# The Jeffery Method of horse training??



## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

Never heard of it. Seems like old school cowboy nonsense.

Just curious but would you be able to PM me who the trainer is? I have a friend looking for a trainer here in MT and I don't want her ending up with a choked horse!


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

The horse isn't choked down. The rope puts pressure on the neck and as soon as the horse faces up the pressure is released. I have seen a lot of people do it and the horse isn't choked or abused in any way. As far as it being old-time cowboy nonsense, you could only be so lucky.

Jefferies was an Aussie that had no experience with horses untill he ended up on a cattle station. He was a chore boy and ask about a horse that nobody ever rode. He was told that it was a bad outlaw. In his spare time he started messing with the horse. One day the men came back to the ranch to find the chore boy riding the rankest horse on the ranch. He did it with no saddle and only a rope with a ring tied in the end of it. Clinton Anderson uses a lot of his methods. All the stuff with CA climbing all over the horse and rubbing it and sliding around all over it is the Jefferies method. There are things that trainers do that the clients are better off not seeing but this is not one of them. There is nothing cruel or dangerous about this and I hope you will do a little more research before you drag a mans name in the dirt. I hope you used due diligence and contacted his references and saw some of the horses he is riding. Your horse will very likely end up like the ones he is riding now.


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

Ah Kevin, If that is the case, I hope to never be as lucky as this Jefferies fellow. 

I can certainly respect a cowboy, but "cowboying" a horse when we have gentler methods that produce the same results to me is nonsense. There are parts of the method that I certainly agree with, but using a rope over the windpipe is not one of them. I can train my horse to turn to me without that.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

Could you if you couldn't get a halter on him? I have trained a few horses that were not halter broke and I used this method to get close enough to get a halter on them. By the time they were haltered they were also just about broke to lead and I hadn't choked them one time. Keep in mind that the point is not to choke the horse but to create some discomfort and then provide a reease when the horse give to pressure. When you pull on the rope you pull at a right angle to the horse and force him to take a step then releive the pressure. 

Closing your mind to something that you don't understand will not help you in any area of your life certainly not your horsemanship.


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

You assume I am closing my mind, I'm not. 

I have worked with horses that I can not halter and never resorted to lunging or off balancing a horse.
Maybe I should re-instate that there are many parts of that method which I don't disagree with. However I do disagree with the principle of blocking off a windpipe in order for the horse to seek relief from the pressure. By definition, blocking off a windpipe = choking and something I will avoid doing. 

I understand the point of it and that it will result in a broke horse. However I think there are better ways to do it.


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## Appy Luvr (Mar 16, 2009)

Kevin, I'm certainly not dragging anyones name through the mud. I don't believe I mentioned anyones name so please don't imply that I am bad mouthing people. 
If that is how this trainer chooses to train then I will go elsewhere as I don't agree with using force when their are other ways of doing things. I was simply asking about this method of training as I have never heard of it before. And giving Spastic_Dove the name of the trainer is certainly not dragging his name through the mud. Anyone can email him and he will tell you that's how he trains. 
If I didn't care how my horse was trained I would just have one of my neighbors come over, tie his leg up, blind fold him and get on. I've seen it done many times and I've already had multiple offers from old school cowboys wanting to break him simply because he is unique. It's never going to happen as long as I own him. 

Spastic_Dove, I am pm'ing you.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

Here is a clip from a guy that talks about the Jefferies method. There are 2 or 3 more clips that I haven't watched yet but they might answer more of your questions.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

I remember reading the Jeffrey Method 20 years ago. He, along with others, are really the forerunners of Natural Horsemanship.

Those were the days before the invention of the rope halter as a training tool. The loop was used as a halter is today. His description of where it goes is just that - a description of a location not a way to choke a horse. Incidentally, that is the proper place to rope a horse - where you get the right amount of control. You need the rope close to the horse's head to be effective.

I wonder how many members who are aghast with this still walk their dogs with collars and not halters? A 30lb dog vs a 1,000 lb horse....hmmmm.


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## justsambam08 (Sep 26, 2009)

iridehorses said:


> I wonder how many members who are aghast with this still walk their dogs with collars and not halters? A 30lb dog vs a 1,000 lb horse....hmmmm.


Ironically, there is a movement in the dog community called a "gentle leader" and its exactly that, a dog halter.


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## Appy Luvr (Mar 16, 2009)

I have no problem with anything that was said in the video or with any of his other ways of training. As I've already said, my problem is with the choking method


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

Sounds like you have made up your mind. I won't waste my time or yours by posting any more.


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## SmoothTrails (Oct 1, 2009)

What Kevin is trying to explain is that it is not choking. It is more as if someone tugged on your neck momentarily. you would move toward them and the tension would release. It is just like the rope halters in other NH that cause pressure on sensitive nerves. It only does it momentarily because the horse will move to relieve the pressure.


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