John Lyons? What are your thoughts on him?

I don't mind him, but one of his certified trainers worked with my old horse [before I owned him] he was a super quiet easy going horse and the trainer had him rearing and in a panic in 5 minutes...

I went to a clinic he did probably 25 years ago now, and found him very off putting. When I want to go to church, Ill go to church. I was there to learn about horse training, not Jesus

He's another one that can't train a horse under saddle. It seems all of these guys can only train ground work, but when it comes to swinging a leg over and finishing a performance horse under saddle....they just don't have a talent. Perfect example with JL....is the only use hand theory. You will NEVER get a horse to use it's body by JUST using your hand.

I find this very amusing since John Lyons was so proud of the fact that he trained his Appy stallion to do many things even though so many people thought Appys hard to train.

Like most trainers, he has a few good tips but mostly shows "tricks" on horses he has spent many, many hours working with until they perform well on cue. I am jaded about big name trainers since they want to sell people on a method and products. They take horses that absolutely anyone could train and show how little time and effort it takes to ride the horse.

When any of them comes across a horse with too much energy, spirit or a less than dull personality, they either hide the footage or more often they label the horse as one of those "brain-damaged, crazy, throwback, genetic freak" horses that absolutely no one could ever work with.

The truth is that many horses require days and months and years of work to establish trust and work with consistency.

I think he is a great trainer as he teaches you to work with your horse...not against him. The lessons are simple and you get great results with out having to push your horse to hard. I have been using his training methods on my coming two year old Appaloosa and he is learning in strides with out being scared of anything. When I bought him in January he only had a halter put on and led around a few times in his life. Now he stands tied quietly, leads like a dream and respects me in the round pen. I have blanketed him a few times and he stands nice for that too. He is not head shy at all. I have his communicating with cues books and they really do work.

Another of my favorite trainers is Jonathan Field. He is coming to Edmonton in May.

The first ride IS backing, standing, dismounting.

But that isn't technically "riding" in my opinion. That is sitting on a horse. Riding is forward movement, whoa, back.

John Lyons spouts too much religious garbage. The older he gets, the more he talks, the more religious crap comes out of his mouth. As an Agnostic I find it extremely annoying. I used to enjoy watching him and read articles written by him, but the past five to ten years his writing and speaking are just unbearable for me. Keep it in church God boy

I am teasing a bit, so please nobody get offended, but when you are trying to learn about horses and someone is using that platform to interject religious beliefs, it is irritating to some and downright offensive to others. If you who are Christans went to a clinic and heard the trainer constantly talking about Aetheism, would that not be a bit weird?

If you object to anything a Trainer talks about, you have the choice not to participate and find another Trainer

.

Yes, leaving is an option but someone has likely paid a fairly hefty fee to learn more about training horses. My father was a fully ordained church minister and never did he mention anything connected to the Bible, other than in church or at a church group who'd asked him to attend.