Amazing New Trainer

This trainer rocks! I have been training with him and he is all about the "horse". He doesn't have an ego or make you feel dumb because you don't know something. He just came out with his first dvd series. Check him out at www.manehorsemanship.com.You can also go to youtube video also.

Well, the production value of the video is good, if not a bit "slick." Was that a thousand-yard stare he was going for there in the middle of the horse footage? Don't quite get that.

You say you've been working with him - how did you find him and what are you working on?

I know this sounds kind of snitty - sorry. I'm getting a little disillusioned with all the "natural horsemanship" trainers.

I'm curious about it, I really am. But I'm not sure how to see through the marketing hyperbole and determine who has really sound techniques.

Blink

Paul lives in the same town we do. About 3 years ago I got hurt pretty good from a horse I purchased. Long story short they were drugging him while I was training on him for 3 months. ( No I don't have that horse anymore ) I was tired of the so-called "Natural Horsemanship" trainer. They I was introduced to Paul. I was even scared to pet a horse for the first time in 14 years. I had a pretty dominate mare I was scared to ride. So for at least a year he came out once a week to my house and we started from the ground up. My confidences level also went up. I say I have been riding for 14 years but only truly have I learned horsemanship the last 3 years or so. Paul is not a push the horse now type of trainer. Here is one example that he worked with us on.... Trailer loading. After a lot of patiences and more then one lesson he taught us how to safely load our horses in our trailer and them wanting to do it willing. The out come of us trailer loading is we point and our horse go right in. No this was not accomplished in one or two lessons.

I understand a lot of trainers call them self Natural Horseman but it is very rare that you truly find one. You have to see what works for you. I want someone who is going to teach myself and my horse and not just get on them and spur the crap out of them.

Hope that answers some of your questions.

It does.

Horse training and horse trainers are so diverse. I've only worked with one, and she doesn't make any special claims about how she trains horses or riders. She simply trains them.

However, I've been doing an endless amount of research on the trainers and training methods available and I'm finding a broad spectrum: anything from having love-ins and hugging your horse into cooperation to those that would (and do) brutalize a horse into submission.

I'm coming to believe that, as in all things, the truth lies somewhere between the extremes.

I don't think we can take a completely holistic approach and simply commune with our horses to make them love and respect us so much that they follow us without question. And I'm sure as hell not waiting for a horse to give me "permission" to ride him.

But I also have no interest in punishing an animal into behaving the way I want.

I'd really like to find someone with a no-nonsense approach that stresses healthy results over buzzwords and feel-good exercises.

For that reason, I've joined giddyupflix.com and put one or two videos from every big name trainer into my queue. It should be pretty obvious who the real deal is.

Maybe it's this guy. I'll give him a closer look.

Thanks for pointing him out.

Blink

I've never met a lovey-huggy trainer; owners, yes!

The trainer I use is also non-famous, quiet, absolutely consistent with horses. He goes to clinics with Leslie Desmond, and is totally humbled when he gets back. Humility is good! When he had problems with my hard-headed filly, he came back the next day with several options: he didn't say, This Is Going To Work. That's what I like about him-- open-minded to the fact that horses aren't all the same, have different reasons for doing things, and different temperatments. (He was perfectly successful with my filly. The first day was getting to know her, and pretty sweaty and frustrating. The second day was slow, steady, hardly broke a sweat, and she was so pleased with herself, loading and unloading with confidence.)