"The horse is my teacher"

The title of this post is a phrase bandied about by perhaps every natural horsemanship trainer, and many more. It's accepted with a nearly reverential attitude that it's utterer must really, truly be a horseman in it for the horse. It's always bothered me a bit, but it never really gelled why until I read a Buck Brannaman quote on the Buck the Film facebook page yesterday. It is as follows:

"That’s the age-old question, whether a horseman was born or made. It may be a little of both. I always figured that what I lack in talent I can make up for in true grit and determination. There hasn’t been anybody that works harder than I. The horse is the only teacher I have left." - Buck Brannaman

At first blush, having seen the movie, Buck, and enjoying it, some affirmative murmurs went through my head and I thought about how sad it is that the Dorrance brothers and Ray Hunt are no longer of this Earth. I thought that Buck must be frustrated, feeling that he is a lone wolf without contemporaries. Then, I thought, "what a load of horse shit."

I think I was first offended by the notion that he believes there isn't anyone on Earth that works harder at horsemanship than he does. I'm pretty sure his circle of horsemanship is pretty small in the grand scheme of things. There are A LOT of people that work hard at being good horsemen. They don't all wear flat hats and carry reatas, but they work hard to learn, to improve, to coax better performances out of their horses and to communicate better.

It was after I worked through that that I started thinking about the whole "learning from the horse" notion. That's one of those ideas that sounds really good, nearly zen-like and profound, but think about what it really means. It really means that you're out there with an idea of what you want your horse to do and you start trying things until you get the response you think you want. I think your horse would prefer it if you got some instruction from someone who has already figured it out.

Let's be honest, there's not a whole lot new under the sun as far as what we can get a horse to do under saddle or from the ground. You may want a different method for getting something done, but your horse would probably appreciate it if you had some guidance before you jump in. Doctors could learn surgery by trial and error, too, but those who end up on the operating table much prefer that doctors learn from other doctors who already know what to do. It ups the success/survival rate significantly. To posit that a horseman can learn nothing from other horseman-- perhaps a better turn-around from Todd Bergan, better position on cattle from Don Murphy, or a better lead change from Jack Brainard-- doesn't make me think that the horseman has achieved a deity-like level of skill, it makes me think that he has an ego problem.

For the sake of our horses, let's not get caught up in profound sounding pronouncements that can lead to folly, let's commit to learning more and better ways to enjoy our horses, and that includes collaborating with other horsemen.

What's happening to our performance horses?

My mind has been running in a different direction the last few days, pondering the discussion on Mugwump Chronicles about the video of Craig Schmersal and then geared up by the current editorial in The Quarter Horse News.

I have not looked at the video of Schmersal, but I'm pretty sure I have a good idea what it looks like. I've never had the money or wherewithall to compete at a high level, but I've been an observant hanger-on for quite some time, with friends that train and show. I've seen bloody sides, sore mouths and all sorts of mechanical devices and methods meant to make a horse be one thing or another. None of that was in the video. Apparently what has peoples' panties in a pucker is a lot of fencing, strong backing and a good bit of bit bumping/yanking-- the almost-fit-for-public-consumption pre-show tune up. I am torn between thinking, "geesh, you think this is bad, you should see what happens in the barn at home" and pondering whether this is all really necessary to make a "performance horse."

The flip side of this is Katie Tims' editorial on pp 14 of the June 01, 2011 edition of the QHN. It's not online yet, that I can find, but she discusses drugs and the performance industry. (edit, it's here, for now). She starts out by painting a picture of a winning broodmare, so crippled in the hind end that she's flushed because she can't bear the weight of a pregnancy. According to the story, she's crippled from all the loping and schooling it took to get her shown. The premise, seems to be, that if this mare had had some chemical mood assistance, she wouldn't have had to be loped down so much and she wouldn't be crippled. I've heard similar arguments from people who are mounting youth kids on high performance horses-- "What's a little ace, when safety is at stake?" Katie's column seems to be "What's a little tranq, when it can save some wear and tear?"

These two issues really put me in a "how the hell did we get HERE" sort of mood. Why are we talking about severe training methods, overworked young horses and a little help from the pharmacy? It's because someone else started doing it, and it won. Those reiners that are terrified to lift their poll above level and bury their head as soon as they stop? That's difficult to train/intimidate into a horse, but someone did it, and it won. Now it's "the look" that everyone is after. The winners do it. If you want to win, you better do it, too. That super hot, squirrelly cutter that they could barely get ridden at home? A few drops in the bloodstream and he can focus on a cow like no tomorrow and he takes the check. Same thing for the open horse that the non pro wants to show-- a little pharmaceutical safety insurance and he's safe for the bankroll to show. And he wins. Why bother trying to breed better minds when you've got all the cow and athleticism in the world and a syringe of chemical coping assistance?

I remember when some of the drug discussions were first starting. One of the big arguments against drugs was that it was a shortcut for trainers that didn't want to put in the work. They were thought of as cheaters because they didn't want to put in the hours and wet saddle blankets to really get their horses broke. Now they're trying to paint themselves as "for the horse" because they're saving wear and tear on the horse by not loping it into the ground. I have even heard that argument in the rail/show/lungeline horse circles-- don't ruin his legs, just give him a little "help." It's cruel to work them too hard when there are pharmaceuticals available.

But all of that begs the question, "Why DO these horses need so much physical work or chemical help?" Have we lost the brains on what should be one of the best minded horses out there? Have our performance standards become so unrealistic that they can't be met without help from a syringe or a Chinese Olympic Hopeful Training Camp type of training program?

I know that there has to be a "best" and that the best is defined as the sort of performance that only the unusually talented can attain, but our best has certainly not gone in the best direction for the horse. But, what really is the best for the horse? Do the horses care if they get a little chemical help or is it just offensive to our human sense of fair play? I don't know. It's something I'm still pondering and probably will be for awhile.

How time flies!

I was thinking about starting a blog the other day when I realized, "Hey! I have a blog moldering away somewhere!" Low and behold, it is still here. I took a few moments and read through the old posts and was mostly struck by how the very first post was on a day in May, 3 years ago, when it was too hot to be outside. Here I am today, staring out the window at rain. We're in our second consecutive unusually cool, wet spring here in the Pacific Northwest. Ick.

In the past 3 years a bit has changed. My 4 year old who was "on his way to being broke" is now coming 7 and still "on his way." I'm riding him outside in a little jointed mouth curb and he's become quite a good mountain and trail horse, although he still lacks a lot of the arena time that he needs to get really broke. When we do get arena time, we're still in a snaffle.

We have done some of the Mountain Trail clinics at the Oregon Horse Center and competed in the Mountain Trail Championships last November. We did okay, but I was sure surprised to have a terrible case of nerves. When I quit showing, ages ago, I was pretty comfortable and managed my nerves pretty well. Last fall I felt like a kid at my first 4-H show.

Here's a pic of me not tossing my cookies while my gelding enters a water obstacle:
We also participated in a Basics to Bridle clinic given by Mitch and JoLinn Hoover of MJ Rising H Ranch last summer. Boy is it eye opening to start figuring out what you don't know! Mitch is probably the best ground work person I've ever seen, and that includes the TV clinicians. We had a pretty intense session on getting my gelding to give his shoulders. He was great at swinging his hip out, but was always pushing with his shoulders. Getting that respect made a huge difference in his attitude. Mitch also helped me with my turn-arounds. I seem to always be able to teach a horse to pivot on the outside foot. Mitch pointed out that I was correcting backwards with my inside rein too much and letting my outside rein cross over the withers, pushing the horse's balance to the outside of the turn (as Al Dunning says, "Horses are Bi-Lateral!). Balancing back with the outside rein to set the inside foot, leading just enough with the inside rein and keeping my outside rein where it should be is fixing the problem. More riding. More practice.

As always, Dad and I have been talking horses and horsemanship almost every time we get together. It has set me to thinking about some things, like how your horse is a reflection of you and your attitudes, how emotionally difficult it can be to give a horse the kind of fair leadership it deserves and how the more you know, the harder it gets. Sometimes I miss the days when I was a kid and had a "packer." Some days, you don't want your horse really in tune with you, you just want to mentally check out and look at scenery while you get your head and heart back together. Lots of thoughts rumbling around, which I hope to turn into posts.

Well, it looks like the weather is breaking for a bit, so I better get out and saddle up. Happy trails!

Thoughts on a Horse Expo/Mustang Makeover

Last Saturday I spent a good part of the day at the NW Equine Expo in Albany, Oregon. I chose Saturday to attend so that I could watch the finals of the NW Extreme Mustang Makeover. I'm not in the market for a mustang, but I am a curious sort and wanted to see what our NW trainers were able to accomplish in 90 days.

First off, kudos to almost all of the trainers that I saw in the freestyle finals (top 10). Most of those horses had some very solid basics on them. I was surprised and pleased to see so many buckaroos out there. I guess day work is a little short and time was long this winter, so several took a crack at the mustang makeover jackpot. I saw a couple of horses that would have looked at home on a ranch and one poor buckaroo that had an entirely unfortunate looking mare, but she was going more correct than a horse with her conformation usually could.

While I was pleased and impressed with the trainers, I was confused by the judges' scores. There were two judges and two sets of scores-- one for technical skill and one for artistic merit. It seemed that the flash and dash got the high scores in both categories.

The last horse was the high scoring horse of the competition. It did its compulsory skills (showing all three gaits, loping both ways), then spent the rest of the time leaping over jumps that were between 3 and 4 feet high. Flashy and impressive, sure, especially since the rider stayed centered despite the horse leaping the first few times like a springing deer. Technically correct? Notsomuch. In the first lope circle to the right, the horse picked up the wrong lead. The horse then changed in front and continued to crossfire around the rest of the circle. At the center of the arena, the rider pushed the horse's shoulder over achieving what much of the audience thought was a flying lead change to continue on to a circle to the left, since the horse did change leads in front. The pair was awarded a 9 and a 10 for technical merit. A 10?! The horse never, ever achieved a proper right lead. It loped on the left in the hind end the entire time it was doing its compulsory moves.

In contrast the the deer-leaping, cross-firing 10, I saw a couple of other horses whose riders didn't have any flashy moves or props, but the horses had the most correct, solid basics on them. These horses had some flexion in the bridle, control of the hips, shoulders and ribs and never missed a lead or popped a shoulder and ran off. These horses received 5s, 6s, and 7s. I understand them not getting high scores for artistic merit, but technically those horses were the best trained in the pen. They were the horses I would have wanted to throw a saddle on, not the shoulder-popping, running off, trying to leap a soccer ball suckers that got higher scores. I understand that the audience may not have been savvy enough to appreciate a mustang with 90 days on it softly backing a circle, but the judges should have awarded that with technical points. Backing a circle is a heck of a lot harder to teach than leaping fake flames or jumping onto a flatbed trailer, not to mention a lot more practical for a performance horse foundation.

Outside of the NW EMM competition, I checked out the trade show and shopping. I was disappointed that Covey of Quail was not there, as I'd hoped to pick up a pretty new scarf for myself, but there were some good new vendors with nice stuff, including A Cowgirls Promise, who brought a nice selection of Gonzales bits. Craig Cameron was selling some nice equipment, including stuff braided by Ruben's Rope Halters. Ruben doesn't just tie halters, he's also a very talented rawhide braider. He had a nice hackamore set and really nice soft poly horse ropes that he braided rawhide hondas on. We also had a nice visit with Mitch and JoLinn Hoover at the MJ Rising H Ranch booth. They're now selling some nice custom silver bridle horse bits, although I forgot to ask them who is making them. It was also nice to see some more farm-oriented vendors. The barn and fence people were there, but so were representatives for both K-Line and Irripod irrigation systems, as well as Travellers Agribusiness Insurance. Overall, I thought the trade show was better than in previous years, when it seemed like it was mostly keyed to novice and backyard folks.

In the horse barns, the sole representatives of QH, Paints and Appys were on Stallion Avenue. Robert Hartley brought a couple of cow horses and there was a nice wp bred appy there, too. Otherwise, it was hair and feathers galore-- Friesens, Gypsy Vanners, Drum Horses, Andalusians. The always-having-a-good-time Fjord folks were there, again, as well as the Icelandics, Spanish Mustangs, Arabians, Tennessee Walkers, Rocky Mountain Horses, Miniatures, Canadien Horses, Foxtrotters, POAs, Mini-Donkeys, Kigers, a few mules and probably some I'm forgetting. I noticed that the Morgans, Foundation Quarter Horse Club and Buckskin Club seemed to be missing this year. I'm always amazed at the exotic breeds that come out for the expo. They're fun to see, but I'm going to stick with my QH, although if I were a little shorter, it would be mighty tempting to put on a horned hat and ride a Fjord around, just so I could hang out with the other owners.

Overall, I thought the expo was actually worth the $10 I spent to get in this year. I hope it continues attracting good vendors and putting on events worth seeing. I'm still hoping that one of these years they're going to get Bob Avila, Al Dunning, Les Vogt or Todd Crawford to show up. Here's hoping.

Bandwagons and Ignorant Arrogance

The horse industry has long lived on gossip, rumors and cliquishness. That's nothing new. The internet, however, allows it all to rise to a new staggering height and all players, regardless of education or credentials, to get a ticket to the party. I'm speaking, specifically, about the folks that seem to spend most of their working days on message boards and blogs spouting off about whatever the latest topic du jour is without taking any time to research facts or form opinions for themselves.

I don't mind controversy, I love well-reasoned discussion and I think that any question, no matter how basic or obscure, deserves a thoughtful and informative response. What I deplore is shrill declarations of wrongness, abuse and evilness based on pure emotion, rumor or the unsubstantiated story of one individual.

Time was, if you wanted to communicate with other horse people, you did so face to face, over the phone, or by written letter. You met people, you networked and you sought knowledge through books, lessons, clinics and mentoring. Now, almost anyone can be a Google Cowboy who is a self-appointed expert on everything and hides behind a computer monitor doling out advice on message boards or blogs. Worse yet, some folks long on time and short on knowledge build a giant bandwagon for themselves and others on some popular blogs. They take no critical view on information presented, but instead react in an entirely emotional manner and then start painting disciplines they have no knowledge of with broad strokes of contempt.

It is my position, that almost any discipline can be trained for with integrity and respect for the horse. By the same token, ignorant and backwards "trainers" can make even the simplest training abusive. No discipline is "pure" and no discipline is categorically abhorrent.

That said, there is certainly room for personal preference in our equestrian activities. Differences make the world go around, even the equestrian world. I prefer a good, solid stock horse with a naturally level topline. Other people prefer a more up-headed horse, a slimmer horse, a horse with more action or even a gaited horse. None of us are wrong and we can all have productive partnerships with our horses, given that we train with integrity and ride horses bred and built to our preferences (no forcing square pegs into round holes).

Next time you see an online witch hunt or someone gathering torches and pitchforks, take a moment and ask yourself what you really know about the situation or discipline. If you have time to post a flaming declaration yourself, you probably have time to spend a little of it on Google looking for a different perspective. Maybe you could even call up an experienced horse person that you know in real life and ask their opinion. At the very least, you'll be able to carry your torch with informed self-righteousness rather than the blind faith of an ignorant follower.

Making Good Horses

I am proud to say that my family makes good horses. They're sane, they're sound, they're uncomplicated, they have good ground manners and they're enjoyable to ride whether they're just started or getting close to broke. How do we do it? Leadership, consistency and a program.

The whole thing starts the day they arrive at my Dad's place where all the young horses go first. Most likely, the horse is a barely handled yearling colt or gelding. We don't buy horses started by other people anymore because we can't afford to buy horses started by trainers we admire and it's a lot easier to get one going right than to have to fix one someone else left training holes in. When the colt arrives, he goes into one of the smaller front pastures to settle in and graze for awhile. From that day forward, every day he will, at minimum, be caught, tied, thoroughly groomed and fed his grain ration while in a tie stall. If he doesn't want to be caught he can be run into a round pen from the pasture where the approach and retreat method can be used to catch him. After a few days, depending on the weather and footing, some ground training will start. He'll learn to give to the halter, respect his handler, navigate obstacles and tolerate scary stuff.

By the time he's turning two, the colt is easy to catch and probably comes when called to get caught and get his daily grain and grooming. He's pretty well sacked out, gives well to the halter and follows direction well from the ground. He then learns about the saddle; back cinch and breast collar included. He does everything he learned before while wearing the saddle. Pretty soon he gets his first ride. If all goes well, which it usually does, by his fifth ride he's heading out the gate to ride trails and logging roads. He walks most of the time, sees the world and builds his strength going up and down hills. As he gets older and stronger he learns more-- jogging, loping, good stops, leg yields, turn arounds, lead changes, etc. When he has a pretty good handle on him he'll get to meet some cattle. He gets arena or round pen work every so often, but most of his exercise and training is outside on old logging roads and trails. He works in a smooth snaffle bit his first year or two, but from the first ride he's ridden on a loose rein, except when he's being asked to soften, and gets the foundation laid for his future in a curb/bridle.

Through all of this, EVERY DAY of this colt's life in our program, he gets caught, tied, grained and groomed. If he gets pushy or nippy or obnoxious, he gets corrected. We realize that every time a colt is handled or ridden, he's being trained. Every day should be better than the last, and if you stopped at the right point the day before, it will be. We don't ride just to get through some time under saddle. We ride to make the horse better-- carry himself better, stop better, turn better, have better transitions, handle more obstacles on the trail.

Of course, not every ride is great. When things go wrong, we have to evaluate. Is the horse having a bad day, an awkward growth stage or a pain issue? Are we asking too much, asking the wrong way or having a bad day ourselves? That's part of responsible training and continuing to learn from the horses.

Overall, though, it's consistency in handling and riding that makes good horses. They tie, they hobble, they load, they haul, they take shots and dewormer, they stand for the farrier, they stand for saddling and stand when mounted until asked to move off, they ride outside and most of all they're just enjoyable to have around. It's not any grand expensive 90 day wonder training program, it's doing something every day to make the horse better. In the process, each horse makes you a better trainer, which makes the next horse even better than the last one, and so on goes the cycle of becoming a horseman and making good horses that go to good homes where they are valued. Or, in my case, keeping one around for awhile just because you like him and know that you can still do more with him.

Shopping for a kid's horse

I hear a lot about the current horse economy out there. Cheap horses, free horses, horses being dumped/turned loose.... I've heard it. Recently, I got to test the economy by being assigned the task of finding a good gelding for a teenage novice rider at a reasonable price. We weren't looking for anything fancy, show quality, registered or even perfectly sound, just something pretty broke with a good temperament for the rider to expand her skills on. We were even looking at older horses, around 20. Should be a piece of cake in this market, especially since we were willing to accept kind of ugly and deal with minor soundness issues, right? Wrong.... very wrong.

The biggest problem in the market out there right now, to my view, is older horses that aren't broke, aren't trained and don't even get handled much. I was upfront with everyone that I contacted that I was shopping for a safe horse for a novice teenager. I was able to weed out about 70% due to honest sellers or my own intuition based on the sellers' responses. I went out to look at horses that wouldn't stand to mount, then tried to take off under saddle, a horse that cow-kicked every time you touched a hind leg, horses that hadn't been ridden in years, but were allegedly very broke at some time in the past, but couldn't seem to recall any skills under saddle, a horse you couldn't bridle and various other equines with no manners or bad manners brought on by being spoiled or just flat not being handled for years.

In previewing advertisements I was appalled at the number of pasture pets for sale. Older geldings either never started or started briefly (30-90) days at two or three and then turned out back home where they've lounged about the pasture and now the owner is trying to sell them at 9+ years old. I have started and re-started older horses, mostly broodmares and recently-gelded stallions, and it's no picnic. It's much harder to develop a work ethic in a 15 year old that has gotten their way most of their life than in a 3 year old that's still figuring out the order of things. And, I have to say, with the market the way it is, if I want a project for myself I can find a nice two or three year old for the same or less money than the owners want for the spoiled 12 year old. But, I digress.

Back on the kid's horse shopping tour, I did manage to at least not get hurt and leave everyone with a diplomatic, "Thanks for your time, but he's not quite what we're looking for." Finally, when it looked like this was going to be a year-long project, I spotted an older gelding on Craigslist. He sounded nice and the owner was selling due to not having much time for him due to her career. She was honest about every quirk he might have ever had and had owned him for 15 of his 18 years so, feeling guardedly optimistic, I went out to look.

Unbelievable. The horse lead, tied, stood for saddling, was good with his feet, stood at the mounting block and is broke and trained and sound! Hallelujah! He's trained to second level as a dressage horse, although only shown through first level, was shown western at some point and rides outside on the trails. He's 18, but sound, and even a nice looking horse with papers. I actually enjoyed test-riding the horse. The true test, the teenage novice riding, went well, too. What a gem!

Needless to say, the horse was purchased and, even better, the teenager is taking lessons from the horse's trainer for a month while he stays at his current barn. Things are going well.

So, what did I learn about the market?

There are a lot of cheap horses out there, but, they should be cheap and they would have been cheap before the market crashed. The only market for a pasture fat spoiled brat gelding that's 15 years old and not broke is the slaughter market, and that's pretty much kaput. Before the slaughter market went away, those horses were worth around $500. Now they're worth nothing, since they don't have any value beyond being pasture decoration and winter feed is expensive.

There are a lot of sellers that really, truly believe that their horse is an angel and that being "spirited" or having issues with ground manners doesn't make them inappropriate mounts for novice kids. These aren't malicious people, they just don't know any better (often novices themselves), but they will waste your time when you drive out to find out what the horse really is.

There also are diamonds out there, that maybe aren't even rough, but just aren't marketed quite right. I inquired about the horse that was purchased after viewing a Craigslist ad that the owner had put up. I passed on the same horse when viewing the ad published on Dreamhorse by the trainer. The DH ad put the horse at a temperament rating of 8 and used the term "a lot of horse"-- both red flags for me when looking for a mount for a novice. What the trainer was trying to convey is the amount of training that the horse has, but she made it sound like he's hot and reactive, which he is not. At any rate, the teenager now has a great horse and the horse has his own girl again. The previous owner is happy, the girl is happy, the horse is happy and even I'm happy... so happy to not have to get on any more supposedly "broke" horses for awhile. I'll happily keep riding my four year old who is well on his way to being truly broke.