Horseman’s Corner Radio

Now, here's more with Buster McLaury. 

"I don't know anything about it. I don't know what a horse whisperer is. But he said, I do know the horse is screaming all the time. Nobody's listening."

That's an interesting way of putting it, and I think you're absolutely right. 

"Yeah, the horse tells us, you know, how he feels about things. And they have the same emotions we do. They get sure an...

New Mexico Horsewoman and trainer Tray Pelster on how she likes to start horses.

"I like to do a lot of ground work so I don't have to deal with as much crap on top of them. I have the time to spend with them when I was training horses under people. You have 30 days so you spend across the board from a lot of my trainers on average about a week, week and a half in the round pin and then you just get on them. You learn how to take ...

Mark Bolender, a pioneer of Extreme and Mountain Trail riding, builds training around equine instincts, patience, and mutual trust. His core philosophy emphasizes allowing horses to think independently rather than relying blindly on the rider resulting in a bold and confident partnership.

Years ago, the late Howard Hale asked Washington horse trainer Mark Bolender what his number one rules are when it comes to training horses...

Another golden gem from the archives of the late Howard Hale, this one on safety.

Christy Landwehr is the CEO of the Certified Horsemanship Association.

There's a program to get people who are working with people and horses as professionals certified. What are some of the problems you run into there?

"I would say some of the biggest things is we get very, very comfortable around horses when we've owne...

Now here's the late Howard Hale with Cal Middleton asking him a question on safety around horses.

Cal Middleton is a horseman and clinician from Missouri. What do you need to do to be safe around a horse, Cal?

"The truth is if we want to be safe on a horse or around a horse, our first goal needs to be to make the horse feel safe. Because when the horse feels safe, we're on the right track. It doesn't me...

Here's Ron Knodle and the late Howard Hale. 

What are some of the differences you run into, though, with the Mustangs that you might not see with a domestic horse? 

"About the only difference, Howard, is the first few days, or the first few workings that you're around the Mustang. They're brought in out of the wild, and they're not used to seeing a human, but maybe for a mile or two miles away, and t...

Now here's an archived interview with the late Howard Hale and Brian Neubert, Altruist, California horseman and trainer. Howard had just asked him about what he learned from working with Mustangs.

"Thinking about becoming more efficient all the time so I can get more done with less effort. And, oh, they sent me all over the country and quite a bit to Texas and you went to Florida and all over the wes...

We're talking to Ramzi Hughes, Anchor Brand Ranch. I wanted to ask you about your philosophy of working with horses.

"What we do, I kind of narrow my favorite breeds down to the American Quarter Horse and a regular old Mustang. That's kind of a mixture of what we've got. Those Mustangs are tough and they go like crazy and the kids can break them and ride them and use them for ranch horses, but they a...

Today, a special treat from the archives of the late Howard Hale.

Our guest today is Justin Dunn. He's a Colorado horseman (now training out of North Carolina). Give us some of your background and how you got started, will you, Justin? 

"Started with training other people's horses and found that I had a knack for it. Got into taking people on trail rides down there in South Texas, and then decided to mov...

Is the saddle an important piece of the equation when it comes to overall horsemanship, Van?

"Yes sir, what I'm looking for in a saddle of course, you hit the nail right on the head and I want to find a top quality saddle made by a very reputable and very top quality saddle manufacturer. And the reason why is that they're generally going to work a little bit harder with the saddle tree manufacturers to make sure that all points of...

Here's horse trainer Becky Amio on saddle fit.

"What I was finding is I was struggling with saddle fit, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I was having a hard time with saddles going up Colt's neck, and I was also having a problem with side-to-side slip, and then I was having a problem with the seat itself on the saddle that I had been using for many years was putting me in a position that was too ...

California horsewoman and barrel racing clinician Sharon Camarillo has designed a lot of saddles for years for the barrel racing industry.

What goes into designing a good barrel racing saddle? 

"I never believe in just a saddle for barrel racing, even though, you know, we need a lighter weight saddle, but we still need a saddle that's a good tool that gives us good balance because barrel racing, as we kn...

Howard asked J.D. Wing in an interview years ago whether or not it was important to think about your horse's comfort when selecting your equipment.

"Absolutely."

"I was guilty of it as anyone when I was younger and didn't have a whole lot of money, and never really worried about how my saddle fit my horse or anything like that. And then I had all these issues coming up. My horse would quit stopping."

Jeff Gollehon is with us. He has Grizzly Saddlery at Great Falls, Montana. It's a full service shop, but they also make custom saddles, and he finds a problem with saddle fit that's a little bit different and kind of interesting.

"One of the things that is, to me, that I have found over my career that is probably one of the most important things, the stirp slot on the tree, on the underside of the tree&nb...