Tech Tip Tuesday

Tech Tip Tuesday: The reins were not invented to help you balance and stay on.

Motivation Monday

Motivation Monday: Don't look back you're not going that way.

Fact Friday

Fact Friday: The word dressage originates from the french word, dresser, which means to train, period. With that being said I would like to remind everyone that good training is good training and that there are many paths that lead us to our ultimate goal of having a well trained horse that will never be "finished" but will continue to learn thoughout their entire lives. As riders we tend to think that our disipline or style of riding is the only way and tend to lose sight of the fact that we can learn valuable information from other riders. After all, every horse is created equal, but through selective breeding we have developed their movements to fit our riding style. The movements, functions and understanding of anatomy and mechinics is universal and will never be changed from horse to horse. As riders we can influence these but never change them, thus truely rendering our thoughts of one style of riding being better than another pointless, except only in our minds. A well trained horse and rider will always be able to compete with success, no matter the disipline or sport. Our horses do not care what style of riding we do, how we dress, or the amount of money we spent on our trailer, they just want to be treated fairly and with respect. Remember, as soon as we close our minds to learning, we are finished as riders.

Theory Thursday

Theory Thursday: Training horses is a peanut butter and jelly profession. Remember that your trainer has a barn/house payment, bills, and a family to provide for just like you. Be kind and pay them on time, they still have to feed and take care of your horse even if you don't pay on time, and that takes money that they need to pay their bills on time.

Wisdom Wednesday

Wisdom Wednesday: Swallowing a little pride will never give you indigestion.

Fact Friday

Fact Friday: Jealousy is the inability to appreciate what we have.

What People are saying

What people are saying about the Anti-Gimmick Clinic Series:
Mr. Kutie,
Thank you so much for letting me join your reining clinic in Nacogdoches. I enjoyed it and learned a lot. I loved the less is more---my Dad taught me that but my 4H group friends sometimes don't agree.
I showed last weekend and improved greatly over last year. I showed Green Horse 5 and under and got second---I beat out 4 adults! Yes! I also got 2nd in trail.
I love riding and hope to be as good as you one day. I saw you had a clinic in July on SHOT. I am hoping to get my parents to haul me. SHOT sounds fun. Thanks again.
Peyton Moore
(the 10 year old on the Dun)

Wisdom Wednesday

Wisdom Wednesday: When you start dreading the time you have to spend with a particular horse, he's the one in control of your relationship and it's not what I'd call a partnership. - Bob Avila

Motivation Monday

Motivation Monday: Every day above ground is a good day.

Getting The Most Out Of Your Riding Lesson

Question: I pay $50 per hour for my riding lesson, how do I get the most bang for my buck?
Answer: Most professional trainers are providing you with the opportunity to gain valuable information. However, it is your job to listen to what they have to say and implement that knowledge on your horse. Riding and training a horse does not come with an instrustion book detailing a program that will work with every horse.
ASK QUESTIONS: Be sure that when your trainer asks if you have any questions that you be honest with them. It is your hard earned money that has bought you the chance to ask a professional questions. If you don't completely understand what is being taught, ask them to explain in greater detail. The only dumb questions are the ones that you never ask. I always encourage my clients to ask questions and to question me when they are in doubt. I would rather take the time to go slow and make sure that they understand than to speed past something that I thought they understood, only to go back and keep fixing the same problem over and over. It wastes my time and their money.
BE ON TIME: Be respectful of your trainers time. Remember that this is his or her job and they may have other commitments that need to be taken care of after your lesson. When I was running a larger lesson program, I liked to have my customers at my facility early enough to have their horses tacked, warmed up, and ready to ride when the lesson began. If your lesson time is 1:00-2:00, try to be there half an hour early so that you can be ready to start at 1:00, and not 1:30. In my program, you will still be finished by 2:00, no matter what time we started and still pay for the whole hour. Remember, just because you are running late, it doesn't mean that the next lesson is.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK: Be sure to work on the homework that your trainer gives you so that you will be prepared for your next lesson. While at home, keep a small note pad in the barn. If you think of a question while riding on your own, you will have the pad close to write down your question, rather than trying to remember what you wanted to ask during your next lesson time. You might also be able to save some money and learn more by having a group lesson with some frends. Taking a lesson with friends will allow you to gain an extra set of eyes when you are at home training; they will have an understanding of what you are trying to accomplish. Having a friend or family member video during the lesson will provide you with the ability to review what you worked on during the lesson. Remember it is your job to get the most out of your lesson, only you know what you don't know.
As always... Ride Hard, Be Safe, and Have Fun. - Steve Kutie

Baby Lesson #5

Baby Lesson #5: The number on the side of the diaper box does not indicate the amount of baby poop that will be contained inside. For example, size one diapers WILL NOT, I REPEAT, WILL NOT hold 1 lb. of poop, pee or any combination of the previous mentioned. I'm betting, at best, they will only hold a few ounces which sometimes is not even close to the amount expelled from out little darling. Remember it is ALWAYS necessary to change the diaper after every use, no matter how large or small the mess, even if the odor is potent enough to peel paint from of the wall. Jax is a big supporter of this last statement, and so is his mom, believe me!.

Fact Friday

Fact Friday: Horsemanship is not something that "you do"; but a state of mind that "you do" from. - The Jeet Koon Do of Horsemanship

Theory Thursday

Theory Thursday: Average efforts don't always yield average results, sometimes they yield no results at all.

Tech Tip Tuesday

Tech Tip Tuesday: While riding, when your horses head comes up don't "pull" or "see-saw" your horse head back down think about squeezing or driving their head and neck back into the proper position with your legs. Your legs control the amount of drive your horse uses, not the amount of speed. A head and neck that comes up and out of position is usually the result of a lack of drive or impulsion. Forward is the key to fixing 99% of all training problems. Remember, use more leg and less hand to make you and your horse happier, train smarter not harder. - Steve Kutie

Anti-Gimmick Clinic, Nacagdoches, TX

I would like to thank everyone that attended the first Anti-Gimmick Training Clinic of the year, hosted by the SFA Horsemans Association at their super arena in Nacogdoches, TX(by the way it was a sold out clinic). It was a HUGE success that helped the great and hard working students on the SFA Ranch Horse Team afford to show and compete. I am super thankful that everyone worked so hard and was super interested in finding an easier way to train both horse and rider, and to Dr. Joe Gotti for making it all possible. The next Anti-Gimmick Training Clinic is scheduled for June 22-24, 2012. Contact me for details.