Tommy Garland on Neck Reining

Tommy Garland taught a clinic called "Teaching Your Horse to Neck Rein" at the 2009 Western States Horse Expo. He is known for being an Arabian show horse trainer, and has his own television show on RFD-TV. He also helped judge the Mustang Makeover.

Neck reining is something I started my horses on last year. It's one of those things that if you don't do it frequently and consistently, your horse won't remember it and you will have to start all over. My personal conflict is that I have an equitation instructor who is working with me and my horses on holding a tight rein in two hands in order to keep the head set, and then I am teaching loose, neck reining on the side, because I need to have one hand free for ponying and trail riding. So, my horses have to learn both methods at the same time.

First Tommy worked from the ground with a student in saddle.


He then sent her off to practice, while he demonstrated exaggerated neck reining moves from the saddle for the audience.


Notice the hip is cocked down in the direction of the turn.


He then talked about flexation exercises that teach the horse to give to the bit. Here he is pulling the horse's head to the side without leg pressure to keep the horse standing still. As soon as the horse pulls its own head closer to its shoulder, he releases the rein as a reward.

Here he borrowed another student's horse and showed how to tie one rein to the saddle. You can do this with your horse before ever getting into the saddle yourself. A horse new to this will respond by turning in circles until it realizes that it is all in vain. It then releases the pressure itself by standing still and pulling its head in closer to its shoulder. Of course, you don't want to tie the rein too tight, because otherwise there will be no room for the horse to release the pressure itself. It is also important to tie the rein at the back of the saddle, because you want the horse to bend at the ribcage.

I took a million pictures of this horse, because it is just stunning.

Once the horse gets the idea on its own, you can stand beside it and pull the rein tighter, then reward the horse by letting go when it loosens the pressure.

Once Tommy felt that this horse understood the process, he worked on the same technique from the saddle.

He also showed how you can pull the horse's head toward you when mounting, so that if the horse does move, it will swing away instead of into you.

This picture cracked me up. He was telling a story about a well-endowed client who got her bra caught on the saddle horn while mounting. She was stuck in this position while Tommy tried to untangle her.

All in all, it was an enjoyable clinic.

A Tight Squeeze

Meet the (relatively) new park two blocks from my house. A couple of years ago a woman came to my door and asked me to write a letter in support of having an equestrian trail incorporated into this new park while it was in the planning stages. I wrote my letter, and received a nasty reply in which I was told that my house was not even within the district that the park was being built for, and therefore my opinion did not count. I was told that IF I was allowed to use this facility, it would be as a guest. Apparently, those who are within the district have been paying monthly fees that go to pay for the park among other things. I didn't know. I guess I am fortunate to not live within one of those districts that tax their residents.

My kids and I have been playing tennis there as "guests", and I have had it on my To Do List to take the horses there, since they did include an equestrian trail, despite my opinion not counting. Unfortunately, they placed the trail along the outside of the park up against the back yards of homes, so there are plenty of barking dogs, rippling flags, flapping tarps, rusted vehicles up on cinder blocks, lawn mowers, and even a back yard motocross track for the horses to spook at.

All the interior trails were laid down with gravel to assure that anyone who rides their horse on those will ruin their feet. It is also strategically placed behind a very active fire station with lots of P.A. talk and sirens. I decided that once I thought my horses could handle it, I'd first take them for lead line walks there, and then ride them there. Unfortunately, the road to the park is dangerous, so I have to trailer the horses for the two blocks.

On Sunday morning, I went out to investigate how I would get a horse into the park. They have the entire park fenced or roped off. The entrance I use to play tennis is a narrow set of posts in a triangle that you have to squeeze through. I drove over to the entrance that said it was for horses, and they had the chain padlocked.

This is the only entrance next to the padlocked chain that doesn't have a third post in the middle, but I don't think it is wide enough to get a horse through.

I mean, a horse might fit, but would it go through a passageway that is so narrow? After all, horses are claustrophobic and scared of strange objects. They won't walk near something without doing a full investigation first.

After having Bombay nearly plow me down trying to get through the gate at the Fairgrounds without having the trash can attack him, I'm not so sure he'd be keen on squeezing between those two splintery posts. By the time I got done looking at the entrance options to the park, it was 80 degrees and I was in no mood to trailer a horse out there to find out if it would pass through that tiny entrance.

Those are the tennis courts off in the distance.

That is a playground. The park is still in development, so I often see tractors out there. They will be building a skateboard park too. Not a whole lot of thought was put into what activities harmonize with horseback riding.

I know that horseback riders do use the trail, because I see hoofprints and manure out there, but I suspect those are very experienced, solid horses. I also suspect that they belong to people who can just walk them through their own gate in their backyard, because there are lots of homes lining the property that have horses in their backyards.

I understand that the reason why the park has been sealed off so tightly is to prevent ATVs from getting in. There is a sign that says "No motorized vehicles. Horse entrance only."

I appreciate that, but there's no way a Fresian or Draft horse would fit between those narrow posts. If I'm worried about getting an Arab through there, you know there are many larger breeds that won't fit. Maybe I should just teach my horses to jump that chain.

Gabbrielle's Progress

Gabbrielle's under saddle training came to a halt after her ear surgery to repair a torn tip. I needed to give her ear a chance to heal, and she became very head shy after the accident, so there was no chance of pulling a bridle over her ears. This is what her ear looks like today -- slightly shorter than the other and a more rounded shape.

I spent the past few weeks working my way into her graces until she allowed me to handle that ear again. Today I took a chance on putting a bridle on, and she cooperated. I lunged her in the saddle, but didn't want to mount without a helper since so much time had passed since I had last ridden her. I decided to be safe instead of sorry, assuming that we were starting from scratch.

My daughter held her with the lead rope while I mounted. I had to tighten the cinch half a dozen times, because each time I stepped into the stirrup, it started to slide down her side. Because she is still growing, she doesn't have as broad a back as a fully grown horse, so there isn't much mass there to hold the saddle in place.

My daughter led in response to my verbal cues. I'd say "Walk" and cluck my tongue, she'd start walking, and Gabbrielle would follow. I'd say "Whoa" and sit deep in the saddle, my daughter would stop walking, and Gabbrielle stopped walking. I started using my legs to squeeze for a walk. I then had my daughter remove the lead rope and stand in the center of the round pen. Gabbrielle started to follow her, so I steered her in the opposite direction to make it clear that she now had to listen to me.

She walked and turned for a little bit, and then came to a halt. No amount of tongue clucking, squeezing, or kicking could get her to move forward, so we had to go back to the lead rope. Gabbrielle began to show signs of feeling frustrated. It was 98 degrees and I had been working with her for well over an hour. I didn't want to push it, so I dismounted and called it a day.

A short time later I went out for a photo shoot. Gabbrielle got obsessed with my shoe.

Then she got obsessed with my jeans.

She kept licking them.

I had to chase her off when she started goosing me. I had hoped to go to the Fairgrounds once it got down below 80 degrees, but that never happened. Even after the sun had set, it was ridiculously hot. That's the problem with Nevada. The winters are freezing and icy, making it treacherous to ride horses, and the summers are close to, if not in, triple digits, making it cruel to ride horses. Winter goes right into summer which goes right into winter. There's not much of a spring or fall. In the summer you just have to learn to ride in the dark.

Sunday Stills: Things with Wings

Here's a picture I took of a noisy bird perched atop an arena light at the 2009 Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento, California. It was so loud that I couldn't concentrate on what the clinician was saying. It always amazes me how birds can twist their heads all the way around like the Exorcist.

I admit that this next one is cheating. The planes that left those trails in the sky have wings.

I've been working such long hours lately that it's hard to find time just to concentrate on searching for subjects to photograph. I tried to go outside in my pajamas just now to take photos of birds and butterflies, but the neighborhood is pretty much dead when it comes to winged life. I jokingly said to my daughter, "The trick will be to get some pictures in before our nosy neighbor drives past and sees me in my pajamas."

I wasn't even out there 30 seconds, and the woman drove past, so I had to run into the house. 99% of the traffic on our drive is just her driving back and forth, back and forth, like a lost soul who can't figure out where she is or where she's going. It wasn't even 8:00 on a Sunday morning yet. Maybe I should have photographed her since she's always on the move. I wouldn't call it flying, though. This is more like stalking and lurking.

Pictures from Today

I wanted to take Gabbrielle to the Fairgrounds, but she was being stubborn about getting into the trailer, so I loaded up Bombay and Lostine again. When we arrived, we discovered that yet another rodeo was in progress. No one was using the barrel racing arena, so my son and I tied Lostine in there. She gets happy when she's around other horses.

I rode Bombay despite not feeling well. My husband brought home some Taco Bell goodies for dinner Friday night, and everyone instantly cramped up. My gut has been in pain ever since.

My son wanted to take pictures of us galloping. I think we got 5 strides into a gallop and I had to shut it down because of the abdominal pain. My kidneys hurt too, because despite drinking a tumbler of water before leaving the house, it was in the 90's and I was dehydrated by the time we reached the Fairgrounds.

My son spent the past week at pole vaulting camp, and his lips are chapped and swollen from spending so much time in the sun. He climbed into the truck to get some shade and took pictures through the window.

Everyone in my family is hurting right now. My daughter had her wisdom teeth ground down and extracted yesterday, and she has to have a post inserted for a future tooth implant before she returns to college in August.

My horses are usually really good about standing still after I dismount and collect my things, and they will follow me if I tap my chest and cluck my tongue. However, Bombay was just too hyped up about all the other horses, and he decided to show off by running away from me. Of course, my son didn't help by yelling, "Run, Bombay, run!"

I cornered and caught him fairly quick, and it was a good thing, because other riders started showing up. I forgot about that stupid trash barrel right by the gate and made the mistake of letting Bombay drop in behind me while I was leading him out. He ran forward to get away from the trash barrel, and ran right into me. He pushed me along like a snowplow and I stumbled in front of him, trying not to fall, because I knew he would trample me. I swung the lead rope back and smacked him hard on the chest to get his attention. He was so frightened by that dumb trash can that he didn't even realize that he was nearly trampling me. He was served a big scolding for that.

I found this old picture on my son's camera from my Mother's Day trail ride. You can see me on Lostine down below, and my husband hiking next to us. Up ahead there is a fork in the road. If you go to the left, you run into a mountain stream. If you go to the right, you have to traverse boulders that are buried in the ground. Those are the boulders that Lostine spooked at and refused to cross without my husband holding the lead rope and walking next to her.

Richard Winters: The Bucking Horse

At the 2009 Western States Horse Expo, Richard Winters put on a clinic called, "Problem Solving the Bucking Horse."

He began by teaching the horse to stay out of his space. That way, should the horse decided to buck on the long line or while you are in its paddock, it knows better than to buck near you.

This horse actually seemed fairly easygoing, so Richard had to loop a rope around its midsection and lunge it to force some bucks out of it.


Once it lunged quietly with that rope there, he removed the rope.

He also brought out the white plastic bag on a stick and waved it at the horse.


Once the horse settled down, he rode it...

...hard and fast.

The crowd was holding its collective breath waiting for a buck...

... but Richard did his ground work well, so he had a pleasant ride.

Stacy Westfall on Basic Body Control

On Sunday at the 2009 Western States Horse Expo, Stacy Westfall put on a clinic in which she explained and demonstrated basic body control of the horse. She broke down some of the complicated advanced maneuvers into smaller movements and showed us from the saddle what cues to give and what the exaggerated movements looked like.



Last, but not least, she got off her horse and showed us how each movement would look if a human body were trying to do it.




This gave me the giggles and reminded me of Monty Python's Silly Walk episode.