What do you think of John Lyons?

I was looking today at books on training foals to have as a refresher for my new baby. I found a book by John Lyons that had good reviews but I'm not extremely familiar with him. I've used some parelli training with horses in the past but other than that, natural horsemanship is all new to me.

Anyway, my question is, are his methods good and should I invest in the book to see if it will work?

Any information is welcome as I love learning new things! If there are other trainers who's methods you recommend, I'd appreciate that as well. Or if you know any good foal training books, I'd love to hear about those!
Thanks for reading!

I've heard good and bad about him. Me personally I take what I like and try it. I do that with a lot of trainers. If I like their method I use it if not I don't. But I think he has a lot of good points and methods to use. If anything buy the book and learn a few things from him. I like natural horsmanship. Gets you in tune with your eqine. Definitely gives the two of you new found respect for each other and you can never learn too many methods or have too much knowledge. I don't think it would hurt.

I agree with Texana. John Lyons definitely has some good advice and in learing about his particular methods you could see what works or doesn't work for you. I also use some of Clinton Anderson's methods. He may be a trainer that could help you as well though sometimes I think he is a bit harsh.

There is a JL triner where I board. She is actualy working with my mare right now since I can ride for another few weeks. I really like his methods and they seem to be working on Sonador. Why not give it a try.

Some others that I find good are.

Denis Reis
Chris Cox
Craig Cameron

I also like Julie Goodnights teching but she rides in a "chair seat" She also promots sitting like that. So just be aware of that.

I'm not a fan of Parelli at all (thats being nice) and I'm not really a fan of Clinton Anderson. If put there name in the serch here you will find TONS of threads about them. The good and bad.

Most importantly HAVE FUN!!! If you get frushtrated or angry just stop for a while and cool down.

You can learn something from everyone no matter if it is what to do or what not too do. JL is a great horseman and offers alot of good ideas and techniques that would be a solid foundation for starting any horse.
My dad is a huge fan of his, he has been getting his magazines for years. We were at Equine Affair in columbus Ohio a few years back and he was waiting outside the colosseum on his oh-so-famous palomino horse. Dad walked right up to JL and started talking to him. He is a great guy, very down to earth and nice.

I like John Lyons' stuff. He seems more level headed than some, and less into "Buy my XYZ!" The trainer we've worked with to get Lilly broke was certified by him, and she knows her stuff and got good results. She'll be here in 30 minutes to work with Mia & I in the round pen, teaching me to teach Mia.

But I tend to promote a more feet forward position too, so what do I know?



Jack Woffard of the Shoe Bar outfit flanking the trail herd. Shoe Bar Ranch, Texas, 1912

Erwin E. Smith Collection Guide | Collection Guide

I have been reading alot of his books. I know alot of the old but gentle ways of training over the years. Alot of what I have been reading make alot of sense to me and I plan to start using them in my training from here on out

I really like his training methods. As with every trainer, there are some things I don't agree with it, but overall he's a pretty down-to-earth trainer. I think he's worth looking into and trying some methods of his.

What a neat picture!

I'm a huge John Lyons fan. He makes things easy for the average horseman and you don't have to buy a ton of extra items to get your horse to do things! He's not into 'selling' his methods like Parelli, Anderson, Cox, etc are. I've seen him multiple times at various different venues. Got to see him compete at Road to the Horse (he shoulda won) and was very impressed. He basically gave a clinic on his colt! It was truly amazing to watch. Plus, his merch booth was half the size of the other guys! Haha Sure, he has things he recommends, but he also tells you that things you have at home will work just fine. I think his methods get very solid foundations on horses and they are very easy to understand. It's all about repitition.

And just for fun, here's a pic of me and his horse Charlie. He was chatting with a group of us outside of RTTH the year before he competed (he was there to support Ken McNabb). Charlie was happy to just hang out. His reins were looped around John's arm and he was greeting everyone who walked up to him.