Kevin Hosea Holds Horsemanship Clinic At Coyote Run Arena Horse owners Randall and Wanda Bomar watched in amazement as Kevin Hosea repeatedly opened and closed an umbrella from the saddle on their two-year-old problem horse “Smokey”. Along with about 50 other participants, they attended the clinic Hosea conducted on January 19th at Coyote Run Arena in Mason, TN. Two local horses were used to demonstrate how Hosea starts a young colt and how he gets a horse through a problem that has developed. Hosea has been starting colts and working with problem horses for about 10 years. He spends the majority of each day riding and developing horses at his barn in Morris Chapel, TN. He has a long history with horses, having had his first experience starting ponies at the age of 8 or 9. He is active in the equine community, is currently president of the Saddle Club of Hardin County, and competes in sorting and team penning events in the area. Hosea said each horse he has worked with has had something to teach him over the years. He also admires and studies under master horseman Dennis Reis. Hosea describes his approach as patient and one that emphasizes identifying the horse’s own learning process. He also believes the horse’s first ride is their most important and wants to put in the time to prepare them well for this. Horse owner Bob Buford brought in a 22 month old stud colt he calls “Badger”. He was halter broke but had never been saddled or ridden. When he was brought in, he was pushy and disrespectful of people and even aggressive. Hosea said this horse was very emotional, even sweating before he started to work with him. He charged, reared, stuck out, and kicked at Hosea in the round pen. He said the colt was a challenging horse to get to a learning frame of mind, as he was so worked up in the environment and was so set on being dominant. His instinct to fight was very high, so Hosea noted it was especially important to be able to direct, not restrict, his movement. Taking away the ability to move or even flee would have been counterproductive and increased his tendency to fight. Hosea spent much time working with him from the ground to prepare him to accept leadership from another. After patiently and consistently establishing a foundation of good ground work, Hosea explained and demonstrated the Jeffries method he routinely employs in starting colts, especially the more high strung ones. By putting weight on and lying across the horse before saddling and using approach and retreat methods, he finds this aspect of the Jeffries Method helps to calm a horse and help prepare him to be ridden. Despite the aggression and resistance the horse showed, Hosea said nothing the horse did bothered him as he was just being a horse and fighting for the position of dominance the young stud wanted. While he gave quite a display once saddled, “Badger” accepted his first ride without bucking and was calmer and more confident than many in the crowd predicted. Later, Hosea said the first horse insisted he was the leader, while the second horse said I need a leader. The Bomar’s 2 ½ year-old walking horse “Smokey” had recently had 120 days of training but came home with a problem spooking at movement on his right side. He said he could quickly tell during his work off saddle that the horse was eager to comply with clear direction. He just needed someone to present fear of movement on his right in a way he could understand and overcome. The Bomar’s said they were surprised to see Hosea spend so much time working with their horse off saddle before getting on board and realized how important the groundwork basics are to developing a good horse. In working with the horse, Hosea obtained with patience and consistency the horse’s respect. He presented new situations to the horse using approach and retreat methods. With a rider aboard, “Smokey” calmly accepted a lariat rope thrown from his back, cracking a whip from the saddle, and repeatedly opening and closing an umbrella all with the rider aboard. Hosea said it is a horse’s nature to spook at novel things and the horse owner’s job to teach them, not force them, to get past this. While the potential to flee is always there, good leadership and preparation can greatly reduce this. Nutrena Feed sponsored the clinic and provided 10 free bags of feed to attendees. Stockdale’s of Covington donated door prizes as well. Kevin Hosea is planning another clinic at Coyote Run Arena on April 19th. For info or to volunteer a horse, call 901-299-1483 or 731-607-7239. Look for his upcoming website www.KevinHosea.com.