Ride Every Stride | Horsemanship And Personal Growth With Van Hargis

As some of you may know by now, I spent some time in New Zealand. While I was there I was fortunate enough to have Laurey McVicar take me under his wing. We worked side by side and I learned a great deal from him through our friendship. One such lesson came when we went to Lester Higgins’ ranch to help round up some cattle. We were pretty much just along for the ride with our dogs doing a good bit of the work. But as we got up to the pens I noticed many of the boards weren’t in good shape. Lo and behold, some of the cattle started pressing up on them and escaping one by one. Each time I yelled that some had gotten out Laurey told me, “Don’t worry mate, she’ll be alright.” Well, after about the sixth time of me shouting out Laurey finally said, “She’ll be alright, mate. She can’t get off the island.” While this cracked me up at the time, it also taught me that sometimes the right way to do things goes out the window. When that happens you need to focus on the job at hand, keep a positive attitude, and work wit

When I was much younger my sole aspiration was to become a calf roper. The absolute best one I could be. At the end of the day, I’d go practice flanking and tying calves, well, really legging them since I was so young. And one of my heroes at the time was Ernie Taylor, a full rodeo champion. I remember one day he stopped by our arena and I got the idea to go and impress him. I tried tying the calves as fast as I could. Which, of course, meant I was making plenty of mistakes. After a while, Ernie turned to me and said, “Van, I think you need to slow down to be fast.” I applied that advice to my roping and got much better. With even more time I came to realize this is one of the best lessons I ever learned in my horsemanship, or my life at large. Key takeaways I’d like to go ahead and say running around trying to impress people isn’t a great use of your time. When you look at someone and see where they are at in their journey it can make you want to perform on their level to gain their respect. But that’s j

Many of the questions I get from people can be traced back to a common issue: developing a horse’s responsiveness and respect. Again, I’ll be using a quote I first heard while living in New Zealand. I was working with a horse and ended up pulling on them too hard and ended up apologizing. Right then I was told, “Firm hands make a light horse.” Jerking and being abrupt isn’t going to get you much of anywhere. This episode goes into establishing respect through steady and consistent direction.

Everyone has a tying your horse up story. I’ve heard quite a few recently through online conversations I’ve been having with folks, and some people have claimed things that I’m not sure I totally agree with. So, in this episode, I’ll be setting the record straight with where I stand on the topic. And for starters, we’ll dive right into what I see as being the biggest mistake people make when tying up their young horse: trying to tie up your horse before they’re halter broke. Key Takeaways If you have to pull and tug on the rope then chances are your horse isn’t halter broke. Just because the halter is on your horse and they are dragging a lead rope around doesn’t mean they’re good to go. Being correctly trained should have your horse respecting the lead rope and halter. You should be able to control their body, and to an extent, their attitude. Something I’ve heard before is training your horse to stay tied by roping them off to some deserted post in a field and leaving them there. Remember, the release of

I get asked frequently why someone's horse does or doesn’t do something. I usually have to answer this the same way every time: “Well, it depends.” You see, the only absolute here is that there are no absolutes. So here come in a few keywords that are central to horsemanship. They are forgiveness; gratitude; confidence; courage; and faith. These things all play into the one thing you have full control over - your own thoughts. Working on these aspects of your horsemanship strengthens the bond between rider and horse and allows both to grow in a positive direction. Key Takeaways We need to be forgiving of our horses, and in many cases, our past as well. I find that many riders at my clinics are just getting back into riding. So many of them all cite having a bad experience with a horse when they were younger. The same goes for traumatic life events in their past. But until you let go of what’s holding you back you won't be able to truly enjoy yourself. Of course getting bucked off a horse hurts. Pain isn’t fun

Sometimes we can find ourselves either overwhelmed or underwhelmed with information and what to do with it. There’s so much advice available to us at the tips of our fingers that it’s easy to absorb lessons that don’t quite work for us. Or maybe there’s so much out there we shut down and stop ourselves from being receptive to good information. This can lead to boredom. Doing the same old routine day in, day out. It can get to the point where you might just want to sell your horse and pick up a fishing rod instead. But there is a way out of these kinds of ruts, and that way is to eat. Take in something new, learn more, and put some new fuel in your tank, so to speak. This episode is dedicated to giving you a few steps to help you grow in your horsemanship. You have to take stuff in to make progress, you have to EAT. Key Takeaways Taking it in. If you feel yourself stuck go find something new to stimulate some excitement. That could be reading some articles online, or watching some videos. They don’t even have

This week I’m using a little acronym to explore the different ways we go about charting our path through horsemanship, and life in general: MAP. Each letter addresses an aspect of one’s attitude. They can be used to self-reflect on where you are in your journey with your horse. Using them to see where you are, accept where you are, and see where you want to go can help you avoid wandering around aimlessly. Basically, they are a three step program to finding your way to better horsemanship. Key Takeaways You must accept where you are in your horsemanship. Think of it like looking at a large map. You need to find the big red X that says “You Are Here.” This comes down to being aware and being honest with yourself about your abilities and knowledge. Otherwise, you will have no idea what direction to go in. And it’s okay if you don’t know what you don’t know. But you have to recognize that, faking things won’t get you anywhere. Accepting where you’re at doesn’t need to be a judgment of your value. Where you are c

Laura and I explore a large intersection with horsemanship and humanship in this episode. It ties in with the idea of “New Year Resolutions.” You know, those things people talk about every January about how they will go to the gym more, or start eating healthy. But the main point of these resolutions is to drive you closer to one thing: success. Success is a difficult thing to talk about in some regards because success means different things to different people. Success for some might be meeting certain monetary goals. Others might define it as simply being happier. While I’ve had fun chasing belts and saddles and titles, success for me now is getting to help someone. Nothing makes me feel more accomplished than when I bridge a gap between a horse and human understanding. We’re laying out how to set up a path for you and your horse to be successful this year. In other words: set it up to be successful.   Key Takeaways The first step to success is figuring out what you want. I always tell people to ask themsel

I hope you and your horses have had an excellent start to the new year. The holidays are behind us and I’m excited about what 2017 has in store for us. We’re going to start this year off by visiting a topic we’ve touched on before. I got a message from a listener through the website, asking about a horse that was very eager and impatient. This made me chuckle a bit, as Laura has heard me use this episode’s quote a time or two before. “Every good horse anticipates, but every great horse waits.” Every now and then I’m approached by someone who wants to hike up their jeans a bit and brag about their horse. They’ll say things like, “Well Van, my horse is so great he does what I want before I even ask him to do it.” While they may seem all well and good on the surface, what it shows me is that the horse has an anticipation problem. Take mounting a horse for instance. You go through the whole routine of stretching your jeans, putting your hands on the horse, and if you’ve been humbled like me, using a mounting bloc

This week’s episode focuses on a topic some might find to be controversial. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that we ask a lot of the horses we ride. Often times you’ll hear trainers yell to “bend” that horse or “flex” them. I had the opportunity to work alongside Jack Brainard years ago, who is a personal hero of mine. At one point I was telling some folks to bend their horse and flex them, and I caught a prying glance from Jack. I asked him if I’d done something wrong, but he said no, and that we’d talk about it later. Well, at supper that night Jack asked me why it is we bend and flex our horses. Of course, I gave all the typical responses, about how it keeps the horse more supple and softer in the face. But that’s not Jack wanted to know. When he pried deeper into the why he told me this, and at the time it went over my head, but I’m going to share with you depth behind his reasoning: We bend ‘em to keep ‘em straight. Key Takeaways The long-term goal of bending and flexing your horse is to keep them balanc

Anyone who has gone to any of my horse expos knows I love to reference my personal heroes while I work. It’s because I’ve learned a great deal from these horsemen, and some of their wisdom has taken a lot of time for me to digest and understand properly. This week’s episode revolves around an encounter I had years ago with one of my heroes, Ray Hunt, and the lesson he taught me. After unexpectedly helping out at one of Ray’s expos he invited me over for supper that night. It was a quiet meal of the most part, and I felt just a little disappointed that we didn’t strike up an in-depth conversation. But at some point, Ray took a bite of steak and pointed his fork at me. He said, “You know Van, the horse is always right.” This brought to my mind the old cliche of “the customer is always right”. But Ray went on to explain just a little bit more. He said the horse is always right because he’s doing what comes natural to him, or he’s doing what he thinks you want him to do. Either way, the horse is always right. I h

In this week’s episode, I’m going to tell a bit of a tale. It’s got a little humor in it and bit of negativity too. Not to mention a snow storm, a hot tub, and some toilet paper. But the point of this story revolves around attitude. Many times people overlook how to turn a negative or awkward situation into a positive experience. It’s okay to find humor in unexpected situations. Oftentimes circumstances and people are well beyond our control and influence. What we can change is how we react to situations--how we adjust our attitude and choose to view the experiences we have. When you practice being in the moment and have worked to set your horse up for the best possible chance for success, it’s time to enjoy the ride--not worry about everything that could possibly go wrong. Environment You can’t control your environment in most cases. I once attended an event where a woman asked that everyone back away from the arena rail before she started competing. When I asked her why afterward, she said her horse had not

TIn today’s episode Laura and I discuss how to set your internal GPS and sit back until it starts giving you directions. In previous episodes I’ve discussed how to set your horse up for success and then give them the opportunity to do what you want. We’re riding deeper into that subject today. Sometimes when I set out on a trip, say a nice drive from South Texas to North Texas, I just enter a city into my GPS to get going. I don’t have the exact destination put in, but it’s enough to get me going. I have faith in the device that it will give me directions when I need them, so I can sit back and enjoy the drive on a long stretch of road. But as many of you know, if you turn off the intended path your GPS will start squawking at you--telling you to do U-turns or take back roads. After a good five minutes of having the lady in your GPS box shout at you, you tune out. This is exactly the opposite of what you want your horse to do. We want our horse to respect our commands and we want ourselves to enjoy the ride,

The one thing you’ll hear me say over and over again, is let it go! Set your horse up to do something and then let ‘em at it. You learn the most from when things go wrong, and if you’re afraid for things to go astray you’re actually holding yourself back. In today’s episode I’ll be going over some ways in which you can help yourself find the courage to let go. If the horse does great, give them a hug and enjoy the moment. If the horse doesn’t do what you want, adjust, set up, and try again. This will lead to longer moments of enjoyment with your horse. But first you have to set things up, and then let go. You don't want to do the opposite and bug your horse all the time for a behavior. For instance, I have a client that is so concerned their horse won’t look pretty or travel right. They always hold the horse and micromanage their behavior. The issue here is similar to the analogy of the preacher’s kid. This is where the preacher’s kid can’t do this or can’t do that, but once they grow up and hit college they

I’m often approached by people that want to know how to make training easier for their horses. This brings to mind a memory of my mother working a sorting gate as we rushed our cattle at her too fast. She let go of the gate and all the cattle went out the wrong way. A guy helping us that day said: “You’re just like water and electricity. Those cattle know to take the path of least resistance.” Horses always want to take the path of least resistance and it’s up to us to give them scenarios where this can happen. If you’re on the ground and apply pressure to the horse’s left side, they’re going to want to move away to the right - to where there is no resistance. While this is a simple concept, you need to keep in mind a horse might be a little stubborn. You may have to add more resistance in order to get them to go down the path you have tried to set up. This could be as simple as waving your arms or hooting and hollering, performing actions to add a bit more discomfort for the horse. Again, it is up to you to

Years back I found myself at a horse expo in Idaho and made a point to really investigate what the trainers and clinicians there had to say. While I can’t remember this trainer’s name, he was showing how he got horses to get used to being clipped for the first time. Hey kept using the same quote over and over again, and it’s stuck with me through all these years: “Where you release is what you teach.” When you want a horse to do something you apply pressure. That pressure might be a nudge or a push or simply be getting close to them, but a common misunderstanding people have is that this pressure is what teaches the horse. But that’s wrong. When that pressure is removed is when the horse learns and is rewarded. Now there are different kinds of pressure. One that is less easily described is implied pressure. Have you ever been in a restaurant and felt someone staring at you, only to turn around and make eye contact with another patron? This feeling is shared with horses as well. I’ve simply walked into round p

This week’s episode was inspired by our podcast’s editor and producer, John Bukenas. John’s daughter and sister both spend a lot of time around horses, and his sister has been finding that many of the horses she works with like to bite. So naturally, this episode will tackle how to rein in your horses bites, nibbles, and nips. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you that when a horse bits you, it hurts! They’re big, and when they bite they don’t really know how to release, which makes for very painful pinch. But most horses don’t bite out of aggression. If you look at biting from the horse’s perspective you can learn why they are displaying that behavior, and then teach them how to avoid it. Horses go through developmental stages, much like humans. One of these is equivalent to an “oral fixation” stage. A horse’s curiosity manifests through touching and feeling and tasting, and since they don’t have fingers they have to explore with their muzzle. It’s possible to foster this curiosity while also teach

In this week’s episode of Ride Every Stride, I want to discuss the importance of “Rewarding the Thought”. What I mean by Rewarding the Thought, is all about rewarding the positive tries in your horse’s behavior to ultimately achieve the goal that you are searching for. Many years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a clinic with Tom Dorrance, one of my generation’s best horseman. An important lesson I learned during this clinic was the importance of timing. If we can relay or communicate to the horse at the appropriate time, we can get the response we’re looking for. We should study the body language that the horse is showing us - through their eyes, their ears, their tails and even their feet. The horse will give us clues as to what he is feeling. Is he scared? Are his ears pointed away from us? Does he want to escape? Does he want to go forward?  Horses want their environment to be calm, predictable and peaceful; they don’t want to be stressed. Does our presence with the horse promote peacefulness and har

I’ve gone over the broad strokes of being a patient trainer in last week’s episode, and now I think it’s time to go into the more practical side of patience. This brings to mind another quote: “He who waits the longest is the trainer.” Horses have an incredible amount of patience. Learning to hold out longer than them for an appropriate response will lead to a more efficient and trustworthy relationship. You don’t want to just nag your horse for a particular response. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen someone yell at their horse from behind a fence, thinking that this will teach them something. You have to be in a position to enforce the response you want, and gradually increase that enforcement until a response comes. I always apply the smallest amount of pressure possible when looking for a response. If the horse doesn’t respond to my gestures I will slowly increase that pressure. In this way I work towards getting the horse just uncomfortable enough to elicit a response. At that point I analyze th

The message of this episode comes from a quote I encountered during my childhood: Everything comes to he who waits, so long as he who waits works like Hell while he waits. While this may seem simple enough on the surface, it took years of personal growth for me to realize the different meanings hidden there. Let’s start with the first part of the quote, everything comes to he who waits. The reality of working with horses is that you have to be patient. At the same time, no one is going to come along and dump gold on your porch while you wait for things to happen. You have to find a way to be proactive and productive in the meantime. Patience is one of the biggest obstacles people have to overcome while working with their horses. Today’s society is one in which people want everything and they want it now. However, when master horsemen are discussed one of the key elements used to describe them is patience. But what is patience? It’s having realistic expectations while putting things together in a slow and sys