Do We Make the Grade?

A few Sundays ago, I watched an episode on Clinton Anderson’s Downunder Horsemanship show on RFD TV.  He was grading a student on the Fundamentals section of his horse training program.  It made me think about how Max and I are progressing.

Upon reflection, I had to admit that Max doesn’t really show energy in his take-off and his lungeing at the trot seems sluggish most of the time.  And I must strive to be more consistent and project high energy with my body language. 

The student he was grading was worried about her horse yielding hindquarters and giving two eyes.  She was concerned that he wasn’t doing it fast enough. 

Remember, I was concerned earlier about this and decided to work on it.  But on this episode CA said that if the horse is getting that backend around and looking at you, it’s okay.  That when you go through future exercises that require him to yield his hindquarters in order to do the exercise, he’ll get better and better at it, so don’t just work it to death.  Okay.  I’m good with that.  We’re moving on.

I know I need to project energy in my body language in order for Max to get energetic.  He’s a lazy type (and I can be, too), and he can get an attitude if not kept in check.  He decided to demonstrate this today when I wanted to work on the energy part.

I went to the barn with the intention of seeing what kind of grade we’d get on Lungeing, Stage One.  I wanted to project energy so he would take off with some snap.  We began, I projected and he snapped all right. 

He snapped loose from me as I attempted to point and cluck him up to a more energetic trot.  He went through the open gate and out of the pen, and when he got to his stall he yielded those hindquarters with energy and gave me two eyes.  He cocked his foot and licked his lips.  I laughed out loud!

I went and got him, neither scolded him nor soothed him, walked him back into the arena (closed the gate!) and took up where we left off.  We practiced, both of us with energy, for a while with no more incidences.  Maybe by the end of our practice we could have pulled a B…

Monday I did an evening workout with Max.  I was surprised by his light take-off when I pointed and clucked.  His whole trot seemed a little lighter and more energetic.

               I pointed and clucked to get him up to a lope.  I used the stick and string the second time I pointed and clucked.  On the left lead he tossed his head kind of like, “I don’t know if I’m going to do this without showing you I don’t like it,” but he stepped it up. 

On the right lead when I pointed and clucked, and then pointed, clucked and used the stick and string the second time when he didn’t lope, he tossed his head and wanted to kick out and got a bit snarky.  He tried to jerk away, but I held him and kept the pressure on while he acted silly.  We worked through it. 

He went a time or two more at the lope, then I brought him to a trot for two circles, then stopped and rubbed him and rested just a moment.  We started again in the same direction and had no problem.  Thanks, CA.  Good instructions.

Lungeing Stage One had definitely improved.  More energetic take off, better change of direction.  We might get a B on that.  Don’t get me wrong. He’s not stopping and rotating around on his hindquarters and taking off in the other direction. 
He’s stopping.  He’s giving two eyes better and understands, most of the time, to go the other way when I point in the other direction and cluck.

I’m thinking that I should even go back to the four backing up methods.  On some days I think we’re definitely B material.  Then again, when I tapped the air today for Max to back up, he looked at me like, “What?”  

I did the yielding hindquarters and backing and he stood still after yielding.  I don’t think I was clear on my signal to back up on this one.  We hadn’t practiced it in a while and I was clumsy with the cues.  But no B today.

We continue to work on moving forequarters.  We can do about 180 degrees until he wants to step forward instead of across.  No B on that one.

Do Max and I make the grade?  I’m afraid that right now, we don’t rate a solid B on several exercises in Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground – Series I.  The episode reminded me that I must keep my expectations for both of us high when training Max.  We can do it...    

            Have a nice ride,

            Greenhorn

Update on a Few Points...

             
              We have definitely reached a turning point of some kind.  We have developed a different connection, a new connection. 

Max seems more likely to expect me to give him direction rather than just move around on his own when I’m nearby.   He seems to be paying more attention to me when I’m around.  When he sees me coming with a chore to do and he’s right there up close to the barn door, he begins to back up when I’m walking toward him.  I do like that.  Thanks, CA.

I introduced the “touch and rub” exercise from the Riding With Confidence – Series I dvd.  I’m reeeeeeeeally clumsy doing this one.  I really had to take it super slowly and concentrate on which hand was doing what.  He’s big.  I’m short.  I was afraid his big rear end would move into me and his hind feet would step on me.  But once I got it, it worked. 

I’m not totally comfortable yet with the timing and the moves, but with practice I think it’ll come. 

When first introducing the “touch and rub” exercise Max kept thinking I wanted him to move his forequarters, (probably because we’ve had to work on it so much) so he kept side-stepping. 

(Okay, I know this so girly, but he was really cute.  He was dipping his head and looking at me like, “See?  See?  Look what I remembered?  Is this right?  Is this it?  I’m doing that thing you wanted, right?”  I know, I know, he’s not supposed to be “cute”.  But it did show me again he has that “try”!) 

Only I have to tell him, “Uh, no, that’s not it this time.”

Actually, until today, I’ve really been working pretty exclusively on the Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground – Series I exercises.  I felt like I needed to feel super comfortable on the ground first considering my confidence issues.

Now, Max and I are coming along verrrrrrrrrrry slowly, but we’re coming along nonetheless.  (I don’t have to do it as fast as Clinton Anderson does it, do I?)  And I don’t know about Max, but I have enjoyed every bit.  So far, I think Anderson has mapped out his methods in an excellent step-by-step sequence.  There hasn’t been anything yet that has been impossible for me, as a beginner, to do.

I think whenever we start something new, there’s an adjustment in thinking.  For example, being a former Reading and Language Arts teacher, I keep wanting there to be some instructions I can give Max or some way to use words. 

 I’ll start to say something, then look at Max and close my mouth.  (I know some trainers do use verbal cues.  I have done this also.  But right now I’m following Clinton Anderson’s method and there are no verbal cues.  And this way makes sense, too.  I rather like it.  And anyway, we all need to shut the heck up sometimes.)

I am also having to get used to the new moves I’m supposed to make while training Max to make his moves.  I enjoy that it’s body language that’s essential in communicating with horses. 

It’s kind of like learning short new dances for each skill I want to teach him.  In other words, what’s my body supposed to be doing so that Max will know what to do?  And like dancing together, one leads and the other follows.   

Lastly, there’s the equipment to work with.  In any new sport one has to get used to the equipment.  Whether its’ mitts, balls and bats, or sticks and strings and lead ropes and halters, it takes some practice and everyday “using” to get natural with it.

The next thing I need to do is re-make a list of the exercises on GRCG-I and RWC-I.  I made one a few weeks ago on an index card and put it in my pocket when I went to the barn each morning, but it became unreadable after being slipped in and out of my pocket for several days.  Before it completely faded away it was very helpful in keeping me focused on goals for the day. 

So, to move forward, I’ll remake my list of “exercises to practice” and make sure that I include the “touch and rub”…

Have a good ride,

Greenhorn

Love That "Try"...

              Okay-So I had to completely change Max’s routine today because I had a meeting at 9:30 am, so we could not “work out” this morning.  I decided to do a little ground work this evening because I’ll be gone this weekend and won’t get to work with him; which isn’t all bad, and will probably be good, because a routine needs a little shake-up every once in a while and everyone needs a day or two off every once in a while to keep everyone fresh. 

The last time I was gone for a couple of days worked out fine.  Max and I were glad to see each other and he seemed ready to work and so was I.  And we made progress.

However, this evening is another story.  I think I have totally confused Max.  You know, we’ve been working on yielding his forequarters for weeks.  Well, he’s getting pretty good at it, but it seems like every time I make a move he starts yielding his forequarters. 

It makes me wonder if he’s been taught this some time in the past because one day when he kept yielding his forequarters I gently tapped his hip and he yielded his hindquarters a couple of steps so he kind of did a little side pass.  I tapped his forequarters again and he yielded, so I tapped the hindquarters and he yielded. 

              

              I know I probably shouldn't jump a little ahead.  I don't want to really confuse him.  (But he did it pretty well!)

For example, I went back to yielding hindquarters because I feel like he’s not always getting those hindquarters around straight and giving me two eyes when we’re lungeing and I ask him to stop and yield.  So, I lifted my hand up by his eye and tapped the stick 1,2,3,4 in the air, and he started side-passing toward me!

I wasn’t going to stop and make a big deal out of it, so I just kept on and his hip ran into the stick and his rear end jumped around to yield.  We had to do this a few times.  I think I’m going to have to go back and do a little of this when I get back. 

I’m probably not being clear on my signals.  I’ll pay closer attention to exactly what I’m signaling tomorrow morning.  I feel like we’ll work out of it if I’m just patient and stay the course.   
And I love it when Max shows that “try”!  Before I started working with Max and I heard all the RFD TV horse trainers talk about a horse having "a lotta try" or you can tell "he's/she's trying", I wondered how you could tell if a horse was "trying." 

Well, I can't express it in words today, but you can definitely tell that they "try."  I think that's one reason horse lovers are horse lovers.

I think Clinton Anderson addressed confusion in one of his videos.  I think he said to keep the pressure on until the horse finds the right answer.  Then release right away.  And I think I did okay.

(I must admit though, I was a bit nervous with those big hooves side passing right into my toes!  I was stepping lightly there for a minute...)

Have a good ride,

Greenhorn 

To Lunge or Not To Lunge...

One thing Max just didn’t do was lungeing.  I pointed, clucked and swung my stick at his head, neck and shoulders and he stood, desensitized, looking at me, licking his lips.  I just couldn’t keep doing it to him.  He just absolutely had no idea what to do. 

I can hear Clinton now saying I’m one of those females that says, “Oh, Precious, why won’t you lunge?”  (And not long ago he would have been right!) 

Max obviously didn’t know what to do, and I realized part of our foundation was missing.  Clinton Anderson has it very step-by-step from beginning to end, and I had missed the Round Penning steps. 

I admit I was a little slow to get this.  I thought we were at the beginning.

He mentioned in the GRCG-I dvds exercises that should have been completed in the Round Penning (RP) dvd set.  

Great.  I thought I was starting at the beginning and here was this whole set of exercises I had missed.  I knew I needed to get the Round Penning dvds in order to start at the beginning. 

Maybe that was the missing link to Max not knowing how to lunge and me not being able to teach him...    

First, I came across a very used set that skipped and stuck so much that I missed many of the important instructions.  I swear, every time he was giving an important point or instruction the word would be skipped or the dvd would stick.  I could discern enough from a couple of the exercises on RP to make a start in the round pen with Max. 

Max wasn’t as excited about it as I was.  My round pen was larger than usual because I also used it as a riding pen at the time.  Max and I began and Max did almost all the things Clinton said horses might do.  He told on the dvds how to correct them so I stuck with it.  When he bucked and acted snarky I kept the pressure on. 

Max really scared me a couple of times.  He decided to act like a rodeo bronc and run full speed around the pen, ears back, looking at me, and I did keep the pressure on with my stick and string a couple of times and then let him decide to stop. 

I admit I was scared.  

And then he circled calmly and attentively and I relaxed, too.  Like I said before, I didn’t do all of the exercises because of the condition of the dvds. I couldn’t tell what I was supposed to do.

            In the meantime I was in the process of locating a set of RP dvds that worked.  But apparently, I had done enough so that when I went back to GRCG-I, EUREKA! 

Max, on the lead rope, got the idea of lungeing when I pointed, clucked and swung the stick.  It was verrrrry rocky at first, but each day we practiced and he (and I) became a bit smoother.  

However, he was NOT going to go to counter-clockwise!  He refused.  My arms were about to fall off from pointing up high, and bump, bump, bumping the rope to the left.  We were just no good at changing direction.  So, I backed off and we just practiced going one direction, stopping, yielding, giving two eyes. 

I think I was also confusing him because eventually I was getting around to his side in an effort to swing my stick at his left neck and shoulder to get him to move off to the right instead of remaining in front of his two eyes position and pointing and bumping the rope to the right. 

I’ll tell you right now I was not good at teaching it at first. 

I also had to get used to handling the equipment.  I would watch the dvd lesson again the next morning before our training session.  Each time I would get something new out of the lesson.  The dvd had covered it well.  It was step-by-step, and each step was building a foundation for future steps.

And then last week the day came.  Something happened.   I pointed to the right, clucked and swung my stick at his head, neck and shoulders and he moved to the right.  I stopped and yielded him, got two eyes then pointed to the left, clucked and swung the stick at his head, neck and shoulders and I couldn’t believe he moved off to the left. 

Hallelujah!  Good Boy!  He went around a couple of times.  I stopped and yielded him and rubbed his head and gave him some enthusiastic “Good boys!”  We tried it again and it went smoothly again.  We had reached a turning point.  No pun intended. 

Have a good ride,

Greenhorn

Now We're Talkin'...

I watched, no studied, all four dvds in the Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground-1 set.  I was pumped each morning and couldn't wait to get to the barn.

We yielded hindquarters and practiced giving two eyes.  Max is one of those big ole fat, lazy geldings that Clinton Anderson talks about, and I decided he should yield those hindquarters and give me two eyes a bit more quickly and crisply, so I watched that segment again and trooped out to teach Max how to snap it up. 

He did.  As soon as I signaled with some energy, he responded with energy. 

There’s no sense getting frustrated or mad when things don’t happen quickly.  I’m finding that if I keep working, with consistency in my cues, it comes together one day.     

Okay!  I love this backing up stuff!  This is just what a timid handler needs – how to get him out of her face and space! 

We learned to back up the 4 different methods Clinton Anderson teaches, and we still work on backing up everyday.  I really like him to back out of my space! 

So far, these lessons have been clear and easy to follow and I’m impressed. 

I was just beginning to dream about training wild mustangs when we hit our first snag.  Max just  really didn't want to yield his forequarters.  Flat didn't want to. 

So we struggled with yielding forequarters.  I mean reeeeeeeeeeally struggled.  Then, I realized it was me.  I admit it.  I did exactly what CA said not to do. 
I was just trying to help Max understand what I wanted him to do so I pushed on his shoulder to get him to move that foot across.  Max didn't want to do that either.  I got into a big pushing match with him. 
I knew I wasn't supposed to do this, but maybe CA just didn't know that it worked on some horses.  Uh, no.  It doesn't.  And it didn't work on Max. 

Of course, Max would win and all I was, was worn out.  I watched the lesson again.  Yep, he was doing all those things CA says the big, fat, lazy geldings will do. 

I went back out re-armed with the knowledge I learned during the first viewing of the Yielding Forequarters segment, but this time I was prepared to actually use that knowledge and do it right.

We worked.  I moved the stick with increased rhythm while I counted 1,2,3,4, increasing my volume and Max's shoulder met the stick.   I still thought Max would never get it, but we persisted.  Sometimes he yawned and sometimes he stepped forward and always he looked at me like I was a pain in the neck.  And then it happened. 

That first step across was sweeeet! 

We are still working on getting three steps in a row.  He can do one like a champ and two pretty darn good, but he needs to get around on that third step and we’re just not there yet.  So, yep, we work on that everyday.

It’s amazing how getting some knowledge and using it, so you can get some control, can lead to increased confidence in a short amount of time…

Now, we're talkin'!

Have a good ride,

Greenhorn

My Training Begins...

Like I said in the previous blog post, someone must have trained Max well.  (I wouldn’t have him if he wasn’t.)  And, like I said previously, I don’t know if his trainer used Clinton Anderson’s “method” or not.  I understand that pressure and release methods are what many trainers use.  

I could tell Max had been desensitized at some point.  Neither the rope nor the stick and string seemed to bother him.  I could also touch, pat, rub all over his body and head.  He was a little sticky with his ears, but after watching Clinton’s approach and retreat technique on an RFD-TV episode, and trying it out on Max, he was soon okay with his ears, too. 

Max is pretty easy to catch.  He just about always comes to me and lets me put a rope or halter on him.  I’m working on those kinds of things, too.  I have a Clinton Anderson dvd on Problem Solving that I thought might help me gain some confidence in just being in the company of horses while working around the barn, etc.   It has great tips and techniques for handling everyday-type “horse business”, like catching them, bridling, worming, etc.

But, back to our lesson in Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground-Series I (GRCG-I)   

Max seemed adequately desensitized so we moved on to yielding hindquarters.

I watched the segment on yielding hindquarters a few times to really memorize what the teaching looked like.  I wanted to give clear signals.  I followed the directions as exactly as I could. 

I’m a bit clumsy with the equipment and the movements, but I guess it was clear enough to Max.  He moved his hindquarters.  He was a bit clumsy at first, too.  But we practiced and he got it and he crossed his hind foot in front of the other.  We did one step first.  Then, went on to two steps and three. 

I am definitely not as fast as CA.  But I’m pretty sure that’s normal!  I’m not used to using the tools and I’m just learning about handling horses.  We didn’t perfect it today, but we got a good start.

It’s pretty amazing that if you do what these folks tell you to do just like they do it, it works!  Hopefully, it will keep working like that as Max and I move forward.

I feel a little better…

Have a good ride,

Greenhorn

Seeking a Remedy for Lost Confidence

 I had a little “lost confidence” issue that grew into a big “lost confidence” issue after being thrown (fell off!) during a lesson last November.  (See previous blog entry.)  I had to do something to get my confidence back.  (This was now probably February.)  And I have to tell you that even though I was fine with riding Max right after my fall, there came a time when I began to UNINTENTIONALLY ALLOW Max to “bully” me a little on the ground, getting too in my space, not wanting to be led, etc.  My confidence regarding control began to erode quickly.   

In the saddle it felt like he was crow-hopping a little and rearing up just a little when I would cue him to a trot and/or canter.  I’m sure I was so nervous I was giving him all kinds of mixed signals and he just didn't know what I wanted.
I became more and more sensitive to every move he made.  I was way over analyzing every move he made.  Every move he made was making me a nervous wreck! 

I had to face it.  The wreck I had experienced in November had caught up with me.  I was miserable, wondering if I would ever be able to ride Max like I had before the incident.  But I kept going out, saddling him up and riding… 

That’s how it all started with me using Clinton Anderson’s dvds.  It seems like it was sometime in the spring when I saw on RFD-TV an episode that was the second part of a two-part dvd he had entitled Regaining Lost Confidence.  He was working with two women who had confidence issues, one with her horse on the ground and one with her horse in the saddle.  Perfect for me since I had lost confidence in BOTH situations.

I had to get the dvd set.  I wanted to see Part I also.  Let me just say right now that I am not blogging in conjunction with any of the horse people I talk about.  I don’t work for them or get paid by anyone.  I’m not a member of anyone’s “club” or whatever else they offer.

Okay. That said, I am a beginner and don’t advise anyone to try any of the activities I do with horses, or any of the activities that are on any trainer’s dvds or tv shows or clinics.  Horses are BIG and potentially very DANGEROUS!

 

Now, back to my lost confidence…  I found a used dvd set of Regaining Lost Confidence.  Watching the two women he worked with go through the exercises and regain their confidence with each step helped me to know I could get back out there and control Max on the ground, and I could get back in the saddle without being a nervous wreck.  If these two women could do it, I could do it!

I sent Max to the trainer for a tune up.  He probably didn’t need it, but if it helped my confidence I knew I needed to do it.  When he returned the trainer rode him in all the places I planned to ride him so I could see he wasn’t a raging, maniac, devil horse, and I got a lesson on him at home so I could be assured that some ancient curse stating that I would forever evoke rage in all horses I rode was not on my head. 

I don’t know how many times I watched, no studied, those two Regaining Lost Confidence dvds, (There are two in the set.) but every time I did I felt more and more like I could do it, too.  (I know Chris Cox offers a clinic especially for people who have lost their confidence.  I’d like to talk about this one in the future.)

But…since Clinton Anderson is the one I connected with first, that’s the one this blog will focus on first.

I kept riding Max.  I took it slowly and easily.  I was feeling better, but I needed to know more about handling horses.  Period. 

I was regaining my confidence, and I couldn't wait to learn more.  I came to own a set of his dvds called Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground – Series I.  (Recently I acquired GRCG-Series II and III.)  I started watching them.  No, I studied them.    

Now, you should know that Max was well trained.  Whoever trained Max, I have to thank.  Whether or not he was trained with Clinton Anderson’s method, I don’t know.  Although I swear that sometimes I think I hear Max sigh, “Oh, yeah, I remember this one.”

And so, I began my training…


Have a good ride,
Greenhorn

Confidence Found - Confidence Lost

Wow!  Getting my balance back is taking longer than I thought it would.  I’ve always had pretty good balance and thought of myself as “reasonably” physically fit.  Pretty soon I began cantering Max for short distances at home and was excited to show my instructor what I could do.  I couldn't canter for long without feeling too off balance, but hey, it was a start. 

It was November, 2010, and a little chilly at my next lesson.  I had on a gray sweat jacket with pockets in the front.  Usually I put my keys in the barn when I get my helmet.  That day I had just shoved them into the front pocket of my sweat jacket. 

            I rode a different horse than I usually rode during my lessons, and my instructor was telling me the cues to bring him up to a canter as I trotted around the arena.  I cued the horse with my outside leg.  He kicked out and bolted!  It took me (and everyone else) by surprise, and I lost my grip on the reins.  (My instructor had taught me about the one-rein stop at my first lesson and I practiced it often, at lessons and at home.)  But I had lost my hold on the reins and I was leaning way far back on the horse.  I had been caught totally off-guard.  Lesson learned.  Don’t get caught totally off guard...or even a little bit off guard.

He stopped for just a split second at the end of the arena and I tried to get a hold up close on one rein so I could pull him to a stop.  Since the reins had slipped out of my hands right from the first jolt, I couldn’t get far enough down on the rein to bring his head around. 

He took off again.  I almost had him at the next turn.  But he took off. 

I was leaning way back, having been thrown off balance from the beginning.  There was a square, low platform in the middle of the arena and we were heading right for it.  I could see us either jumping it or us having a big wreck right in the middle of it if he stepped on it. 

Did I mention he does hunter/jumper shows?  He jumped.  I sailed off.  While airborne, I was actually thinking how I could land in order to be hurt the least and spend the least time in the hospital.  (I was wearing a helmet, by the way.)  I landed on my left glute.  Kind of on that left side of my back, too.  The breath was knocked out of me.  And I hurt.  I laid there for a minute to get my breath and make sure nothing was broken.  Then, I made my way up off the ground, with much assistance, and got back on the horse and my instructor led him around a little. 

I limped to my car and drove home.  By the time I got home my body was stiff and my husband had to literally pull me out of the car.  I could barely move and I was in PAIN!  Whirlpool baths in Epsom salts and left-over pain medication from a previous, now forgotten pain-filled experience were my body-savers for the next five days.  I couldn’t even get out of bed the next day…  Or the next…

You know, it was just one of those things-nobody’s fault. 

Upon recovery, oddly enough, I was still okay about riding Max.  I wasn’t afraid, just a lot more cautious.  I just didn’t want to get on that other horse again! 

Okay, here’s what I think ACTUALLY happened to cause the incident.  I remember hearing my keys jingle as I trotted around the arena anticipating the canter.  Just when I cued the horse with my leg, I think my keys bounced out of my pocket and somehow, in the way that things can just all come together in a weird way in the universe, the keys lodged between the horse’s ribcage and my now squeezing leg.  The keys jabbed him in the ribs and he, super surprised by the stab, bolted. 

I told everybody they’d find my keys at the point where I had cued the horse.  Yep - there they were.  I made sure I put my keys in the barn after that! 

I finished out my lessons early in December… 


Have a good ride,
Greenhorn

I'm a Beginner All Over Again!

I’m a BEGINNER all over again! 

Like many other kids of our time we watched all those Saturday morning cowboy shows.  Roy Rogers was King, Dale Evans was Queen and Trigger was truly a Wonder Horse!  When I was about nine years old, my brother was given a horse.  It was fantastic!  Of course, it cost a whole lot less to keep a horse back then.  I think a big sack of feed was about $4.00 and a square bale of hay was around a dollar.

We lived in the city, but at that time folks who had a good amount of land could be found who would rent out a space in their big pasture where you could build you a run-in and a corral in front of it and keep your horse there for about $10.00 a month.    That’s what we did.  My mom drove us to ride Buddy everyday. 

My dad got a used saddle from someone and I think we got a new bridle, and we bought a few more things like brushes and ropes and saddle soap.  We both loved him and rode him and loved him some more.  He was definitely a saint of a horse.  We were all over him.  And he just stood there and let us do what we did.  I was never aware of the expression, “dead broke”, in connection with horses until a few years ago when I started looking at ads on the internet of horses for sale.  But “dead broke” is definitely what Buddy was. 

I remember that when I asked how to ride him someone said, “Kick him to go and pull on the reins to stop!”   Yee-Haw!   That is what it looked like the TV cowboys did!

Well, that was then and this is now, and it’s been years since I had been on a horse until about a year ago.   So… I am a BEGINNER all over again! 

But this time I wanted to know the “real” way to ride, cues to give, etc.  So, I took some lessons (only about two dozen) from a great horsewoman near my new home.  (It’s amazing who you can find to help you out way out here in the country.) She was explicit and encouraging, a good teacher as well as an accomplished horse trainer herself.  I was learning and gaining confidence.  I took lessons twice a week and rode Max, my first horse, at home the other days.  Little by little it was kind of coming back to me and I was gaining confidence…

Have a good ride,

Greenhorn

#1-What Is TVhorsetalk?

So, what is TVhorsetalk?  I like watching all the horse trainer shows on RFD-TV.  A few years ago I discovered that there were several popular horse trainers with regular shows.   (I know I’m a little behind everyone else.)  Clinton Anderson, Chris Cox, Craig Cameron, Julie Goodnight, Ken McNabb and Ryan Gingerich are a few. 

Who knew that while I had been working and living in the big city all these years that there was a whole horse world of trainers and clinicians going on out here?  They’re all good.  I have watched all of their shows and have learned from each one. 
We didn't get RFD-TV in the city.  Now I don't get enough of it! 

TVhorsetalk is about the experiences I’m having as a BEGINNER using the techniques I learn from the TV horse trainers.

            Did I mention that I’m a lifelong horse lover?  I love everything about them.  I like watching shows about them, reading about them, talking about them, watching them, watching others work with them and ride them, and I love riding them myself, too.  Badly, but happily, riding them. 

            And a few years ago, when I knew getting my first horse was going to happen, but was still a little way in the future, I saw the clinician (new word for me) on RFD-TV named Clinton Anderson.  He was really good, both training the horse and explaining how he did it.  At the end of his show they listed locations of his upcoming tour stops.   
             I went, I saw it live, and I loved it.  I boldly ventured to think, “Boy, when I get a horse, maybe I can do some of this!”  I mean, who knew?  I never knew all this stuff about horses, but it made absolute sense.  That’s been a few years ago. 

            Fast forward to now.  I have moved to the country, out in the woods, with plenty of space, and I acquired my FIRST horse.  (The one my family had when I was a kid was really my brother’s horse.)

            And I still love to watch all the horse people on tv train horses… and train people who ride horses…

Last September I got Max.  I wanted a ten to twenty year old dead broke beautiful golden palomino quarter horse about 14 to 14.2 hands high.  Max is a six year old, pretty darn broke, (more on this later) pretty nice-looking, pinto grade quarter horse about 15.2 hands high. 
And I love him.

I decided I'd use the information and techniques I'd been watching on RFD-TV in order to become the leader of the pair of Max and me, and to improve my practically non-existent skills. 

I have a few background entries first so you'll know where I'm coming from.  And Clinton Anderson is the first one I'll explore because he's the first one I connected with.  (See later posts for explanation.) 

I’ve been keeping a log as I have been following Clinton Anderson’s Round Penning, Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground-Series I and Riding with Confidence-Series I.  I’ll post one or two entries per day until I get caught up with “real time”.  You're welcome to share our journey through TVhorsetalk as Max and I follow Clinton Anderson's method.  I'm looking forward to extraordinary results! 

Have a good ride!

Greenhorn