Tips ON Training Kids And Horses From Barrel Horse Trainer Lance Graves
Seems every little cowgirl dreams of running barrels, problem is that their dreams can become a nightmare if they are matched with the wrong horse. I’m Susan Allen when Open Range returns some valuable insight from a renowned barrel horse trainer with a great track record of coaching kids.Barrel Horse trainer, clinician and competitor Lance Graves offers a wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to training both kids and horses. While his focus is on barrel racing his wisdom works for any other riding disciplines kids gravitate to. The biggest mistake parents make according to Graves is in purchasing the right horse. Young kids and young horses are a bad combination and he stressing knowing both the child and the horse’s personality. An aggressive rider and a fast free running horse can be a disaster. An observation Grave made as a child that has impacted his training philosophy is that “ a horse is the only animal that gives up his own life to live for the will of someone else, thus he wants his students to be the person the horse looks forward to seeing. Foremost in his teaching and something more adult riders could learn is to transmit kindness through your hands to protect the horses sensitive mouth. Grave’s formula for becoming a great rider is simple . Ride, success equates to hours in the saddle. If sends three little girls out trail riding for an hour each one will come back knowing something about their horse they didn’t now before they left.
