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Home » Training » Page 2

Setting Goals for 2020

January 21, 2020 by John Leave a Comment

Setting Goals for 2020

goalsHere it is 2020 and since it’s January, let’s talk about goals. As I look over the outline of what I want to talk about, it sounds like I’m complaining. That’s the thing with goals. There are stumbling blocks one has to get over completing them. I’m simply letting you know what mine were.  Now I wasn’t going to even set horsemanship goals this year.  had set no horsemanship goals until I got an email from a listener, “Hey John, what projects are you working on?”

And it really got me thinking about what I wanted to do with the horses this year.

Over the course of my horse ownership years, I have competed little in the show ring. If you’ve listened awhile you know this, but if you’re new to the show, it’s important you know I didn’t grow up around horses, I came to them in my 50s.

The reason I haven’t competed with horses is #1 because it’s expensive. I think if you grow up around horses you get used to their cost over the years. It becomes another expense. When you get your first horse at 51, and you have to build the pens, get the feed, the supplements, the tack, the vet bills, and all the other minutiae that goes along with it at once, it’s a bit intimidating. Then, I spent the first couple of years learning about horsemanship, and how to ride, and competing wasn’t in the picture because I wasn’t competent to compete in anything.

Then, we – that’s Ranae and I – got a little bolder and tried a trail trial, then a trail class. Those weren’t bad. We looked into some other show stuff Working Equitation, Reining, cow work and three things popped up. The cost of entry was higher. The level of performance was higher. And the rule books were thicker. Me and rulebooks don’t get along. They make my hair hurt. My eyes glaze over, my memory takes a hike, I get lost.

We began doing ETI trail Trials a few years back. One, they are relatively inexpensive. Two, they occur over the course of a 1-2 hour trail ride so we ride along for a quarter of a mile, do an obstacle, then ride along for another ¼ mile. And three, the rules are simple. Yeah, I blew some points for not knowing to call out cinch check before going up or down a hill, but you learn those things quickly and they get easier.

Okay. Goals for this year. The last two years at a Mule and Horse Show, I competed in the Ranch Riding classes with my mustang Scratch at a show in Tehachapi. I did it mainly because Scratch was born in the Tehachapi mountains and roam the area as a wild horse for 9 years and the show invited us to take part. In the show ring, Scratch loses all sense of speed control and direction. He gets a little amped up with the other horses around, and we lose our connection.

Goals Change The Older One Gets

At this stage in my life with horses, competing isn’t about the placement. I need to measure how I’m doing with Scratch. Am I helping him? Can he do this? Not every horse can. What do I have to do to help him feel comfortable? I know he can live out his life just riding along the trail, and maybe it’s hubris but I think he can be better. He’s a tough little horse who is smart, and I’d like to see if I am the person who can develop that toughness and smartness. And, along the way, I learn more about horses and horsemanship and that’s gotta be a good thing.

So what are your goals? What do you plan to do with your horse this year? I remember one year, early on in my horsemanship, I logged all the time I spent in the saddle. I had a GPS wrist watch and an Excel spreadsheet and wanted to reach 150 hours that year. Just having that goal, got me up early to spend time on my horse. It’s those little things that can keep you motivated. Set some goals.

And, I have goals for the podcast too.  I’ve reached out to Backcountry Horsemen and ETI.  I hope Ken McKnabb will come on to talk about laying down a horse. I’ve always wondered about this and recently noticed Ken has a video on it. I’m trying to get some experts in horse transportation on the show to talk about getting your horse from one place to another. Trainer TJ Clibborn has verbally committed to come on and talk about training mustangs and his life as a trainer.  One other guest I am hoping to have on the show is Arien Aguilar, who is an extraordinary trainer with some unique ideas and methods. And, I would love to find some stories to illustrate sonically like the episode I did last year on Comanche.

Join Us on this Journey

We want you to be a part of the show.  Tell us about your horse.  Share your challenges, triumphs, or just everyday items that make horse ownership unique.  Create an audio file using the memo app on your phone.  Or, contact me and we’ll set up a time to talk by Skype or phone.  Perhaps what you have to share can help someone in THEIR horse journey.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast.  We really love getting your feedback.  Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show.  Email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #162

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Filed Under: The Podcast Tagged With: competing, Education, Entertainment, Fun Stuff, Inspiration, Training

Jonathan Field Horsemanship Revisits

November 26, 2019 by John Leave a Comment

Jonathan Field Horsemanship Revisits

jonathan fieldI first interviewed Jonathan Field over four years ago.  Earlier this year I had heard he performed a TEDex talk in San Juan.  It was one of those deals where you tell yourself, “I’ve got to listen to that sometime.”  Time kept getting away from me and I put it off a couple of times.  Finally, I had some extra time and did a Google search and found it.  It was an inspiring talk,  You can listen to it here:  Jonathan Field Finding Your Sweet Spot in Life.

Jonathan Fields holds clinics all across the country and just released his 2020 schedule.  There are five different levels of Jonathan’s courses and I wanted to learn about the difference between.  Through this conversation, we learn what’s important about Jonathan Field Horsemanship.  He talks about philosophy and provides insight on what he focuses on during the camps and clinics.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a conversation with a trainer if I didn’t ask for some free advice.  Jonathan gives us some exercises we can do with our horses over the colder months to build our relationship with our horses.  It’s very simple.  If it’s too cold to get out and work their body, you can always work their mind.  Jonathan offers some simple ways to accomplish this.  And, talking about free stuff, Jonathan Field has a program he calls 31 in 13.  If you sign up for this free program, you get 31 free videos over 13 months.  They are 3-4 minute videos that talk about different training bits,  It’s a great way to build your horsemanship skills.

Join Us on this Journey

We want you to be a part of the show.  Tell us about your horse.  Share your challenges, triumphs, or just everyday items that make horse ownership unique.  Create an audio file using the memo app on your phone.  Or, contact me and we’ll set up a time to talk by Skype or phone.  Perhaps what you have to share can help someone in THEIR horse journey.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast.  We really love getting your feedback.  Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show.  Email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #160

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Filed Under: The Podcast Tagged With: Education, horse, horse tips, horseback riding, Horsemanship, Inspiration, Training

Teach Judge Compete with Your Horse

November 12, 2019 by John Leave a Comment

Teach Judge Compete with Your Horse

teach It’s been an interesting couple of months for me.  In 8 weeks I’ve taught some horse owners basic horsemanship, competed in a trail trial, and then judged others competing.

As I went through this unplanned process, I got to see the three phases of competing from several points of view.  There are three components in competition (without a cow), there’s you the rider, the horse, and the judge. To score well, you all have to be in sync.

Our local stable was holding a Halloween arena trail trial.  They would like to see their boarders become more involved with their horses.  Naturally, if the horse owners work and build a better connection with their horses, they’ll enjoy them more, and the result, they will be happier customers for the stables.  It’s interesting and a little sad, how many people who have horses at stables, that lose interest in them.

Anyway, they asked for my help with the trail trial – which it thrilled me to do – and as part of this program, stable management had set up an afternoon of easy horsemanship training class for the people who board their horses.  We were to teach some basic ground maneuvers – side-passing, backup, sending – so the owners could take part in the in-hand portion of the trail trial.

A dozen people showed up with their horses and with three instructors, we broke them up into groups of four.  I was teaching the sending exercise, and we went through the process. There are a lot of ways to teach horses to do different things and I will not go into my technique here.  The fascinating part is how the owners interact with their horse. While there were some very good horsemen out there, there were also quite a variety of techniques. Some people were constantly talking to their horse.  Some were a little timid in how they directed their horse. Some asked their horse to move forward while they stood in front of the horse. It got me to thinking about how I interact with my horses.

It’s hard to remember where I started from.  I think in the beginning I was a little too demanding of my horse.  I wanted to establish dominance and get that horse to do what I wanted.  I hope this has slowly evolved into more of a partnership. One where I can get the horse to think it was his idea to do this and I can get out of his way and let him do it.  I want my horse to be responsible for his own feet and I also want him to know it’s his responsibility to take care of me while I’m in the saddle. I steer him into only places I know are safe and won’t tolerate and bucking, kicking up or spooking.  I don’t talk too much to my horse j- usually two or three-word phrases in a soothing tone. I’m under the impression that the less I say the more he’ll listen when I do say something. Unless it’s singing along with the songs on my iPod while riding, which I never do…. kinda. 

teachTwo weeks after this training session, Ranae and I headed south for an ETI trail trial at Hansen Dam in southern California.  We love these trail trials because they aren’t very expensive; they are usually a good 2-3 hour trail ride through some very fun and interesting trails, and the people are fun to be around.  We realize it’s less about where we place in the group and more about how we compare it to our past rides. Scratch usually starts off a little on the muscle walking fast and on alert even though we got there early to have an extended warm-up in the arena.  Dusty has some issues crossing a tarp or bridge right off the bat. He eventually does it, it the discussion that precedes that costs him points. Having Ranae along is a wonderful asset. We talk about our respective problems and what might work best. Scratch doesn’t want to stand still while waiting his turn for an obstacle, so in between two obstacles that were about half a mile apart we stopped and “simulated” an obstacle.  When he moved from our imaginary staging area, I worked him then asked him to stand quietly. Two or three repetitions and he understood. Ranae worked on keeping her eyes up and across the bridge instead of looking down at Dusty and he improved. It was a beautiful day for a ride in Southern California. Thankfully this was before the fires in late October. BTW, I’ve been wanting to do a story on some of those horses and owners, but I’m not sure how to approach it.  We did a show on emergency preparedness, but I’m certain nothing compares to fear and panic many of those people experienced. I love to tell their story without feeling like I’m intruding on their tragedy. If you have ideas, I’d love to hear them.

So anyway, the third part of the trilogy was acting as a scribe and judge for the Halloween trail trial at the stables.  We attended two judges meetings and learned the criteria. Then I scribed for Ranae. She judged the first half of the in-hand course.  Next, I judged the first five obstacles of the Novice/Youth division, and finally, scribed for another judge in the Open division. 

As judges, we all saw things a bit differently.  When I was the scribe, I pretended to score the contestant, then compare my score with the judges.  It was interesting to see the differences. But the revelation was how much difference the judging can make.  The more one competes, the more important it is to know how severely your judge will score. What do they like to see?  What small detail will they ding you for? As this was a fun show, they gave us a certain criterion. But, if there was money or a buckle on the line, I’m sure the judging would have been a bit stiffer.

Have they have asked you to judge an event?  Did you like it? I love to hear how you felt about judging?

The important thing I learned from these three situations is that I got to see how other horses and their owners reacted.  It taught me a little more about horsemanship. Trying to help people learn how to do a basic maneuver forced me to look back on how I taught my horse something I now take for granted.  Learning to be a judge even at an informal event gave me a little empathy for judges at other types of competitions. It was all about gaining a little more knowledge about horses and horsemanship.

Join Us on this Journey

We want you to be a part of the show.  Tell us about your horse.  Share your challenges, triumphs, or just everyday items that make horse ownership unique.  Create an audio file using the memo app on your phone.  Or, contact me and we’ll set up a time to talk by Skype or phone.  Perhaps what you have to share can help someone in THEIR horse journey.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast.  We really love getting your feedback.  Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show.  Email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #159

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Filed Under: The Podcast Tagged With: competing, Education, Fun Stuff, horse, Horsemanship, Inspiration, Training

Learning From the Basics

October 1, 2019 by John Leave a Comment

learning basicsLearning From the Basics

Recently I attended a Working Ranch Cattle Clinic and before we began on the cattle, we went over learning basic maneuvers.  It surprised me how much I learned reviewing these very basic exercises.  While working on the simple things like small circles, yielding hind and forequarters, and backing up, I notice a lot more details.  How much pressure was I using?  Was I making contact in the same place for every cue?  did my horse have a “good” side and a “bad” side.

Yes, I know it sounds simple,  Sometimes you have to work at the basics to get better at feel and timing.  When we worked the cattle, we had a much better experience.   My horse was more responsive, and it was easier to put him exactly where he needed to be.

Join Us on this Journey

We want you to be a part of the show.  Tell us about your horse.  Share your challenges, triumphs, or just everyday items that make horse ownership unique.  Create an audio file using the memo app on your phone.  Or, contact me and we’ll set up a time to talk by Skype or phone.  Perhaps what you have to share can help someone in THEIR horse journey.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast.  We really love getting your feedback.  Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show.  Email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #156

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Filed Under: The Podcast Tagged With: cowboy, Cutting, Fun Stuff, horseback riding, Horsemanship, Inspiration, Training

Horsemanship in Germany

September 17, 2019 by John Leave a Comment

Horsemanship in Germany

horsemanship in GermanyI got a very thoughtful email from a listener.  Christian lives in Germany with his wife and three children. It sounds like he has a demanding white-collar job.  He was very complimentary of the podcast – one of his favorites was the episode with cowboy Bill Mooney – He encouraged us to keep producing them. Thanks Christian. I’ve had several emails back and forth with Christian.  His English is very good. Through the emails I’ve learned a little about his life and horsemanship in Germany. He gave me permission to share some of his story.

Horsemanship in Germany is different.  According to Christian,  women and girls dominate the horse industry. Now, I’m not saying that like it’s a bad thing, only to show that Christian had a few more hurdles to get to where he is today.  His family was not wealthy, either.  For him to pursue his passion for horses as a teenager was definitively a challenge.

And, when you pursue a dream, sometimes luck has a way of finding you too.  After college, Christian worked for an international company that sent him to their plant in Evanston, Wyoming.  While there he visited a ranch where he found himself on the back of a horse once again.

This is Christian’s story.  I hope you enjoy it.

Join Us on this Journey

We want you to be a part of the show.  Tell us about your horse.  Share your challenges, triumphs, or just everyday items that make horse ownership unique.  Create an audio file using the memo app on your phone.  Or, contact me and we’ll set up a time to talk by Skype or phone.  Perhaps what you have to share can help someone in THEIR horse journey.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast.  We really love getting your feedback.  Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show.  Email us at John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #155

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Filed Under: The Podcast Tagged With: adventure, dressage, Education, Fun Stuff, horseback riding, Horsemanship, Inspiration, trail riding, Training

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