05/05/08 Secrets from the Master, Ray Hunt

Over the next couple of days I thought it would be neat to share some wisdom from the masters, most of you are familiar with them; America's revered horsemen. I'm Jeff Keane and I will be back after the break with a few Ray Hunt "isms". Ray Hunt, Craig Cameron, John Lyons, Buster Welch& are icons in the horse industry who share a passion for horses and the Western Lifestyle. Here is Susan Allen with a few of Ray Hunts ideas about training horses. This topic couldn't be more appropriate after I observed some heavy handed antics in the warm up ring at recent reining show, like the trainer who lost his temper and slapped his mount in the face when he couldn't get the perfect stop. I am not just picking on reiners "quick fix" training happens in every discipline but what I saw made me wonder what Ray Hunt would have said had he been there. How about "If given a little thought, a little understanding, and a little common sense the horse gives back in full measure,"or, "do more by doing less" and one of his most famous quotes "Make the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy". And I bet he would have told the "rank reiner" that " "Half the secret to horsemanship is working with the horse instead of against it." "Mad only gets in your way" and that, "practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." When Ray Hunt tells us to work with the correct attitude and "let your idea become their idea" it's good council not just for schooling horses but for raising kids, training dogs and dealing with people .I'm Jeff Keane.