Wisdom Wednesday

Wisdom Wednesday: Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.

Tech Tip Tuesday

Tech Tip Tuesday: Always be kind, courteous and helpful to other riders at a show, you never know when you might need a favor and they are the only ones that can help. Remember what they say about karma, do you really want to test this theory right before you go into the show pen? - Steve Kutie

Motivation Monday

Motivation Monday: Those who say it cannot be done, should not interupt the people doing it.

Shot Show Abilene Texas- Winners

Congrats to Team KPH at the SHOT Show in Abilene Texas this weekend. Buzz won the Junior Working Cowhorse and finished 4th in the Reining with Steve Kutie riding, owned by Roberta Johnston. And a big THANK YOU to everyone that helped on Sunday so that I could get everyone prepared and shown(had three horses in the All-Around). And a job well done to Roberta Johnston, Jennifer Steiner-Cooper, Rick Cooper, Cody Brown, Dana Brown and Shelly Jones Logan for all of the awards, Championships and All-Around Titles that were Won durning the past year.

Congratulations Janet Parker on your purchase of Big League Yankee

Congratulations to Janet Lee-Parker on her recent purchase of Big League Yankee earner of over $100k and FEI Bronze medalist in Reining. Look for them later this year in the show pen!

Fact Friday

Fact Friday: In a judged competition, the spectators are your jury. If you can get them to like your horse, chances are the judges will like him too. - Bob Avila

Theory Thursday

Theory Thursday: True words are not always pretty. Pretty words are not always true.

Wisdom Wednesday

Wisdom Wednesday: Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference. - Mark Twain

Tech Tip Tuesday

Tech Tip Tuesday: When I was a young up and coming trainer one of the greatest things I learned, was about what NOT to do, in business, training or life. Remember that most people are not looking to fail as a general rule and if someone has already been down that path and it didn't work, I will look for another path. A smart man learns from his mistakes, a wise man learns from the mistakes of others. None of us have enough time to make all of the mistakes and learn from them. - Steve Kutie

Bottle Boobies

Well today day was a sad day at the Kutie house, Charissa had to start back to work today and was pretty upset about having to leave her little baby at home with me and my mom. I can understand her concern for having to leave Jax under my total care, since I sometimes have some trouble keeping care of myself, but I think he will be able to survive since my mom did a pretty good job of raising me, although some might beg to differ do to how I turned out, but I guarantee the way I act is no reflection on her, she is a saint for having to deal with me for 39 years. So in order to be able to continue all of my intriguing posts and insightful information that I post I have come up with a system that will allow me to feed Jax, work on the computer, and act like Charissa, all at the same time. I have named my system Bottle Boobies ( I'm going to register the name as soon as I finish typing this), it is simple, effective and gives baby Jax the almost real momma boobies experience. I have figured out that if I hold him in my arm and tuck the bottle under my armpit, I don't have to hold the bottle with my hand, thus freeing up my hand for other jobs (keep it clean) with the bonus being that Jax thinks I'm a whole lot cooler, since he has always thought that my food producers were lacking. Brilliant! I just got a sweet idea that I'm going to work on that will be an improved basic version that will consist of a Bottle Boobie Bra, baby liners with nipples packaged with a slight loss of dignity. The deluxe version will contain double nip Bottle Boobie Bra, disposable liners, twice the amount of nipples, along with a Hulk Hogan mask to cover your face(No one will question the Hulk). The Xtreme version will contain a the double nip Bottle Boobie Bra, a lifetime supply of disposable liners and nipples, cowboy hat with two drink holders mounted on the side(one for the bottle of milk and one for a beverage of your choosing to help ease the humiliation), or the option of a camelback, supply lines, along with a Chuck Norris mask(Because if you laugh or question Chuck he will, well you know, Chuck you up). If things go well Bottle Bobbie Bra will be available in a store near you. You are welcome in advance for my time and work saving product and I will be glad to share your photos of the Bottle Bobbie Bra in action.

ASHA Winners; Marcy Blakley and Shelly Logan

Congrats to Shelly Logan for winning the Ltd. Non Pro Cowhorse and finishing 3rd. in the All-Around sunday at the ASHA in Denton as well Marcy Thrasher Blakely for winning the Novice Cowhorse and crushing everyone in the Reining as well as winning the Novice All-Around in her first ASHA show. Super job, and great job of staying focused, you ladies ROCK!!!!

Motivation Monday

Motivation Monday: Believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy. - Norman Vincent Peale

Babies and Anti-Gravity Matter?

I'm sure that most of you who have kids have had the unexplainable joy of having to clean up your sweet precious babies when they have, what we at the Kutie household call, a diaper blowout. Now I'm not just talking about the average run of the mill little baby dump, I'm talking about the kind of dump that explodes in their diaper and slightly shakes the house; the kind that covers themselves, as well as their clothes, along with anyone or anything that might be remotley close with a poopy slime that looks pretty similar to the green slime I remember them dumping over people that were unsuspecting on Nickelodian. Our little bundle of joy, Baby Jax, seems to have the ability to take a crap that not only fills the diaper, but also any clothing that he might be wearing and all the way up his hairy little back onto his neck. In additon, he has the ability to take a leak that must be like one of the fancy fountians in Vegas. You know the ones that shoot streams of water hundreds of feet in the air all cheorographed to music? It's like that, but minus the music. In the beginning, I just thought that he was sweaty due in part to the super warm weather that we have been having in North Texas for January, but turns out that it was just a frontal blow out that nearly hit him in the chin and soaked his KPH onesie. I guess my mom had been struggling with the blowout issue in her own way. When we went to change Jax's diaper one morning we found out that she, intending to or not, double diapered him. I guess this was an attempt to help contain the blow out? The last time we suffered a blow out, we had to resort to what I thought was only true in stories, or maybe an urban legend, and hose him off in the shower in an effort to remove a pretty heavy layer of baby poo just so we would be able to handle him, change clothes, and apply a new turd catcher. Maybe duct tape around the waist would work as a remedy. Either way, I've come to the conclusion that the laws of physics and the theory of gravity do not apply to babies, since they can squirt poo up their back while sitting straight up. I could understand if I carried him upside down by his feet and it ran down his back, but Charissa asked me to stop carrying him that way cause he was getting rug burns on his forehead (only because I'm low to the ground or vertically challanged, whichever you prefer). So do our sweet little alien babies possibly hold the key to Anti-Gravity? I just ask you to look at the facts.

Teaching Your Horse to Spin, it's EASIER Than You Think.

Question: I'm trying to figure out how to teach my horse to spin, what is the easiest way to get them started? I've been having trouble with them wanting to suck back and hop with their front end and not staying on their inside pivot foot.

Answer: I'm sure that everyone has seen a reining horse spinning like a top and thought "How did they teach them to do that"? To be truthful the spin is really simple and easy to teach if you follow a few simple steps. The spin is just a basic cross over step done multiple times. The first thing that we need to think is that the spin is a maneuver that has to be done with forward impulsion. The thought I have is that we are going to work on controlling the shoulders; I tend to not worry about the position of the hips or pivot foot, as it will tend to take care of itself as the horse learns to cross over and move their shoulders. I personally don't think a horse has to keep his inside pivot foot planted in one spot without picking it up. If a horse is driving forward and moving their shoulders correctly, I think that sometimes they need to reposition their foot. I by no means want a horse to be swapping ends and doing a belly spin. The key to teaching your horse to cross their outside leg over their inside leg is to keep the forward motion. Watch the outside shoulder leg and everytime it steps under your outside leg say "Step", As the horse's outside leg is under your outside leg it is in the perfect position to influence the next step, which will be a forward cross over step, with the horse's outside or right leg crossing over their inside left leg. By using this "Step" theory, we ask our horse to step over one step and then push them forward and back out onto a ten foot circle. We then just keep repeating the sequence of steps until our horse is willingly crossing over one step and then walking them out. Now we ask for two cross over steps and again push our horse out onto a ten foot circle. Keep repeating the sequence so that we will have our horse willingly spinning. The aids and positioning for the spin are the same as the aids we use while circling (see sidebar). Our outside leg is back by the rear cinch helping to drive the horse forward and holding their hips to the inside of the circle. Our inside leg is at the front girth holding the shape of our small circle. As you release your inside leg, it allows your horse to step over into the spin, rather than staying on the circle. Our outside rein is pressed against the horse's neck, NOT PULLED ACROSS THE CENTER LINE. Pulling the outside rein across the center of the horse's neck will cause them to tip their nose to the outside of the spin and drop their shoulder to the inside. Our inside rein will be slightly lifted to help position the horses nose to the inside of the spin. Remember this sequence will take some time and will not happen overnight or in a couple of days, be patient and focus on making small steps everyday, your horse will thank you.

SideBar: While we are walking our horse on a ten foot circle to the left, we need to have the horse's body following the shape of the circle, our outside leg is driving our horse forward while your inside leg is maintaining the position of our horses ribs by keeping the arc of the circle and not letting them drop their shoulder into the circle. As we continue to drive our horse forward we turn our upper body slightly toward the inside of the circle as if we have eyes on our chest, this will naturally help to put our bodies in the correct position.

As always; Ride Hard, Be Safe and Have Fun. - Steve Kutie

Fact Friday

Fact Friday: Green(horse) + Green(Rider)= Black and Blue.

Feature Sponsor: Jerry Shaw Custom Saddles

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Theory Thursday

Theory Thursday: It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it. If you think about that , you'll do things differently. - Warren Bufett

Wisdom Wednesday

Wisdom Wednesday: Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into sitiations where you need it. - Doug Larson

Tech Tip Tuesday

Tech Tip Tuesday: The hardest part of making a good buy is having the patience to wait until it comes along. - Bob Avila

Motivation Monday

Motivation Monday: Everything you want is on the other side of fear.

Is it me or my Horse?

Just like in any relationship, communication is essential to the success of you and your horse. The simple straight truth is that 95% of most horse problems are truely people problems. It may be the rider's or handler's lack of understanding of their inability to clearly convey their wishes to the horse. If you are willing to take the time to listen to what the horse is trying to tell you, most of the training problems that we encounter on a daily basis will begin to take care of themselves. From the moment we head to the barn in the morning to feed, to the moment we decide to call it a day, we are teaching them habits. So it is up to you to decide if those habits will be good or bad.
If you are encountering the same problem with your horse on a daily basis, don't keep doing what you are doing. You are doomed to get the same results. One of the easiest but often overlooked tools almost everyone has in their household is a video camera. Whether you have an actual video recorder, or a phone with a built in video or even an Ipod, most riders have the ability to record their ride. OK, so you'll need a friend, or enemy, to operate it. Nevertheless, I would encourage you to have someone tape you working with your horse. Video will not lie. You will be able to watch the tape repeatedly to see what is really happening. Use the video to improve and refine your training techniques. An added bonus of recording your ride is if you can't seem to fix the issue or accomplish a task, you can take the tape/video to a local professional trainer to see if they can give you some tips on correcting the problem.
"My horse won't" is a clue that there is a communication issue between rider and the horse. Usually the horse has reached the point that he is literally "screaming" at the rider. When you find yourself saying, "My horse won't," first, make sure it isn't a physical problem. Ask yourself, is my horse sound, ringing his tail, acting iritated, tossing his head? These are all signs that your horse is trying to tell you something is hurting or bothering him. Your horse my be achy or tired just like you are in the morning after a hard workout. Or he may have something more serious going on in his hocks or back, or he may be simply acting disobedient. You need to be observant of what he is trying to tell you. If you don't listen and force the issue, I guarantee you will end up getting into an arguement. A few easy days of riding over a horses life will not ruin his career, but ignoring the signs that a horse is sore and hurting can turn that injury into a career ender.
Horses are not machines. They need time to relax, recover after a hard ride, or just spend some time being a horse. They also have good and bad days, as well as get sore and tired. Just because you are feeling great and want to work on stopping or lead changes or half passes, your horse might not be 100% on that day. Ride with a mental checklist of what you are looking to accomplish on that ride for that day, start your warm up and see if your horse is working like your partner. Once warmed up then start your exercise and work on your problems areas. Accept small improvements and move to the next skill. Don't drill and drill and drill and drill. When he does something well, reward him with a break.
Like any athlete, don't forget to cool your horse down before dismounting. This may be accomplished by walking around the ring on a loose rein or take him for a walk around the property or down a trail. This will give his muscles a chance to stretch and cool down. Remember horse are flesh and bone with feelings. Treat them with respect, listen to their needs, and they will always try to please you.
As always; Ride Hard, Be Safe and Have Fun. - Steve Kutie

Fact Friday

Fact Friday: Training horses is a game of patience. - Steve Kutie

Theory Thursday

Theory Thursday: When you possess a goal, you're the one who's responsible for it, no one else can reach it for you, or step in to do your learning for you. You are the one in charge. - Bob Avila

Wisdom Wednesday

Wisdom Wednesday: Always start wih the hardest thing first; And always finish the training session on a good note.

Tech Tip Tuesday

Tech Tip Tuesday: Training horses is like a jat of jalapenos.... What you do now could burn you in the a$$ later.

Motivation Monday

Motivation Monday: Great minds have purpose; others have wishes. - Washington Earving

The Circle of Life

Sometimes the circle of life can poke you in the eye with its fickle finger. I have worked pretty hard the past few years of my life to keep from peeing in my pants, and have done a pretty good job, if I might add. There was that one time before my class at the Congress, but I will keep that for another story. It seems that when I was a baby, I did my fair share of wetting diapers, or so I'm told. I SLOWLY progressed into hosing down various items along the way, so much that my mom was thinking that I was going to turn out to be a fire fighter instead of a horse trainer. Now I'm entering a new chapter in my life when I get to experience the pure joy and pleasure of the warm wet feeling running down my leg, knowing that it is not me, generally. It looks like over the last couple of days I have been able to bring out the best in Jax, kinda like a fire hydrant to a dog. Everytime I get the pleasure to hold him, he acts as if we are two little kids in the mens room sword fighting with streams of liquid steel. Now some of the ladies might not understand this right of passage, but I'm sure if you ask your husbands or boyfriends they will be able to back-up my story. It's just how we are programmed. Sooo, yesterday, not once but twice, I got to change my clothes due to being hit by the elusive pee bug sniper. It was a direct gut shot, taking out my sweat shirt, tee shirt, jeans and my underoos. Nothing looks more manly than standing up and looking like I need an endorsement deal with Depends, but such is life. The whole circle of life is ringing true in my mind, I peed on my mom, Jax has peed on me, and I'm sure in a few years my mom will return the favor, as I'm changing her diaper. Therefore, I just need to cheer up and remember that I will have sweet revenge over the pee bug sniper in the end. Hakuna Matata

Fact Friday

Fact Friday: Your horse ask me to tell you; After you fix him, leave him alone and stop picking at him. Oh, and to stop babysitting him, and let him do his job. He also said, thanks. :)

Theory Thursday

Theory Thursday: Weakness of attitude, becomes weakness of character. - Albert Einstein

Wisdom Wednesday

Wisdom Wednesday: My horse teaches me everything that I need to know about myself.

Tech Tip Tuesday:

Tech Tip Tuesday: Your horse can only be as brave as you are.