer assistance and when to just let things work themselves out. Plus, in our modern world we've become obsessed with doing and to a great extent we have forgotten about the simple art of allowing things to be. I'm still working on that one.

I parked my truck, spoke with the people about the Mustangs and was observing one of the Mustangs in the round pen when the owner of the ranch approached and asked if I'd have time when I was finished to assess the outlaw horse that had finally been caught. I have to say that I like outlaw horses. It is a pleasure to work with their spirits and in some ways I have always felt a curious bond with them; kind of like the exciting opportunity of meeting Jesse James face to face. I couldn't wait to meet this rebel.

When I was finished with the Mustang I walked over to the indoor arena where the owners of the outlaw horse were talking with the ranch owner. It seemed that this horse, who they had only owned for a short period of time, had just arrived to the ranch that very day. He'd broken free while being unloaded from the trailer and had decided to check-out the joint on his own. You just have to love that about some horses; if they want to do something they're dog gone big enough to usually get their way; and if we're not dealing with them in an honorable manner, heck, they'll just walk away. We should feel lucky that they don't give us a good kick or headbutt prior to exiting. Bless them for their honesty and courage.

It turns-out the horses name is Tatanka which means Buffalo in the Native American Lakota Sioux language. He's eight years old, a gelding, about twelve hundred pounds and a nice sorrel with a little white on his left hind foot, a tiny white marking between his eyes and a brand on his right shoulder. The story goes that the present owner who had just bought Tatanka bought him for a song because he'd tossed his old owner in the dirt a few too many times so down the pipe he was to go. The new owners wanted my opinion of this outlaw.

Tatanka was brought into the indoor arena and handed to me. I turned him loose in order to observe his attitude; to see if he was going to ignore me, go to the other end of the arena, stand by me, try to attack me or whatever. For me that's the best way to begin to get a handle on what's going-on inside a horses head; turn him loose in an enclosed area and just watch how he does or doesn't relate.

I should say right here that I never buy a story that comes with a horse and I normally recommend that people adopt the same policy. I may keep the story that comes with a horse resting lightly in the back of my mind but I never buy it so as to say that this is the way this horse is. The story isn't the horse anyway. The story's just the story and usually has more to do with who's telling it than with the horse involved. As I looked into Tatanka's eyes, from moment number one, I didn't see an outlaw at all. From that first time I laid eyes on him I knew I could have saddled him right then and there and it wouldn't have been even a tad of a problem. As a matter of fact that's just about what happened.

I groomed him for about twenty minutes that first day because, as I've mentioned in some of my other Blog posts, it's a great way to understand tons of things about the horse in question. Answers and understandings come a mile a minute when I'm grooming a horse. The horse is offering-up so much information it's difficult to keep track of it all. Our Tatanka stood square, still and didn't give even the slightest iota of difficulty. The Native Americans have a saying as they place their fist over the heart and that is that we get back from the horse what we bring to the horse. I could write a book on that statement but for right now I'll just say Amen.

I was riding Tatanka within twenty minutes; walk, trot and canter and although he was a bit rusty with the aids and clumsy with his gaits he wanted to please me. Right in the middle of the ride, as I also mentioned in one or more of my other posts, I dismounted and walked away. Without missing a step here comes the outlaw right behind me saying with this gesture "Hey, come on, let's do more". So I mounted once again and off we rode.

So, this horse Tatanka was totally different from his story and if he is approached with gentleness, humility and a kind touch he will be the same for anyone because I'm not that different from anyone else. I just know that, with horses, I'll get back what I bring to the game; and most times I'll get it now if not sooner. I meet a lot of horses in my travels and Tatanka is a gem. I fell for that horse right off the bat. He's a smart horse and a courageous horse. If a person comes to him with violence or stupidity, as I feel was the case with his previous owner, then he will stand-up for himself and I take my hat off to him for that. Generally, horses take a lot of crap from people and many horses, being incredibly intelligent and not wanting trouble, understand their predicament and heartbreakingly (probably not a word) resign themselves to their sad plight. But once in a while we meet a horse with an incredible heart; a horse that would rather die than conform. Tatanka, in his matter-of-fact and gentle manner, is just such a horse. You've just gotta love a horse like this.

We humans, like our horses, are asked more and more every day to conform and I pretty much think that many of us also go along because we just don't want any trouble. But there comes a time when enough is simply enough; when we'd, in this moment, rather fight than switch. This is the world some of our horses live in and God bless them for their courage. Thank you Tatanka for being the horse that you are and for allowing me into your sacred world. I will never forget you. I still have the honor to ride Tatanka weekly for the new owners and it is my great pleasure to spend time with him. The new owners of Tatanka understand the heart thing and I am thankful.

How we touch our horses

2010-03-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

I'm often called to ride other people's horses and I've learned a lot by doing so. I'd like to share some of my insights with you; insights that I personally feel are not only helpful in most horse/people scenarios but insights that can allow us humans to enter into the wonderful inner world of the majestic horse.

Many times our world of noise, violence and hurry-up is taken to our horses. Horses don't live in that chaotic world, they live in a soft and quiet world and this is one of the reasons we get ourselves into so much turmoil when we go to our horses. There are a few very simple ways we can approach our horses in order to enhance our odds of creating a situation that works rather than a shituation where someone gets the snot beat out of them whether that is physically, mentally or emotionally.

Whenever I go to meet a horse for the first time I always take my grooming gear. I always, without exception, spend the first 20 or 30 minutes grooming and touching the horse. This time spent is invaluable in that it gives me the opportunity to touch the horse absolutely everywhere, or at least attempt to, and it offers a unique window through which I can observe the attitude and responses of the horse.Does he like me? Is he just tolerating me? Would he rather be sailing? This time spent grooming and touching can speak volumes about the mind and attitude of horse. Horses don't lie, we've all heard that said, so let's take the opportunity to learn from his honesty and to adjust our approach accordingly.

At this point I'd like to say there are many ways a person can touch a horse. A touch is not a touch is not a touch. I often watch people I first meet when they go to pet my wonderful dog Mr. Parker. He and I are pretty much together 24/7 so if I'm around then Mr. Parker is not far away. I've watched people bonk my dog on the head as though his head was a watermelon and they were testing for ripeness. Needless to say I didn't hesitate to inform them that I'd appreciate it if they'd cease with the bonking. I've witnessed the same thing with people and their horses. Maybe people are inhibited by the mere size of horses and for this reason they feel inclined to slap on them and be rough with them but whatever the reason, believe me, you'll have great difficulty entering the horses world being rough. And if the horse's world cannot be entered then we remain an outsider and if we remain an outsider then we will never really experience these creatures. If we spend time around and with horses without entering into their world we will never ever really be with them and we will never know their wonder.

It is true that people don't change overnight, or at least most people don't. We've all heard that said however, I none-the-less continually remind people to touch the horse as though it is their favorite child or grandchild. Sometimes I immediately see more tenderness with the next touch but often the slapping and the bonking continues uninterrupted. A touch originates in the heart and the heart is the deepest part of our being. In the German language the word for compassion is mitgefuel which roughly translated means to feel with. Unless we can "feel with", whether we are talking about animals or people, we remain isolated; an outsider and alone.

So, the first twenty or thirty minutes I spend with a horse is my way of requesting permission to enter the horse's inner sanctuary. If he doesn't respond at first then I will intentionally be even more gentle and more quiet and even more soft. And even after only a few moments with a horse, when that horse doesn't know me from Adam, it is incredible to watch the horse open the inner gate and let me in. When I am in the presence of a horse I continuously touch and admire them with my whole being. Horses are so ready to trust and are so willing to forgive and forget. But they will not allow us inside if we are not worthy. So, what I say is, let's learn how to become worthy.

Learn to touch horses as you would pick-up a wounded butterfly or a tiny bird that has fallen from the nest. A touch can say a thousand words and mean a thousand things. As I stated before, you will never truly enter the horses world without a soft touch. A royal seal stands between you and the gateway into the horses inner world and that seal is flung open by earnest heart-felt tenderness, respect and humility.

See how softly you can go to your horse. See if you can shut down the unending quacking monkey mind which confuses and irritates not only ourselves but terribly irritates the horse. Work towards becoming ever more gentle and watch what happens; a new world will open before you and you will see the horse differently from that moment forward. A true friend, with great honor, will step forward out of the mist to stand by your side and you will be amazed.

Butkus, the horse that wouldn't load?

2010-03-08T23:26:00.000-08:00

I was living, training horses and running an equine transport business in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley just north of Santa Barbara, California. I remember a phone call I received one day from a woman who wanted a horse delivered to a destination about two hours distance from her home. She lived about an hour north of the Santa Ynez Valley so for me it was about a six-hour job; no problem. However, at the very end of our conversation the woman mentioned, and oddly quite incidentally, that the horse had not loaded into a trailer in many years and that when they'd previously attempted the act well, he just wouldn't load. She asked me if I'd had experience with such horses and I told her quite frankly that it would not be a problem. Our horse, a stout 16h2, 1300 pound x-police horse was named Butkus.

For anyone who doesn't know that name I'll briefly say that Dick Butkus was a pro NFL linebacker for the Chicago Bears in the 1960's. Many still believe him to be one of the best linebackers to ever play the game of professional football. A word that was often used to describe Butkus' playing style was ferocious. The NFL offensive teams he played against dreaded this linebacker to death - he was an animal while wearing his famous #51 joursey and he just never stopped his assault while on the field.

As I was driving the next day to pick-up our Mr. Butkus I began to wonder if he could have anything in common with or was maybe even named after our ferocious Hall of Fame linebacker. Suddenly my mind began to dance around the possibility that I'd not be able to load him either. And why in the heck was I so confident anyway? And the hassle and embarrasement if I didn't get him loaded plus my horse trainer ego that would more than likely get a serious lesson in humility And maybe there'd be a crowd of people watching this confident and professional horse transporter not get Mr. Butkus loaded. Oh Lord, I thought.

I arrived at the address and since I'd telephoned from fifteen minutes out the woman came to the door before I'd gotten out of the rig. Somehow I'll never forget the visual of the woman at 11:30 in the morning in her pink bathrobe with a head full of those foamy curlers my sisters wore prior to their dates in the 1950's. I'll never forget being confused when my sisters would meet with their boyfriends on the very day of a date, with those curlers in their hair, so they'd be beautiful that evening for the date. I never could wrap my head around that.

Anyway, the woman yelled to me as I stepped out of the cab that her husband would bring Butkus around in a moment so I proceeded to open the trailer doors and prepare for our, by now famous at least in my head, Mr. Butkus. As I watched in the direction the woman had indicated I suddenly saw the husband and Butkus rounding the corner. It was quite clear who was bringing who. The husband had his hands full as Butkus was pushing and pulling him every which way but loose. They both stopped about five feet in front of me, the man huffing and puffing and eager to hand the monster over to me. Butkus didn't seem to be flustered in the least, he was used to throwing his weight around and he seemed to like it.

Butkus was a classis chessnut gelding and really nothing flashy at all although his size was imposing. He had a small white blaze between his eyes and not a hint of white on his feet. Horsemen know that one can learn a lot from observing a horse's eye. There are horses with wild eyes, confused eyes, confident eyes, soft eyes, why me eyes, hurt eyes and just about anything and everything inbetween. Unfortunately, there was no softness in Butkus' eye but there was a well rehearsed confidence and a difficult to be confused with anything other than a look of I'm da boss round these parts.

The man handed me the lead rope and quickly stepped back four feet and put his arm around his wife who by now had joined us at the curb. Wanting to get further information on this horse and his history, so I might get some sort of handle as to how to proceed, I asked the man, and the curler-headed woman what would usually happen when others had tried loading Butkus in the past. Well, the man said, he'd always walk right up to that trailer door like he was going to walk right in and he'd even put his front feet in. Then, when we would think he was going to walk right in he'd shoot backwards like a rocket and stand ten feet away from the trailer door just looking at everyone like they were idiots. Naturally I was to learn that when Butkus would put those two feet in the trailer the usual procedure was that then the people trying to load him would start their pushing, pulling and whipping etc. This is what he'd do just about every time someone attempted to load him and in the years past various people had showed-up with pully's and ropes and gadgets to use on Mr. Butkus but he never did load, not once. Those who thought they could come into their fame and break Butkus' routine would invariably end-up walking away after som ehours, humbled sweaty and tired, bent gadgets and gizmos in hand and shaking their heads never to be seen again.

So it appeared quite obvious that I was just the next in line for our little game of I da boss. In my horse training I'd learned to shut-off my mind in situations like this, to empty everything from inside in order to stand empty and ready to receive inspiration and intuition and that's what I was praying for at this moment. Sure enough I slowly but matter-of factly walked Butkus to the trailer door and sure enough he put his front feet inside and then shot backwards just as I was told he'd do. Then he just looked at me as to say "you know the deal, I heard you and the two idiots over there talking about it so get a grip would ya?" I walked Butkus, who was now acting like nothing had ever happened, around the yard for a few moments, rubbed on him a bit and prayed again, but harder this time, for inspiration. I walked him back to the trailer and the exact same thing happened again. In butkus' eye one could even see he enjoyed this. He knew exactly what I, and all the others from the past, wanted but I began to understand that this was his way of having some control in his life. Otherwise he's just a prisoner with no say in anything. Butkus waited for guys like me to show-up so he could play his game I'm sure he'd just keep on playing this game all day long if didn't just plain tucker folks out so much.

We have to remember that horses adopt what we consider to be difficult behavior as a result of having to hang around and put up with idiots or people who don't know a darn thing about these incredible animals. They're fenced-in, neglected most of the time, improperly fed, psychologically, emotionally and physically abused, taken away from family and friends of the past, yanked around by people who are clueless as to who they are so horses often choose behaviors that work for them in order to survive all the crap; much like children with abusive parents for that matter. Sor horses this behavior can mean kicking, biting, bucking, ignoring and even attacking people to name just a few: the list goes on and on. I feel that if horses didn't do this they would eventually just go crazy. In all my years of training and being around horses and horse people I'd offer one fundamental pearl of wisdom and that is that most horse people don't have a curley clue about these animals and that they need to go away and come back later with a grip. And I'll dedicate an entire post to this subject later but for now let's get back to our Mr. Butkus.

As I was walking Butkus back towards the trailer for the fourth time I really wasn't quite sure what was going to happen but I had the inclination that it could just be a whole lot of what had transpired up until now. Then a rather strange and amazing thing happened. As Butkus and I walked back towards the trailer and as he stepped his front feet inside a very gentle and subtle force guided my hand to simply back him out of the trailer. As I look back on that day and as I run through it again and again in my mind I realize that a force outside of myself stepped in , took my hand ever so gently and simply took a very soft step out of the trailer. And that was the instant that changed Butkus' world forever. Let me tell you that since that day and never prior to that day had I seen such a look in a horse's eye. It was kind of like the deer's eyes in the headlights in a sort of way. It was actually comical. Our Mr. Butkus just couldn't compute this new game. Again I walked him back up to the trailer and did the same thing. He stepped inside the trailer with his front feet and quickly, gently and softly I asked him to step back out, before he was quick enough to implement his routine. Once again there was that look of disbelief on his face.

Next, and without hesitation, I walked to the rear of the trailer with Butkus under lead, stepped-in and walked into the trailer until the lead rope was fully extended and just waited. Suddenly, and without further adieu, Butkus stepped into the trailer and walked right past me to the window and poked his head out as though he did this every day of his life and what was the big deal? I closed the partition and there he was our ferocious linebacker; our Mr. Butkus, jersey number 51 of the Chicago Bears, had loaded without a problem. I'm not totally sure about this but I've considered that maybe this little trick of sorts had, in a harmless manner, blown Butkus' mind. Or maybe at that instant he had himself decided he didn't want to play his game anymore or that he'd just plain and simple been out-foxed him.

No matter what had really happened that day I delivered Butkus to his destination without incident, said a heartfelt goodbye to this horse I would never, ever forget and proceeded on my way.I called the people about six months later and asked if Butkus was once again up to his trailering game and they said that from that day on he would jump right in without a fuss.

I can't take even the slightest responsibility for that instant of inspiration that changed a portion of Butkus' life and most certainly saved me from possible hours of frustration. I've taught horses to load for many years now and as horse folks know, if a horse doesn't want to load, sure we have our tricks and sometimes they even work, but if that one horse out of ten thousand doesn't feel like it you just might as well pack your lunch and go fishin and come back another day. Because if you stick around and keep forcing the issue, you can have a monster fight on your hands and it'll certainly ruin your day and maybe even your week.

As I was walking towards the trailer I believe a Presence that just happened to be in the area decided to have some fun. That presence probably saw my predicament and intervened for the very briefest instant at exactly the right time and everything was changed. It is an understatement to say I learned a lot that day. Life gave me a blessing and now that blessing sits gently in my bag of horse tricks to pass-on to folks like you. There's a lesson here and if you add it to your bag of tricks also it can save mountains of time in the right or wrong situation.

How our energy affects our horses. Soft training techniques to enter the horses world!

2010-03-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

I was hired to work with some baby horses at a ranch in Central California some years ago. It turned out to be a learning experience that would seriously affect all fundamental areas of my working with and training horses.

One day I had four baby horses in the round pen together. I was observing their interactions and was having fun watching how they were relating to each other. Of course, as I watched, I realized that each little horse quite naturally had a very unique personality and way of relating to the other horses. It is not only very informative to observe horses without interfering but if a person can just watch their actions objectively a lot can be learned and training techniques can be modified and altered to fit each horse's personality.

On this particular day I felt very relaxed myself and the setting of all four little horses together put me at ease inside of myself. It was early in the morning and we were all just waking up and beginning our day. I decided to take my relaxed feeling and to consciously work with it to see how it would affect the horses. Looking back I'm not really sure where such a thought came from but I didn't have a big agenda at that particular time in the morning so I went with my intuition. I simply went into the round pen and sat on the ground as though I really had no ideas about what should or could happen. I just quieted myself and became relaxed and soft; no anxiety or expectations or desires for anything to be other than how it was at that moment.

I continued to observe the little horses as I sat there, and suddenly I found that as I became relaxed and let's say "empty inside" of my mind churning away - and all that inner noise - suddenly one little horse laid down right at my back - kerplunk. He was actually leaning against me. The next thing I knew another little horse plopped down. I consciously relaxed myself even further and a third little horse and then a fourth plunked down.

Suddenly there I was, sitting in the round pen, with four little four-month-old horses lying all around me. As many people know young horses and horses in general will not normally give up their flight mechanism option or go off their feet unless they feel very safe, relaxed. That's pretty much a rule.

Since that day I've learned more and more about how horses can and do constantly read our inner world and energy. I've also learned that horses are incredibly sensitive to energy in general and in particular to human energy. Many people get themselves into trouble because they either don't understand this fact or because the exercise of consciously working with the inner energy is unfamiliar and/or unknown.

I've often been called to various situations in which horses are said to be difficult or aggressive or unwilling to do this, that or the other. The first thing I do is to consciously drop my energy, adopt an unthreatening body posture, consciously manifest feelings in my inner world of admiration, appreciation for the animal in front of me and invariably the horse's attitude and demeanor changes from night to day in an instant.

To further comment on this theory I remember some years ago I was discussing horses and energy with a man who once and operates a therapeutic riding facility in Germany. He stated that a particular horse would relate totally differently to adults and totally differently to disabled children. I found this idea quite remarkable and this is where my energy work began with horses.

I urge people who spend time around horses to experiment with this energy work. I believe that, like me, you will find a treasure chest of possibilities in this area of relating to horses not to mention that the human to horse relationships will blossom and enter dimensions of communication and fulfillment that are new and unbelievably exciting to say the least. Have fun and enjoy the process of exploration.

Noah & Val: Two Mustangs to put under saddle

2010-03-02T22:10:00.000-08:00

I was invited to a restaurant one evening here in Central Oregon to meet some horse people. Supposedly there was a couple who had just recently adopted a few Mustangs and the word was that they might need some assistance in bringing the Mustangs further along in their training. For some reason I favor working with Mustangs, not because they are easier to work with, because that's not usually the case but because I deeply appreciate and respect their integrity and their honesty. Generally, and to a great extent, unlike domestic horses, Mustangs shoot from the hip and are brutally honest. I like that even though that kind of honesty can be painful at times.

I met the couple and we briefly discussed the two young horses. Both horses were about three years old and both, I believe, had the same mother but had different sires. Or maybe it was the other way around. Anyway, we agreed to meet at the boarding facility where the horses were being boarded the following week. I was excited to meet and work with these beautifully spirited animals. My job was to gentle them and to put them under saddle.

The young woman had adopted a buckskin gelding named Noah and her husband had adopted a cute-as-a button little bay mare named Valentine or Val. Both horses were small, quite normal for Mustangs, and measured about 14h1 or 2 I'd say. Right off the bat I realized that Val, the little mare, had her mare thing going which means, and I don't mean anything condescending here, but she was simply being a fussy, protective and somewhat difficult female. And considering the mare's roll within the herd in the wild one has to have respect and admiration for these traits even though they can be sooooooo "I'm-the-bossy female" at times.

The little gelding, Noah, right away seemed as though he wanted to get along. Right off the bat he was taking to the ground-work in a very easy manner and he quickly learned and accepted walking over a tarp, having the tarp draped over him, having ropes touch him on his legs and back, umbrellas, balloons, blankets tossed over him etc. That is a major aspect of the work; getting Noah and Val to accept these things and to resign themselves to the understanding that nothing was going to happen to them and that these items, although unfamiliar, would cause them no harm. At the same time a major part of this process is that the horses naturally associate me, the trainer, with the desensitization process so they also learn to trust me. Survival mechanisms run exceptionally clean and clear in Mustangs so it is important to allow them to express their honesty in the training process whenever it surfaces but my job was to continue introducing these elements slowly, gently and without fuss into their world until they understood that they were harmless; basic sacking-out techniques.

At this point I should say that I have come across what has turned-out to be a very powerful training technique that I use especially on these types of horses; Mustangs that is. I busy myself with grooming and endearing myself to the horse, just rubbing on them and touching them everywhere and talking to them and then within that context I ask the horse to, for example, take one step back or take one step forward or give me the front foot etc. I never make a fuss. As soon as they comply with say that one step back I simply continue softly and gently grooming or rubbing or touching. In this way the horse is learning without even knowing it because the learning is taking place in a very calm and comfortable setting kind of disguised by other pleasant and non- threatening activities.

As an example of this I remember an eighty-five year old acupuncturist I'd met while living in Germany many years ago. He'd have the needles in you before you'd noticed what was happening. You had to be extremely aware and quick to catch him putting the needles in. He was a true artist. He'd put you on the table, get everything ready and then he'd ask you a question or say something and just at that instant when you were thinking about what he'd said - bingo - the needle was in. This is kind of what I'm referring to with the training method. Groom, rub, touch, soft, quiet, whisper, ask the question and get a response then right back to groom, rub, touch, soft, quiet, whisper. The process is basically uninterrupted and it happens in a fluid uninterrupted manner.

Anyway, by now four weeks had gone by and still Noah was getting gold stars daily. He was taking the saddle pad, saddle and I'd begun putting weight in the stirrup and bellying over. Val was also getting gold stars but she continued to be a tad reluctant, she was hesitant to really commit herself. You could look at her and see the gears turning in her head. Sometimes, in the middle of training, she would just stand in the middle of the arena staring at me without moving a muscle. What in the world was all this to mean she was thinking. And how much do I need to relinquish. By nature her job is to protect herself and her herd in the wild and trusting quickly was simply not her nature. I knew she would come along if I just continued to be patient. But by now she had also taken the saddle and saddle pad and I was also bellying over on her. She was coming along.

Then the day came for me to throw my leg over and to sit on their backs. All the ground work until this time had been leading up to this point in time. Both horses accepted me immediately and we even took a few steps that first day. I remember that Val stood there for quite a while with me on her back before taking that very first step into her new life. I never force them to move in those beginning stages. I just wait till they feel comfortable to take the first steps. Sitting on their backs is one thing but when they finally take that first step and feel the weight up above them this is when young horses can become fearful and take to flight or to bucking. Noah and Val took that first step without incident. From the saddle I'd rub on them and talk to them and comfort them that everything was o.k..

Soon we were walking around the arena. I kept a light, soft hold on their faces with the hackamore so that they would not forget that I was there because that is another good way to get in trouble. If they forget you're there and then suddenly they realize it they can become startled and again bolt or buck. That's why I keep a constant soft feel on their face with the hackamore at the beginning. Within a few weeks we had also learned the trot without incident. Each gate i.e. walk, trot and canter have levels of difficulty and fear with young horses. Just because a horse will walk quietly with you on their back does not mean that a trot and canter are also acceptable. For this reason it is careful work to gently bring a young horse up into the next gate gracefully and without problems.

By this time, which is about two months later, Val and Noah were pretty much running parallel in their training. Saddling, grooming, tarps, umbrellas, walking behind them, even loud noises had all become pretty much accepted. And we were even riding in the outdoor arena and then even around the ranch. It was still necessary to be extremely careful with these young horses because an accident or a wreck as they are called could set the training program back quite a bit so it was very important to continue to be extremely watchful.

Noah was doing exceptionally well. I'd ridden him on the trail all around the ranch but, until now, I'd not asked him for the canter. One day in the arena the moment felt right and I opened the door for the canter and he accepted and cantered a few steps on his left lead and since we were headed into the corner of the arena I brought him quickly back to the trot. Next I decided to ask him for the right canter but my mistake was that I asked for it on the straight away. I think that opening on the straightaway confused him when he saw all that room and he bolted heading straight for the panels at the end of the arena. And believe me this all happened in an instant. One instant all was well and the next instant he had bolted. Just before Noah reached the end of the arena going full speed (and I had visions of him crashing into the panels) he turned like a shot to the right and I went flying off straight into the panels. I crashed into the panels like one would if one were to hit a trampoline sideways. I hit, bounced off, hit the ground and stood up and began brushing myself off wondering how come I wasn't broken somewhere. So, I mounted him again and we finished our ride at the walk and trot for that day. But of course I was thinking about how the incident could have been avoided and I always look for where I could have done things differently.

Two days later the owner was leading Noah to the arena for me to work with him and he was being difficult and was challenging her authority, not wanting to be led into the arena. That should have been my hint for the day because when he did come into the arena there was something new in his eye. From my experience I know that horses in training can take five steps forward then two steps back and then two steps forward and six steps back so their learning from day to day is not always linear and constantly going forward. It seemed that Noah was right in the middle of taking some steps backwards in his training for whatever reason and I just didn't act on it. I should have known not to mount him on that day. Hindsight being 20/20 I know now that I should have taken him back into the round pen and re-established leadership and herd hierarchy.

So, my mistake was that I mounted him and he again immediately, as two days prior, bolted and turned on a nickel this time to the left, tossing me head-first into the ground. Right before I hit the ground I turned my head quickly to the left so I wouldn't land on my head and I hit the ground on the tip of my right shoulder. I heard something crunch and for a few seconds I imagined that it was my neck. But after standing-up and brushing myself-off and attempting to mount once again I realized I couldn't lift my right arm - so I figured the shoulder had been broken. The x-rays confirmed a broken scapula and four broken ribs.

Meanwhile, as Noah was taking some steps backwards Val was blossoming and stepping into herself. She'd calmed down, was much more sure of herself and was taking huge steps into her new world under saddle. That's the last time I rode Noah or Val. I turned them over to a good, soft young trainer who will take them from where I had brought them in their training.

At 62 years old I guess I must finally realize that I just might have to stop my work with putting Mustangs under saddle. It can be a rough business even on the best of days and even if just about everything is done correctly. There comes a time for such changes in life I guess. I love those little Mustangs and I thank them for offering me the great pleasure to get to know some of them. It was a ride or rides that I'll never forget.

In memory of Rio - a little wounded horse that, given the chance, strutted his stuff.

2010-03-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

I worked at a ranch in Central California for about a year. There were ten or twelve head of horses on the ranch and they basically had the run of the 20 acre hacienda. Other than the fenced-off area right around the house the horses ran where they liked, up on the hills, down the ranch roads, out back by the back gate. As soon as I would drive through the gate in the morning and across the cattle-guard I would always be greeted by one or more of the horses and little Rio was always there.

Rio was a small white Arab gelding and was about twenty years old from what I was told by the owner. He was not one of the prettier horses nor was he considered to be worth very much at all by the other horses or by various people that frequented the ranch or by the owner herself. Sure the owner cared for Rio but she preferred to spend time with and ride the other more attractive, more expensive horses. You see, Rio had a hay belly, was only about 14h2 high and his nose was crooked and had a large dent in it, I was told, from an angry previous owner with a 2 x 4.

Although my job was to assist in putting some of the other horses under saddle and riding the ones that had previously been started under saddle but needed miles and exercise, I took a serious liking to this little guy named Rio. I've always been attracted to underdog types so I guess this fit Rio to a T. At first when I'd get a little extra time I'd spend a few minutes brushing and grooming him. I'd hose him down, curry him, shine-up his hooves, brush his mane and tail and then I'd go about my business with the other horses. Upon occasion the ranch owner asked me why I was spending time with Rio and I would simply state that I just liked that horse. She didn't really mind because she also thought it wasn't a terrible idea for Rio to finally get a little attention.

Slowly, I began spending a little more time with Rio. I could tell he liked the attention. Then I began putting a saddle and a bridle on him. I'd walk him down the hill to the pasture and hang-out with him as he grazed under saddle. I'd talk to him of his long lineage of champions and of the great horses of history. Mostly I was just being with Rio and spending what I call soft-time with him. For some reason I felt it necessary to make him look and feel important and valuable. Each time I would look at that wound on his nose - and believe me it was impossible not to notice - I'd cringe thinking of who could have done such a thing. Rio was a sweet horse - he'd been humbled in a pretty serious way by a monster of a person and maybe by life in general. Rio didn't want any trouble and was a pleasure to be around. He'd resigned himself - kind of like an old Buddha - to taking each day as it came - you could see his surrender and his wisdom in his eyes.

Then one day I decided I wanted to ride Rio. Being 6'2" and 185 pounds I thought he could be too small; or maybe I was simply too big for him but I knew that I wanted to ride that horse and to merge with him under saddle. So, I shampooed him and brushed him and groomed him until he shined. I combed his mane and tail and then I tacked him up in a black saddle and black headstall. He stood stone still like a champion getting prepared for the Olympics - as I prepared him for our ride.

From the very first time I rode him I noticed he'd become a totally different horse over the last weeks and months. At least he was no longer the horse that everyone thought him to be before this process began. He stood straighter and seemed to suck-in his odd little hay belly. He held his head high, pointed his poll to the sky and placed his face on the vertical. I could hardly believe it. Right before my eyes Rio was blossoming - the owner was also amazed at the transformation. It took only a few weeks of this type of attention until everyone on the ranch began to notice this little horse. He would lift himself up as though he was the King of dressage. He was so proud to have a job and to have someone care for him. On our rides he was so proud and so concerned to please. He strutted like a prince who'd just been freed from chains. Rio became my favorite horse on that ranch - even when compared to the other beautiful, fancy and expensive horses.

I worked on that ranch for another 6 months and then for many reasons it was time for me to move on. I dislike this aspect of horse training and working different ranches and working with different horses. One day I always have to say good-bye to my horses.

That has been some years ago now and when I'm really relaxed and sitting on my back deck looking at the mountains of Central Oregon. When the day is over and the sun is purposefully sinking behind Smith Rock and it is time to relax. When the most tender and precious memories of my life rise-up in front of my mind's eye, my little champion Rio is always standing there proud. It hurts my heart that I had to leave that little horse behind in my life. I often wonder if he is well and if anyone is aware of his dignity and his honor, if anyone is spending time with him and caring for him these days. And I wonder if he ever thinks of me or if I were to see him again if he would come to me as before, stand ever so close to me with his wounded head against my chest or if he would remember me. Maybe I've become overly sentimental about all the horses I've trained and worked with in my life but of all of those many horses who have touched my life my little Rio is one of my most treasured memories. Of all the animals on the planet - horses have that incredible ability to burrow into our hearts and Rio is and will always be a part of me. Thanks Rio. See you at the big roundup my boy!

Max's turn around

2010-02-23T17:07:00.000-08:00

In 2006 I had only one horse named Tuxedo - a black Percheron/Thoroughbred Cross - and I was seriously thinking of getting a partner for him. I never did like to see one horse standing alone in a pasture. While in a tack store one day I noticed an ad that basically said "Well bred thoroughbred gelding - 17h3 - 6 years old - can not be ridden - free to good home". I took off my hat, scratched my head for a moment and in an hour that thoroughbred was in my trailer. According to his lip tattoo and his Jockey Club papers his name was Maximum Cruzer - he was 6 years old, classic bay and according to the stack of Vet papers I was handed with the horse - he could not be ridden. Something told me otherwise.

My inquiries revealed that Max had never raced professionally but he did train at Emerald Downs and at Santa Anita. Because he never raced professionally the amount of information I could get my hands-on about Max was limited. The stack of Vet paperwork that I received with the horse stated that his attitude was not right and that, according to the tests done, he was and would continue to be chronically lame. There were even hints that Max would never recover and as I stated before he could never be ridden. I had him at home that evening and he and Tux were now a herd of two.

I quickly noticed that Max seemed somewhat unfriendly or maybe aloof is a better word; it seemed as though he would just rather not be around people and his big brown eyes were confused, sometimes fearful and at times he was challenging. In my heart, as I now look back, I somehow knew it was just a matter of time until I could convince him - through patience, gentleness and TLC - to take interest and to trust once again.

I was dead set to help this beautiful horse. As for his lameness I immediately pulled his shoes and he's been barefoot ever since. I began applying magnets, healing herbs and clay to his feet and legs six days a week - one day magnets the next day clay the next day herbs - week after week and month after month. For the next few years I didn't really ask much of Max - I just let him be a horse. I'd pony him off of Tux when I would go for trail rides and slowly he seemed to begin to enjoy it although at first he was rebellious about being ponied. Maybe it brought back memories of the racetrack? My attitude was that even if it took forever he was going to remain in my family and we would go one step at a time to bring him back. In other words I just wanted to give him huge amounts of space without asking much of him at all. I was going to let him figure it out kind of on his own and as much time as he needed was the amount of time I was going to give him - that's all there was to it.

After about a year, or maybe a little less, Max was no longer lame. He was as sound on his feet as anyone could have wanted but his attitude continued to remain questionable. At 17h2 he was a lot of horse to have a questionable attitude. But once in a while - out of the corner of my eye - I began to notice very subtle changes beginning to take place - he was slowly but surely softening - a little here and a little there. I continued to spend a lot of time just grooming him, rubbing my hands all over him while, at the same time, I kept ponying him off of Tux. Once in a while I'd saddle him and either work him a little on a long line or I'd just walk or slow trot him around the pasture; but he continued to remain high strung and anxious especially when under saddle. Because of his race horse days it took a long time to get Max to just walk under saddle in a relaxed manner.

Then while living and running a horse ranch in Montana I reluctantly took Max out by himself one day - I left Tux back in his pasture, saddled Max and headed-out across a thousand acre mountain slope. Not far from the ranch he suddenly became fearful, reared-up, flipped over backwards and broke four of my ribs.

For the next few months I didn't ride Max at all but I changed and increased the calming herbs he was getting in his morning mash. I still ponied him when I rode Tux but in all honesty I was now afraid of that horse and he was a lot of horse to be fearful of. Yet I just couldn't give-up on him.

Then one day - after having thought about Max and the situation I knew I just had to ride that horse again and I mean to really ride him. Not just walk him around in a few circles or trot him out in the pasture for a few minutes; I had to ride him. There was just no other way around the issue. If I was going to keep that horse - and I was - then I just had to muster the courage to mount him and to ride.

Well, that day finally came when it couldn't be put-off any longer. I was afraid yet I had to conquer that fear for me and also for Max. I knew that if I let Max go, that if I were to give-up on him, if I were to pass him on; he would not be understood and he would not get another chance. It was most likely a much bigger step for me and my horsemanship and my fear than it was for Max but I know that on that day when we rode many things changed. Max and I came together. I think he felt my apprehension all those past months and I believe he understood that if he and I were going to be a team then I just had to face my fear and that he had to face his reluctance. It was not easy but it happened and Max was my teacher.

Max and I really rode that first time about a year ago and we have been riding ever since. I believe he understands and respects me for taking the challenge. His eye to this day is soft and gentle and now he even lies down in the grass in the pasture with Tux right along side of him. He would never have done that before.

Now one day I ride Tux and pony Max and the next day I ride Max and pony Tux. We ride along highways, through streams, over hills, along railroad tracks and down country roads.

I'm so thankful I took the challenge even though it was a long and difficult road and Max's turnaround took close to four years. A huge obstacle stood in my way and Max and I rode through it together. That is something I will never forget as long as I live.

I have learned much from Max during the past years and I am a better person and a better horse-trainer as a result. Patience, gentleness, caring, some technical knowledge and a whole lot of never give-up is what it took. I'm glad I took the challenge and I thank Max for being my teacher. Max and I will ride a lot in the coming years. Thanks Max!