Curt Pate Comments

I feel that there are three main thoughts to always keep in mind. Safety is the first and most important, and then comes the enjoyment and fun factor, and then the improvement of your horsemanship skills.

All three of these things are related to the other, and there are so many things to consider, so many different opinions, and also so many different styles and disciplines to explore.

In the series of articles that I will be presenting, I would like to give you my opinions and thoughts on all three of these subjects. Remember, they are just my opinions and if they work for you and make sense to you they are yours for the taking. If you don't like them simply ignore them. It didn't cost you anything but a little time, anyway.

To me it seems that someone that teaches anything is simply a timesaver. So I hope to present

something to you that I have learned from other folks that you maybe wouldn't have the chance to learn from, and also to save you the time of making all the same mistakes that I have, and am still making.

So, with all that said, where do we start?

I think a good thing for all of us to do is to just stop and think for a little bit and decide what we want from our relationship with our horse or horses. I read a book that said our purpose in life is to be happy. That really made a lot of sense to me with the horse. I see a lot of people that don't seem to be happy with their horse. Maybe the horse is not performing properly, they are feeling very unsafe, or they just don't have any purpose in what they are doing.

So let's all take a little time to think about how we can get our relationships better with our horse, and figure out what it will take to get it and keep it good. If your time spent tells you that you are happy and having a lot of fun, be careful not to let me mess it up. Have fun and be safe.

The last time we talked, I asked that you take some time to think about what you want out of your relationship with your horse. I hope you took time to do that, and have taken some action to get it done.

For me it is to get as much done with my horse as my skills allow, no matter what the discipline, and not ruin my day or my horse's day in doing it. The more I study things, it really doesn't matter the discipline, a lot of the basics are the same. There may be some differences in the way you hold the reins or how you sit in the saddle, but really, so much of the physical stuff is the same.

The thing that I don't think people think about is the horse's attitude or how his day is going. I watch at horse fairs and performances, or in videos, and some of the clinicians shows, and even though the horses are performing some pretty amazing thins, they are really not having a good time. When I see horses pinning their ears and swishing their tails, and basically in a real bad-looking frame of mind, I just can't bring myself to feel good about it (especially when I am the one working the horse).

I know it id very difficult to never upset your horse or have him swish his tail or pin the ears. The important thing is to be aware of it and not ignore it. I really believe it would save so many problems that people have with their horses if they would start to make this the priority rather than performance the number one thing. Think of it as an employer/employee relationship. If the employer is a fair boss and tries to keep the employee's quality of life on the job in mind and tries to really treat him right by rewarding him for good performance, he can expect a lot and the employee will probably want to really do a good job and will be happy doing it. I think our horses can be the same way.

So in riding my horses I try to really pay attention to my horse's ears and listen for his tail. I try to ask my horse to do things he is capable of doing, and things I am capable of doing, and if the horse gets in a bad attitude I try to honestly figure out whose fault it is. If it's my fault for asking wrong or asking the horse to do something he is not capable of doing, or asking him to do something he is capable of doing too fast, then it's my fault and I need to change.

If I honestly thing my horse can do what was asked and was just sour or not want to try, then I well keep the pressure on or add a little pressure until the horse's attitude gets better. The thing I think so many of us miss is, even though the horse did the maneuver, such as turning the cow or whatever, if the horse didn't do it properly and had a bad attitude doing it, and we are satisfied with it, it will never get better and will probably be worse the next time, and the horse's attitude will surely stay bad and maybe get worse.

Once again, these are the things that are important to me in my horsemanship. You may have a completely different idea. I have not always felt this way and it may change again as I learn and hopefully progress in my horsemanship.

Have fun. Be safe.