A note from Brenda

Brenda wrote the following....
CLINIC JUNKIES

It has been a whirlwind of lessons and clinics this spring for Doc and I and Beth and Rio. I am starting to feel a little like a clinic junky. I am also starting to wonder why I feel the need to go to so many clinics. I am by no means an expert at riding, but it seems like once you get to a certain point (you’ve read all the books and magazines, you’ve been to several natural horsemanship clinics, you’ve watched every show on RFD-TV, you’ve surfed the net for all things horse related, etc) basic clinics may no longer suit your needs; especially when they cost hundreds of dollars and involve travel and time away from your family.

Our first big outing this spring was Equine Affaire. It was my first year taking Doc, and I was really looking forward to it. Beth and Carla had their horses there, and it’s always fun whether or not you take a horse. That being said, next year I’ll probably go without my horse.

My first clinic was with Barbra Schulte. She talked basically about centered riding concepts (which I was already familiar with from taking lessons from a centered riding instructor). Having those concepts reinforced would have been fine if we had also been riding while she was talking. Most of the clinic (except for 2 times up and back the arena) we were just sitting on our horses doing nothing. I could have saved my $75 and just sat in the crowd.

My second clinic was Tommy Garland’s obstacle clinic. I was very excited about this one, because Doc sometimes leaps creeks (which I told Tommy about in my application video). Unfortunately, there was no water obstacle. Instead there was a bridge, ball and ground poles. Doc did all of those in the first minute. So, basically I watched Tommy work with the other horse and rider in the clinic. Once again I could have saved $75 and watched from the crowd.

My third clinic was with Julie Goodnight. This was definitely the best one. She helped me keep Doc in a trot without nagging him (by swatting him on the rear end if he slowed down unauthorized). The better part of that clinic for me was when she stepped outside the planned presentation and helped me with Doc’s horse aggression. He pins his ears and will kick if another horse get right up behind him. She told me not to let him socialize in any way (good or bad) while I’m handling him. She also said to work him HARD if he actually did get aggressive with another horse. Another tip was to turn his nose towards a horse he is seriously threatening which will turn his hip (and his kickers) away.

Our next clinic outing was to Smoke Rise Ranch with some girlfriends to do some cutting practice. This was FUN. It was fun because it is completely different from what we normally do, it didn’t cost a fortune, and I didn’t go in expecting miracles. I still learned some things along the way, and I am looking forward to doing it again soon!

The latest clinic (this past weekend) was a two day Julie Goodnight clinic near Youngstown, OH. I had high hopes for this one since I liked Julie so much at EA. I have to say I was a little disappointed. There were 14 pretty quiet horses and very nice riders. The first morning Julie talked to everyone for about 1 ½ hours about horse behavior and our goals for the weekend. Already it was heading in the wrong direction for me – I live to ride (just like the song says). Then we got our horses out for ground work. We spent a couple of HOURS on having our horses stand still (which is Doc’s favorite gait) and leading them around (not a problem for us). Finally we rode after lunch, but it was basic skills review. The other problem was that she didn’t have a microphone and it was hard to hear at times (one of my pet peeves). The next day was more of the same – half day of ground work, which she never made anyone get perfect (Clinton would have been appalled). It turned out to be more of her presenting general concepts (saying that you could learn more about them if you bought her videos) and not enough individual evaluation and help. I can’t say that I learned anything new.

So, the lesson in the end for me is not to take non-specific clinics. I’d rather save the hundreds of dollars that clinics cost and use it for private lessons where I know I’ll get feedback and be able to work on the things I need to improve. I would still recommend any of these clinics to a beginning rider, but not a confident rider who already understands basic horsemanship.

Happy Trails,
Brenda & Doc