true to your horse horsemanship

 I had a conversation with a person and it got me thinking..It is on the type a clinic’s a person should pick if they choose to ..
  Mine all depends on the horse’s I am working ,so there is no set thym.It might cover getting respect from the ground to the saddle and getting the tools in a horse and person to make them as safe as possiable on the trail..Personaly dont start many colts at my clinics anymore, which is fine with me.. I would rather spend my time helping a horse who is already under saddle and has problems or getting a softer horse out of it.Dont get me wrong I still start horses undersaddle here at FalconRidge.
 Now on to the other type of clinic’s which for the average person right now in my mind the verdict is still out and I will explain later.
 On to the other type where a person teach’s where each foot is and the fall of each foot…. Well to me for the average person who wants just trail ride is not for them.The average person sometimes feel like of less than a horseman if they dont know when a certain foot hits the ground.So they end up giving up all together.. On riding the trail ,,, why should  you know where each foot is at and if you arent training why it is a big deal? Well someone might say it is because they will learn feel,, well to me you can learn feel besides knowing where each foot is.You can learn to tell where each foot is and never truly get the true feel of horse..It is more important to get a soft horse,,
 Now if you want to learn to train a horse ,, you should know where the foot fall is because for the ring a horse should be a certain lead .
 But for the average person out there they should be learning how to not to ride with their hands and get their horse soft to the bit .Once a horse is soft to the bit  more than likely the rest of the horse is soft also.
  So when picking a clinic to go to ,asked yourself what you want out of it.. know when a certain foot hit the ground or getting the tools for a safe ride.

   Dealing with horses and people, I see how much how a person’s true personality comes out.Horses can teach us so much about our selfs we are willing to listen.Take a timid people person if you see their horse chances are they will be one of two things they also will be timid or they will be a real pushy horse. Now that type of person if they get control of their horse in time they will do it life also.
   Also if a person has a bad marriage I can tell how they relate to their horse’s. They usally is the type of person who wants their horse to love them unconditionaly.
  Take a person who is a control freak  their  horses are very happy.. The control freak trys to make the horse perfect. Also they will groom the horse to pieces every hair has to been in place. But I am sure we all notice as soon as the goes into a pasture they go get dirty.Not saying grooming isnt a good thing but you can get carried away with it.
    Then you  have what I call the medical person,who their horse’s always have something going on with them.What I seen some of those type of people if something wrong with their horse they dont have to really do anything with it.. They use it a cover up that they just dont how to handle a horse.
  Horse’s can make us a better person if we listen.. To me that is what life is about change, we should all try to better our selfs.

 Well it has been a long time since I posted anything,been putting alot on youtube.Alot of things is happing in the horse world ,mainly alot of people are hurting and the horses are paying for also. On the rescue side of things we have picked more skinny horses in the last few months than in ten years. But on a good note have been finding home for them so that is good. Some asked me to email them on one of the comments page.. Best is to email me at davidleearcher@yahoo.com
 Found out my book is sold out of amazon,, which surprise me didnt expect to hear that.Hoping to do more clinics this year.. leaning more and more that way.. For sure I will be in Reno NV in August,
This is going to be short but I will promise to write something the next coming week
 Take care
 David Lee Archer

 I was thinking today about the horses I have had in my life time. Been pretty lucky on that end.It all started with a pony named Dusty , I use to wet the grass to see how far I could do a slide with him.One day I found a baby carrage and found some rope and made a harness for him and there we was him pulling me down the street.I rode  him hours at a time. He didnt get gelded until after I out grew him. So rideing a stud pony taught me alot..
  At thirteen I had my first foal, his name was Scout and yes here I am with another stud.He was a great horse also, but the thing was I put the time on him to get  him that way.. After him I rode alot horses but never one that really got my attention.
 Then I bought a gray mare who I named lady , she is still with me and she has been a good horse. She was high point for a couple years,had some good foals. This more likely will be her last year. She has been with me from one side of the coast to the other . The day before I bought her she threw six guys and they end up beating the heck out her. I heard the story and decided to buy her.
  Which brings me to Smokeyjoe,, now he is a great horse and is one in a life time horse. Now when I first saw him he charge his old owner and the owner jumped over a dutch stall door to get away from him.I started to play with him and the owner called one day and asked me if I wanted to buy him. He wasnt broke, threw the years I have worked cows off of him and have cross country jumped him and stadium jumping. He has scored in the seventys in reining plus he does upper level dressage moves. He is getting up there in age himself,, he has two more kids to teach to ride then hopefuly he will get retired.
 Of course now I have Sunka  this is going to make another super  horse . He is one of Smokey’s replacements. I am truly thinking of showing him in Reining cow horse ,, but the thing is he is a mustang. But he is cowy as heck, he has been a pleasure to work with from the start.
  I have more horses of my own coming up , but havent found their nitch yet.
 The key thing with all of the horses I list above it took work and not a short time but years to get them where they made real good horse’s and in dusty case pony.

   It has been awhile since I have posted anything but been busy with a move. Plus still have to make a living .
    Hopefully in the next coming year you will see me all over the place. Will try to do more clinic’s. It is hard for me to get out there and do them since ,dont have any support system.. So I have to keep training to keep the money coming in.
   Before I say what I going to say this is not bragging. But people keep asking me how come you arent out there like Cox and Anderson,, they see my work and they dont understand. It takes money of some kind, because with clinics you never know who many people will show up So you just hope to cover what your expense’s are.
  Plus add the fact of something I am hearing now days. Here is a good example , a few of us was talking about one trainer who has won about every cow horse event out there. Me personaly love seeing him ride and repect him as a horseman.
  Well one person said , well he cant be to good because he isnt on TV.The problem with that kind of thinking there is alot of trainers out there who is just as good if not better than the one’s you see on TV but they never get a chance to show it. Now I am not saying the guy’s on TV isnt any good . I commend them for getting that far ,because it took hard work to get there,so that statement wasn’t a reflection on them. 
   On another note,, I am training a horse and he has talent. I was watching the owner ride him the other day and he is going to end up riding the stop out the horse. Try to explain it to the owner and he was like I am above lesson’s. Well none of us know it all , so at the end the horse will loose what I have taught him and the owner will think ok what happen ,it couldn’t of been him. I can tell each time the owner rides him by the way he is when I get on him. He will try to push thru my hands and plus other things.. So after I am done I will have to watch the horse go down hill..
   Well on the heading I said things in general, and that is what this post is about.
 Ok another mustang challenge is done and over with it amazes me how someone falls of his horse and end’s up taking first place. Who in the world is making the rules ,are they making them up as they go along or what .
  Now personaly the idea is great with the challange. But it looks like to me it isnt all about the mustangs. I know last year it was suppose to be the top ten ,well it ended up being thirteen.Which the head person said she will do what she wants to do.
  Also one person who was in the top ten ,didnt get disquafied for what they did in one course where alot other people did..
   So for this to work they need to set rules up and STICK by the them no matter what. One good thing about it last year I got a good horse out of it..Heck I am glad he didnt place in the top  ten..LOL Hopefully I will start showing him on the NRCH circuit  he got what it takes..
   I know this all seems neg. but it all needs to be said,people are keeping there mouth shut too much . Dont want to make waves,, no wonder the country is in the shape we are in.. 
   I think we all need to write in Ted Nuggent for president….At least he would give a honest answer even if we dont agree with him.
  Everyone take Care

 This something I had a conversation on the other night on the phone.It came about because I went to look at a  horse sure it bend when asked but it truly wasnt soft.The reason I say that is because as soon as I let him have his head he jerked back straight.
  When I bend my horses I want them to get to the point when I bend them they keep it even if I am not holding there mouth. If they do that it tells me the horse I am on is truly relaxed. I am not teaching them to turn by doing so, I want the think that when I touch their mouth it is a clue for them to relaxed.
 What people dont realize we steer our horse with their shoulders. Not the nose, heck they can bend their neck and still go straight but if you get them to follow their shoulder they have to go that way.
  With alot of the stuff that is getting shown something is getting lost. Well in reality not even said , I have listen  and I have yet to hear some one say that the bending exercise’s will teach a horse to relax and really get into the theory behind it
  If you get a horse to truly relax thru the neck the rest of them will be also.I have shown it time and time again.
 The bottom line if you are doing the bending exercise follow thru with it until the hold it until told different.

 There is so many theory’s out there, which sould be addressed.
 One  is the a horses brain isnt connected from one side to the other. Well that is where people should do more checking. There is a number of studys out there now that shows that is not so. This what I notice thru the years and handling a lot of horses. Yes it seems that when you  go to teach a horse from the other side it seems you have to teach it all over again. But  I notice it never takes as long on the other side ,so that is telling me something is getting thru the over side of the brain. The best way to explain it like this, you write right handed ok if you try to write left you cant do it. But you still know how to  so the knowledge is there.
 Number two horses dont see in color,  well with the new studies out they do see certain colors.They see colors about llike a person who is colored blind does.
 Number three, The saying no such thing as a bad horse just bad handling. Well I beg to differ on that, ok that is like saying there are no bad people out there. Some horses are just born mean and it doesnt have anything to do with how they are handle. Now yes we can get them where we can handle them . But are never safe,in the old days they would be put down . But now with it being called in humane , people have the mind set well they look good and they are good on the track or the show ring so we just breed them. So you end up passing that trait on ,there is one certain blood line of TB’s out there who is prone to be mean…I wont even allow them on the properity any more. Yes I can get them where I can handle them but you a,lways have to be on your toes.
  The bottom line is that just because some says what you want to hear doesnt make it so.Plus just because someone has national attention doesnt make everything they say right. Just  remember there is a lot of info out there but like eveything some is good and some is just to sell a book .

   I have been in horses for over forty years now. Remember a time where we didnt know what a round pen was. Started a many horses with out the use of one. Now we might of used a small pen  but I cant recall a round one.
 It seems at the start of people using them or should I say over use them.  It was like a whole new idea when in reality it isnt. I was reading a book that was put in print in the early nineteen hundreds. Well  they  suggested if you had a problem horse put them in the corn crip and run the horse around until it was so tired it lowered it head. First off  notice the term ,they didnt say until you joined up with it and hit lowered its head they said tired it out….Which is more of the truth behind the matter.
  What I  have notice is that people are  relying on them to much. They get a horse to the point they have to run them around before riding.Their excuse they want to make sure they get the buck out.Well people if you have a good foundation from day one you dont have to let them run around and  play first.Heck you are teaching them they can play first then go to work.  When it should be the other way around,play after work and yes my horses do get to play and be a horse.
 I use a round pen more for safety than any thing or might run a horse around when I am getting it use to the saddle and things hitting them on the sides. BUT I will not do it to get the buck out, you are teaching a horse it gets buck first.
 Also with some horses you will teach them that they get to run around before being caught or if a horse is nervouse I have seen running around can make the problem worse.
   Had to trim one my horses the other day and it has been a real long time since I rode it. When I say long I mean long time, trimmed her up and saddle her  and went to work no buck no nothing and this was a Arab.  Have a young girl named Emi who is studiing under me and she was saying from the start how calm the horse is. Like I said this is a Arab who is to comman believe should be hot. But like everything else it goes back to foundation and breeding.
 Like I said I just climbed on her and went to work and it was like it was yesterday that I rode her instead of a long time.No I doesnt have a lot of saddle miles on her either.The way I start my personal horses I put a few rides on them a two or three year old and turn them back out. They get older I finish them off and when I start them again I just climb on them and get right back to work.
 So personaly if you have to let your horse buck before riding it isnt a horse problem it is more a person problem that created a horse problem. Plus it isnt be fair to the horse ,where is the true leadership in that . It all goes back to be true to the horse and yourself.

   I have been in horses for over forty years now. Remember a time where we didnt know what a round pen was. Started a many horses with out the use of one. Now we might of used a small pen  but I cant recall a round one.
 It seems at the start of people using them or should I say over use them.  It was like a whole new idea when in reality it isnt. I was reading a book that was put in print in the early nineteen hundreds. Well  they  suggested if you hard a problem horse put in the corn crip and run it around until it was so tired it lowered it head. First off  notice the term ,they didnt say until you joined up with it and hit lowered its head they said tired it out….Which is more of the truth behind the matter.
  What I  have notice is that people are  relying on them to much. They get a horse to the point they have to run them around before riding.Their excuse they want to make sure they get the buck out.Well people if you have a good foundation from day one you dont have to let them run around and  play first.Heck you are teaching them they can play first then go to work.  When it should be the other way around,play after work and yes my horses do get to play and be a horse.
 I use a round pen more for safety than any thing or might run a horse around when I am getting it use to the saddle and things hitting them on the sides. BUT I will not do it to get the buck out, you are teaching a horse it gets buck first.
 Also with some horses you will teach them that they get to run around before being caught or if a horse is nervouse I have seen running around can make the problem worse.
   Had to trim one my horses the other day and it has been a real long time since I rode it. When I say long I mean long, trimmed her up and saddle her up and went to work no buck no nothing and this was a Arab.  Have a young girl named Emi who is studiing under me and she was saying from the start how calm the horse is. Like I said this is a Arab who is to comman believe should be hot. But like everything else it goes back to foundation and breeding.
 Like I said I just climbed on her and went to work and it was like it was yesterday that I rode her instead of a long time.No I doesnt have a lot of saddle miles on her either.The way I start my personal horses I put a few rides on them a two or three year old and turn them back out. They get older I finish them off and when I start them again I just climb on them and get right back to work.
 So personaly if you have to let your horse buck before riding it isnt a horse problem it is more a person problem that created a horse problem. Plus it isnt be fair to the horse ,where is the true leadership in that . It all goes back to be true to the horse and yourself.

 I was thinking today about foundation on horses. As
we all know you have to have a good foundation on a
horse to have a safe horse for one and a well trained
horse.
Here is a example you work on a stop one day and the
horse seems to get it so you dont work on it any more
well one day you will be on a trail and have to stop
your horse and it doesnt stop.You think to yourself
well what happened it stopped that one day.Well there
was no foundation on it.
Live is the same you have to have a foundation on
everything,your kids,job and even relationships.
If you dont it all will fall apart one day . That is
the long and short of it.But in all things it seems
everyone is in a hurry.
A good example had a horse here that had tons of
problems now this horse need heavy six months of
training to get past them .Of course the owner didnt
want to spend that kind of money and I understand
that. So I showed him what to do of course I am sure
he didnt go like I told him and got in a hurry when he
got the horse home.
But with horse the foundation wasnt good at the
beginning some one hurried him.
So instead of getting a hurry just slow down . Build
that foundation and live will be so much better
. So that is my thought for tonight
take care
 David Lee Archer
 www. davidleearcher.com