my first coaching case - buckarri & belinda

See this horse….this horse is my “Case #1” - the this first horse I ever coached another person to train!

If it wasn’t for this horse I would not be typing this post, I would not coach people to train horses, not travel around the country giving clinics or have created a lot of courses or written books to help people.  Training horses was a personal hobby that I did for my own enjoyment and fun.  I had zero intention of ever doing what I do today!

This is Buckarri and he is owned by one of my dearest friends - Belinda.  When Buckarri was a young horse he struggled to canter.  He would explode into canter and could not maintain it.  One day I went and caught up with Belinda and watch her riding lesson with a local coach.  I watch the coach ride Buckarri and shut him down trying to pressure him to canter and to keep cantering. It was distressing to witness a horse shut down and to see Belinda devastated by what had just happened to her beloved horse.

It was the first time I worked out I could clearly see the WHY behind a horse’s behaviour…and sheer human ignorance about how horse’s learn and behave….and how a horse needed to be helped.  Buckarri was experiencing unrelenting pressure and was confused.

I caught up with Belinda a few days later and we taught Buckarri to maintain forward in all gaits and to canter in 30 minutes.  It was simple.  Separation of cues, careful escalation of pressure and well timed releases of pressure.  Starting simple on a loose rein and progressing only when Buckarri showed he understood.  Buckarri learning was rapid.

It felt good to help a dear friend and a beautiful horse. I kept coaching Belinda and Buckarri and then I started helping other friends…

So, enjoy this beautiful horse and his beautiful canter…and if you have a horse that cannot canter or is struggling to do anything…have hope!  

And maybe just maybe if you have been struggling with the problem for a while you might need a new approach!