Horseman’s Corner Radio

Groundwork For Safety Sake

New Mexico Horsewoman and trainer Tray Pelster on how she likes to start horses.   "I like to do a lot of ground work so I don't have to deal with as much crap on top of them. I have the time to spend with them when I was training horses under people. You have 30 days so you spend across the board from a lot of my trainers on average about a week, week and a half in the round pin and then you just get on them. You learn how to take shortcuts and you learn how to do it quickly and I would rather start them on the ground for about a month and just see where they're at. I was raised on hand cocks and that's slow, start them on the ground thing. They don't look near as hard. It's mostly a scared thing or a fight. I don't trust you situation and the majority of the time I've found that hand cocks that get a bad rap for things because they're smart and they're smarter than most people. But if you can teach them that this is not a fight or fight situation and that you can trust me and they won't want to try anything when you're on their back. So I've had great success with starting them slow on the ground and just covering all your bases and moving with the horse. See my dad, he's a firm believer in starting them three or four. I am like 125 pounds. So for learning from horse trainers, honestly I like to start them at two. Some horses with exception just because they're not mentally ready or they're not physically ready."   New Mexico horsewoman, Tray Pelster.

Top Training Rules with Mark Bolender

Mark Bolender, a pioneer of Extreme and Mountain Trail riding, builds training around equine instincts, patience, and mutual trust. His core philosophy emphasizes allowing horses to think independently rather than relying blindly on the rider resulting in a bold and confident partnership.   Years ago, the late Howard Hale asked Washington horse trainer Mark Bolender what his number one rules are when it comes to training horses. Let's listen in to that answer. It still applies today.    Rule number one that we train under in their world, there are no equals. You're either above or below it, but they don't understand equality. Not only do they not understand it, it confuses them.   Rule number two is if you watch the alpha mare move from one part of the pasture to another or from one pasture to another, all the horses follow. Or you're on a trail ride, the first horse on the trail is pretty alert and bright. The rest of them are halfway sleeping because they know that if Cougar gets number one, then they have to wake up, but until then, they relax. They naturally like to follow. That's just part of their ingrained nature.   Rule 3 is if a horse sees you as a leader or sees the alpha mare as worthy of leadership, then they try to please that horse or that human.   Rule number 4 that I train under is instinct.   Instinct drives one, two, and three. Instinct is not right, wrong, good, or bad. It just is, but it's a sign of a different type or greater type of intelligence than what human beings possess.   Washington horse trainer Mark Bolender on today's Horseman's Corner. Our longer extended interviews can be found on horsemanscorner.com. Along with those extended interviews, you will also see that we have been offering website design services for over 25 years. If you need help, give us a call.   The numbers are on our website at horsemanscorner.com or our main website at halebroadcasting.com. That's going to do it for today's program.

Christy Landwehr on Safety

Another golden gem from the archives of the late Howard Hale, this one on safety.   Christy Landwehr is the CEO of the Certified Horsemanship Association.   There's a program to get people who are working with people and horses as professionals certified. What are some of the problems you run into there?   "I would say some of the biggest things is we get very, very comfortable around horses when we've owned them for a long time. So sometimes we slip as professionals in the safety area, and that's our primary goal in certifying. We don't say that there's a CHA way to teach. We say is the lesson safe? Is the lesson effective? Did that lesson actually have an impact on that student? And finally, is it fun? You can't be hollering at your students. They have to have a level of fun for them to want to return. So with that safe, effective, and fun concept in mind, if you've been around horses a really long time, you start doing things like ducking under the lead rope when the horse is tied. You start doing things like forgetting to put your helmet on when you're going to go ride, let's say, especially if you're going to go jump or what have you. And if you are not a good role model and a good mentor, regardless of if your student is a child or an adult, then how are you going to convince that person to do those safety things as well?"   Christy Landwehr, the CEO of the Certified Horsemanship Association.

Safety While Working With Horses

Now here's the late Howard Hale with Cal Middleton asking him a question on safety around horses.   Cal Middleton is a horseman and clinician from Missouri. What do you need to do to be safe around a horse, Cal?   "The truth is if we want to be safe on a horse or around a horse, our first goal needs to be to make the horse feel safe. Because when the horse feels safe, we're on the right track. It doesn't mean that we just pet him and feed him cookies all the time. There's a lot of things we have to do. We have to be a little more firm when necessary, but we have to be as light as possible, and we have to care about the horse. And if we don't care about the horse, then we're better off to get a four-wheeler. That's kind of where it's got to start for me. Talk about some of the steps you need to take to make that horse feel safe, will you? Number one, it's the way we approach him, and that's physically and mentally. It's the way we approach him literally, and the way we approach him in a philosophical sense. The way we grab a hold of that lead rope, the way we put the halter on him, the way we put the bridle on him, and the way that we pick up the reins, you know, the way we saddle him. All those things come into play. It's something that I enjoy teaching to people, but it's not something that I can just explain to them real quick."   "Sometimes people will send me a question on an email like, my horse is doing this, what do I do? And I say, well, make him feel safer, and here's a few steps how, but it's something that you can't just pick up on a little weekend course or a little book, or a DVD."

Ron Knodle on Mustangs

Here's Ron Knodle and the late Howard Hale.    What are some of the differences you run into, though, with the Mustangs that you might not see with a domestic horse?    "About the only difference, Howard, is the first few days, or the first few workings that you're around the Mustang. They're brought in out of the wild, and they're not used to seeing a human, but maybe for a mile or two miles away, and they're gone."   "You're just working with a lot more alertness and wildness, per se, compared to the domestic horse. Even if you're just walking through a pen when they're young, or even if they're born and brought in, just walking through them, then the Mustangs don't have that opportunity to be that close to a human, so that's about the main difference on the Mustangs. They may be a little more alert at first, but after a few workings, then they're the same as any other horse."   "I think it was about 20 years ago, over in western Nebraska, I was working for a fellow working horses and riding them without anything on their heads and all and whatnot, but growing up and I always wanted to be a cowboy, and working on ranches, and of course all the ranches need horses started, and they kind of reserve that for the people that's good enough to start with those young horses, not get them bothered and turn them into a bunch of bronc. Your reputation is about all you have in life, and it precedes you, so from ranch to ranch, and people asking for references, they say, hey, get this guy to start your colt, and once you get started on the colt, it's kind of tough to get away from them."   Mr. Ron Knodle on today's Horseman's Corner.