Written by Martin Black This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.72 What are people talking about when they mention “a soft feel”? What I believe a soft feel is referring to is when the rider draws on the reins and the horse responds with out any resistance through the body down to the feet. […]
Written by Tom Moates The name Martin Black is certainly familiar to Eclectic-Horseman readers from his regular essays in the magazine. Also, his popular books, DVDs, annual clinics, and appearances in issues of The Horseman’s Gazette video magazine help share his horsemanship with many folks. Martin’s philosophy is rooted in the direct experience, he says, […]
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, […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
Written by Martin Black This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.64 Why can one rider have trouble getting a horse to respond and another rider take the same horse and get along great? We may be familiar with the influence of feel and timing, but something that could be quicker for the rider […]
Written by Martin Black This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.54 After returning from The World’s Greatest Horseman competition, I found it interesting how the contestants handled their cattle in the fence work. After a lifetime of working cattle and studying how other people handle cattle; how and why they do what they […]