Article & photos by Nancy Brannon
Clinton Anderson brought his Walkabout Tour to the Show Place Arena in Memphis, Tennessee the weekend of April 9-10, 2016. Saturday morning’s session began with an explanation of his philosophy of training behind his methods. Clinton explained how he begins a horse's training, and starting a problem horse’s reeducation on the ground. There were 30-minute breaks between each session devoted to promoting his products and those of his sponsors, with give-aways to audience members.
Anderson says “All great partnerships are based on three elements: trust, respect and communication. Whenever one element is lacking, the partnership fails.
“When we interact with horses, we unintentionally tend to be our own worst enemies. Horses and humans perceive the world from opposite views: horses are prey animals with an ingrained flight or fight response, and humans are predators. When you train a horse, you have to understand basic horse psychology. When you know how the horse processes his thoughts and why he does the things that he does, both good and bad, you can accomplish anything. If you don't understand how your horse perceives the world around him, then you will struggle with your horsemanship goals.”
Saturday afternoon’s training session was titled “Gaining your horse’s respect on the ground,” and involved use of Anderson’s specially designed rope halter, 14-foot lead rope, and the Anderson signature handy-stick and string.
Anderson explained gaining your horse’s respect and attention and establishing your personal space. He refers to this as “your personal hula hoop space,” a four-foot circle that surrounds you and which your horse cannot enter. “The only way your horse is allowed in your personal space is if you invite him in. And you only invite him in that circle if you have his respect and attention.”
As he instructed Shayla in training the “problem” demonstration horse, he repeated: “Establish the basic fundamentals – don’t come into my space.”
“How do we get the horse’s respect?” he asked the audience. “By moving their feet.” His basic fundamentals are: “When I say ‘go’ the horse should move. When I command ‘whoa,’ the horse should stop. You can’t move on [up the training scale] until you get the basics. Our goal is to get control of the horse’s feet.
“Horses are professional people trainers,”Anderson told the audience. “Horses know when you know your sh** (stuff) and when you don’t.” He emphasized the use of body language in communicating with the horse and how/what a person’s body language communicates to the horse.
Anderson instructed Shayla, who was working a grey mare, to “whack” on the lead rope with her stick if the horse moved toward her in her space. Then, when the horse moved back out of her space, to stop whacking and release the pressure. Anderson emphasized quickly correcting any wrong moves by the horse, and this included getting into the person’s space without an invitation, or refusing to do what the person “asked.”
Next on the agenda was “longeing for respect.” Anderson explained that the purpose of longeing is not is not to wear the horse out, nor get the horse tired. He emphasized “getting into the horse’s mind” and getting the horse to think rather than react. “Do as many changes of direction as possible. Drive the front end of the horse away, then disengage and have the horse give us two eyes.” Anderson explained the cues for the horse to stop and turn toward the human, i.e., “give us two eyes.”
Anderson explained that “horses don’t learn from pressure; they learn from release of pressure.”
He instructed Shayla to put her hand up by the horse’s eye to point direction, then “whack” the horse on the neck until the horse travels (longes) in the desired direction. I must say it was rather disturbing watching Shayla being instructed to whack the horse on the neck several times until the horse traveled in the correct direction. Then, when the horse moved in the correct direction, the pressure was released as the horse trotted around her.
“We have to go through some ugly stuff to get to the good stuff,” Anderson said. “As soon as the horse does what is asked, then release the pressure,” Anderson explained. “Don’t release the pressure until you get what you want.” While that is basically sound advice, I question whether whacking the horse on the neck is really “asking” the horse to perform a specific task.
After many changes of direction while longeing on the 14-foot lead rope, the horse finally acquiesced to all of Shayla’s commands. Then it was time to desensitize the horse with the rope. Shayla gently flicked the lead rope across the horse’s body and legs. The horse was allowed to come into Shayla’s space as Shayla rubbed the horse’s head and allowed the horse to relax. Anderson explained that if you don’t desensitize, then the horse gets jumpy and reactive.
“You have to get to the horse mentally to establish respect. You have to get the horse using his thinking side of the brain rather than the reacting side. You have to set some consistent boundaries. You must have a mutual understanding of respect with the horse. Then – you desensitize. He explained that the second session starts with desensitizing the horse, but not the first. He explained why desensitizing is not used first in the beginning session. This is where boundaries and respect are established.
An audience member asked a question about using this same method on a high-headed horse who had previously been beaten. The audience member asked if Anderson would change anything about his method. His answer was “no.” He said that “after three days of doing my method, the horse will be as well behaved as any other horse in the arena.” He advised the audience members not to “carry around a big bag of excuses for your horse. Don’t use the past of the horse as an excuse for the future of the horse.”
As he finished his answer to the audience member’s question, he commented, “Any day that a horse (or a child) is not being abused is a GREAT DAY!”
Following this longeing session, it was time for more product promotionals and give-aways, then an autograph session.
At the lunch break, I did overhear some audience members complaining about his use of profanity in his teaching commentary. And listening to his afternoon session, various words of profanity were sprinkled throughout his talk, as a patterned use in his daily vocabulary.
Next on Anderson’s tour in the mid-south is a 3-Day Fundamentals Clinic, August 5-7, 2016 at the Jaeckle Centre, 100 Saddle Spring Blvd. in Thompson’s Station, TN. Clinic runs 9 am – 5 pm Friday-Saturday with a 1 hour lunch break. Find out more about Clinton Anderson at his website: www.clintonanderson.com and on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DownunderHorsemanship/
Clinton Anderson brought his Walkabout Tour to the Show Place Arena in Memphis, Tennessee the weekend of April 9-10, 2016. Saturday morning’s session began with an explanation of his philosophy of training behind his methods. Clinton explained how he begins a horse's training, and starting a problem horse’s reeducation on the ground. There were 30-minute breaks between each session devoted to promoting his products and those of his sponsors, with give-aways to audience members.
Anderson says “All great partnerships are based on three elements: trust, respect and communication. Whenever one element is lacking, the partnership fails.
“When we interact with horses, we unintentionally tend to be our own worst enemies. Horses and humans perceive the world from opposite views: horses are prey animals with an ingrained flight or fight response, and humans are predators. When you train a horse, you have to understand basic horse psychology. When you know how the horse processes his thoughts and why he does the things that he does, both good and bad, you can accomplish anything. If you don't understand how your horse perceives the world around him, then you will struggle with your horsemanship goals.”
Saturday afternoon’s training session was titled “Gaining your horse’s respect on the ground,” and involved use of Anderson’s specially designed rope halter, 14-foot lead rope, and the Anderson signature handy-stick and string.
Anderson explained gaining your horse’s respect and attention and establishing your personal space. He refers to this as “your personal hula hoop space,” a four-foot circle that surrounds you and which your horse cannot enter. “The only way your horse is allowed in your personal space is if you invite him in. And you only invite him in that circle if you have his respect and attention.”
As he instructed Shayla in training the “problem” demonstration horse, he repeated: “Establish the basic fundamentals – don’t come into my space.”
“How do we get the horse’s respect?” he asked the audience. “By moving their feet.” His basic fundamentals are: “When I say ‘go’ the horse should move. When I command ‘whoa,’ the horse should stop. You can’t move on [up the training scale] until you get the basics. Our goal is to get control of the horse’s feet.
“Horses are professional people trainers,”Anderson told the audience. “Horses know when you know your sh** (stuff) and when you don’t.” He emphasized the use of body language in communicating with the horse and how/what a person’s body language communicates to the horse.
Anderson instructed Shayla, who was working a grey mare, to “whack” on the lead rope with her stick if the horse moved toward her in her space. Then, when the horse moved back out of her space, to stop whacking and release the pressure. Anderson emphasized quickly correcting any wrong moves by the horse, and this included getting into the person’s space without an invitation, or refusing to do what the person “asked.”
Next on the agenda was “longeing for respect.” Anderson explained that the purpose of longeing is not is not to wear the horse out, nor get the horse tired. He emphasized “getting into the horse’s mind” and getting the horse to think rather than react. “Do as many changes of direction as possible. Drive the front end of the horse away, then disengage and have the horse give us two eyes.” Anderson explained the cues for the horse to stop and turn toward the human, i.e., “give us two eyes.”
Anderson explained that “horses don’t learn from pressure; they learn from release of pressure.”
He instructed Shayla to put her hand up by the horse’s eye to point direction, then “whack” the horse on the neck until the horse travels (longes) in the desired direction. I must say it was rather disturbing watching Shayla being instructed to whack the horse on the neck several times until the horse traveled in the correct direction. Then, when the horse moved in the correct direction, the pressure was released as the horse trotted around her.
“We have to go through some ugly stuff to get to the good stuff,” Anderson said. “As soon as the horse does what is asked, then release the pressure,” Anderson explained. “Don’t release the pressure until you get what you want.” While that is basically sound advice, I question whether whacking the horse on the neck is really “asking” the horse to perform a specific task.
After many changes of direction while longeing on the 14-foot lead rope, the horse finally acquiesced to all of Shayla’s commands. Then it was time to desensitize the horse with the rope. Shayla gently flicked the lead rope across the horse’s body and legs. The horse was allowed to come into Shayla’s space as Shayla rubbed the horse’s head and allowed the horse to relax. Anderson explained that if you don’t desensitize, then the horse gets jumpy and reactive.
“You have to get to the horse mentally to establish respect. You have to get the horse using his thinking side of the brain rather than the reacting side. You have to set some consistent boundaries. You must have a mutual understanding of respect with the horse. Then – you desensitize. He explained that the second session starts with desensitizing the horse, but not the first. He explained why desensitizing is not used first in the beginning session. This is where boundaries and respect are established.
An audience member asked a question about using this same method on a high-headed horse who had previously been beaten. The audience member asked if Anderson would change anything about his method. His answer was “no.” He said that “after three days of doing my method, the horse will be as well behaved as any other horse in the arena.” He advised the audience members not to “carry around a big bag of excuses for your horse. Don’t use the past of the horse as an excuse for the future of the horse.”
As he finished his answer to the audience member’s question, he commented, “Any day that a horse (or a child) is not being abused is a GREAT DAY!”
Following this longeing session, it was time for more product promotionals and give-aways, then an autograph session.
At the lunch break, I did overhear some audience members complaining about his use of profanity in his teaching commentary. And listening to his afternoon session, various words of profanity were sprinkled throughout his talk, as a patterned use in his daily vocabulary.
Next on Anderson’s tour in the mid-south is a 3-Day Fundamentals Clinic, August 5-7, 2016 at the Jaeckle Centre, 100 Saddle Spring Blvd. in Thompson’s Station, TN. Clinic runs 9 am – 5 pm Friday-Saturday with a 1 hour lunch break. Find out more about Clinton Anderson at his website: www.clintonanderson.com and on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DownunderHorsemanship/
