Welcome to the Ranch!

Hey, it’s Jake again!  I am finishing the second grade this week.   I am really excited.  Today, I want to tell you how inspired I became after attending one day of a horsemanship clinic.

On April 26th, I went to Conroe, Texas to hear Clinton Anderson from Downunder Horsemanship speak and demonstrate horsemanship skills.  It was called the Walkabout Tour.  Mr. Anderson is originally from Australia.  I think he was born with a true gift, a gift of understanding horses.

I really had a good time.  Mr. Anderson was hilarious.  I laughed out loud on several occasions.  Several people from Cross Creek Cattle Company were there, too.  My PawPaw, Grandma, and Dad took me to this workshop.  We all enjoyed listening to Clinton and we all learned something, too.

He showed us how to load a horse into a trailer and how to get a horse to side pass among many other things.  He demonstrated both what to do and what not to do.  The what not to do demonstration was the funniest.

The most important thing I learned was how to load a horse into a trailer.  Some lady brought her 5 year old black gelding who had barely been halter broke.  Clinton Anderson longed the horse.  The he took the horse to the trailer and showed how most people try to coax their horse into the trailer.  You know, like people trying to reason with a horse saying, “C’mon horsie, we have to get in the trailer.  C’mon sweetie, do it for mommy.”  I was laughing so hard!

You cannot talk a horse into the trailer or bribe them with carrots every time.  He showed us to make the horse uncomfortable outside.  Then he would get it in the trailer and leave it alone.  He would get the horse out again, make it uncomfortable, load it, and leave it alone.  The horse soon understood a trailer was a good place to be.

My favorite part was when Clinton Anderson showed us his horse, Mindy.  She is really pretty.  She can do tricks like the Spanish walk.  If you don’t know what that is, it is a style of marching where the horse kicks its leg out in front of itself before stepping down.  It looked really cool!  Mindy could also do a one-legged bow, a two-legged bow, and a saddle bow.  She could play dead, too.

At the clinic, Clinton Anderson was selling horse equipment and tack.  I was really interested by the spurs he uses.  They do not have rowels.  They are just round balls attached to your boots that get its attention.  He was selling saddles without saddle horns.  He was also selling all his training tools.  You could buy gloves, training sticks, etc.

I feel that I learned a lot and understand horses more than I did before I attended this clinic.  I also learned that Clinton Anderson has a television program called Downunder Horsemanship that shows on RFD.  I highly recommend viewing his show and trying to attend one of his clinics.  You can check out his schedule here.  I am a better rider because of it.