Sow's Ear Won't Make A Silk Purse

“You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”

My mother told me that years ago, and while I’ve tried on occasion (intentionally or unintentionally) to prove her wrong, my efforts always proved her right.
Every horse can do every movement of every exercise of every discipline!

That is a fact! While every horse can do everything, no horse does everything well…..proving, that if you want a silk purse, don’t start with a sow’s ear.

I’ve started with a lot of sow’s ears….for various reasons; bought her at an auction, she was cheap, she was pretty, needed another horse, looked athletic, was sure I could fix her problems.

But a sow’s ear is a sow’s ear; it is what it is.

Thank goodness; knowing that makes your horse choices so much easier.

What do you want? Do you want a silk purse, a race horse, a jumper, a dressage horse, a western pleasure horse, a roping horse, a trail horse, a driving horse, a hunter under saddle or a racking horse?

If you want a silk purse….start with silk.

If you want a race horse, start with one bred to be a race horse. If you want a western pleasure horse, start with one bred to be a western pleasure horse. Want a jumper? Start with a horse bred to be a jumper. You getting the idea.?

Today, there is a pedigree to suit every desire. Examine the pedigree. If the pedigree isn’t filled with the “discipline” you want to pursue, skip the horse. Keep looking until you find a horse with a pedigree that screams, “I’m bred to be the kind of silk purse you want.”

Okay, finding the right pedigree is a good start. Now you have to be sure the horse is “built to do the job.” It’s a funny thing about equine genetics (or genetics in general). Sire and dam don’t always reproduce their most desirable traits. And in some cases they don’t reproduce a foal with the conformation traits necessary to perform well at the discipline the sire and dam found so easy.

Start with “body type.” There is the draft horse, the sport horse, the endurance body type, the stock horse type, the hunter type, the dressage horse.

I don’t care what anyone says, or how many exceptions there are to disprove the rule: get the body type best suited to perform at the work and discipline you have in mind. If the pedigree says, “Yes,” and the body type says, “Yes” then you’re in excellent position to take the next step.

And the next step is “balance”. Balance is about the only conformation trait you’d like to see in any horse for any discipline. (The forehand, back and hindquarters are each just about 33 per cent of the total body.) After balance, you’ve got to start looking carefully at various proportions and angles—how long is the neck, how sloping the shoulder, how steep the croup, how short the cannons, how high the stifle, how low the hocks, how straight the hind leg, how are the front legs positioned, etc. etc.?

Looking at each part of the horse, you must determine how the conformation you see is going to affect the horse’s movement. Knowing how he’ll move, you can decide just how good his chances are of becoming the silk purse you seek.

Know this: start with the horse that has the best chance physically to be the kind of horse you want, and you’ve got about a 40 per cent chance of getting what you want.

Know this: the horse’s mind is going to control about 50 per cent of your success at getting a horse to perform at the level you want. A horse can have great conformation, great talent, great pedigree, but if he doesn’t have a great mind you’re going nowhere!

Know this: about 10 per cent of getting the silk purse you want so much is going to be in the training. Training is not rocket science, but it does take some knowledge and talent. The more of both, the better.

Just as you sought the silk for the purse, seek out a “purse maker”…not a “carpenter”. And if you are going to do it yourself, you better become an expert on silk purses.

Finally, hope for a freak. All champions are freaks; but that’s another story.

Wadds reveals secrets of winning in Competitive Longe Line Course

World Champion “longe line” trainer Gord Wadds, reveals his winning system step-by-step in the newest www.HorseCoursesOnline.com course: Competitive Longe Line Training.

One of the fastest growing competitions in the horse show world, Competitive Longe Line combines the elements of a conformation class with the disciplined movement of rail performance. Wadds’ expertise at “picking them, training them, and presenting them” has earned him the title “King of the Longe Lines” around show pens all over the nation and in Canada.

Competitive Longe Line covers: Choosing the Prospect; Pre-school; The First Training Session; Following the Game Plan; Moving Out of the Round Pen; At the Show. Students work with Wadds one-on-one by e-mail and will get his expert opinion as to how they are progressing when they submit videos for review.

Wadds reveals some of his “special” techniques in the new course. “It’s all about showing off the horse’s grace and athleticism at the walk, jog and lope,” he says with a knowing grin. “There are some tips and tricks to making it happen.”

The course can be taken for full college credit as an elective in the Breyer State University Bachelor of Science in Equine Studies degree program, or it can be used for credit in earning a Professional Certification as a horse trainer or riding instructor in the Equine Studies Institute program. For complete details on both programs, visit www.horsecoursesonline.com

Wadds says some of the most important concepts for students to master are the “perfect circle”, “the inside track”, “the how and when of the reverse” and show time “grooming.” To see a course description and outline visit: www.horsecoursesonline.com/index/index_longe_line_description.html

Students may start the course at any time and work at their own pace, and while a “yearling” is preferred, they may use any horse while mastering the techniques being taught. The course provides an excellent foundation for any horse which will go on to rail performance.

New online course can rev-up dressage scores

No matter how good you are now, you can always add ways to Rev-up Your Dressage Scores.

Tammy Fifer, www.horsecoursesonline.com dressage instructor, gets down to the nitty gritty with you about what judges are looking for, how they score, problems that cost you points and how you can correct them. Then she gives you tips from some of the “tops” in the field on how to “rev-up” those scores.

Students work one-on-one with Fifer by e-mail, getting answers to questions and help on how to tackle individual problems that crop up from seemingly nowhere. Five lessons in the course each have quizzes and assignments to help the students master the techniques for improvement.

Students can take the course and be awarded a “Certificate of Achievement” or participate in the www.horsecoursesonline.com Professional Certificate program or the Bachelor of Science in Equine Studies degree program.

Rev-up Your Dressage Scores lessons include: What Judges Want to See; Placement in the Ring; “How-to” of Straightness; Movement of the Horse; Common Faults and Fixes, Plus Top Rider Tips.

Students can start the course at anytime, work at their own pace, and there are no completion deadlines. Fifer will critique videos sent in by students (http://www.horsecoursesonline.com/videos/forehand_turn.html) and explain how to improve the exercise. www.horsecoursesonline.com offers 28 equine study courses and is the world’s leading provider of online equine curriculum for colleges and universities.

Emergency Equine Rescue Course Available

Horses fall into wells, pools and canyons, get legs stuck in low tree branches and can be trapped in barn fires and trailer accidents. If there is a way for a horse to become entrapped or injured, he’ll find it.

So, knowing what to do and how to do it may just save your horse’s life!

The best chance a horse has for survival is when someone who understands large animal rescue is there to help. And that someone may just be you.

Equine Safety and Rescue is www.HorseCoursesOnline.com’s newest equine study course. Michelle S. Staples, a horse safety specialist and author of Save Your Horse!—A Horse Owner’s Guide to Large Animal Rescue is the instructor for the seven-lesson course designed for any horse lover interested in being prepared for equine emergencies and learning to remove a horse from a life-threatening accident.

Equine Safety and Rescue teaches basic skills needed to ensure a horse gets the best and safest help possible, and examines in detail the two most dangerous areas – transporting horses in trailers and barn fires. In addition, the student will learn the correct protocol for dealing with emergency responders, most of whom will not have experience handling horses.

“It’s amazing how few fire fighters and police officers actually know how to handle a horse,” says Staples, “let along how to handle one that is entrapped and in need of emergency rescue.”

In addition to understanding what large animal rescue is and is not, the student will be prepared to interact with local emergency responders in an emergency and help them establish safe horse handling protocol.

Other lessons include safety at the scene of an accident, getting the horse out of trouble, barn fire safety, trailering safety and how to tie emergency harness and halters.

“It is unfortunate for horses that too few horse lovers actually know rescue procedures,” says Staples. “Students of Equine Safety and Rescue not only may save their horse’s life, but they can be instrumental in helping emergency responders gain the training they need to become effective and safe horse “life savers.”

For complete information on the course, visit www.horsecoursesonline.com and click on the course title: Equine Safety and Rescue.

Education Needs to Get Modern

The number one problem with our education system is that it is mandatory.

The idea of "no child left behind" is a major reason we don't get modern and improve our educational system, but continue to "dumb it down" to meet "traditional, old school" thinking.

Spending more money has never made our educational programs better, yet every year the government spends more and more, and the level of education goes down. We keep doing the same thing and expecting to get a different result.

We need to change traditional thought from "mandatory" education to "opportunity" education.

We need to spend less "forcing" education on those who will not accept it, and use the money to provide education to those who want it.

We need a system which says: every person, young and old, shall be given the opportunity to learn, to earn a high school diploma, to earn a college degree, or to take advanced studies.

We have thousands and thousands of very very smart young people. They need opportunity.

Any one who wants to go to school should have the opportunity...and we should spend money to see to it that that student gets the education he or she is willing to work to achieve. And let them choose what to study: There are at least 10 intelligences that we know of...communication skills and math are not the "only" measures of a person's abilities. Music is an intelligence, athletic ability is an intelligence, consider entrepenural and salesmanship skills. Give anyone who wants to follow his or her passion the opportunity...they don't need to know the multiplcation tables..they need to know where to find a calculator.

We have thousands and thousands of persons who don't want "schooling" and we should not be "forcing them into an educational system they don't want to be in".

If a kid doesn't want to go to school, get him or her out of the school. Eliminate the discipline problems, stop the learning disruptions caused by persons who don't want to be there. Allow teachers to work with the students who want to learn instead of spending a great portion of their time keeping students in the seats so the district can college average daily attendance funds.

And don't tell me we have to keep these students in school or they will be a burden on society...horse feathers...in most cases they'll end up being less of a burden because they'll find something they like to do and they'll do it...and very possible be extremely successful. If not, they won't be any more of a burden than they already are.

Do You Really Believe It"

If you believe some trainers’ claims they can sell you the secret to “tame and train” your horse in just six hours…..
If you believe the claim some trainers can cure 19 of your horse’s worst behavior problems in just 7 days….
If you think you can do with your horse what the horse expo clinicians are doing in their “show”…
If you think you can buy a secret “horse powder” which “cures” more diseases than any other known medicine…..then George Strait and I have some ocean front property in Arizona we’d love to sell you.
In fact if you believe one self-proclaimed trainer’s claim that he can teach you to train your horse not to “crib”, then we’ll throw in the Golden Gate Bridge free.
I can’t believe anyone would buy anything from these “magic bullet” sales pitches offered by people who haven’t proven they can train a horse to eat hay.
If they can teach you to train your horse to stop uncontrolled bucking, cribbing, biting and kicking in just six hours, or cure 19 of your horse’s worst problems in 7 days, why aren’t they so busy training horses that they don’t have time to waste your time?
Because they can’t!
They sell their “magic” to people who haven’t got a clue about horse behavior, health or training. Any horse lover with a horse that bites, kicks, engages in uncontrolled bucking and has 19 other behavior problems has more of a problem with herself than she has with her horse.
If you buy into any “instant” or miraculous” training of a horse, you need Bill Engvall to present you with one of his “signs.”
Horses’ responses are “instinct” or “habits made or in the making.”
You don’t train “instinct”, and it takes years to make the correct responses into habit. If you don’t believe that, why do you think “world champion horses” continue to be in training year after year?
All of the magic claims don’t surprise me now that I’ve had a chance to look over some survey results.
In an industry where “knowledge” is THE key factor, 75 per cent of those who consider themselves “professionals” have had no formal education relating to their “profession”.
This statistic doesn’t just apply to horse trainers…it applies, unfortunately, to riding instructors, stable managers, breeders and tack store sales personnel. Considering the survey report, it isn’t surprising that horse owners consistently report having “trouble finding a good trainer.” According to respondents, a “good trainer” is one who knows more about a horse than just training. A good trainer should know about nutrition, equipment, behavior modification, health and disease and stable management.
And respondents think a trainer that also gives lessons should have had some formal education in “how to teach.” The techniques of effective teaching don’t include standing in the center of the arena yelling, “Heels down, shoulder’s back.”
There is nothing wrong with the skills and talents of those who are winning at the highest levels of competition. Such horsemen and women are certainly professionals and they have the records to prove it. The problem is, there are so few of them.
Of the survey respondents, 75 per cent, including the professionals, want to have a horse business in one way or another, so they are trying to sell you something. Yet combined, 78 per cent of them have not participated in any kind of horse education program.
Eighty-two per cent of those who consider their horses a hobby have never participated in any kind of educational program involving horse health care, hoof care, equine nutrition, horse conformation or the legal aspects of owning a horse.
Before you buy, ask to see some education credentials…and if not education credentials then a proven record of success doing what he or she says he or she can do.
Don’t be embarrassed to ask; if you don’t stand up to the claims, you’ll fall for anything!

Do You Really Believe It"