Natural Barefoot Hoof Trimming

This was the most amazing experience! I have been to a few RTTH's before, but none compare to this. There were 8000 attendees there. Before I forget the highlights, I'm going to write them down and share my experience.

First of all, this was a colt starting competition between Pat Parelli, Clinton Anderson and Chris Cox. It was called "Legends". And they were. All 3 amazing trainers with 3 different styles.   I, of course, and a big Parelli fan, but I have the utmost admiration for all 3 of these very talented men.    I was rooting for the Parelli team, mostly because I was so excited to see how he would "put the relationship first" and do things with a twist.

Day 1: Doors opened at 1:30, followed by 3 clinics. First clinic was Pat. He gave a fantastic demo with 5 students of the Parelli program. They showed their skills, played with their horses, rode their horses. Pat then instructed them to all spread out and circle their horses to the left. On "cue" (a "cue" we intentionally did not see in the audience....) all 5 horses went SHOOM....... GALLOPING to the outside of the arena at full speed with their giggling handlers and Pat still in the middle. They did several laps. Pat then instructed the students, one at a time, to get their horses. One at a time, each student caught the eye of their horse, and drew the horse to THEM, in the middle, out of the galloping herd, and away from their equine herd that continued to gallop away. It was awesome to watch.

Chris was next. Chris came out on a beautiful horse, cross dressed in english tack and western attire. His point was the correct riding and correct training does not hold to any one discipline. So true.

Clinton then came out and gave us a cutting demonstration. He had one calf, which he moved all around the around the arena with his cute little quarter horse. As the calf became more worried, he started to eyeball the cement arena railing. Clinton warned the audience that he's seen cows try to jump out before, and if he does, to just run for your life. Helpful information. He jokes that all of us who paid for box seating were probably regretting it right now...... Almost on cue, the calf attempts to jump into the audience! A gasp from both Clinton and the crowd and the flailing arms of the person in front of the calf keep him IN the arena, not out. That becomes the accepted method to keep him in from that point on, as he eyeballs the railing at least 10 more times. Clinton eventually starts to "cut" him into the center of the arena, at which point I breathe a sigh of relief, as we all know I have a deathly fear of stupid cows.

And we all have to applaud Clinton for keeping his horses barefoot and promoting barefoot.   

Day 1 ends with a shopping trip on my part, an attempt to go into the vendor tent (all other 8000 spectators also decided to go into the vendor tent, so needless to say you could not even move let alone shop that evening).

Day 2: The first thing I realize is that there are WAY more people here on day 2 than day 1. I have to park way in the back field and walk a half mile to the coliseum. Good thing I've been doing aerobics! I wonder if I'll even find my little car again in this vast field of automobiles. I hope for the best and worry about it later.

Once again all 3 clinicians do a clinic for us. Pat this time bring out 5 cattle and his 5 students to play with. I can tell we are all already fearing our lives again already. He shows the delicate balance of how to "follow" the calf and not drive it. He then does an amazing thing, and shows us how to "train" the calf to stay out of the herd. Using pressure and relief on the calf, he separates one from the herd. The more it searches for a safe place, ideally next to a barrel on the other side of the arena, the more Pat backs off. As the calf tried to return, he puts pressure on it to leave. The calf, in short time, with much less drama than the day before, decides it easier and safer to just stand by the barrel. Amazing.

Chris then brings out his little 2 year old daughter on her pony for his clinic. 2 years old and already in a horse show! He talks about starting kids out right on the right horse. Too true.

All 3 clinicians repeated over and over that they were here to teach horsemanship. They didn't care which program you followed, or which one you bought. Just follow one of them. I applaud that.

Then the horses came out! How fantastic to see 12 virtually wild quarter horses running wildly through the arena for the clinicians to pick them out. 2 stuck out to me: #2, a sorrel with a flaxen mane and tail and blaze, and a calm red roan. I knew both of these horses would get picked.

Pat chose first. He walked over to the herd, waited a second, looked, turned and walked back, and as he did, 12 horses lowered their heads and followed him. WOW. It gave you goosebumps to watch! And of course, it was no accident, he used "horse" language to draw them in. He chose #2.

Chris then chose the red road, whom shortly later would lay down and roll in the middle of the arena. Clearly he was comfortable!

Clinton, in true Clinton style, at his turn, ran toward the herd and yelled "heyaa!". They all ran, and he joked, I wanted to see if my horse was lame. But then explained he wanted an athletic horse and chose #11.

The games begin! From the start, Chris's horse become much MORE reactive than before, Pat's horse remains calm but it turns out can buck like the best of them, and Clinton's horse is very reactive and nearly untouchable for the first hour. They have 3 very difficult horses! Possibly the hardest 3 horses I've seen at this competition.

The most interesting thing I watched on Saturday was the different way these 3 men handled these 3 horses. All 3 started with he "driving" game and pushed their horses away. Clinton pushed the hardest, and it took the longest to get his horse to accept him. Chris also drove quite aggressively, but stopped much sooner than Clinton did. Possibly because the horse gave in sooner, or possibly because he was indeed less predatory? Pats horse gave in very quickly, and Pat didn't drive him hard at all. It was more like "shooed". The horse immediately got interested in him, and pat started drawing the horse toward him with 2 long sticks. A totally different approach, which I believe made the biggest difference in this horse's lack of fear for Pat for the next day and a half. He showed control, but did not induce fear. We did learn, though, that when Pat's horse did finally become overwhelmed, he does not run, he bucks, and consequently caught everyone, including Pat, off guard, and bucked Pat off. Pat blamed himself, and didn't miss a beat, took off the saddle, and got on again.

There was also fantastic entertainment with an incredible trainer in his own right, Thomas. He rode spanish horses, brideless, did rope tricks, you just have to see him to appreciate it. What well behaved horses!!

One of the coolest moments was when I realized that, as the clinicials did the "right" thing, released pressure, rewarded the horse, etc, the crowd would clap. How spectacular that 8000 people are now so educated in the "natural" training methods that they recognize the right moves almost as instantly as the trainers do them. What a great world for horses!

I manage to get in the vendor tent.

Day 2 ended with me looking for that little car. After searching the wrong parking lot in the pitch dark, I realize I was REALLY far out there. I get lucky, really, and walk right into it. I start it and get in line to pull out. I have no idea why I was in such a hurry, because I waited an hour in this exact spot.

One hour. To get out of the parking lot. I see many other people walk past me, over and over, and joke that they'll have to wait until all the cars are gone to find theirs. I know how they felt.

Day 3! This is the big day! I start by pulling in and realizing there are less cars today. I make a better mental note of where I am parked.

We jump right into training and bringing out the horses. The big thing everyone was wondering was how Pat would deal with his bronco. He explained that the horse bucked because of a few things: he felt trapped by the saddle, and was startled by things on his right side. Pat explained that he felt that buck coming just a second before it happened, he tried to jump off but it happened too fast. He then explained that his plan was to teach this horse to NOT buck for safety and to regain his confidence, but rather to slow back down. Every time the horse escalated to nearly a buck, Pat would divert him, stop him, and reassure him. He quickly taught the horse that you don't need to buck to feel comfortable, you can just stop. And it worked! In 10 minutes the horse realized it didn't have to get upset, it could stop, and it would feel better. Within 10 more minutes Pat was riding him again, cantering. Amazing, again.

Chris and Clinton had their own challenges, as both of their horses were very unconfident in their own rights. But they all got saddled, rode, and got the job done just in time for the obstacle course. I didn't watch them as much as Pat as hebwas in the corral in front of us. What I did see was that both their horses also kicked up their heels in protest to being saddled and ridden. Both trainers handled it well and kept their feet moving.

The obstacle course was a feat! 12 obstacles, jumps, poles, colors, a dragon..... I think MY horse would have been scared! They all did fantastic jobs, I'm still truly amazed that a horse with 3 hours of handling and training could even begin to do this. Kudos to ALL those trainers!

The highlights were Clinton's "freestyle" demo as he galloped around the arena, bridleless and cracking a Bull whip, Pat's horse cantering with NO BUCKS and then bouncing a giant green ball 12 feet in the air over his head, and Chris standing on his horse, jumping off and then "jumping" the obstacles himself as the horse wasn't ready for any extreme freestyle yet.

And of course, Chris Cox won! I can honestly say Pat Parelli did the best job, his experience and feel showed through the entire event. I think Chris Cox got more points for the course, as he did the jumps and obstacles faster, and of course, he certainly deserved to win because he did a fantastic job. I have no idea how those judges could pick between the two.

The day ended with me rushing out the car, which I found easily since it was still daylight this time, putting it in gear and getting in line, only to wait, you guessed it: one hour to get out. They need more driveways.

Welcome to the new Blog!  I'll post hoof tidbits for you from time to time as they pop into my head.   Enjoy!