I met a fellow rider at a competition event one day. This rider made this statement “I paid big money to send my horse to Clinton Anderson.’” “ When I got my horse back, after just a month or two, my horse had the same problems before I sent him to be trained!” As we all know, Clinton is a world class trainer. So my unfiltered response to my disgruntled friend was…”Next time, leave your horse at home and YOU go spend some time with Clinton.”
Bolo Hunt
I my early years of training, I did what most any trainer does and take on the horse for the proverbial thirty, sixty or ninety days, achieve whatever goals were set or fix any issues, return the horse to the owner where occasionally I would get the same response as my aforementioned friend.
I learned that it is not enough to just train the horse. If you don’t train the human, then time and money may be simply wasted. Also, theoretically, If I can get the human to learn a certain skill set, they should never need a trainer again for that level.
I am not a horse trainer. Can I train a horse? … Yes, I can, but I feel that training the horse and, more importantly, training the human to develop good communication skills and a good relationship with their horse is my definition of true horsemanship!
There are three reasons professional horse trainers are hired. Either the owner does not have the time or desire required, the owner does not want to take the inherent risk involved, or the owner does not possess the expertise.
Develop a Good Relationship First!
Time – Training horses is “labor intensive” and requires time. Most horse owners have a primary career/job that requires most of their time, not to mention additional social/family time. Just feeding and cleaning stalls can take up what spare time may exist! Professional trainers take the time a horse needs to properly learn without physical or psychological harm to the horse.
Risk – Not everyone wants to (or should) take the risk involved working with untrained horses. The wrong move by that 1200lb cutie can put you in the hospital quickly, or worse. Too much pressure used on a highly reactive horse can cause serious injury to the horse, not to mention the new hole in your fence.
Expertise – Let’s assume you have plenty of time on your hands and you have great medical insurance. Do you have the correct knowledge and experience to reach the goals you want with your horse? Most professional trainers have years upon years of experience working with hundreds, maybe even thousands of horses. These trainers, more than likely, have paid their dues and spent tons of time with more experienced trainers to develop their skill.
What makes up a trainer? – There are many horse trainers out there. Some with familiar names, some relatively unknown. Some have fabulous marketing packages, some are known from television exposure and some are just at the ranch down the street. But I will tell you this, every successful trainer has one thing in common, they possess a keen understanding of the horse and the ability to effectively communicate with the horse!
If you want success with your horse, you will need to learn to speak their language and how to communicate in your horse’s world…not yours!
A good trainer will always keep an open mind and always be willing to listen and entertain new methods and ideas. Personally, I have spent time with many, many trainers, some locally, some known worldwide. As I learn from each of these trainers, I add more tools to my toolbox.
Ultimately, good trainers will become a “conglomerate” of all the trainers who taught them. They will use what works for them and leave behind what does not. They will develop their own style and their own methods and ultimately become their own unique trainer.
There are always many ways to get there, the only question is …. how do you want to get there.
I was watching an NBHA Barrel race when at the first barrel, the rider came off. To everyone’s relief, the rider was ok, but the horse continued to run the barrel pattern. To my amazement, the horse ran the complete pattern pretty dang good…. Without the rider. I’ve seen parents put a small child on a seasoned barrel horse and let go. As the child was screaming and crying, the horse did a decent job at running the pattern.
I hear barrel racers say, “I need a trainer to put “The Pattern” on the horse”. I think, ok…. in barrel racing the pattern is the same (given the left-right-right or right-left-left turns). Sooo, what if I took my mounted shooting horse to a barrel racing trainer and said, “Put the pattern on my horse”. Of course, in mounted shooting, there are 40+ different courses (patterns), at least four of which are used at each competition! I would probably get a strange look from the trainer.
Bolo riding Mesa with Pistols
As a trainer, I get problem barrel horses. Without getting in too much detail, I find there are usually two basic issues, 1. The horse is sour (See Performance Horses on this subject), or, 2. The rider has allowed the horse to make all the decisions and the rider basically has lost fundamental control. When I get a problem barrel horse, the first thing I usually must do is get the horse’s focus back on me and not just on the pattern. This way, I decide when and where I want to enter the course, I can make adjustments as needed etc. without the horse balking when I give my cues.
Before I get death threats, I fully understand, and agree, that performance horses should know their job, and I also understand that you want some things to be “automatic”. However, in my opinion, the “automatic” should never override what the rider tells the horse. In other words, the rider can allow the trained horse to perform certain moves on its’ own, but the rider should always be able to shut off the autopilot and guide the horse at any given time.
A question that is often asked is…when can training begin with foals? The answer is, the sooner the better! As with most equine subjects, this area is subject to varying opinions. There is a well-known involvement with foals called imprinting. If you have the time, it is well worth spending as much time early with a foal as possible. This will improve the bond you have with your foal. A word of caution, a one-day old foal can put you in the hospital, so treat this young horse with respect at all times!
As far as training goes, the sooner you get busy working with your foal the better! Be sure to have an experienced person handle the mare while initially starting with the foal. Once the mare trusts you, she will allow you more and more latitude with her baby.
Working with Foals
All the same training philosophy is valid with a foal or a horse at any age for that matter. The thing you must consider is to temper the activity based on the horses’ age, fitness etc. In this case, obviously, you cannot train with the same intensity as a five-year-old. The corrections must be much softer and the training periods should be very short. Things like desensitizing to water and spray bottles, flexing and pressure and release with a halter can be done with little exertion on the foal. Going for a nice walk around the ranch allowing the foal to experience new things is always good.
So when it comes to begin training with your new foal, get started early. Don’t be afraid to seek out professional or more experienced assistance with a young horse as this is a very important and impressionable time in their life, make sure it is a good impression!
Quite often I am approached by horse owners asking for help to fix a specific issue. Some examples, “My horse spooks on the trail’, “My horse bucks..”, “My horse wants to kick out at other horses..”, “ My horse runs over me..” and list goes on and on. So, we correct that one specific bad behavior only to have another bad behavioral issue surface. More than likely here, the root problem is poor foundation training.
There was a time in my life when everybody was very eager to give me advice on training horses. Being equally eager to learn, I would always listen with intensity and try to absorb as much as could. The problem, I soon discovered, was that every person who, with good intentions, gave me information, was only able to provide a small piece of the big picture. It seems that way too many times, a horse is rushed through training due to time, money or ability constraints or the owner is just in a hurry to do whatever they want with the horse so they figure, if the horse isn’t currently bucking them off, everything is good, maybe !
Training horses is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. If you get in a hurry and only get a portion of the pieces together, those pieces you left out will more than likely show up at some point down the road.
With all horses, especially young horses, provide them with good solid foundation training with ALL the pieces in the beginning. The extra time, money and effort spent here will save you much more time and more money later…and maybe a trip to the emergency room!
Here is a quick answer to loading your horse into a hauler/horse trailer!
Trailer loading seems to be a very common problem with many horse owners. One of the very first things any horse needs to learn is trailer loading! Since horses are naturally claustrophobic, entering a strange, dark, tight space, i.e. a trailer, is very un-natural. As soon as possible during my foundation training, even with foals and yearlings, I like to introduce the horse to as many unusual, circumstances as possible such as water, obstacles and especially the horse trailer!
Even if you don’t own a trailer this is important because if an urgent need arises where you may need to transport the horse to a medical facility or evacuate due to a fire or hurricane, you will want to know you can quickly and safely get the horse on the trailer and, be able to reload the horse afterward! While I won’t be able to provide a “complete instruction manual” on trailer loading in this short article, I can provide you with some helpful tips.
Trailer Loading Your Horse
Be Patient – The first thing I will tell you is that you must be patient! Give yourself plenty of time to get where you’re going! Too many people create their own loading problems by not being patient when a horse balks during loading and starts whacking the horse yelling “get in you …..!”.
No Pressure – Never apply pressure or stress while the horse is close and facing your trailer, in your trailer or exiting your trailer. If a horse has a bad experience in or around the trailer, he probably will not want to repeat the bad experience by approaching the trailer again!
Send the Horse – If you’ve already taught your horse how to “send”, this will make teaching your horse how to load much easier. You can bring your horse up to the trailer and send them in. (I prefer to “send” my horses into the trailer as opposed to leading or pulling them in as this is easier and safer!) if not, you’ll need to at least be able to move your horse’s feet fairly well when training your horse to load.
Protect Your Horse – Be sure to secure your horse safely inside the trailer! Remove any low hanging objects like feed bags, lead ropes etc. Remove or secure anything the horse can get tangled in. Use fly masks! At highway speeds, the moving air inside the trailer can be very turbulent and pick up bugs, shavings etc. that can get in the horses’ eyes
Drive Smooth – While transporting your horse (assuming you got them in), don’t drive like Mr. Toads Wild Ride bouncing your poor horse off the walls. Again, this creates a traumatic experience for the horse and you may have issues getting him back on. Leave early and give yourself plenty of time to travel smoothly and safely!
Again, these are just a few suggestions. Teaching this is not that difficult but it does require patience and a certain degree of skill. Just like all other aspects of horse training, educate yourself and/or seek out help from your favorite trainer/clinician.
The idea is that you want your horse to be safe and feel comfortable in the trailer and wants to be there!
There is a sundry of services out there, offering assistance with the well-being of your four legged little darling.
To name a few, we have Veterinarians, Chiropractic Services, Farriers, Trainers, Equine Nutritionist, Red Light, Electric and Message Therapists, Equine Dental Specialists, Equine Psychics, (That’s right, I said Psychics), and the list just keeps going.
Now, I’m not saying you should have everything everybody offers, however, owning a horse requires a little more than just feeding and grooming.
Build a good Team around your horse!
For me, there are four basic professional areas that are essential to support and keep our horses healthy and happy. Good Veterinarians, Good Farriers, Good Chiropractic Services and Good Trainers
My definition of a “Good” professional means, someone that gets the results I want and, in the manner I like. Someone with whom I can honestly and effectively communicate and who is professional enough to show up on schedule. I look at this as building a team that will, as seamlessly as possible, assist, and provide me with the best possible options regarding the welfare of my horse. Remember, as horse owners, we are ultimately responsible for making final decisions.
Now, let’s take this a step further, I really love it when my team members work together to reach a common goal. For example, A farrier should work closely with the Veterinarian to address laminitis since both of these professionals are needed. As a professional trainer it really helps when I can provide a chiropractic professional good feedback and they can give me good advice on a training program that is best for the horse.
I feel extremely fortunate to have a great team that I work with regularly. If you don’t already have your team, I highly recommend you start building your dream team today!
How many conversations have been about horse “trainers”? We joke about how it seems that everyone thinks they are a horse trainer! Even professional trainers sometimes shake our heads at some who profess to be a “trainer”. Well…. while each person has their own level of ability or desire, the simple fact is this……. Anyone who handles a horse is training that horse!
This training may or may not be correct, the result may or may not be good, or the person may not even realize they are sending bad messages to the horse at all, but the fact remains that anyone who spends any time with a horse, such as barn helpers who simply need to move a horse from the stall to the pasture, the person doing this chore is, for good or bad, training the horse!
Horses are always learning from you..for good…or bad!
A horse’s awareness is extremely acute. The problem is the human doesn’t maintain that same level of awareness regarding the horse. Horses are paying attention to you even though you may not be paying attention to them. For example: many “trainers” stay focused in the training pen but are very complacent walking the horse to and from the training pen or, the casual trail rider tends to drift along chit-chatting with fellow riders and NOT paying attention to what their horse may be telling them along the way. In these cases, the horse may be receiving conflicting messages from the handler/rider.
When I take on a boarding horse for training, I make it a point to be the one moving, handling, feeding, grooming and washing the horse etc. This way I know the horse is getting consistent messages. This in turn, makes the training go much better. Training doesn’t begin and end at the round pen or arena gate, training is a continuous effort. Training mode begins whenever I make first contact with the horse for the day and doesn’t end until the horse is turned out. Remember one of the basic requirements needed to successfully train a horse is consistency. If you tell your horse to do one thing in the training pen, then send a different message outside the pen by not being consistent, you are not being fair and will confuse and frustrate the horse. This will seriously affect your goals.
A good rule to remember…. anytime you are spending time with your horse, leave your mobile device in the truck, don’t engage in conversations with friends or any other activity that would interfere with good consistent communication with your horse.
If you expect and demand you horse’s absolute attention, (as you should), you must be willing to give your absolute attention to your horse as well.
As a professional trainer, Why did I learn the sport of Mounted Shooting
I am a professional horse trainer. I’ve been training horses now for many years. A few years ago, I was approached by representatives of a local mounted shooting club and was invited to join them and try this new sport called mounted shooting. At the time, I was into reining and ranch horse type competitions and didn’t really have much extra spare time getting involved in another competition! Don’t misunderstand, I enjoy competing however, my passion is training, and that has always come first! So, the more I thought about it, from a trainer’s perspective, I knew the more things I could expose my horses to, the better! I then decided on a plan, I would bring a different horse each week, rotating them so each horse would get equal exposure to shooting a gun from the saddle. My “plan” was purely for training purposes only.
So, I show up with one of my own horses (Montana) and I was provided a very nice orientation to the world of mounted shooting. The first thing I noticed was the very welcoming and friendly atmosphere from all the members of this organization. So, I began my training sessions.
Bolo & Mesa Fall Shootout
With each horse I would bring, I quickly realized that mounted shooting required a whole new set of skills that I had not used or even thought of as a trainer!
As time progressed, I became better and faster with each horse…..now, I’m really starting to have fun! After a few months I was encouraged to think about competing in a mounted shooting match. I did, and well, as the saying goes, the rest is history.
I still enjoy competing to this day. I have no doubt that getting involved in the sport of mounted shooting made me a much better trainer and made every horse I used along the way a more well-rounded horse.
Try mounted shooting, or really, most any level of competition in any discipline! It might just humble you a bit and more than likely improve your horsemanship skills. I firmly believe you will also come away with a much better horse in the process!
A question I often get is …. “What is a good method to use for training and working with wild or abused horses?” Well … Here is the “magic” answer!
I have been working with wild mustangs and working with equine rescues for many years. As you might suspect, wild and/or abused or neglected horses can be a real challenge.
Anytime you’re working with any horse, you should always keep in mind the history of the horse if known. As a trainer, this gives you a better insight and will help you understand why the horse may be behaving a certain way. Unfortunately, trainers rarely get accurate information on a given horses’ background….. So, what’s a poor trainer to do?
The “magic” answer is, (drum roll…) There is no magic answer!! Crystal balls and Pixie dust just doesn’t work!
My method to work with a Mustang, or an abused horse is no different than working with any other horse! If you learn how to be FAIR to EVERY horse you work with, then you will have success with EVERY horse.
So … how do you be fair? Here’s how….
Working with wild Mustangs
There are five things every horse deserves from you as a trainer, rider or handler;
Patience – If you suck in this category, go take up basket weaving until you get better. This is the most important quality a trainer must have! The moment you get frustrated or angry, you have lost your ability to effectively communicate with your horse.
Consistency –Speak the same language all the time! Get disciplined with your body language so your horse will learn to understand you! Established a set of rules and stay with them 100% of the time.
Timing & Feel – This coincides with Pressure & Release. Understand when to apply pressure, when to release the pressure and how much pressure to apply etc. Timing & feel is essential to communicating fairly with your horse.
Dedication – Your horse deserves to be treated fairly! As a trainer, rider or handler, you owe it to your horse to educate and dedicate yourself to understanding how your horse thinks and what your horse is feeling. Are they trying to be dominate? Are they fearful? Learn how to effectively communicate with your horse.
Patience, Consistency, Timing / Feel and Dedication….. Arming yourself with these tools along with hard work and quality time with your horse will give you the best chance in making that wild Mustang you have into a great partner!
