NO Whips...NO Bits...NO Spurs...and NO Round Pen?!!!

I thought it was about time to update this page and my bio. So many things have changed in my horsemanship since I began this journey of learning and sharing. As it should be. I believe that there should be a constant evolution of progress in my own horsemanship. If there isn’t an ongoing evolution of learning, change and refinement, then I would be stale. If I am stale in my horsemanship, then I am cheating myself, but more importantly I am cheating my own horses. And in my heart, I have made a vow that I would never cheat my horses.

The Essential Backyard Horse Owner

Let me start by saying that I did not grow up on a ranch like most of the cowboy/clinician/NH types that are currently teaching clinics and hosting television shows. I am half Cuban/half Sicilian. I come from the beaches in Florida. A certified Cuban beach boy. I also grew up living in the housing projects of New York. Anyone familiar with the Bronx will know the projects on the corner of Gun Hill and White Plains Road. Not exactly a horseman’s boarding school, is it?

After leaving the military I lived in Oklahoma and Texas for a few years. I wanted so desperately to have a horse and be a ‘cowboy’. I used to buy Western Horseman Magazine every month and read it cover to cover until the next issue came out. All I wanted was a horse and a saddle. To tell the truth, now that I look back, I did not see much in the way of phenomenal horsemanship. I saw the same old cowboy mentality. I was never able to financially afford a horse adn saddle, but the passion remained in my heart.

My wife and her female friends, were the first to introduce me to natural horsemanship and a better way of being with horses. They were doing things ‘naturally’ long before it was the big rage. It was just the thing to do. Honestly, they taught me more about herd dynamics, herd behavior and horse psychology than anyone else. I wouldn’t have the foundation that I have now, if it wasn’t for Beth and all the ladies at the barn where they used to board their horses. This period was the first true learning experience for me when it came to being with horses.

Let me fast forward here a bit and cut to the chase…

My approach is this.....I am not a rancher or a cowboy. I am a "backyard horse owner" JUST LIKE YOU. I am just like 97% of the people who come to see me and who ride with me in my clinics. I try to share with them that this is not rocket science nor is it a secret or mystery. If I can get it and come this far in a short period of time, then I know you can too. I am looking for the backyard horse owners, because we come from the same place, with the same issues and same responsibilities at home other than horses.

I do not believe in the "one hour sack, saddle and lope" method of natural training being used by a lot of trainers. If this is the type of training you want for your horse, then please look for someone else to work with your horse...I am not interested.

A lot of trainers will spout off that "it takes the time it takes" but if you watch them closely and listen intently, you will see that they are striving for the "one hour sack, saddle and lope" goal. Up to about 40 years ago, a truly natural trainer would take a few days preparing the colt for that first saddling and first ride. Sometimes even taking weeks. With the advent of one day clinics/demos, weekend colt starting clinics, and symposiums, and round penning videos, we have forced the horse into accepting things faster and faster. Can it be done? Yes. Is it in the best 'long-term' interest of the horse? I am not so sure about that. Just because the horse accepts the saddle and licks his lips doesn't necessarily make it right. We, as a culture, have become so accustomed to the 'fast food' mentality, that we have applied this "microwave" mentality to horse training as well. It has now become the norm.

I choose to be different and put the horse's best interest FIRST.

I no longer believe in round penning. I haven’t round penned a horse in 3 years. I believe that the round pen is one of the most over-used and abused tools in horsemanship. There are horse trainers out there hanging out a shingle proclaiming to be “Round Pen Specialists”. The round pen has become too much of a crutch for a lot of horse owners. In that same vein, I don’t believe in lunging a horse online in endless mind-numbing circles. Just like round penning, it, too, has become a crutch for people.

“Training, Teaching, or Learning Together?”

In the last year, there has been a significant change in my personal philosophy of horsemanship.

I no longer take horses in for "training". I do not believe in "training" horses or "teaching" horses. I no longer believe in “training” or “teaching” humans. I now help the horse and human "LEARN TOGETHER" how to develop their relationship. I know, it sounds like a play on words, but it isn't. It is a heartfelt change in my philosophy.

Just a few short years ago while I was working in a lab at a local healthcare facility, I was drawing blood on an infant. The boy's mother and grandmother were there. I heard the grandmother singing softly to him in what I recognized as Lakota. (I am an avid student of Native American culture and history) Afterwards I struck up a conversation which led to a friendship. Phyllis would see the pictures of my horses in my lab and ask what it is that I do with horses. I began a very long explanation about what it is I do.

After 20 minutes, she flat out just asked me again, what it is that I was’ training’ the horses to do. I couldn’t figure out how to explain it to her any better. Well, a few weeks go by and she came in to see me at work. She asked again what it was that I was “training” the horse to do. Finally she stated this....

"Horses don't need you. Horses already know how to do everything that they need to do. With the exception of the first day, they can already, walk, trot, canter, gallop, stop, stand still, gait, go forward, back up, move their hindquarters, move their forequarters, side pass, sliding stop, piaffe, passage, round their backs, vertically flex, laterally flex, spin, etc. They were born with lightness in their bodies. So if they can do all of these things without you, what is it exactly that you are trying to 'train' them to do? You are both two beings trying to learn together how to communicate. You don’t know more than the horse and you never ever will. So stop trying to train and teach and begin learning together."

You could have knocked me over with a feather! In 30 seconds, she truly changed my horsemanship!

In the last year or so, my horsemanship has gone through a change. I no longer "train" horses...I no longer "teach" horses....I no longer "train" people...and I no longer "teach" people....I now help people "LEARN TOGETHER" with their horses. I know, it sounds cheesey like a play on words. But it is not. it is a heartfelt change in my philosophy.

Phyllis had not ridden a horse since she was a teenager ( she was 82 when I met her) yet she had this wonderful almost supernatural ability to be with animals and was a walking encyclopedia on the subject of horses. Sadly, Phyllis passed away in late February 2006. She never had the opportunity to watch me with horses and was never able to witness what a change she made inside of me. So I now dedicate my horsemanship to her Native American way of "learning together". What she taught me, made that much of an impact in my life with horses.

So if you see me at a clinic, horse fair, seminar or symposium and you should happen to notice a Native American pin on my shirt, or a feather on my horse, please note that it is not because I am a “wanna be” Native American. It is a heartfelt way of remembering someone who, in a very short time together, had a huge impact in my personal philosophy and horsemanship.

I have been striving to eliminate the words “training” and “teaching” from my vocabulary and replace them with the term “Learning Together”. While those terms have been used in my previous articles, web pages and message board postings, I refuse to go back and edit them. Why? Because I am hoping that others will visit my web page and by spending time here, realize the progression – the evolution – in my personal philosophy and horsemanship.