The Clinton Anderson Walkabout Tour – South Point Casino June 12 and 13, 2010

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G’day and Welcome to Downunder Horsemanship with Clinton Anderson.  I attended the Clinton Anderson Walkabout Tour at the South Point Equestrian Center June 12 and 13.  Clinton Anderson Australian Horse Trainer and Clinician brought his method to Las Vegas, and showed us the partnership that can be formed between a rider and their horse. 

Clinton moved from Australia to the United States in 1997.  Clinton’s accomplishments include winning the Australian National Reining Futurity in 1997, and winning the Road to the Horse Colt Starting Challenge in 2003 and 2005.

Clinton apprenticed under Gordon McKinlay and Ian Francis in Australia, and started over six hundred horses.  In 1996 Clinton came to the United States to train and learn from Al Dunning who has won numerous American Quarter Horse Association World Championships.

The South Point was set up differently than when other horse events have been held there.  There were almost no vendors on the concourse, which meant there wasn’t mobs of people standing in the way to the arena and the event could be comfortably viewed from the concourse.

The arena was split one-third for Downunder Horsemanship merchandise and autograph booth, and the other two-thirds was arena with a round pen.  At least fifteen hundred people attended the clinic, which is a great turn out. 

The lights were dimmed when Clinton was working with a horse, with overhead track lighting providing focus on Clinton and the horse he was working with.  Clinton would talk to the horse’s owner to let the audience know why the horse was brought to him.  From there Clinton would work with the horse for about an hour and an half, depending on the horse and their needs.

Clinton has three main tools for working with a horse in the round pen.  The first tool is the halter.  Clinton’s halter of choice is a rope halter because it is more uncomfortable for the horse to lean on the halter when compared to a web halter, and it also helps teach the horse to give to pressure.  The second tool is a lead rope that is fourteen feet in length.  At that length you are able to do all the groundwork with your horse, and if you encounter a disrespectful horse you can still get out of their way.  The end of the rope is weighted allowing the rope to be twirled or thrown easily.  The rope is designed in a way that allows the slightest wiggle to cue your horse, as it travels from you to your horse.  The third and finally tool is a stick and a string, officially known as a Downunder Handy-Stick with String.  The stick and a string could be considered an extension of your arm, and a reinforcer of cues that you give your horse. 

Throughout the clinic Clinton would reinforce the importance of working safely around your horse, and gaining the horse’s respect.  When you are working with your horse you always want to have ‘two eyes,’ towards you rather than ‘two heels.’  Clinton talked throughout clinic explaining why he was doing something or what he was looking for in the horse.  Clinton explained what he would do with the horse if he was at home, and why he does what he does.  Clinton worked very well with the horses, and never raised his voice and remained calm.  Focusing on keeping the horse and helping them understand what he wanted.

Ground work is a very important element in getting respect in your horse; if they don’t respect you on the ground they won’t respect you in the saddle.  Clinton worked with the stick and the string to encourage the horse to move away from him.  He would start by pointing in the direction the horse was to go, clucking if the horse didn’t follow through, smacking the ground by the horse was the third step, and the fourth was to smack the horse on the butt.  And as Clinton pointed out, he wasn’t beating on the horse merely enforcing his previous requests.

Clinton also worked on getting the horse used to the lead rope being tossed around them, around their legs, head, neck, back.  A horse that is more used to these movements will less likely to over react in a similar situation. 

Clinton also talked about psychology, and how as a trainer and rider once you understand how the horse thinks you can improve your horse’s confidence and mutual respect towards you.

This was a great clinic for anyone who wanted to improve not only their skills as a Horseman, but their partnership with their horse.  Thank you Clinton Anderson for bringing his methods to Las Vegas.

Camera Wench
“Have Camera… Will Travel”

Save The Mustangs – The Time For Action Is Now

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Editors Note:  This email came from a concerned wild horse lover and friend in Minnesota.  She also owns a part Mustang and is very active in saving our wild horses.  Your help and support in saving these beautiful animals is desperately needed.  Mustangs may not be an ‘endangered species,’ yet but, it is only a matter of time.  Lets work together to stop that from happening, and save the mustangs.

I am sending this to EVERYONE on my email list. For those of you who are not aware of the plight of America’s wild horses, below is a very brief history and overview of what is going on. I recently had an amazing opportunity to see some of these horses in their wild state, and to actually walk among the bands. The plight of the wild horses has been close to my heart for many years, but never more so than now that I have actually touched some of these wonderful animals and spent time in their world. Also I have continually sought information about their history and what is currently happening to the herds.

I am asking you to write to your Congressmen, Senators, the President, other elected officials and any other prominent people. Tell anyone you can. Pass this along to those on you email list. OUR wild horses-yours and mine, are in jeopardy!

 WILD HORSES

True. Wild horses of America are not truly wild. They are feral. They were brought here by the Spaniards. These were fine Andalusian’s and Spanish Barbs. War horses for the conquistadors. (There were no horses here at that time; all of America’s horses had already become extinct in the ice age previously) Over time some of those horses got loose, were set free, stolen, etc and some started living free on their own. These free roaming horses became the foundation on which America was built. In almost ever aspect of the building of this fine country, the Mustang (as they became known) was a vital part. Over time only the hardiest of these horses survived on their own, meaning each generation became tougher, smarter and stronger. These horses were the ponies Native Americans used to hunt buffalo. They were used by the cowboys and vaqueros to herd cattle. They were used to pull stagecoaches across harsh lands. They WERE the Pony Express. Prospectors occasionally used them to haul equipment. The US Cavalry used them to breed with Thoroughbreds to raise faster, tougher remounts for their troops. Three different American horse breeds were created from them (American Quarter Horse, Appaloosa and American Paint Horse-in fact the renowned King Ranch of Texas used them to build the first Quarter Horses to help run their famous cattle ranch). They travelled this new land with explorers (it has been noted that the Lewis and Clark expedition had at least one Appaloosa colored horse with them and in that era, the only Appaloosa spotted horses in America were either Mustangs or Mustang offspring bred by the Nez Perce Indian tribe) They pulled carriages with families to church on Sundays and plowed in the fields next to the oxen during the week on settlers’ farms. They ARE America. The very heart of the heritage and freedom and ingenuity we all love in our country.  THIS should be reason enough to allow their descendants to roam free on OUR ranges. Certainly over hundreds of years their fine Spanish blood has been diluted by ranch horses intermingled with them along the way, but it has not been diminished. They are still the descendants of the horses who MADE America. Even more than the American Bald Eagle, the American Mustang is a symbol of this great country.

Now that I’ve given you reason that the “wild” horses deserve to have their freedom on public land, I will address any concerns for wildlife and wild land.  Unless a horse is confined to a small space where it does beat down a tiny area until no grass can grow, it is not a problem. By comparison, ranch cattle allowed to graze our public lands will overgraze one area, particularly around water holes until it is barren and nothing grows there. Mustangs move to a waterhole, drink there (not for too long, not milling in it or muddying it like herds of cattle are known to do). Then they move on, continually grazing as they continually move. Therefore, no one area is over grazed. As for their movements harming the land, I have seen deer trails that are as worn and beaten down as any horse trail. Also, their manure carries and redistributes plant seeds to replenish the land they live on. I watched bands of Mustangs come to water and move on. Not all of the bands use the same route, so they were not creating any “highway” through the land.  Also, horses eat different types of greens than deer and bighorn sheep and elk, etc. They have coexisted for hundreds of years along with wildlife. Ever since those first Spaniards’ horses got their first taste of freedom in America. At one time hundreds of thousands of wild horses lived in harmony with the wildlife. It has been man and his cattle and sheep herds that deplete the lands and take resources from the deer, elk, mountain goats AND the Mustangs. Ranchers are using OUR public land to graze their cattle for their own benefit and profit. What’s more, they are able to lease it at ridiculously low rates. Then in their greed to make a few more dollars off of OUR land, they campaign to have Americas’ wild horses removed and their numbers depleted to dangerously low amounts. In turn, the Bureau of Land Management, the very organization entrusted with the protection and management of the Mustangs, holds dangerous and sometimes deadly roundups by helicopter. (At the same time, wildlife organizations like the Forest Service also target the Mustangs for removal, claiming that because the horses are not truly wild, they do not belong on public lands and that they compete with the wildlife for grass, which I’ve already addressed as untrue) These roundups chase and terrorize the horses into running over many miles of rugged land until they are captured. Some horses are injured in these runs, some so badly they must be euthanized at the end.  (A recent roundup in Nevada-Calico Hills-resulted in approximately 39 horses dying or needing euthanasia due to the roundup conditions and many mares spontaneously aborting their foals) If this was not bad enough, those horses who do not find good homes in the BLM Adoption program (often older horses who have spent many years as free creatures) are then sent to permanent holding pens to live out the rest of their lives. What these holding pens amount to, are feedlots. Corrals too small to retain grass, with large numbers of horses grouped together. This is like prison to an innocent man. The horses will languish there imprisoned until their life ends. Stallions who were once kings of their domain, mares who used to move freely across the land, they will all stand and mill about in these small, bare lots that become their final home. At this time it is estimated that over 30,000 Mustangs are being held in these pens. That is more wild horses than exist in the wild. The BLM addresses any public opposition to rounding up so many wild horses by saying they are overpopulating the land and many are in danger of starving. I have heard some of these gatherings referred to as emergency roundups. That may occasionally be the case. However, I have walked among some of these bands (and seen photos of others) and they are doing quite well on their own, without our mismanagement. These are not poor starving creatures that we must save. They are beautiful, in their own way, each one exuding a sense of quiet pride. They do not receive a feeding of grain and hay, no stall to sleep in, no daily grooming. Yet, they do very well on their own. Their hooves are in good condition, and while some may show some ribs, none that I saw in several bands, looked in any way emaciated or in poor health. Nature has fine tuned these horses to live in harsh conditions, partly due to the fact that man has pushed them farther and farther into the back country of this nation.

While it may be ok for some amounts of ranch cattle to graze public lands, this should be managed in a better manner. The cattle and sheep ranchers should not be allowed to take control of such large amounts of public, wild land and water resources. Their numbers should be more closely monitored to protect the resources of these lands from damage and overuse and to ensure that the lands can provide for the wildlife, including Mustangs that make this land their home.

These horses belong on the American range lands much more than the ranchers’ cattle do and just as much as the elk, deer and other wildlife do. And, what’s more, they’ve EARNED the right to be there.***

Veleda

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