By Natalie Temple
My husband, Chris Temple, and I attended a Clinton Anderson clinic at Clearview Horse Farm in Shelbyville, TN. The clinician was Dale Cunningham and he was fabulous! It was a 3-day Fundamentals Clinic, where we took our horse and worked on the ground work and riding exercises of the Clinton Anderson Fundamentals Level. An interesting thing happened to us at the clinic and I brought home something special.
My husband Chris and I were given a horse at the clinic! Officially, we bought it for a dollar. The horse is beautiful! A Buckskin Paint, built like a brick house, named Mocha. But, of course, there’s a catch.
The previous owner had only been into horses for six months, and at the clinic, the horse displayed some dangerous behaviors. She was more than uncomfortable! In fact, it almost got to the point that the owner was strongly considering putting the horse down, because selling it and having it possibly injure someone else was not an option. She is that wonderfully sweet type of person who wouldn't hurt a fly and certainly wouldn't sell a dangerous horse to make money.
Chris was not participating in the clinic and, therefore, had plenty of time to walk around and talk and just basically see everything that was going on, while I was in the clinic. It was during this time that he approached the lady with the horse. He told her that we knew someone that would take the horse for a very reasonable price, train it for her, and then she could come and get it. She was not open to this suggestion. He asked her that if she changed her mind, to give him a call and that “we” would be glad to take the horse off her hands.
Now, Chris is one of those lucky guys who always wins the scratch offs and can find a deal in a pile of junk, but I don't think he really thought she would give him the horse.
On Sunday lunch break, the owner was leaving to go back to Birmingham. She got half way down the driveway and stopped. She got out and started walking the horse back up to the barn. She came to where we were camping and asked us if we were sure we wanted to take the horse. We said that we did.
I have to admit I was more than a little surprised, and also a little worried at what we (or my husband) had gotten us into! At our barn, I am the “trainer,” for what it’s worth. My husband trail rides and donkey pens, but rides horses simply for fun; whereas I ride to improve the horse and my abilities all the time. I went through the Parelli Level One program before switching to Clinton Anderson. I have had more than one person tell me that I am no fun to ride with because I am always working on something! So I was pretty sure that the training of this horse was going to fall on me, and I am not a “whoop and ride” cowgirl by any stretch! I am careful; I don't like hitting the ground; and I wasn't sure I was the right person to take on such a challenge. Dale (the clinician) said he thought that if I followed the method laid out in the Fundamentals kit, then I could do it.
In the end, we took Mocha home and gave him a week or so to get use to things. I then started on his groundwork. He displayed all of the yucky behavior we saw at the clinic, but by following Clinton Anderson's Method we have seen rapid improvement! I am seriously spoiled by the western pleasure trot and lope of my everyday horse, so I don't know if Mocha will ever be my pick for a comfortable ride; but what an exciting opportunity we have been given! I have the chance to see if I have really learned the things I have studied in the Fundamentals Kit, the Fundamentals clinic, and the Intermediate Kit. So far we have gone through the Level One ground work exercises and have started working on the riding. We are working on the one rein stop exercises, and I am staying with this at the trot until his attitude tells me we are ready to move on. He is very pushy, so we may be here a while; but I will take the time required for Mocha to become a safe, responsive horse.
Natalie Temple is secretary and rides with the Gibson County Saddle Club in Trenton, TN.
For more information about Clinton Anderson, visit: http://www.downunderhorsemanship.com/. For information about Clearview Horse Farm, visit: http://www.clearviewhorsefarm.com/
My husband, Chris Temple, and I attended a Clinton Anderson clinic at Clearview Horse Farm in Shelbyville, TN. The clinician was Dale Cunningham and he was fabulous! It was a 3-day Fundamentals Clinic, where we took our horse and worked on the ground work and riding exercises of the Clinton Anderson Fundamentals Level. An interesting thing happened to us at the clinic and I brought home something special.
My husband Chris and I were given a horse at the clinic! Officially, we bought it for a dollar. The horse is beautiful! A Buckskin Paint, built like a brick house, named Mocha. But, of course, there’s a catch.
The previous owner had only been into horses for six months, and at the clinic, the horse displayed some dangerous behaviors. She was more than uncomfortable! In fact, it almost got to the point that the owner was strongly considering putting the horse down, because selling it and having it possibly injure someone else was not an option. She is that wonderfully sweet type of person who wouldn't hurt a fly and certainly wouldn't sell a dangerous horse to make money.
Chris was not participating in the clinic and, therefore, had plenty of time to walk around and talk and just basically see everything that was going on, while I was in the clinic. It was during this time that he approached the lady with the horse. He told her that we knew someone that would take the horse for a very reasonable price, train it for her, and then she could come and get it. She was not open to this suggestion. He asked her that if she changed her mind, to give him a call and that “we” would be glad to take the horse off her hands.
Now, Chris is one of those lucky guys who always wins the scratch offs and can find a deal in a pile of junk, but I don't think he really thought she would give him the horse.
On Sunday lunch break, the owner was leaving to go back to Birmingham. She got half way down the driveway and stopped. She got out and started walking the horse back up to the barn. She came to where we were camping and asked us if we were sure we wanted to take the horse. We said that we did.
I have to admit I was more than a little surprised, and also a little worried at what we (or my husband) had gotten us into! At our barn, I am the “trainer,” for what it’s worth. My husband trail rides and donkey pens, but rides horses simply for fun; whereas I ride to improve the horse and my abilities all the time. I went through the Parelli Level One program before switching to Clinton Anderson. I have had more than one person tell me that I am no fun to ride with because I am always working on something! So I was pretty sure that the training of this horse was going to fall on me, and I am not a “whoop and ride” cowgirl by any stretch! I am careful; I don't like hitting the ground; and I wasn't sure I was the right person to take on such a challenge. Dale (the clinician) said he thought that if I followed the method laid out in the Fundamentals kit, then I could do it.
In the end, we took Mocha home and gave him a week or so to get use to things. I then started on his groundwork. He displayed all of the yucky behavior we saw at the clinic, but by following Clinton Anderson's Method we have seen rapid improvement! I am seriously spoiled by the western pleasure trot and lope of my everyday horse, so I don't know if Mocha will ever be my pick for a comfortable ride; but what an exciting opportunity we have been given! I have the chance to see if I have really learned the things I have studied in the Fundamentals Kit, the Fundamentals clinic, and the Intermediate Kit. So far we have gone through the Level One ground work exercises and have started working on the riding. We are working on the one rein stop exercises, and I am staying with this at the trot until his attitude tells me we are ready to move on. He is very pushy, so we may be here a while; but I will take the time required for Mocha to become a safe, responsive horse.
Natalie Temple is secretary and rides with the Gibson County Saddle Club in Trenton, TN.
For more information about Clinton Anderson, visit: http://www.downunderhorsemanship.com/. For information about Clearview Horse Farm, visit: http://www.clearviewhorsefarm.com/
