I was recently reminded why I’m not fond of clinics. Don’t get me wrong, I think there are a
handful of good trainer clinicians out there .
. . ones that keep their training in context, consider each horse as an
individual, and put the safety of the horse and rider first and foremost. Julie Goodnight, Craig Cameron, and Chris
Cox are among the clinicians that I believe meet all three of these criteria.
Others, I sometimes have to chuckle (although it’s not
really funny) at what they present at their clinics . . . Usually my first
question is WHY? Are some of these
exercises valid, and really something a horse and rider can add to their
exercise regimen, or are they just something new to try to wow a tired audience
that may have been coming to see them for years. Or maybe it’s more for the clinician groupies who have attended
every clinic with a particular clinician
. . . so that they feel like they’ve done something new – assurance that
they will continue to return and pay big bucks for yet another weekend
clinic.
Unfortunately I suspect that several of these clinicians
have crossed the line from being a horse trainer to acting like a guru.
My first bad taste of clinic came while attending a session
at a large national equine expo. I
wished the presentation came with disclaimers as I worried how many green horse
owners would go home with the clinician’s training stick (of course they were
being sold at his booth) and try to teach their green or untrained horse how to
disengage their hindquarters. I could
only image how few people would be successful, and the larger number that would
get run over by their horse.
