The Novice Horseman Blog

2009 held a lot of good things for me.  I’m thankful for my husband most of all.  After 35 years of marriage, he still endures my horse craziness.  He is the reason I still have horses today because I almost gave them up several times for economic reasons.  I love him very much.

I’m glad I have my horse buddies.  Without them, my horse life would not be as much fun.  My trainer is very tolerant of my weaknesses & phobias.  Lessons are fun and vary in intensity.  I will master my weak points.  I can also say she is a good friend.  The stable owner has been a friend since her mother owned the place.  I’ve ridden many Saturday morning group lessons with her.

I’m extremely fortunate to have the horses I own today.  I’m glad I took the time to search for the right horse.  Every time I ride, they teach me to be a better rider.

So as the hours wind down for 2009, take a few minutes to reflect on the past year.  Learn the lessons taught from the bad times.   Be thankful for all the good times that have occurred over the year.  As for 2010, plan to make your horse experiences better.

Day 2 of this seminar was interesting, but was very long.  There were numerous slow parts to the seminar.  This one was being filmed and it had several lengthy slow segments while staff members were setting cameras, calling staff members to the arena for filming and microphones being delivered.  There didn’t seem to be much preparation.  If there was, it seemed to be changed at the last minute.  There was also a time where students who were being graded on sections of the clinician’s program.  This could have been done after the day’s seminar and invited the audience to stay to observe instead of making it part of the seminar.  This made the seminar too long and for me, not very interesting.

To hit the good points,  there was a part on why the snaffle is considered a training tool by this particular clinician.  We were shown how he uses the snaffle by demonstrating with a bit in his hands.  This allowed the audience to see how each side of the snaffle works independently of the other.  I won’t go into the mechanics of bits that is too much subject for this post.  If you are really interested in how each type of bit works, you should probably invest in a book on bits.  You would get a much better explanation than I could try to give.

There was also a section where a horse with a severe head tossing issue was worked trying to stop this bad habit.  This particular horse had been worked the day before with good results, but still did not accept pressure applied through the reins to the bit when being cued.  This horse did not like anything on, around or near it’s head.   The clinician worked with the horse for about another 45 minutes with some pretty good results.  The horse’s owner will still have some work once they get home, but they got a good starting point.

There also another section where a horse was being trained to lay down.  This particular part I found hard to watch at times.  While I understand that by achieving this maneuver, the horse is giving you his total trust.  I personally just don’t see much use for it.

I did get some training ideas, so I would I classify the seminar as time well spent.   If you have never been to one of these seminars, you should go to one.  The ones I have been to were not very expensive, just $25 – $35 for 2 days.  I was able to purchase tickets from the clinician’s website, so that was pretty easy.  I would definitely invest in checking out a seminar near you.  You can find a schedule for seminars in just about any horse magazine.  If you don’t have a subscription to a magazine, just click one of my recommended magazines links on my website to get one started.

There will also be merchandise & DVDs of the clinician’s training program for sale at these seminars.  Most of the clinicians sell their entire training system,  which can be expensive.  However, if you buy this way, each section is usually cheaper than buying one section at a time.  Buying one section of the program as you need it may be more affordable.  Some also sell memberships to their club websites for a monthly fee.  These have extra material available only for the members.  Any of these are potentially worth the price if they help you and your horse.  But to be worth the money, you have to use them.

In these tough economic times, you have to decide what is right for you.

Today I went to a natural horsemanship seminar.  I found it informative.  I’m always open to learn from others, especially if they are trying to teach me a better way of training my horse.  The better way is what has become the buzz phrase . . .  natural horsemanship, horse whispering, etc . . .  For me, this is training my horse without harsh training aids or techniques. 

Today’s lessons were on the importance of ground training your horse & getting them to move forward, laterally & back; and doing these going both ways.  If you can’t get your horse to do any of these moves from the ground . . . how do you expect your horse to do it when you are in the saddle.  Good ground work is the essential basic that a lot of people leave out of their training because they are in a hurry to get results.  You are not only training your horse good basic moves, but you are also establishing mutual respect.  Without respect, you are going no where.

There are several different clinicians to choose from.  Each has their own style & way of teaching.  I would encourage you to go to a few of these seminars when one comes to your area.  You may decide you like one clinician’s style better than another and that’s OK.  If everyone liked the same things, life would be pretty boring.   What I would like for you to do is listen with an open mind, learn something new and see if it works you & your horse.