Bryan Neubert on Pressure

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.

Bryan Neubert - BLM Mustangs

Now here's an archived interview with the late Howard Hale and Brian Neubert, Altruist, California horseman and trainer. Howard had just asked him about what he learned from working with Mustangs.   "Thinking about becoming more efficient all the time so I can get more done with less effort. And, oh, they sent me all over the country and quite a bit to Texas and you went to Florida and all over the western states and Nebraska quite a few times. But they, you know, it was kind of fun to get paid to educate yourself and trying to think constantly how I can get more accomplished with less effort and anyway I had a lot of fun with that. And really kind of learned, with what I learned with those wild horses, apply to just anything you're doing. Loading one in the trailer or handling their feeder, getting them to change leads or anything. I had a lot of fun with that actually."   Is it more of a challenge to try to teach people or to teach those wild horses?    "It's always way tougher to teach people."   That was Altruist California trainer and horseman, Brian Neubert with the late Howard Hale.

Ramzi Hughes - Working with Mustangs

We're talking to Ramzi Hughes, Anchor Brand Ranch. I wanted to ask you about your philosophy of working with horses.   "What we do, I kind of narrow my favorite breeds down to the American Quarter Horse and a regular old Mustang. That's kind of a mixture of what we've got. Those Mustangs are tough and they go like crazy and the kids can break them and ride them and use them for ranch horses, but they are not the athlete that an American Quarter Horse is when it comes to the rodeo events and team roping that we like to do in the arenas."   "So everything's got its place, and we like our American Quarter Horse for our team roping and our rodeo events, and then for some of the ranch work, these kids sure have fun and do good on some of them hard-footed Mustangs. The Mustangs don't really stand up against the Quarter Horses. Not when it comes to athletic ability, speed, sliding, stopping, they just don't. They might walk faster, like out on the ranch, they walk faster and be a little more sure-footed in the rocks, but just to be honest and realistic, and we've tested it out, they just are not the athlete in the arena. They don't have the start and go and stop speed. Each has its place."   That was Ramzi Hughes from Anchor Brand Ranch with our co-host David Woodruff.