Dear Friend and Horseman,
Welcome to another
Horse Training Tips Newsletter.
I had no idea my last two emails would move so many people to respond
with their opinions and questions.
Kind of mind blowing
really.
Approximately 85% of the folks who have responded, agreed with what I
said
about the imprinting of foals. Most of them were breeders and trainers.
10% of the respondees said that the 85% are experiencing horses that
were
imprinted incorrectly. That if the imprinting had been done right, those
horses
would have been fine. (Interesting point and it is a possibility).
The remaining 5% were just plain TEE’D-OFF.
One lady said she hates
the way I come up with all these weird ideas. Hell, I always thought
ideas and keeping an open mind were good things…
the catalyst for improvement.
Here is what I recommend to those tee’d off folks:
“If you don’t like my
horse training tips newsletter, then simply don’t read it”.
The “Unsubscribe” link is at the bottom of every email.
The other two topics of concern was what I said about cutting and
reining
bred horses being too small and also the “flat” forehead controversy.
I’LL EXPAND ON WHAT I MEANT
When I said I would like to see more size in the cutting and reining
quarter
horses, I didn’t mean that they needed to be huge. Just not so small
that
it’s difficult for them to carry the weight of a full grown man.
Let’s face it, its pretty tough for an 800 pound horse to comfortably
pack a 200
pound man and a 40 pound saddle. That load is more than 30% of the
horse’s
own body weight.
In my opinion, that’s
too much.
And yes, some of those small horses do carry large riders and win. I
just feel
it would be better for the horse if he were carrying a load that was
more in
proportion to his size.
My own personal cutting horse is just barely 14 hands tall. I bought him
as
a yearling, thinking he’d get bigger. He didn’t.
The last time I showed him, he marked a 74 and won the class. I’m going
to sell
him though because he could do even better with a smaller rider on his
back.
For someone my size (5′ 10″ and 185 lbs.) a horse that is 14.2 to
15.2 hands,
would be more suitable.
Bottom line, I want a
horse that’s strong enough to carry me without undo stress.
A few people asked if a 16 hand horse is too big for cutting or reining.
Well, if he is a good athlete, he’s not too big.
It’s not the size.
Its the ability that counts.
If you plan on doing
the high performance events, most of the time you’ll find a horse that’s
between 14.1 and 15.3 to have the best chance of doing well.
I WANT MY HORSES TO HAVE A FLAT FOREHEAD
So many folks commented on this, I was blown away.
Many asked WHY I want a
horse to have a flat forehead. Is it because they can see better? Is it
because they are easier to train? What the heck is the reason?
Well, the answer is simple…
I have NEVER seen a champion cutting or reining horse that didn’t
have
a flat forehead. End of story.
Every horse that I’ve ridden that had a BULGING forehead, did not
have the
mental attributes necessary to make a top performance horse.
I will say this… Those horses with a bulging forehead were very smart
but
they used that intelligence to work against me, instead of with me.
Now remember, there are always exceptions. I’m sure there are good
horses out
there that have a bulging forehead.
However, those horses
are the exception, not the rule.
Well, this wraps it up for this newsletter. I hope
you liked it.
Until next
time, have fun training your horse.
Larry Trocha
www.HorseTrainingVideos.com