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Roger's Clinics

by K.C. Parkins-Kyle on 03/16/24

I was recently asked for a brief description of what I do with horses in relation to my clinics. This was for our Facebook page.  Well, it's just not that easy for me to sum it up with just a couple of words. "Should we say Trail Obstacle Training?", she asked.  How about "Trail Preparedness?"  she asked.  "Not really," I again replied.  I further explained that it really goes much deeper than that.  So, let me explain as briefly as I think I can.
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The whole basis for everything that I try to accomplish with my horses, or other folks horses, is to establish an understanding of just how trustworthy I am with the control of the horses feet and thus the horse's life.  Since I am effectively asking the horse to willingly succumb to my control, any reasonable horse needs to know that I can take at least as good of care of that horse as he or she can take care of itself.  That horse already knows what it can and may do in order to survive.  Of course what the horse really knows is that his instincts will see to it that he can do what is necessary to cope with whatever comes its way during the next moment, hour, day week and lifetime.  Now that another force (a human in this case) has entered the picture in a controlling way, all bets are off as far as the horse is concerned.  That is, until the human can demonstrate (consistently I might add) good, appropriate, quality leadership.  A quality start for a horse under saddle is just such an opportunity for the human and horse, but it must be truly quality work done!  More on that, later.
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The simple thought of supposedly controlling the horse's feet doesn't really sound so difficult. Unfortunately it is a lifetime study and endeavor.  On the surface, and for all too many humans with horses, it is merely deciding to control those feet by telling the horse to move, stop, stand still, turn, when the person wants and all at the speed that they want. To do that, most kick with the legs and pull on the reins, all in some manner or another.  Boy oh boy - were it only that simple! The horse would like us to ride with proper balance and a sensitive understanding of pressure and release of pressure. The horse would thoroughly appreciate it if the human would know something about where the horse's feet are and where those feet should go with the horse's balance in mind.
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Controlling the horse's feet doesn't mean over-controlling.  Part of it has to involve asking the horse to move the feet where we would like the feet to go and then trusting the horse to go there.  At the same time, I must be ok if the horse makes a mistake.  If there is a mistake the horse sure didn't make it on purpose. Simply, the horse just didn't yet know the right answer to my request. So I'll ask again and the horse will give the correct answer sooner or later depending on that individual horse and how well I'm explaining myself to the horse. 
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Why must I be trustworthy to the horse in controlling those feet of hers?  Because quality control of those four feet is directly tied to that horse's sense of self-preservation!  The better the horse's sense of self-preservation feels the better the ride for both of us.  That's why it is so important to make it all about your horse rather than yourself.  The more comfortable the horse is in any given environment the safer it is for me and the horse will give a better performance for me regardless of what is being asked of the horse.  However, this is all conditional on the horse being physically, mentally and emotionally fit and prepared for the task at hand.  This, of course, then takes us to working with where the horse is at now, and not where we expect them to be in the future.  Do this, and that horse will be where we want them to be when the time comes.
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Alright, enough explanation of that for now, so let me explain the elements involved in each type of clinic. The Two Day clinic really covers a lot of work. The first day is all done through in-hand work with a 12 -15' lead and halter. (Preferably you'll have a rope halter tied in to the lead so there's no big metal snap hitting the horse's face. A web halter is fine but you still need to get rid of a snap attachment for the horse's sake.) The second day is under saddle. This clinic is designed to first and foremost allow the human and horse to figure out just how trustworthy each is. The use of lots of different obstacles and forms of stimulus provide sufficient bother for the horses to feel their sense of self-preservation percolating. If the horses senses of self-preservation are escalating, you can bet that some of the people are having a similar feeling. In addition to this bit of concern for the horse is a need to understand whether or not the human that is attempting to control their (the horse's) feet, is at least adequate. Another aspect of this is that when a horse is sufficiently bothered it's likely that the horse may resist going forward or hurry when it does go, and huff & puff about it. The wonderful thing about all of that is as long as the human is doing a proper job of being the quality leader that the horse needs, then the understanding between the two species becomes clearer. Thus, each side of this equine/human equation can begin to trust one another more and more. The horse can come to trust the human's control and the human can come to trust the horse's responses. Now please understand that this one paragraph only touches upon the process involved. It's not that it is all that terribly difficult. In fact, this process is really no different in theory or practice than starting a horse under saddle. The first time you introduce yourself to a new horse and then each following step, whether it's a lead rope and halter, a lariat, a saddle pad, the saddle, and so forth, each and every one of those will provide sufficient bother in a horse to afford you the opportunity to build trust (both ways). However all bets are off if that starting process is not one of real quality! Over the years I've had a significant number of folks whom have been around horses for a good number of years comment at the end of the clinic that they really had never previously looked at their horsemanship from this perspective. Because of some of the information that they were able to put in to practice during the two days, they thought they'd get more from their relationships with horses than in the past. So, though it would seem that this clinic is for people with less horse experience, it may well be something that more experienced folks can gain from as well.
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As far as the one day clinics go there are currently three different ones available. The first one, we'll call it the Novice Clinic, deals with the first half of the day in the arena with some obstacle work in hand and under saddle. The second part of the day is out on portions of my obstacle course. This clinic is for the people that have reasonably good skills with their horse while working on the ground with them. As well you must be fairly comfortable at the walk, trot and canter (lope). We don't spend time teaching the basics of in-hand work and so it is really important that you have a good understanding of proper lead/halter work and have the ability to handle your horse from several different positions of control. The two day clinic will teach you how to lead from both sides of the horse's shoulders, drive (or lead) the horse past you from both sides and ask the horse to lead up towards you in front. For this one day clinic you should have a fairly good handle on this type of ground work to get the most out of the day. Furthermore, if you are not fairly comfortable at the three gaits then you really need to get some riding lessons in before you ever even think about obstacle work.
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Another choice in the one day clinic schedule is spent out on the obstacle course throughout the clinic. This clinic is not for riders new to the world of horses. This is for riders of an Intermediate level of skill with trail obstacles. While there are some relatively simple obstacles there are also some very difficult ones.  All of the obstacles are out on acreage in the open so there's a lot of room for horses to become pretty active unexpectedly.  Now this brings up a point I'd like to make.  I don't buy in to horses being unpredictable.  I know that most of us are told that at least once or twice as we first start learning about horses (regardless of how old we are).  What is unpredictable are the environments in to which we take our horses!  Riding outside, in an open area just complicates things for a lot of folks and their horses.  I don't ride my horses with avoidance.  As an example, I don't ride with knowledge that my horse (or maybe it's me that's got the problem?) is afraid of, or significantly bothered by, black plastic.  Knowing this I'll avoid the picnic area rather than ride through it because there are several trash cans with black plastic liners which are billowing out of the cans due to the wind blowing.  Many folks will just avoid riding near anything like that; they'd just rather avoid the possibilities.  Or they may ask somebody to "control" the stimulus (whatever it may be) for them so that their horse will be ok.  Unfortunately the thing that bothers my horse or me may exist in many different environments so I'll have to use avoidance techniques in the future.  All I'm saying is that if you ride bothered enough to have to learn to avoid things with any consistency at all, then riding outdoors probably isn't the smartest thing unless that bother is arena walls and ceilings!  If this is a clinic that you are interested in then please don't be offended if I ask you to canter and go through a couple of transitions with your horse in the outdoor arena before we get started on the course.  There's not a sound horse that can't run and every horse on earth might feel the need to accelerate suddenly when the rider least expects it.  Obviously, the better the rider the less likely this is to happen.  If I feel that a rider may not be able to handle a reasonable change in adrenalin (either theirs or their horse's) then I've got to check that out before we go further in to the day. Depending on the group that is riding that day I may allow folks to ride out on to the course and go wherever they'd like without any particular order to how they ride through the course.  Other times I'll likely have ride as a group and through the course together.  An awful lot can be learned by watching and listening to others while riders, one at a time, attempt each obstacle.  As well, this affords me the opportunity to offer the help, advice and perspective to everybody throughout the course when or if needed.  Believe it or not, there is not an obstacle on earth that may not have its own dangers.  Too many folks have learned to simply try to conquer the obstacle.  In fact in order to complete any obstacle as safely as is possible, the rider/handler must consider the surrounding environment, the approach, dealing with the actual time in the obstacle and the departure. Learning why a bridge isn't just a bridge to your horse is important if you'd like your horse to willingly follow your leadership.
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The final one day clinic offering is an Advanced Course for private, select groups only.  This is because speed now becomes involved.  Folks have asked me in the past if I'd be interested in having some type of extreme obstacle event.   I do realize not all extreme courses involve speed.  Unfortunately there is a rather fine line between speed/competition riding and idiocy/reckless riding.  What you've learned, what you've taught your horse and how you both deal with adrenalin are what draw that line.  Given all that, what this particular clinic is about is how to hurry BETWEEN obstacles and then safely, and with care, complete an obstacle so that you can hurry off to the next one.  What I don't want and won't allow is a group to come out to rough house on an obstacle course.  Bothered feet are a bothered mind in your horse.  If we can't learn to help our horses get over their bother to the point that the feet and mind are calming then you had best choose wisely what you're asking of your horse!  Please call to arrange these sessions (303) 841-9953.
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Finally, let me say that if you do have some deficits in your ability to work with your horse in hand then do yourself AND your horse a favor and sign up for the two day clinic.  If you really aren't very handy with leading (I'm talking about in hand work) then by starting with the one day clinic you simply aren't going to get nearly as much out of your horse because you won't be 'speaking' to the animal with the fluency necessary.  You'll leave perhaps somewhat frustrated and feeling like you just don't get it. If enough of you are interested, a half day clinic may become available that will be working only on in-hand leading skills. It is important to the horse that we be as good a leader from the ground, as we are from the saddle!  That change in the position of control (from the ground to the saddle) is significant.  You are, in effect, speaking two different 'dialects'.  Some folks may be good at one and not the other but I'd argue that you really can't be good at one without the other.
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So there you have it.  Not so short of a description but it should give you somewhat a feel for what these clinics are about and for whom they are appropriate.
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In the Beginning

by K.C. Parkins-Kyle on 03/16/24

People always ask me if I always loved horses.  I've always loved animals!  I came across this little story I wrote and thought it might be worth sharing.  Hope it registers to the other horse lovers out there.



Rosie Beginnings

I remember the day I fell in love. I was about 13 years old, visiting a family friend in upstate New York in the fall.  Her name was Rosie; a large (or so it seemed to a little girl) chestnut mare.  The horse belonged to her husband and ‘he’ was gone.  The resentment was evident.  She would feed the horse, clean it’s stall, but it was getting nothing more from her.  Apparently, ‘he’ took more than a suitcase when he left her.  My mother and I were visiting her friend, who bred and showed Welch ponies with her sons.  Leslie was still there with his mom, his brother gone to live with Dad.  My Mother was there to comfort her friend; I was there to meet Rosie.

Somehow I clearly understood that amongst the horses in the barn, this one was different.  First of all, she was a horse, not a Welch Pony.  I’d guess she was a thoroughbred, but I don’t honestly recall.  Secondly, she still carried the ragged coat of winter, when the others did not.

I got the nerve to ask Leslie if I could brush “this one”; knowing it might not be received well, somehow, it worked out.  He set me up with brushes, brought her into the isle, and I brushed her for two days.  As the hair began to come off, I could see hope of a beautiful coat underneath.  I don’t know how long it took, but it seemed that Rosie and I were the only ones in the world at the time.  I barely remember anything else about the whole visit.  Even while I watched Leslie ride his pretty little pony, all I could think of was touching Rosie again.  That was probably the first time I sensed the ‘connection’ a human could have with a horse.  I appreciated the solitude and understanding Rosie had of me; and she appreciated the comfort of touch once again.  We had no expectations of one another.  It was the most honest moment of my young life.  

I’ll always wonder what happened to Rosie, and I’ll never know.  But I do know that the beauty revealed at the end of that trip was as much in our souls, as it was reflected in her coat.  That was the moment I fell in love with horses without even riding.

Understanding Commissions on Buying or Selling your Horse.

by K.C. Parkins-Kyle on 05/19/12

WHY PAY A COMMISSION?

Often times, when people want to buy or sell a horse they want their professional’s assistance.  When they discover that the professional may want 10%-15% commission, they re-think the process.  Why spend more money to buy a horse, or lose money when selling the horse?  Let’s start with buying.

Why pay a commission when buying a horse?  You know what you want, right? Well, you may think you know what you want, but you may not know what you are getting.  The professional will make calls on your behalf, describe your abilities or your weaknesses and field out the horses that seem unsuitable.  Or at least that is the goal.  All sellers have the goal of ‘selling’ the horse and presenting it in a positive light.  Some sellers are more honest than others, and some are just delusional. The professional has a network of checking on sellers that will assist them in determining the reliability of the seller.  Private owner’s selling their horses think that their horse is nearly perfect.  They won’t see the little limp that the professional will feel.  Those small contracted heels have always been there and they don’t see that as a problem.  Or the ring of swelling around the coronet band; “What swelling?” they would say.  These, among many other things are what the professional will notice.  It may not be a ‘deal breaker’, but it will be something to mention to the vet if the purchase gets that far.

Also, the professional can see into the future a bit better than most.  They know that just because the horse was a World Champion XYZ in the show ring, does not mean it will be an enjoyable ride for you on the trail.  As a matter of fact, quite the opposite is often true.  Just because the Sire was a Grand Prix XYZ does not mean that his offspring will be.  The professional knows that a lot of things go into making a Grand Prix horse of any kind; and breeding is only one of the factors.  Fabulously famous horses are often the most difficult to ride.  Is that suitable for the Adult Amateur who is learning to do canter/trot transitions? 

The professional’s job is to find a horse that is suitable to the stated expectations of the purchaser.  If you say you want a Grand Prix horse, but you only ride at a Beginning level, we will find a Grand Prix horse.  Don’t be surprised if you aren’t riding it very often.   If you say that you want to ride that Grand Prix horse, we will find you a totally different Grand Prix horse.  So the seller must be clear about what they want and the professional has to sometimes tell them what that might involve.  Unfortunately, price, age, physical conditions, commitment to training and lessons, expected use, and reality, often do not mesh.  Many professionals have tried to communicate this to multitudes of buyers and it falls on deaf ears most of the time.  It is important that the buyer relay honestly, what their commitment can be.  Not what they want their commitment to be, but what they can actually do.  Falling in love with the horse is easy; living with it is another deal all together!  If the professional says that the horse will need to stay in training – they mean it.  If you don’t want to have a horse that needs to stay in training, then buy a different horse.  If you buy a well-trained horse, and don’t have the time commitment for several lessons a week as well as training rides, he won’t remain well-trained for long.  If you can only ride a couple of times a week, say so.  Then the professional can try to find a horse that will be more suited for your lifestyle.

By paying a commission to a trusted professional, you can save yourself thousands of dollars in heart ache, vet bills, and training fees.  Just because you had a good ride on the horse on the day that you went to look at it, does not mean it is suitable for you on a long term basis.  It may not have a talent for the particular discipline that you plan to work in; it may have a lot of re-training to be done.  Often the professional will push a button or two on the horse to see how it responds to something a little less than pleasant.  This gives us a feel for what the horse may do in its worst state.  Even professionals don’t always nail that quite right, so it is unreasonable to assume that a novice can determine what the horse may do in an adverse situation. When you bring that horse home, anything that’s ugly will show up again.  In his own environment, the horse will often be a peace.

Also, some things are quite changeable about a horse, and some things are not so easy to change.  This is what the professional will be really good at.  “He’s a little ugly now, but he will be beautiful”.  The professional can often envision the changes that good feed, work, vet care and grooming will bring.  We’ve seen it a hundred times over again.  Or they will notice a stiffness that may be easily addressed through better shoeing or a little veterinarian care.  With the veterinarian’s help, you may have a better horse than the one you thought you were looking at. 

When selling a horse, we often think it’s silly to pay someone when you can sell it yourself.  Some people are really good at selling horses, and some are not so good; but either way it can be an emotional rollercoaster.  You want a good home with a ‘nice’ person who will keep your horse forever.  It is impossible to guarantee these, but a noble pursuit.  What does the professional do in exchange for their commission?

Generally the professionals’ job is to field calls, meet potential buyers, present the horse, and assist in placing the ads (usually at owner’s cost), arrange the vet check, and do the price negotiations.  It doesn’t sound like much, but taking the calls alone can be trying.  Before they even look at the horse, potential buyers want to know what their options are for this horse.  “Can we try it for a week?”, “ Are they negotiable on the price?”.  Plus a hundred other questions, all of which a buyer ought to ask.  You spend 30 minutes to an hour on the phone, trying to be positive and honest, and then you wait to see if they want to pursue more.  People often make appointments to come see the horse and either fail to show up or are quite late, or quite early.  Either way, you spend 2 or more hours every time you meet a potential buyer.  And on occasion the buyer has misrepresented (usually unintentionally) their skills as a rider, making an unsuitable match as well.

Often, the professional will concur on the timing of the vet check with the potential buyer.  Almost every owner thinks their horse is nearly sold at this point, but that is nowhere near the case!  On any given day, with any given veterinarian, the result can vary greatly.  This portion of a sale is often a ‘deal breaker’, leaving the buyer and purchaser heart broken.  Sometimes, it goes smooth as glass, and now you have negotiations.  It is not uncommon to have some negotiations prior to the vet check.  If anything comes up in the vet check, but it’s not bad enough to kill the sale, there will likely be more negotiating.

Negotiating is a task that some find enjoyable.  But when we are talking about our horses, it often feels personal.  The professional will be less likely to be insulted by this process.  When a buyer says, “well I talked to my friend, and they said he is only worth X”, it can be insulting.  This is your horse, not your car.  In the world of negotiating, it is all the same.   It is difficult not to take it personally, even for the professional selling your horse, but they can tune it out a little better than the owner can.  Many sales have fallen through because of hurt feelings and angry purchasers or buyers.  The professional can, ‘play the game’, on both ends.  By discussing the consequences of not coming down on price with the owner, i.e.: another month of board, another month of training fees, may not be worth the $500 you are currently dickering over.  And discussing with the purchaser why the horse is priced as it is and why the owner cannot come down that much on the price.  Often times, half of the negotiations occur before the professional even involves the owner to help ease the stress on the seller.

 

More often than not, commissions charged are 10%-15%, but there are other variations out there.  In the long run, I believe that the $500 - $2500 (+ or -) you pay in commissions is usually earned by the professional representing you or your horse.  Often the more expensive the horse, the more complicated the sale is and the smaller the buying pool.  The less expensive horse gets more people looking, but often a lot of ‘tire kickers’.  In the whole scope of things, finding the right horse, or finding the right home for your horse will be well worth the dollars you will spend on the commission to a professional.  It is a “Buyer Beware” market in the horse industry; and honestly, not much better than the Used Car Salesman, in reputation. The consequences of not having professional help are generally way more expensive than the commission would have been. 

What Roger's Clinic are About

by K.C. Parkins-Kyle on 05/05/12

     So what makes these clinics different? Well, to begin with many folks seem to be looking for ‘de-spooking’ and/or ‘de-sensitizing’ clinics. Unfortunately these terms seem to be still pretty popular and not what a horse needs. ‘Bombproofing’ is another way lots of people refer to what they think their horse would prosper from.

     As with all things horse, opinion is what most of us have to offer. In my opinion, to say that somebody can either ‘de-spook’ or ‘bombproof’ a horse is simply not possible - not without breaking some portion of a horse’s spirit. It may be a little or a lot depending on the individual horse. Now, that doesn’t mean that a well ridden and well taught horse can’t become nearly ‘bombproof’, or perhaps better thought of as being unflappable. But that unflappable quality in a horse isn’t just developed in the course of a one, two, or even a few days of a clinic. In order to come close to truly ‘de-spooking’ or ‘de-sensitizing’ then you’ll end up using almost merciless repetition and/or flooding techniques. What you end up with is likely to be a horse that will put up with a lot until it doesn’t. At that point the horse’s reaction to some eventual stimulus, environment or event will be way over the top and based on nothing but pure instinct. That’s because we’ve done nothing to build in to that horse a reason to trust our control over their feet and, to the horse, its life!

     That’s got to be the deal we offer our horses. If they’ll be willing to listen to us and follow our lead then we must be consistently trustworthy and caring and concerned with our horse’s needs. These needs, ultimately, deal in one way or another with the animals’ sense of self-preservation.

So, what these clinics are all about is setting up situations that bother a horse’s sense of self-preservation.  Just enough to allow the handler/rider to provide quality leadership that allows the horse to learn just how trustworthy that human is when it comes to always helping the horse ’survive’ the pressures and stimuli that the environment offers.  When you think about it, horses really aren’t unpredictable - the environment is.

         Lastly, if a horse encounters anything that causes concern, that horse knows what it can and/or may do to survive. It has itself to rely on. Once a human enters the picture in some controlling fashion (of course this control may or may not exist) the horse has to consider if the human will be a negative, benign or positive influence on chances of survival. It’s at this point when I’d sure rather have the horse trust my influence because of a well-developed partnership rather than hoping the horse was repetitively sacked out and hazed sufficiently to have dumbed the horse down to not react instinctively to perceived danger.

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