Today was amazing.
The opportunity to watch Buck Brannaman in action, teaching what he knows to others, was phenomenal. I now have three an a half pages of notes to look at in the future, and it was only the first of four days.
There's so much to talk about that i'll probably just make a clinic blog when we get back to the ranch, so i'll just touch on a few of the things that really stuck out to me today.
In the first class, Foundation Horsemanship, the one thing that stuck out to me was "the reins are hooked to the horse's feet, not their mouth." Buck said that to someone who was needing help getting their horse to focus their energy more on doing something with their feet instead of trying to make them stand. He explained the short serpentine exercise that would help to funnel that energy to something good.
In the second class of the day, Horsemanship 2 which Jenn took part in, the thing that stood out most to me was that reach is one of the most important things you can work on with your horse. "Every turn begins with a reach" and that is how you get the hind end and front end moving and soft. What goes hand in hand with that is timing. You can't be too late or too early, you have to be right on time for it to work right. The slightest "adjustment can make all the difference" and it can change the whole ball game. Practicing reaching out that first step can lead to greater opportunities with the horse.
Today was just another day of gaining knowledge toward my goal, among the stars, of being a horse trainer.
After the day was over, Melissa, Jenn, Jenn's friend, and I went to an italian restaurant downtown. It was pretty good, but did not quite live up to Spaghetti Eddie's back home.
Now it is time for bed as we get ready for another three days of observing.
The opportunity to watch Buck Brannaman in action, teaching what he knows to others, was phenomenal. I now have three an a half pages of notes to look at in the future, and it was only the first of four days.
There's so much to talk about that i'll probably just make a clinic blog when we get back to the ranch, so i'll just touch on a few of the things that really stuck out to me today.
In the first class, Foundation Horsemanship, the one thing that stuck out to me was "the reins are hooked to the horse's feet, not their mouth." Buck said that to someone who was needing help getting their horse to focus their energy more on doing something with their feet instead of trying to make them stand. He explained the short serpentine exercise that would help to funnel that energy to something good.
In the second class of the day, Horsemanship 2 which Jenn took part in, the thing that stood out most to me was that reach is one of the most important things you can work on with your horse. "Every turn begins with a reach" and that is how you get the hind end and front end moving and soft. What goes hand in hand with that is timing. You can't be too late or too early, you have to be right on time for it to work right. The slightest "adjustment can make all the difference" and it can change the whole ball game. Practicing reaching out that first step can lead to greater opportunities with the horse.
Today was just another day of gaining knowledge toward my goal, among the stars, of being a horse trainer.
After the day was over, Melissa, Jenn, Jenn's friend, and I went to an italian restaurant downtown. It was pretty good, but did not quite live up to Spaghetti Eddie's back home.
Now it is time for bed as we get ready for another three days of observing.