 Valley Clinic. Yesterday was spent at the eye doctor in the morning and getting green chiles in the afternoon.
The eye doc went pretty good. My doc's name is Melissa Woodard. Her office is in Silver City, and she was very nice to work with. We were visiting when she asked me if I worked on a ranch and I told her that I trained horses and people. Then she really started to ask questions. Turns out she is a horseman herself. She just started her first colt, on her own, so we traded stories for a bit, then she got back to work on me. If you need a good eye doc I would recommend her. She is very kind, but knows her stuff. I hope that someday our trails will cross again and I will get to meet her horse.
Afternoon, I headed over to Hatch NM to get my yearly supply of green chiles and get a bunch for the trip back to Kansas. We have friends that look forward to their New Mexico care package. There is a great little store there with all kinds of dried chile peppers and, well just tons of stuff. I was on my own so I bought, probably way more then we needed but... there ya go. Kath knows better then to send me to the store without her, but she was busy doing other stuff.
 My sister made it back home on Sunday. Of course she did not email me to let me know till Monday, but she is like me, getting forgetful. Nadine is not much of a horse person, she has ridden with me in the past, but that's just not her thing. She loves the four wheeler. You can hardly keep her off it. She does not have much of a sense of direction either, so she had a thing she puts on her wrist, a gps of sorts, so she could find her way back to the house. She is a hoot and Kathy and I loved having her here. Hope we get to see her again soon...
Time for that cup of Coffee!
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 Had another good day of lessons with Stan. You will remember he is a neighbor who is very interested in learning to ride. He continues to make really good progress. I have moved him into a pair of spurs, and he is learning how to use them effectively, without irratating the horse. And he is doing really, pretty good, given his lack of experence with riding.
Most of us learned to ride watching old westerns, where they pull to whoo and kick to go, all of which could not be further from the proper way to ride. Yet most of us have learned to ride that way and have habits that, can be, very hard to break. And spurs are probably the most misunderstood tool that a horseman uses when riding. Spurs were never designed to make a horse move forward. They were always meant to be used to move a horse from side to side. How do I know that, you ask? If you watch a race horse jockey you will notice that they do not wear spurs at all. Why? Because they want their horses to move forward and don't care much about side to side movement. the way they get their horses to go forward is not with a spur but with a crop or whip. They want their horses to lengthen their stride and they do that by tapping the horse on the hind end, not with spurs. If I poked you in the side with my fingers you would probably jump, or spin to the side that you were poked on. That's what happens with a horse. When you touch your horse with a spur, they tend to move away from the spur or arc their body around the spur. That's what a spur was meant to be used for. They are a great tool, if the user understands what they are for and uses them for that.
 My Spurs. Deb, a lady here on the ranch, stopped by to talk about lessons. She has never ridden before but is very interested. The first lesson I give is always free. You don't ride, but you get a chance to see what I am all about and what I think riding is and should look like. She seemed very interested in the process and wants to learn more about horses then just riding. Is nice to meet people that want to understand how the horse feels and thinks, and how to get along with a horse, and help the horse learn to get along with us, humans. Should be fun..
Well it's off to the eye doc. today. Need to get glasses so I can see where the heck I'm going when I'm horseback. Just kidding..
Coffee
 Tim the Gray! Well, it's time to start another week. This week will be way busy. I have riding lessons today with Stan and another lady, Deb, who has lived here on the ranch for just a short while, so that should be fun. Then it will be off to town to get supplies for our vacation.
Kathy and I are going to go see our girls in Kansas for a week or so. I'm going to try and keep up with my blog and show you some things about this music festival that we have attended for years. Hopefully you will get to meet some folks that Kathy and I only get to see once a year. Then this weekend we play at a little festival here in Hillsboro NM. We have done it for the past few years and this year they have asked me to M.C., so that should be interesting... So will be way busy but not much with horses..
My sister and her friend headed home on Sunday. Was really nice to get to see Nadine. We spent the nights trading stories about when we were little... Funny how we both see the same events so different, but we had such a good time telling stories about our mother... So glad that she came.
You will remember I had a private lesson with Diane in Deming NM last Friday? Well, she emailed me and she is going to spend an extra hour a few days a week, plus the time she puts in with her horses on the weekend, in a effort to get her horse Nina progressing a little better... Wow. She is something, she really wants to be a better horseman and is willing to put in the time. I'm telling ya, if folks would put in half the time that she does horses would have a better shot at getting along with humans..
 Diane and Nina I'm hoping that we will be able to put together more demo's and clinics this fall. I just talked to a fella that attended a clinic that we put on here a few years ago, and he would really like to get involved and get something going in T or C, so we will work on that as soon as we get back from Kansas. I know that there are lots of people out there that would like to have help or would like to make better progress with their horses. You noticed I said better progress, not more progress. That's because it's really not about how much our horses know but how well they do what they know. I would much rather have a horse that is well behaved on the ground and in the saddle then a horse that is not but can spin on a dime. I try to help people to understand that they need to help their horses to be better, not do more. So take your time, give your horses a chance to understand what you want, then expect that from them from then on. Teach them that you expect them to be better each time you work with them and they will...
Coffee
 Had a nice day yesterday with Diane and her horses. We worked on her ground work skills and did a little riding to show her some exercises that she could work on under saddle. She is doing a really good job given the time that she has to work with them. I'm looking forward to seeing her in Oct. and see how she is getting along.
Took my sister and her friend to the grocery store after that and I stayed with Tim, the horse, in the truck. He don't like to be alone.
Often I have to tell people at times things that I know will be hard for them to hear. But my job is to keep them safe and to do that you sometimes have to tell the truth. And at times we own horses that are just a little too much for us. There is no shame in letting a horse you know and love, go somewhere were they can have a good chance at a productive like with a job. Some folks don't want to let that happen and so their horse become a yard horse. And there is nothing wrong with that if you have the resources and time. But I don't want anyone to get hurt so for me.. that's more important than anything...
We are off to the dump this morning and the girls are trying to decide what to wear. I am trying to decide what white shirt and what black hat to wear. So I better get in there and get that done.
But first coffee..
My sister is here from KC. Her and a friend got in yesterday afternoon. Is so nice to see her and have her around for a few days. She loves the four wheeler so it wasn't long before she was our running all over the ranch. She is not much of a horse person so the four wheeler is more her style...  Off to Deming this morning to do a little riding with Norma and Diane. Diane is having a little trouble with one of her four horses and she would like a little help trying to figure out a few things so that should be fun. These two ladies have been working with me now for a while, when they can, and have both made really good progress with their horses, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they are getting along.
Had a good report from Sue and her buckskin last night. They are both taking their time and Sue is making sure that she give her horses time to rest a little while they are working.
I think that is one thing that we forget to do. Make the rest as long as the work. The rest is our horses reward for doing the task, whatever it might be. If we don't give them that reward it won't be long and the will get cranky and will quit working for us. Then the next time we go to get them for a ride or for schooling we will find it harder and harder to get them to do anything. So I try, I'm not always able to do it, but I try to make the rest, the time they get to just stand, as long as the work. So if I am working on, say circles, and we work at that for ten minutes, I let my horse stand for ten minutes. If we are doing ground work exercises, and we work at a task, say lungeing for five minutes, I will let my horse stand for five minutes while I do some trust exercies. That way he is resting but I'm still teaching him something. To trust me. It makes all the difference. I think it is why I am able to get things done with horses that their owners can't get at first. They know they are going to get to rest if they can figure out what I'm asking.. Really works..
Time to rest and get coffee.
 Was a pretty slow day around here yesterday. Just me and the dogs and a cat I haven't seen sense Kathy left.
Kathy when back to see her parents in Kansas. Her mother fell a couple weeks ago and broke her hip, so Kath when back to help them with stuff.. I don't do very well when she is gone, but she will be home today so you can guess what me and the boys, dogs, are doing today. Yep, you guessed it.
My sister will be here sometime today. She's coming in from K.C. and will be a treat to have her here for a couple days. She is bring a friend that I don't think has ever been to New Mexico, and they want a horse back ride so we will get to do that this weekend sometime...
We had a little rain last night but not near enough.
I have a riding lesson with a student in Deming tomorrow morning and look forward to that. I have worked with Diane in the round pen the last time I saw her, and from her reports she is making good progress with her four horses, but has one that she is trying to ride out, away from the house and the horse get freaked out when they get s certain distance from her place. I have never seen Diane ride so am pretty sure, even with my describing what she needs to do, that she may be giving mixed signals to her horse. So will let you all know how that turns out, and will try to get pictures.
Am learning a new fiddle tune while Kathy is away. Called the banish misfortune. I know, what a name, but it's pretty and fun to play.
I think the horses have enjoyed a little down time. Funny, and I tell folks this all the time, if your horse is easy to catch you probably are not working with him enough. Horse, if not the laziest animal on the planet, is pretty close to the top of the list. So they would much rather be with their herd mates then be with me, cause every time I come around there is something to do, somewhere to go, something to go see. So is good they get a little break from time to time. Speaking of break. Mine is over, I better get at that cleaning.. Coffee
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 Kathy's Art Work! Had a really great day yesterday working with Sue. You will remember that she is the lady that helped Kathy and I put on the clinic in the valley. She has asked me to come over and work with her and her horses. So we have put together a program for both of the horses and for her. Now this woman has tons of experience with riding and lessons and taking her horses to different events, as a matter of fact, she is heading to Portugal to work with one of the more notable dressage trainers in the world. So for me to get a chance to work with her and her horses is a treat. The program that we are focusing on is basics. Seems like whenever things are not going the way we want, in no matter what sport we love, seems like good coaches always have us go back to basics. For example in golf. I have a neighbor our here on the ranch who is a retired golf pro. I golf with him from time to time and he likes to teach. So he is always trying to help me with my game. When things start to go south he reminds me to pay attention to the basics. My grip, my stance to the ball, my rhythm and, for me, the list goes on and on. So I try to focus on the fundamentals ofmy game. I still put it in the trees, but it give me something else to focus on rather then cussing.
I think that probably most folks, if they would just go back to basics, could fix a lot of problems they are having with their horses. Ask yourself, how is my ground work? Does my horse show me respect by not pushing into my space, etc. If our horses basics education is lacking it will show up somewhere down the road. And if we are going to stay safe we really need to make sure that our horses have a very good foundation.
 Tim and his girl friend. I think that, at times, we are asking more of our horses then they can do, with the education they have. When we were working on circles yesterday Sue would ask why her horse was leaning in on the circle. My answer was, I have no idea, but it really didn't matter. We were working on keeping his nose inside the circle. I didn't care about anything else. But Sue wanted her horse to make the circle perfect, and I did too, but it did not matter to me if it happened today or tomorrow or a week from now. This horse was being given a chance to learn that he could keep his nose in the circle with out being helped to keep it there. Once he had a chance to figure that out all the things that were going on, the falling inside the circle with his front end went away. And in less the ten minutes he was making a ten meter circle without all the thing that she was worried about before. So we were learning to let our horse find the place that is the most comfortable for him. Once he found that place it was amazing to see the change in the horse and in the rider.
So focus on what you are doing, not on what you want. If you focus on what you are doing what you want will happen and, with horses, it will happen a lot faster then you think. It all takes the magic pill. But we have to be willing to swallow it...
Time for a swaller of coffee
 I got a message from a student yesterday that really made me smile. This student has worked with some of the best trainers and teachers in the world. The horse is a wonderful animal and one they are very proud of. When they came to me they were, and are, having trouble with the horse being heavy. Not weight, but in the way he handled. No this horse has had tons of training and riding and education. I suggested, after working with him for a bit, that we start from the begining. Most people don't want to hear that. They think that there horse is way beyond the elementary lessons and exercises and should be doing more complex things not going back to grade school. Trouble is, if our horse does not know how to add two plus two, chances he is going to have a hard time with calculas. The owner agreed to give it a try and contacted me to say I might be right. Well right or not, what really impressed me was, not that the horse would respond, but that the owner would. That the owner had enough courage to at least, at the very least, take a look at their horsemanship and say, I think I forgot to do this along the way, and, it may be the reason my horse is having so much trouble. So my hat is off to the owner for having the heart to try something, to take a look and try.
Stan had a good lesson yesterday. Put spurs on Stan to use on the horse I have him riding for the first time yesterday and he had to learn not to keep poking the horse or things are going to get bad.. So he did great. Am proud of him for hanging in there. When he comes for his lesson there is no one watching him but me, so I know he is not doing it to please anyone else. He really wants to figure this out.
Scouted for elk with Mark yesterday and did not see a thing. Is very dry and the guys managing the ranch have let all the drinkers go dry so there is not much, if any, water back there.. Still have a couple of months before the season so hopefully we will get rain and they will start to come out of the mountains.
Coffee time.
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 Chief Rail Bird Dave! Rail Birds. That's what they call auditors that come to clinics in Austriala. I learned it from some folks that we have come to kind of know and like a lot. These Aussies are the folks that we get our tack from. Their company http://www.nungarknots.com.au/home.shtml
They make great products and we are honored to get to have them here. I will get them up on the web site one of these days. But not only do they have a great company they really love horses. Kathy and I hope that we will get to meet them face to face one day..
This is the start of another week. Have riding lessons this morning with Stan. He is really trying hard to get the hang of riding and I hope he hangs in there. Later today I will head out with Mark, good neighbor, to do some scouting for his elk hunt in Oct. We are scouting just north of the house and we have had a little rain the past couple of days so it should be a fun time.
Had a guy call me yesterday, Gary. He is an outfitter in the area and is in need of a packer, guide for this falls elk hunts. I am honored that he would think of me, but I don't have a clue about hunting. I've done it but I really suck at killing things. I would however, love the chance to pack in for six days and experience all of that, but I don't think folks paying a lot of money for one of these hunts want to have me as their guide. I would not have a clue even where to look for an elk, unless one was crossing the road when we were driving to camp. So will probably pass this time.
Still trying to get something happening with clinics for Oct. and Nov. I tell ya, it's hard to get even two people together for a clinic. Folks have different schedules and, well, it can get pretty frustrating. But I'm hopeful that things will come around. I have been able to get a couple of the people to start on private horsemanship lessons, and they are doing great. It's great to see their confidence grow and their trust in their horses grow as well.
We have all got to be safe when it comes to horses. They will hurt us in a heart beat and not think a thing about it. So we are the ones that have to be diligent when it comes to our own saftey. That means being better horseman. If we have the respect of our horse or horses we will stand a better chance of being able to work with horses when we are old and gray. Stuff happens, and sometimes, no matter how hard you try, things happen that you wish had not. But if we are working at being safe around our horses we, at least reduce the chances of getting hurt. At times we just take short cuts and get ourself's into trouble.
Example: A trainer, has been training horses for twenty plus years, had her horse tied up to saddle. She was just finishing up brushing and wanted to move to the other side of her horse. Rather then go around the back of her horse, she decided to just duck underneath the horses neck. When she did the horse spooked and crushed her between the horse and the hitching rail, and killed her. These are little mistakes that we all know we shouldn't do, but sometimes, because we are in a hurry, or we're just not thinking we take short cuts, and when we do some pretty terrible things can and do happen..
So be safe out there...
Coffee time...
 I thought that this morning I would talk about a different approach to horsemanship. You notice I didn't say a "New approach"? That's because I don't think that there is anything really NEW in the world of horsemanship. True there are always new bit, saddle pads, saddles, all kinds of tack, but really nothing new when it comes to horsemanship. And yes that's true, we have phrases like, natural horsemanship, America's horsemanship, but there is nothing new about what they are talking about. As a matter of fact, what they are teaching is so old that people for a few hundred years forgot about it and now is just sounds new.
Trainers, clinicians and the like are trying to set themselves apart from one another, I'm trying to do the same thing, but not by telling you I have a new idea or approach to horsemanship. I have been to a clinic or two in my life and what I have found, and probably you too, is that they all pretty much are teaching the same thing, it's the way that they explain it, or don't explain it, is really the difference. I remember at a clinic I attended in Kansas, the clinician was explaining what he was doing,trying to get a horse to perform a certain move, and it was not working. Then he changed what he was doing a little in order to get the result he was looking for. One of the Rail Birds asked him about it. He told the clinician that he had noticed that he had changed his approach a little. Well. You would have thought that the rail bird had called him a dirty name. The guy when off, telling the rail bird that he had no clue what he, the teacher, was doing. Well it was obvious that the guy had changed his approach. I have seen this happen time after time. The teacher thinks he has become some sort of god. Does not like, or want to be questioned and thinks he is beyond anyone teaching him anything. I don't go back to guys like that.
Now if you come to me for help, I'm going to show you what I know. If you come to a clinic that Kathy and I are putting on, I assume that you are there because you are interested in the method that we use, and that's what I'm going to show you. I'm not going to hide anything from you, and I'm going to do the best to show you all that I know in the little time that we have at a clinic. It is hard to find someone out there that can teach. I had a student email me yesterday with a question about riding, that we will talk about next week. She was confused because the instructor, not me, was not telling them the whole story about this move. My guess is the instructor does not understand the whole story either. Bottom line is, the instructor was not a very good teacher and so could not communicate what he or she was trying to teach. Lots of people get frustrated about this. I could go on and on. I have seen this happen so many times with well know clinicians and trainer.
So how do I find a good trainer or clinician? Good question!
Coffee first!
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