Written by Jec Ballou Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Zen monks for a week last fall made me believe that a rider’s ultimate responsibility is to give up her ego. Human beings carry so much around—stress, thoughts, emotional pain, responsibilities—that we lose clarity in moment-to-moment living. This blocks our ability to genuinely “let go” in our lives, […]
Written by Martin Black This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.71 There is a lot of attention given to disengaging the hindquarters. Different terminology related to it, different purposes, objectives, and so on. Most of the hype though seems to center around getting control of the younger horses, at least in my travels, […]
With Buck Brannaman This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.65 We know it’s the little things that make the big difference, not only in fine horsemanship, but in staying safe in the saddle. At a recent clinic Buck demonstrated how he uses his feet to help keep in a safe position. “When I slide […]
Written by Martin Black This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.70 What is important to me, and what I feel is important for a horse, is for him to feel the rhythm of our body and try to be in sync with it. If a horse is not responding to our body rhythm […]
Written by Buster McLaury This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.69 I rarely saddle an older horse that is tied up, and I never saddle a young horse that is tied up. I think too much of my horses. Let’s give a little thought (Ray would be proud) to a scenario that could happen; […]
Written by Martin Black This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.69 For the most part, horses are relatively calm, quiet animals when they are left to maintain themselves. Free roaming grazers spend the biggest percent of their time relaxed and quiet, but when confined and fed high-energy feed they can develop physical and […]
Written by Martin Black This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.68 What makes some horses bad to bridle and some are eager to take it? There are lots of reasons to be bad. Some horses may have one reason; others may have several reasons. The horses that are good have obviously had better […]
With Buck Brannaman When you are riding with a mecate, especially on greener horses, you should always be in a ready position to keep yourself out of trouble. If you’re going to the right, you’re going to want to have that coil in your left hand because if things fall apart you’re going to want […]
Written by Martin Black This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.66 It is always interesting to me when working with riders to see what they demonstrate when asked to stop their horse. Some may trot or lope out and perform a nice, soft, straight stop with the horse using his hindquarters, supple from […]
Written by Martin Black This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.65 I was watching a rodeo recently and they had a calf scramble with about 30 kids ages 8-12 and the same number of calves weighing about 400 lbs. The kids were in a marked off area in the center of the arena that […]