We recently took a trip to horse country in Virgina to teach a clinic and were hosted by Rex’s old friend Bobby Duvall and his lovely wife Luciana. Bobby met RJ/Hidalgo, enjoying watching Rex work him through all his paces. The two famous actors have a great deal in common. Rex’s son, Ryan looks on, enjoying all of the family stories Bobby remembers from years of knowing the Peterson’s in Nebraska.
Congratulations to Chip for his first foal of the season, this handsome colt is beautiful, smart and has a great sense of humor at one month old. We just returned from a quick road trip to VA to drop off a horse and pick up a pony and have a quick layover at Chip’s farm in Berryville where Spring is in full bloom.
Trigger and all of his doubles were trained by the great horseman, Glenn Randall, Sr. Rex had the honor to learn from this master horse trainer for nearly two decades. Glenn could train a horse to do anything, including “empty out” on command. This video is a great tribute to the legendary horse and his partner.
I have been watching old John Wayne and Roy Rogers movies and recently found this hilarious video on youtube showing the Cowboy is everywhere.
You can see how Cache Jr. is gaining more and more confidence walking the plank, he is very careful to put his feet on secure footing. This kind of extreme training takes hours of practice and patience….it is amazing what you can teach your horse if you take the time to explain to him what you want and give him the opportunity to learn to have the confidence.
Harbor Mist affectionally known as T, has a pivotal scene in the new HBO film, Temple Grandin. Don’t worry if you missed the premiere, just check the schedule on HBO for listings. Claire Danes gives a stellar performance as Temple Grandin. The story of this remarkable woman is fascinating and a must see for anyone interested in the humane treatment of animals. Rex worked with T on the film for a pivotal scene where the horse called “Chestnut” is wild and fights everyone until Temple meets him. Later in the script “Chestnut” dies and Temple is very upset when she sees him lying under a tarp. You can see him rear, fight and play dead. T lies absolutely still, fooling everyone on the set. T was discovered on the racetrack where he won three races in his career. He was cast as the lead horse in Dreamer. T is a remarkable Hollywood horse who always delivers a solid and convincing performance.
I highly recommend a new film called Temple Grandin on HBO this Saturday at 8pm. The film is about the remarkable work Temple Grandin has done in the field of livestock behavior and humane slaughter. Rex worked on the film with Harbor Mist, also known as Mr. T has a pivotal scene in the film. Friends who have previewed the film say that it is very powerful on many levels and is worth watching. The film has an excellent cast with Claire Danes as Temple Grandin, with supporting roles played by Julia Ormond and David Strathairn.
One day of filming required Mr. T to play dead and lay perfectly still under a tarp. This would not have been easy on a quiet set and was especially difficult because the scene required Mr. T to lie absolutely still while Claire, as Temple, has a fit standing over him. As you know horses are highly sensitive to energy and it is remarkable how Rex was able to convince Mr. T to lay perfectly still during the sequence. This is the result of many hours of training and a tremendous trust between horse and trainer. Mr. T also has several other scenes where he has to fight and rear as well as being gentle with his co- star.
I also recommend you read the review about the film in the New York Times today.
Does your horse stand quietly in the cross ties, does he wait patiently at the mounting block, does he step off only when you ask him, is he on your aids when you ask him to go, whoa, move laterally? If not, come to a clinic this Spring and learn how to teach your horse to be so obedient, even a monkey could ride him. Check the web site for dates and availability.