I am still  conducting a clinic at Diamond TR this Saturday, May 2. However, the subject matter is changed. We will focus on Evaluating Your Horses Training Level.

If we consider horsemanship as a partnership between human and horse, then both parties have responsibility. If we have established the human as the leader, then what is the horse’s responsibility? The horse’s role is then to follow the leader. The horse also has a vested interest because he is the one that is expending the energy! The horse needs to be part of the training process. They are capable of many things athletically, but you must include them in the mental part of things as well. The horse must be rewarded for any success. This reward is comfort and safety. This principle results in the horse willing to keep trying and ultimately, searching for that particular movement (or lack of movement, in the case of stop) of feet and legs that results in release of pressure (stimuli). Here is how we include the horse in the training process:
1. Listen to him.

2. Build a basis for communication. Ray Hunt always said, “Reward the smallest change and the slightest try.”

3. Always be consistent in your cues.

4. Expect and accept failure.

5. Build a foundation for success

This theme will be the basis for my next Horsemanship Clinic at Diamond TR Ranch on May 2- starting at 9:00 a.m. To register you may contact the Ranch at diamondtr.com.  Contact me as well with your questions. This clinic is for riders that want to advance the confidence in themselves and take their horses to a higher training level – regardless of riding discipline.

 On May 30, we will continue our series of Western Horsemanship Fundamentals at Diamond TR Ranch (Highway 10 E out of Perryville). This clinic will focus on Equitation for Trail Riding. We will emphasize the following points:

a. Horse Control
b. Transitions – walk, trot, and canter
c. Trotting Diagonals
d. Cantering

e. Sensory Training
f. Surprises on the Trail
g. Safety of Riders & Horses
h.  Trailer Safety and Prep

The Clinic will start at 9:00 a.m. To register you may contact the Ranch at diamondtr.com.  Contact me as well with your questions. This clinic is for riders that want to advance the confidence in themselves and take their trail  horses to a higher training level.

My next clinic will be April 25 at Faith, Hope and Love Farms in Little Rock, AR.

To change our habits, we must first change our thinking. Resistance in our horses is not in the body, it is in the mind. What we feel through the body is simply the physical expression of how they are feeling inside. It is not physical resistance, but confusion, defensiveness, anticipation, anxiety, fear, or often even anger. To get a horse to relax, we must have movement of his feet. When he is in motion, anxiety goes down, muscles relax, his body relaxes, and then his mind engages to thinking mode, not flight mode. Consistency means that YOU will ask today the same way for the same things as you asked yesterday and will ask tomorrow. When a horse feels that the human has failed in providing that leadership, reassurance, guidance and protection, the horse’s natural tendency is toward self- preservation and its survival mechanism takes over. And this is where problems begin to develop. Any inconsistency will confuse the horse and result in inconsistent response and performance. Even if a horse was doing a particular technique consistently wrong, the horse will eventually figure it out and give appropriate responses if the release of pressures is coming at the appropriate times. Details:
Saturday, April 25, 2015 9am—3pm
$125 per rider/horse
$20 to audit
Lunch will be provided to riders
Faith, Hope, & Love Farms—Little Rock, Ar
(off Pratt Rd) **covered arena

For more information or to reserve your spot, call 501-590-9442 or email at fhlfarms@gmail.com
Find us on facebook: Faith Hope Love Farms