NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP TALK
with Tony and Jennifer Vaught
NBHA Finals
It has been pretty interesting so far as I have watched just over a thousand horses run. I have seen good horsemanship and I’ve seen really bad horsemanship. I have seen forgiving riders and just the opposite. It reminds me that competition can bring out our worst characteristics, sometimes. It has been good for me to be here if nothing else to remind me to be careful to keep principle before purpose.
Many years ago I became a barrel horse fanatic when I found out that it was possible to win money racing horses. I have always been competitive and speed horses seemed to fit me well. For a long time all I did was learn everything I could about barrel horses. This means everything, from feed to shoeing to all that goes into making a nice barrel horse.
A situation came about after I had been running horses around 15 years. I knew that I still was not the horseman that I wanted to be and as the saying goes when the student is ready the master will appear. I had the chance to attend a Wanda Bush barrel clinic and Pat Parreli was also coming to town. I went to the Parreli tour stop and was converted to becoming natural. I did not go to the Wanda Bush clinic, but instead started on a completely different path. In case you don’t know Wanda was a World Champion and also was competitive at barrel racing futurities.
One of the signs of a natural horseman is never put purpose before principle. A natural horseman should always put the welfare of the horse first. The horse is one of our creator’s finest gifts to us. Shouldn’t we always try to see things as our horse sees them and then decide what action is appropriate?
For me the journey has been a little tough at times as I have been quick to criticize and slow to encourage. But for those of us that persevere success will come. I do things different now. Positive reinforcement comes quickly and I try not to criticize.
Since my natural horsemanship journey began I have not done much barrel racing. It’s been over eleven years since I have been serious about winning money but I’m ready to get back to it . To the best of my knowledge, this part of the horse world does not know much about doing things naturally. I think every horse here would like their owners to try and see things from their point of view.
We all have a purpose in this world, and I know we feel good when we find that purpose and start to take care of business. The passion that I have for horses was given to me and although many horses have had to put up with a lot helping me to learn I don’t want to waste their sacrifice. I’m looking forward to the next leg of my journey.
CSI Saddlepads
Well I’m sitting here in Jackson MS at the National Barrel Horse Association Youth World Championships. It is the first day of competition and the weather is great for this time of year. In the middle eighty’s during the day which is not typical I am told. The arena is chock full of kids on horses. It looks like there is about sixty to seventy horses in the arena at all times letting their horses take a look at the pen. No wrecks yet. Since there are eighteen hundred entries I suspect it will be like this until it is time to get the arena ready for the first runs.
I have a CSI pad booth set up here for the week. Several people have stopped by already that own one of our pads. How many are not happy with the pad do you think? The number is zero!! It seems that no one can wear them out or find much fault with them. I’m not surprised though, you can’t beat these pads.
In the booth there is a device that is called the Redneck Pressure Tester. A lot of pressure can be applied to sample pads with a curious bystander or potential buyer’s hand under the sample pads. When my contrary postage scale decides to cooperate the amount of pressure can be measured electronically and it then becomes obvious how superior CSI pads are to everything else. I haven’t been able to squish anyone’s hand yet when we put the CSI flex panel over their hand and push unlike the samples. Even when I push really hard, but I keep trying.
It is going to be an interesting week and I’m looking forward to it. I am partial to barrel horses and there are a lot of them here.
www.forthehorse.org
www.vaughtsgeneralstore.net
Foxtrotters, Cowworking and Naturalhorsemanship
I know that these terms don’t go together in most peoples minds and I was one of them. The facts are that when a horse has a high play drive and some athletic ability plus a solid foundation many things are possible. When I was first approached about training and showing a Foxtrotter in versatility events I had no idea where it was going to take me. It started out with me training and showing one horse, and my wife and stepdaughter showing a couple of horses who were loaned to us for that show. That led to us taking seven horses to the spring show in Ava, MO this year. Anybody that knows me knows that I prefer running quarter horses crossed on foundation bred quarter horses. That seems to be a nice mix. Weird how things work out some time.
Little did I know that some of these fox trotters are pretty darn cowy. Some fox trotters can’t ever really figure out where all there feet are at one time, but some of them can. Many of them do have a high play drive and love to push cattle around. Right down to the ear pinning and getting low to the ground just like the cutting horses.
We started riding several of these when Waland and Lynne Burger who own Big Barn Ranch in Stockton MO, approached us about developing and showing some of their horses. After training two others and showing them in the Ranch Horse Versatility classes we thought it might actually be fun. They had several horses and had no idea what they were suited for, so we just settled in and gave the horses a chance to tell us what they would like to do. Some of them had already been to other more traditional trainers so of course there was baggage to be dealt with. Horses just seem to bloom when a person uses the principles of natural horsemanship on a daily basis. These horses were no different.
Three of the horses were four-year olds and had little or no show experience. These horses won or placed in all the cow classes so as you can guess, I was very proud of them. My wife, stepdaughter and daughter are always tough to beat so I don’t think there was a class that they didn’t do well in either.
I thought it might be kind of fun to write about some of the horses individually and put up some pictures and video clips, just so you know that I’m not pulling your leg.
Keep it natural,
Tony
Do saddlepads really make a difference?
Because I have been a horse gadget junky, I personally tried nearly every kind of saddle pad around along with all sorts of bits and devices to gain control of the horse. This was all before I was converted to Natural Horsemanship. My wife was one of Pat Parelli's first instructors. I since have learned that looking out for the welfare of my horses instead of using restraint gizmo's makes me feel better and my horses like me a whole lot more. This includes making sure that my horses are capable of doing what I ask. Sore backs really get in the way. Bad attitudes and resistance are by products of this also.
A well fitting saddle is best, but for those of us who ride a lot of different horses in a day not every fit is perfect. Also a horse's back can change according to fitness and age. So what do you do then? I had come to believe that a little soreness was just part of the deal. Manage it as best you could.
A friend of mine tried to get me to try CSI Pads about three years ago, but being the expert that I was, I politely declined. I had tried everything and there was no way that this pad would make that much difference! Over two years passed when we had found out that one of our former colleagues from Parelli Natural Horsemanship, who was also a successful cutting horse trainer, liked these pads so we decided to try the pad. WOW what a difference! No more pinning of ears while being cinched up, backs lifting and getting round almost by themselves, and sticky lead changes getting better almost immediately. Gait transitions were better and just a better overall attitude. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and feeling. The pad was living up to all claims made by the manufacturer!
Even though we ask our horses to do a lot, we do not have back problems anymore. We need our horses to be able to turn a barrel, turn a cow on the fence at high speed, stop hard and deep, but also be strong and flexible enough to handle dressage work. Successful development of horses requires a good attitude and a healthy good feeling horse. Sore your horses back and see what you get.
I can promise you that at "For The Horse" Ranch we will be using this pad for a long time. Fortunately CSI Saddlepads makes english saddle pads as well as western saddle pads because my wife is partial to nice english show horses. I like things that are made in the USA and really work like they are supposed to; that is a rare thing these days.
I have seen two of our students horses literally transformed before our eyes when trying the CSI saddlepad. Going from cranky, pushy and impulsive to relaxed,happy and much easier to get along with. Horses are so honest, if you are running in to training problems there is always a reason. Don't forget to make sure your gear fits and is comfortable to your equine partner. You can see the saddle pad and get more information at "VaughtsGeneralStore.net."
Welcome
