Paul will introduce the art of feel through a collection of global concepts in horsemanship applied to real world problem solving. The skills will be demonstrated by directly helping troubled horses and owners with common issues and vices, i.e. hard to catch horses, leading and pullback problems, trailering issues, bridling and bitting, saddling, mounting, lead changes, collection braces, refusing jumps or water crossing bridges and dealing with other obstacles one might encounter, spookiness, rearing bucking, kicking/striking, feet issues such as being hard to trim or shoe, impulsion, and barn sour issues.
Colt Starting/Problem Solving Class: Introduction to the Art Feel
This class will teach you about catching horses in a way that is fitting for the horse, introduction to haltering and leading with class, building your horses confidence in you by helping them deal with objects or situations that activate the self-preservation instinct. You will cover saddling, bridling, and riding; learning to read when a horse is ready mentally and emotionally for this step. The participants will also learn to deal with common behavior issues that stem from a communication gap between horse and human, i.e. spooky/pull back horses, hard to bridle, hard to trim or shoe, pushing through the leg or bridle, refusing jumps or water crossing and other obstacles, spooky barn sour, trailer loading, striking/kicking, biting, rearing, and bucking.
Ranch Roping and Cow Working Class
This class introduces the horse and rider to a style of roping and handling cattle that will benefit all disciplines of horsemanship. This clinic covers everything from doctoring cattle on the ranch, gathering and shipping large herds of cattle that have not been handled by horses, arena roping, fixing hot horses, box problems, rating cattle, working cow horse and cutting horse foundations, penning and sorting, learning to read, sort and drive cattle getting a better cow handle on a horse. Slick horn or rubber, 30' ropes or 60' this class is a mixture of vaquero style big loop roping and arena timed event styles.
Intermediate Horsemanship: Understanding the Art of Feel
Paul will be introducing the art of feel through the sense of touch. This art involves moving the horses feet with your hands, with the lead rope, snaffle connection down to the feet and through the mind. The collection and straightness of a horse is a state of mind. They have to be soft, collected, and straight mentally before it can be transferred to the feet. Lead changes and flying changes are introduced in a herd setting, thus imitating the natural impulsion and freeness of flying changes in a natural setting. You will learn to create a state of mind within the horse where they would rather be with you than anywhere else, creating a herd of two.
Uniting four hooves and two minds
Advanced Horsemanship Class: Living Through the Art of Feel
Paul will guide the participants in creating an environment where the horse would rather be with you than anywhere else. Collection and straightness is a state of mind, if the horse is not soft and connected to the rider on the inside, then it is hard to direct the horses feet in a way that is fluid and forward to accomplish the common tasks we ask of them. The class will cover lead changes, flying changes, jumping, collection, and straightness in a performance setting. Riders will learn the importance and connecting the rein to the feet and being able to direct and influence the hind quarters of the horse. Riders will learn how to achieve straightness through balance and flexion laterally by eliminating braces in the horses body. Learn to take the softness from the corners of the horses mouth and transfer that the entire length of the body, down to the feet and through the mind. Learn to develop your sixth sense and intertwine it with your horses, by riding them as fast as they can run, thus developing confidence in your horse and their confidence in you. Riders will also experience riding blind folded in a controlled environment to develop trust in your horse; this simulates riding in the darkness or through bad storms in the mountains where visibility is poor. Become able to ride in a horse race and feel comfortable and at complete ease, ride like the wind. If your horse knows that you know you can ride him at any speed with mutual confidence your relationship with your horse will be better than you can possibly imagine.
