|
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
177 Guilford
Schoolhouse Road |
|
I spent my youth in the grandstands of New York State race tracks, and my family owned and operated a breeding farm for Standardbreds in Geneseo, New York since the 1960's. I developed a fondness for horses. When I was older and finally when I had a place where I could keep a horse, I set out in pursuit of the "Perfect Horse." Not knowing an awful lot about horses I thought it safest to purchase from a local expert, figuring that I would get a best friend and suitable mount trained perfectly for me. That was not the case and after several unsuccessful attempts with horses I decided to stop relying on what others thought was suitable for me and more on what my own gut feelings told me. One day a 2-year-old chestnut and white paint that was for sale grabbed my attention. I asked the owner, "Can I look at that horse?" He replied, "You don't want that horse, he is not for you. In fact I don't think he is for anyone." The paint had a long list of previous owners and not much training, but I couldn't resist because he had caught my eye. I simply just had to have him. Figuring the horse was ride-able, I hopped aboard. I soon found out why this wide eyed horse was ". . . not for anyone" as the horse quickly helped me find my way repeatedly to the ground. This is how he earned his earned his name "Troubles." Wondering why my Troubles was troubled by my presence took some research and a lot of careful observation. Clearly, having many previous owners in his short life had been unsettling, but even more concerning was the realization that this horse had been mistreated by folks who simply misunderstood him. There was no doubt that Troubles had to be trained in a special way. |
|
|
|
|
To accomplish this task, I attended
many clinics and seminars on training horses and spoke with some of
today's most prominent horse people. Individually, not one of them had
the perfect answer to fix the wide-eyed problem horse I named Troubles.
But collectively I was able to piece together fragments of advice,
couple it with my own knowledge and judgment, mix in a lot of time
observing my horse in the field, toss in a healthy dose of patience and
in the end created my best friend and a suitable mount trained perfectly
for me. Now, many years later and miles of trails behind us, "Troubles," that chestnut and white paint that I was advised not to buy, is also my business partner and on the job with me instructing folks in the methods available to reworking a problem horse. Troubles and I spend much time on the road each year traveling the country presenting our most popular clinics and seminars. Trailer loading training is Troubles favorite because he really gets to strut his stuff, whereas ground manners and ground handling clinics are mine because I get to work individually with folks and make new friends. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
