The Rock Star from Down Under

Tuesday October 7 2014

You'd be forgiven if you mistook him for a rock star: a polished costume (brand name jeans, a clean starched shirt with his logo on it, brand name boots), a polished show, announcer, sound system, and a cult-like following of screaming fans. But if you can overlook all that (or enjoy it, if you like it), you can always learn something from watching these natural horsemanship trainers with horses, particularly problem horses which are used to demonstrate their training methods in the clinics.

Nampa Idaho was natural horsemanship trainer Clinton Anderson's 8th of 9 scheduled Walkbout Tour stops this year - a two-day tour described on his website as "the most inspirational two days any horse lover can have. Whether you ride English, Western or just love to hit the trails, learn how the man behind the Method uses his techniques every single day to develop respectful and fun horses. Watch in awe as Clinton puts one of his standout horses through their paces during a spectacular demonstration." An Australian, Clinton now has a spread in Texas where he trains horses and people, in addition to traveling the country and the world on tours like this one.

We Owyhee Crick Women fit into one corner of the arena of Clinton Anderson's followers: females. But being primarily Arabian horse endurance riders we were rather to the far left of his normal fan profile of females who mostly ride Quarter horses in arenas.

I've come a long way in learning not just riding, but horsemanship over the years, and I know I still have plenty more to learn, which is why I really enjoy watching the pros, the real horsemen who know how to get the best out of a horse without bucking him out, or beating him into temporary submission. By teaching the horse to choose the right behavior, and building on basic lessons of respect, the end result is a 4-legged partner - not just a slave - you can come to trust to share your adventures with.

It is inspirational and awesome to watch Clinton or one of his certified clinicians bring a rogue horse around to showing respect and willingness within 5 minutes of the horse's normal often-outrageous behavior, to see the transformation of the horse as the light bulbs of understanding turn on in his head.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with expecting a thousand pound animal to respect you, give you space, accept you as his leader in your relationship; and in fact it's downright insane to let your horse wear the pants in your family. I'm always astounded by the people who bring their problem horses to the clinics for the trainer to 'fix' - a horse who is dragging them into the arena, shoving them around, running over them. As Clinton Anderson repeated over and over, if you don't have a horse who respects you, it's not a matter of *if* you're going to get hurt, but *when.*

Clinton did sound a bit worn out and a bit jaded at times (albeit with a sense of humor)… tired of the ladies in particular (a majority of his clientele) who let their horses run all over them because they love them (one lady answered Clinton when he asked "Why do you let him do this?" "Because he loves me") … the same things over and over...

Clinton probably does enjoy the attention, the fame, the work of teaching horses and people safe ways of handling and riding; but after seeing the same problems over and over and over, year after year, the same ignorant owners with dangerous, disrespectful horses over and over and over, year after year, and after hammering the same message over and over and over, year after year, I bet there are times he just wishes he could go saddle up his old pony, put on a plain ol' Tshirt, and go on a fun, relaxing 20-mile trail ride in some scenic country.

Who's In Charge

Monday April 11 2011

When you go out for a ride on your horse, who's captain of the ship? Are you in control of your horse, do you and your horse work as partners, or is your horse steering the boat?

One thing to keep in mind is that your horse already knows everything you will want him to do.

Your horse only has two buttons - stop and go, and 4 directions: forward, backward, left and right. Watch any horse interact with another horse. Every horse knows these commands and directions. A day old foal already knows how to stop and go, move forward, backward, left and right. He may do it awkwardly, but he already does all of this.


You might include the directions upward (rearing) or downward (going down) - but these are normally responses to play or escape - and by your incorrect requests you may be causing your horse to rear or try to escape.

So there you go - every horse is born naturally knowing everything he needs to know, and it takes the first dominant horse (like his dam) to come along to make him realize and demonstrate this.

What horses aren't born with is the understanding of human communication. We often speak two very different languages. What many people don't understand (until they learn) is how to communicate to their horse how to perform what they already know. Some of it is more difficult, when you factor in Attitude (the horse's or the person's), but much of this just comes down to practice.

Does your horse disrespect your space when you are on the ground? Does he crowd you? Does he totally ignore you? This is not acceptable. A horse is too big and heavy - and potentially lethal - to not be paying attention to you and following your command.

All those Natural Horseman trainers, love them or hate them, agree on one basic thing: start with the ground work. If you don't have the respect of your horse from the ground, you're not going to have it on his back.


Your horse should respect you and your space. Your horse should move forward, backward, left or right when you ask. It shouldn't take him five minutes to respond, nor 5 seconds; he should do it as soon as you ask him. Nor should it take a shove with a crowbar to get him to move his feet. He should respond instantly to your light touch or gesture. A horse can feel a tiny fly bite his hide, and a horse will move away from another horse's gesture of pinned ears and a head toss; so if he doesn't respond to your ounce of pressure or your gestures that he understands, he is ignoring you and disrespecting you.

And you're not going to hurt your horse, or hurt his feelings, if you ask him to do something he already knows. You might, however, ultimately hurt yourself.

Clinton Anderson has a great article on this very subject on Equisearch.com: http://www.equisearch.com/horses_riding_training/training/general/clinton-anderson-dont-get-emotional-when-training-horses

If you do a little of something every day, it becomes your natural habit. Even if your horse knows everything and responds instantly to everything you ask him, every day, before you get on your horse to ride, do just a little ground work - make him move forward, backward, turn on the forehand (plant his front feet and pivot his hind end), turn on the backhand (plant his back feet and pivot his front end), step to the left, step to the right - you'll get an idea of whether or not he's using his brain today or if his mind is elsewhere.

And every day when you climb in the saddle, do the same thing from his back: move him forward, backward, step to the left and right, turn on the forehand, turn on the backhand. Do the same thing when you return from a ride, making that your last dance. It doesn't take two minutes once you've learned to communicate, and it will just become a natural part of your time together - and it will make you and your horse better communicators and better partners.

Some horses need more practice than others. Some people need more practice than others. It's easy and doesn't take time out of your ride - when you just do it, a little every day, it becomes part of your ride. Daily practice will become habit, habit will become natural.

If you don't know how to teach your horse the basics, get some help. Find a friend or a trainer who knows what he or she is doing and have them teach you; go to a horsemanship clinic; at the least, find videos on Youtube or watch some of those DVDs by the Natural Horseman trainers. Then practice. Start the habit.

When your horse respects you more, you become more like partners and you can concentrate on other things - like just having fun together.