A note from Brenda regarding her training experience with Kerry Kuhn last weekend.
The two hours I spent training with Kerry Kuhn last weekend were the BEST investment I have made in all my years of horse ownership. I took my new horse, Doc, to the Best of America by Horseback ride at Midwest Trail Ride in Indiana. It was a 5 ½ hour drive, but every minute was worth it for the help I got from Kerry. Doc was a balker/jumper at water crossings. I have only had him a few weeks and was already terrified every time I approached a water crossing because of the huge jumps he had taken in the past. Luckily the ride was delayed Saturday morning due to rain, so I used the extra time to do a training session with Kerry. There were plenty of puddles around, so we started with those. At first I couldn’t get Doc near the water, he would just veer off to the side and go around, so Kerry ended up standing on one side of the puddle and my friend Beth stood on the other side. It’s funny how motivated you can become to keep your horse straight when people you like could get run over if you don’t. So with the help of my spurs I started to at least get him across, but he was hurrying or jumping every time. Next we worked on getting him to walk through and stay relaxed. Every time he hurried through I would immediately turn him on his hindquarters 180 degrees and go right back through. If he went through nicely I’d let him rest on the other side. Eventually he figured out which way was easier. We moved from that to more of a ditch and basically started over and eventually got the same result. At that point it was time for the trail ride. I still wasn’t completely convinced that Doc was reformed, so I offered to let Kerry risk his neck on the trail that morning. For some reason he agreed to do it, and he worked Doc through creeks and muddy areas on the trail. I took Doc out later and couldn’t believe the difference. We even walked in deep water down a large creek! Kerry taught me just like he wants me to teach Doc, calmly and assertively. I know now that if I use that same approach with each new thing I teach Doc, that I will be successful. I have done much longer clinics with everyone from Brenda Imus to Clinton Anderson and they were great, but my short time with Kerry Kuhn did more for my confidence than any other training has ever done. I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute to recommend a clinic with Kerry to anyone.
