photography by Glenn Hunt Photography whose outstanding work can be seen at http://www.glennhunt.com.au/
Remember to practice schooling your cross country jumps with rhythm and balance as the basic criteria when approaching a fence. You must also be straight to the jump and coming at it with an appropriate speed. Practice makes perfect, so be sure to take your time and do your homework.
At a recent clinic, Rex Peterson introduced this Ancora to a Grand Prix dressage horse who wrings his tail in piaffe and passage.
This simple device known as the Ancora, will help your horse stop wringing his tail, thus putting all his energy into his work. The bells on the bottom also teach him to not be afraid of anything behind him. You must ride your horse with this for a minimum of 10 days so that he learns that every time he lifts his tail it cannot go anywhere, eventually he will not even try to swing it. Trick ropers ride their trick horses in this for the first 2 years of training so that the ropes never get caught under the tails. Horses trained for the movies all learn to ride with this as part of their desensitizing routine.
Check out this new Youtube video of Rex Peterson working Tuff at Liberty
Teaching a horse to trust and work this well takes hours and hours of patience.
We just returned from a successful weekend in Nashville, TN where the AQHA hosted the first of many Quarterfest Events honoring the Quarter Horse from many aspects of the horse world. Reining, roping, mounted shooters, trail classes and amazing performances each evening kept us all busy each day. Tuff (from the films Flicka, Van Helsing, Appaloosa) and Cache (Viggo’s mount in Appaloosa) performed each evening in a liberty act , amazing the audience with a display of control of each horse with Rex using only body movements and the whips to guide his horses.
17 hand gelding, very elegant, easy to ride, this horse is a very special guy. If you are looking for an Equitation horse, jumper, dressage or event horse, he is talented, a bold jumper, light to the aids and a true gentleman on the ground. At 6 years old, he shows tremendous promise to excel in any job. contact Cari to schedule an appointment to try this exceptional athlete.
This horse has had ear plaque his entire life. After several vets have tried to treat it by burning it off, the owner gave up until Rex came along and had a simple solution. Rub baby oil on the fungus and it will kill it. Easier said than done because this horse would not let you touch his ears, let alone put cotton balls inside to rub the baby oil on. In fact he always has to have the bridle or halter taken apart to put on because of his panic around his ears from the painful fungus.
After an hour of patience and using the Sugar String, Rex was able to rub the cotton balls soaked in baby oil inside his ears. Treated every day for 5 days resulted in perfectly clean ears with new pink skin emerging. The hair is even starting to grow back after 10 days and still no sign of the fungus returning.
Sometimes the old methods are far less expensive and more effective than the newer solutions of drugs. You can see this horse is actually enjoying the treatment now, learning to allow his ears to be touched and rubbed without the panic.
Send any problem you have to us to solve, Rex Peterson loves a challenge and has not met a horse he could not improve or fix yet….we look forward to your challenge!
You have heard it from many trainers-ride every stride. This will eventually become automatic when you train yourself to count your strides. One of my greatest teachers, Tony Mason, taught me to count the length and width of the arena. He was adament about knowing the size of your arena and how to carve out space to work in when it was crowded with many horses. I imagine he learned this years ago when he was trained by his Master in Europe, when riders had to navigate among dozens of horses in small arenas. There was etiquette about how to pass one another and when to change direction.
If you learn to count the strides in your circles, you will eventually learn how to ride a perfect circle. This is not as easy as you might expect. I start all my students whether children or adults learning to count and it pays off quickly as they progress up the levels.
This image is of Ashley Cox riding Classy, winning the dressage test at Kent Horse Trials. If you are interested in lessons or have any questions, contact cari@cariswanson.com.
This photo demonstrates hours of training. Justin is one of the most successful movie horses, starring in Black Beauty among many other films. Now in his mid twenties, he is enjoying retirement, however, his ears still prick up for his trainer Rex when he comes out to feed him each day. You must always remember to be patient and take one step at a time when training your horse. Remember to be very clear about what you are asking and reward your horse when he gives it to you. After working your horse every day consistently you will see a remarkable change and improvement. Generally horses have a good work ethic, enjoying their daily routine. Spring is finally here and it is time to get back into your training routine.
DIED: Hightower,26. One of the most famous and talented trick horses ever to grace the silver screen, Hightower appeared in dozens of films during his long career, most notably as Pilgrim in Robert Redford’s The Horse Whisperer (1998). He was the steed of choice for actress Julia Roberts, who bonded with him during the filming of The Runaway Bride (1999) and famously insisted that the charismatic quarter horse be shipped back from his California corral to an East Coast location for post-production re-shoots. Owned and trained by Hollywood Horse Trainer, Rex Peterson, Hightower also appeared in Winter People (1989) opposite Kurt Russell and Kelly McGillis, in Simpatico (1999) with Jeff Bridges and Nick Nolte, and in writer-director Caroline Thompson’s 1994 adaptation of Black Beauty. “Hightower had a heart as big as the great outdoors”, said veteran trainer and USDF Silver Medalist Cari Swanson, “and he will be remembered as one of the most intelligent and noble equine actors of our day.” In Tehachapi, California, October 30.
