Horse The Magic Word

 Dick Francis, a former jockey in Britain and mystery novelist, is one of my favorite authors. In one of his novels the hero is attempting to find information about something in Russia and when he gets the information he is asked how he got it. Our hero informs them “I knew the magic word,” and when asked what the magic word is he responds, “ Horse,”. I love that line because it’s so true. Only a horseman would have written that line and only horse people understand the meaning of it.  It seems to me that horse people, on the  whole, are a  little different than the rest of the people in the world and we see things differently, even when it comes to literature, art and film.
 I remember going to see Mask Of Zorro and when Antonio Banderas’ character says to the horse “ I’m  going to give you the great honor of being my horse,” there were just a few people in the theater who laughed slightly - horse people of course. Then when he says “ I’m warning you I will get another horse,” when the horse won’t come when he is called, a few of us  laughed out  loud. Of course, that had to be the horse people in  the theater, because we all knew that threat would never phase a horse. Non-horse people, well, they didn’t really get it.
 In the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance   Kid in the scene where Butch trys to run off the  posse’s horses, and they don’t move, we all know how silly the line “ Some one sure trained them good,” is. Please... that’s standard horse behavior - if you are trying to run a horse off to get them out of your way to do something they just plant themselves in front of you, but if you are out there trying to catch a horse  he will gallop off.
 If you look at the bookshelves of a horse owner chances are  you won’t see a lot of self-help books, unless they apply to training or riding. You might find authors names like Mary Twelvepony,  Monty Roberts, or Gawani Pony Boy. You  might find titles like Cross Training Your Horse or Training The Reining Horse.
  Another thing I have noticed about us horse people  is the photos  we carry in  our wallets may often times be of our beloved equine friends. Family photos often will include horses. Photographs on the wall, as rule,  are photos of horses.
  We tend to buy art work that is equine related. Home decor is often equine related as well and should everyone in the house be a horse person then chances are the entire house may done in “horse”.   If you look at our movie collections they may not all be horse movies, but most do have horses in them. When flipping the television channel we just automatically stop when we see  a horse, whether it’s a horse race, rodeo, 3-day eventing coverage or old an western movie or TV western.
    I think horse is a magic word  and it  really  is an international language that we all speak whether we talk in English, Spanish, French or German, because we are all horse people.

Training Clinics The Good, Bad and Entertainment

 A number of years ago when someone said they were attending a “ Clinic”
it usually meant they took their horse to a trainer for an intense one or two days of training and education in a particular discipline- whether it be dressage or reining. Today, however, things seemed to have changed greatly.  Now people attend clinics by sitting in bleachers watching the person giving the clinic work with a horse in the arena. Today's “clinics” have  turned into entertainment for the masses.
  I see all the photographs of horses jumping over chairs and barrels and through hoops. I have seen videos of these clinicians standing on a horse’s back cracking a bull whip. This brings to mind the historical posters of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show or the great entertainment at the rodeo. Oh, don't get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for those trick riders, stunt riders and entertainers, but  they don’t bill themselves as horse trainers. Of course they have worked hard and trained their horses to perform, but being able to stand on a horse’s back and crack a bull whip is certainly not a requirement for a good trail, endurance, pleasure,
driving, hunter jumper, dressage etc. rider or horse.
  Personally  I can not think of a time when I wished my horses were trained to allow me to stand on their backs  and crack a whip or swing a rope, unless I wanted to be a trick rider.  I have no need to have my horse jump over a chair or any other non-traditional item, again unless I want to start a new career as a trick rider or my horse wanted to audition for the circus, rodeo or films.
 At these “clinics”, as they are referred to, a horse has been pre-selected for the demonstration. The horse has met certain requirements for height and age. According to some “clinician’s” websites you will be notified if your horse is accepted as the “ demo horse” after you have submitted your information. Somehow I don’t feel that’s quite right.
 I think what actually bothers me the most is that some people who attend come away feeling inadequate - as if they just aren’t bright enough to get it. Some, who do take their horse, also come away feeling as though it was their fault that they couldn’t make the horse do what the trainer had done. A good trainer/instructor should educate, train and work with both horse and rider, so they come away from the clinic with some knowledge. The instructor shouldn’t make the rider feel as though he/she is incapable of understanding  what they are teaching and, therefore, it’s the rider’s fault.  If you speak to someone who has taken , say, a dressage clinic they will tell you “ Oh I really learned a lot and I’d take the clinic again, because the trainer is so good,” they won’t say “well I’m just too nervous or I don’t have the intelligence to understand what she was teaching me”.
 I know I have been on this soapbox in the past, but I feel it’s an issue worth addressing again. Over the past 17 or 18 years we have seen more and more of these people giving “clinics”  across the country.  In that time we have also seen an increase in horses with problems and more fearful riders - think about it!
 I will state again there are people like Monty Roberts and Linda Tellington Jones,
to name a few, that I respect.  I also respect many people who give traditional clinics who help horses and people.
  I just believe if you want to see trick riding you can attend a rodeo or circus and enjoy the show. If you want to further your education or seek the help of professional then it’s not about entertainment - that’s bad for everyone, most importantly the horse.
 I wrote this several years ago as an editorial for a publications. Why you ask did I choose to post it here now, well  I  feel that this subject is still as relevant today as it was when I wrote the editorial originally. Another reason I wanted to post this was I have noticed that many of the people who attend these clinics are 40plus riders who are new to horses as well as 40plus riders who have had some issues with their horses, so I think it's important for Seasoned Riders to read this.
 

We just wanted to say Happy New Year to all the Seasoned Rider. We are thrilled that 2014 is the Year of The Horse and we think it's going to be a good year. Look for lots of new features in Seasoned Rider Magazine in the new year. We would also like to thank all you Seasoned Riders who support us since we launched in 2012.  Don't forget January 30th is the Chines New Year, so be sure and ring in the Year of the Horse.  Seasoned Riders Rock On in 2014!