Alex Caffery July 15, 2010
Finally back at Aspen Ridge Ranch in Red Lodge Montana and what a great weekend. My mom and I went up to see a special horse clinic. I met so many new people and once again saw many people that I had met last year. The horse clinic was conducted by Bill and Kristin Crabtree. The first day was a rise and shine type of morning. Waking up at 7:30 and being at the ranch by 8:00, it was chilly and very overcast.
But not to worry as the day progressed the sun shone brightly on us.
After everyone had their breakfast and got their tack in the arena, the Crabtree’s surprised the 8 attendees and their horses with hula-hoops. Bill told each of the riders to unhook their horse and have them run on the outside of the arena together as a herd. He didn’t want them to go into the middle because of all the unusual objects such as basket balls, ply wood, tarps, cones, poles stuck into cement, a fake bull, hoses, and a lot more. So everyone grabbed their lunging polls and lead ropes kept the horses running on the outside. Bill Crabtree explained to the class that this would eliminate the pecking order, and after they were done running, the attendees should try to get their horse to come to them.
This activity was a lot more difficult then thought; it took a while but finally one of the horses went his owner and the rest followed to find their owner’s. The activity lasted about forty-five minutes, and after every horse was caught and tacked up, the Crabtree’s went around helping and checking to make sure everything was going smoothly. After that was finished Bill Crabtree had each horse and rider go through a very difficult obstacle course. Most of the horses had a lot of trouble going through it. Some even needed groundwork with Bill to get comfortable enough to go through. It was very scary and frustrating for the horse and rider. Because the horse was either scared or stubborn to go threw and the rider was frustrated because it took a long time for the horse to get used to the obstacles. But as time went on all of the horses made it through the obstacles. That was just the morning session of the first day. I’m not going to go through each day but as the training went on through the days the horses and the riders worked better together as a team.
Finally back at Aspen Ridge Ranch in Red Lodge Montana and what a great weekend. My mom and I went up to see a special horse clinic. I met so many new people and once again saw many people that I had met last year. The horse clinic was conducted by Bill and Kristin Crabtree. The first day was a rise and shine type of morning. Waking up at 7:30 and being at the ranch by 8:00, it was chilly and very overcast.
But not to worry as the day progressed the sun shone brightly on us.
After everyone had their breakfast and got their tack in the arena, the Crabtree’s surprised the 8 attendees and their horses with hula-hoops. Bill told each of the riders to unhook their horse and have them run on the outside of the arena together as a herd. He didn’t want them to go into the middle because of all the unusual objects such as basket balls, ply wood, tarps, cones, poles stuck into cement, a fake bull, hoses, and a lot more. So everyone grabbed their lunging polls and lead ropes kept the horses running on the outside. Bill Crabtree explained to the class that this would eliminate the pecking order, and after they were done running, the attendees should try to get their horse to come to them.
This activity was a lot more difficult then thought; it took a while but finally one of the horses went his owner and the rest followed to find their owner’s. The activity lasted about forty-five minutes, and after every horse was caught and tacked up, the Crabtree’s went around helping and checking to make sure everything was going smoothly. After that was finished Bill Crabtree had each horse and rider go through a very difficult obstacle course. Most of the horses had a lot of trouble going through it. Some even needed groundwork with Bill to get comfortable enough to go through. It was very scary and frustrating for the horse and rider. Because the horse was either scared or stubborn to go threw and the rider was frustrated because it took a long time for the horse to get used to the obstacles. But as time went on all of the horses made it through the obstacles. That was just the morning session of the first day. I’m not going to go through each day but as the training went on through the days the horses and the riders worked better together as a team.
