# Clinton Anderson Tour Stop



## Spirithorse (Jun 21, 2007)

So today was Day 1 of his tour stop, and I'm not going tomorrow. I went in with an open mind of "Maybe he won't be so bad this time" but no such luck. I was disgusted to say the least. He treated both demo horses the same, even though they were two completely different personalities. The second demo horse, a more confident horse, ended up being extremely scared and was running and pulling him across the arena and Clinton was steady jerking on him and whacking him, and that wouldn't have happened if Clinton hadn't gone in there guns blazing. He kept calling them stupid with "no brains in their heads" and just really degrading them. Even Diez, one of his horses, wasn't confident with Clinton back near his HQs, he wouldn't stand still when Clinton rubbed him with the stick, so what did he do, make him spin in tight circles, drilling his shoulders into the ground. That upset Diez and it really didn't fix the issue. He was so aggressive and it was absolutely unecessary, I couldn't wait to get out of there. He's also a jerk to people, poking fun and being condescending. Sure he did say some funny stuff, but my god what he did to those horses was terrible. I should add that neither of the demo horses left the arena relaxed or confident...they certainly didn't leave the arena feeling good about what had just happened:-( I can honestly say I have a very strong dislike for Clinton and his methods.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

I've seen Clinton Anderson at a horse expo as well and wasn't impressed at all. I do like the basic concept he uses in his videos though. I saw Craig Cameron at last years horse expo and he was exactly like you see him in his videos. Just a real laid back all around nice guy. CA comes across as a smug horses *** :lol: I thought it was just me, guess not. Plus his stuff is way to expensive


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## Spirithorse (Jun 21, 2007)

He's a total ***, to horses and people alike. And people think other clinicians promote their DVDs at tour stops? HA! Every other thing he said was "This is on ___ DVD" "you should get this DVD" it was really annoying.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

This is just my opinion, not based on any facts. I think he has overextended himself financially and is in a pinch point. Got a little to big for his Wranglers and the economy slump hit him hard.


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## ShutUpJoe (Nov 10, 2009)

I have stopped CA's methods with my mare. At first I was amazed by the laid back well trained horses that he "produced". Working my mare with the BO who uses CA was starting to wear on me. It started with the whacking the horse on the nose to get her to back up. I noticed this when he was working Cider. It wasn't tap tap tap, it was whack whack whack. Another thing I noticed when I was watching him work Cider in a recent episode, if you look really closely you will see long welt like shapes across her beck and flanks from being "tapped" with the carrot stick. 

The BO says I need to be more firm. I just can't stand whacking my horse that hard for "respect". In the end it's just the horse doing whatever you tell it to because he knows he'll get whacked if he doesn't. There are still a couple things I've been doing with Piper that are on his DVDs. I haven't taken it any further.

From what I've seen in his videos, on his show and what my BO has showed me, I can honestly say that's not how I want to develop a relationship with and on my horse. It's funny how once I started to get into his program how quickly I changed my mind about him.


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## PaintsPwn (Dec 29, 2009)

Sounds like a carbon copy of my experience - but my horse WAS the demo horse. I think his apprentice heard me tell my mom "So help me GOD if he does to my horse what he did to demo horse #1". 

But Cowboy was just soooo good in that arena, despite his constant looking my way, as if to say "Can we go home now? He's boring." 

The only time Cowboy was halfway entertained in that arena is when Clinton was all "Horses are herd animals and copy what the other horses are doing! So if Nelly says 'OMG there's a bear, Tonto here (yes, he called my **** horse, Tonto.) is going to do the same thing!!!" At which point, Clinton was running all over the place and Cowboy's just trotting behind him like "LOL, you're drunk!"


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

^^ well at least your horse had a good time, he wouldnt have trotted behind him if he didnt trust him


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## PaintsPwn (Dec 29, 2009)

Clinton never did anything with him, to be honest. He sold his tie ring for 45 minutes, brought my horse in for 15 minutes to do the 'spooky horse demo'... Where he had Cowboy follow him around while waving the bag around on the stick. Heck, I'd done that at home 1000000 times. 8\ Other than that he was just flapping his jaws about this that and the other.. and his DVD's of course XD

I have pics... lemme see if I can find them.


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## eventerdrew (Mar 13, 2009)

Man, that's annoying. Sounds like CA is one of those people who just plug their products and don't focus on the horse. Bummer.


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## PaintsPwn (Dec 29, 2009)

Hmm, can't seem to find the pics... I haven't looked very deep either, they're buried in the mass of Photobucket pictures >.<


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

im sorry, but what do you expect, of course hes gonna try to promote his dvds & stuff. demos are so you see a bit of his training to get you interested, but not enough that hes teaching you how to train your horse for free, how would he ever make money that way ? just because you dont care about his tie ring doesnt mean other people dont want to hear about it. no one is forcing you to stay or anything, if you dont like it then leave.

sorry if that sounds like a rant, but really what do you expect. if you want to see more techniques you have to go to a clinic not a demo. i have never gone to one of his demos for that reason, i like his methods but i already know what they are, i dont need to be convinced & hear about his dvds


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## RadHenry09 (Mar 22, 2009)

So I shouldn't waste my time or money when he comes to PA this summer , I was thinking about going too : /

on another note Spirithorse:**There was a Parelli clinic this weekend just about 30 min from where I live , I so wanted to go at least to audit but my Paint got hurt (eye injury) so I was at the barn with the vet. Maybe next time ? My boys' well being was more important at this point!


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## RadHenry09 (Mar 22, 2009)

Actually the Blocker tie ring that he is promoting actually worked well for my Mustang .....I didnt buy it from him though, it was suggested by someone else and I found it in a local tack store.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

i wouldnt say totally rule it out, it just depends on what you want to get out of it. dont expect him to not say anything about his products, because selling them is part of how he makes his living. if you can live through that part & want to learn a thing or two about his techniques go for it.


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## RadHenry09 (Mar 22, 2009)

^ I totally agree, I actually saw him before .... IMO he does have some good points but I agree that he talks about a lot of horse owners as being "stupid" (yes , there are some stupid horse owners) but the only way to solve being stupid is to be educated. If he wants to really help horse owners or riders to become more educated he shouldn't be degrading them.


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## eventerdrew (Mar 13, 2009)

of course he is going to promote his products. that's not what I'm getting at. I'm simply curious as to why he would spend more time promoting his products than promoting his training methods by doing a live demo.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

from what was said, i think he did a lot with one horse & less with another. hard to say as we werent there though. also people tend to focus on the negative so again we really have no idea how long anything took place as we didnt see it with our own two eyes [or 4 eyes in my case...]


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## PaintsPwn (Dec 29, 2009)

Right, because I have a great reason to lie! I was not the only one displeased with him at this expo - the woman who ran it called him up after wards, and told him to take a vacation because the people didn't like him and neither did the horses.

I know another woman locally who shows in reining, and she's been at competitions competing against him, and people have wished him luck and he's just completely snobbed them.

I wouldn't walk across the street to see that man again - especially after he said english riders were ****y people - while KAREN O'CONNOR was watching him.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

i never said you lied.....

all i said was none of us saw what happened so we cant ever know the whole big picture of it, we just know what you say/ your take.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

Not to change the subject but has anyone watched Cris Cox? He's another one who I get his methods but if I was ever participating in one of his clinics, I'd be in tears most of the time. He definitly needs to work on his people skills. 
I'm one of those people that crys if someone yells at them :lol:


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

Ray Hunt was a little gruff about some things as well but they are trying to get across an important point and if you don't give it the thought or the effort that they think it requires it's going to irritate them. If you have ever given lessons or instruction on something you know how bad it can get. Add to that, these men see the same problems over and over again. By the time I met Ray he had mellowed with age but in his prime he made grown men puddle up because he told them what he honestly thought of thier horsemanship. those men either quit or they doubled thier efforts and made themselves better. As Nicholson says "you can't handle the truth".


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## Scoutrider (Jun 4, 2009)

I agree about the gruffness of some trainers/instructors, big name, NH, or otherwise. But, I have to say, I've learned more from some of the gruffer, more demanding instructors I've had than from the ones who would just let me go on doing something wrong rather than call me on it and drill the right way into my head. I'd rather learn from someone who is as passionate about horses and everything to do with them as I am, whether they have outstanding people skills or not. :wink: 

I have seen a CA clinic, and a couple of demos. I have seen him get after horses, and some of the dangerously pushy ones did meet the stick, but I have to say that not one smack was for anything less than dangerous behavior far to close to the handler (i.e. bucking, kicking, or striking close enough for a blow to connect). As far as the commercialism, you get that with any big name trainer, I don't care who's name is tooled into the skirt of the saddle. I don't know Mr. Anderson personally, but I can say he's done a couple of English-focused episodes of his tv show, and has English riders in a couple of his books. Kind of odd for someone who thinks that English riders are "****y people," I think, but I've never sat down to tea and discussed the relative merits of different disciplines with him... 

With any trainer you get aspects of the method that you like and aspects that you don't, sometimes even all or nothing. I try to see all I can, take the good, leave the bad, and walk away a little better off for the experience.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

If you pay much attention, you'll notice the majority of students are women. They just need to learn how to play to their audience a bit better. 
There are better ways to correct someone than to get in their face and yell. I know I will react better to calmness. I think most women do. Maybe I'm over-sensitive :?
I see your point though, if I had to see the same thing over and over I might get a little testy :lol:
That's one thing I must say Pat and Linda Parelli have learned. I've never seen them go off on a student.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

haha im totally opposite ! if you yell i at me do so much better, being under pressure usually makes me focus better.


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## Juniper (May 4, 2007)

to RadHenry09. CA came to our area and there was no one checking tickets at the door. I had heard that might be the case. I only had one hour I could go over there so I went to see if I could get in with no ticket. No problem. I think he wants to make sure all the seats are full, because it makes him look more popular, and then some of the onlookers might buy his products! So if you aren't sure if you want to buy a ticket you could chance a walk in. 
I really wish I could have gone to the whole demo. I don't think you learn very much from a demo show. But if you go with the idea of it being sheer entertainment with a bit of crudeness you will have fun.


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## Juniper (May 4, 2007)

P.S. Wear lots of pink and you are more likely to win something he is tossing to the audience.


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## RadHenry09 (Mar 22, 2009)

Thanks Juniper for the advice...I will keep that in mind. I always try to go with an open mind and def looking for horse related clinics , demos anything in my area. Aside from the PA horse expo I havent had much luck in finding many events.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

> I'm one of those people that crys if someone yells at them :lol:


Me too, Vida! Totally not by choice, either - I can't help it, the waterworks just start :[ very embarassing!


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## RadHenry09 (Mar 22, 2009)

gypsygirl said:


> haha im totally opposite ! if you yell i at me do so much better, being under pressure usually makes me focus better.


 

I am very sensitive, I had a very bad experience with an instructor that was like that in fact I had sky high confidence , then she bashed me and my confidence fell to the ground hard!
I wish I would have handled it differently looking back.....
At any rate my husband says at times "you need to grow a pair" HA HA but I think I am going to recite the line from the movie A league of their own when Tom Hanks says "There's no crying in baseball" but replace that with "There's no crying in Horse back riding ".....:shock:


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## Candace09 (Jan 10, 2010)

you should learn to grow a thick skin. all the trainers ive had were hard on me and it made me the rider i am. im the kind of person that if you don't get on me about it then sometimes it might not be as good as it could be


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

RadHenry09 said:


> I am very sensitive, I had a very bad experience with an instructor that was like that in fact I had sky high confidence , then she bashed me and my confidence fell to the ground hard!
> I wish I would have handled it differently looking back.....
> At any rate my husband says at times "you need to grow a pair" HA HA but I think I am going to recite the line from the movie A league of their own when Tom Hanks says "There's no crying in baseball" but replace that with "There's no crying in Horse back riding ".....:shock:


aww thats too bad =[
it sometimes sucks looking back on things you wish you had done different !

my old trainer [& my favorite by far] was in the army before he started teaching riding & he would scream & make me do push up & sit ups & laps & all that jazz. he even made me do push ups in a pile of manure once [for swearing]...gross ! he would also make me & other students repeat 'pain is weakness leaving the body' over & over while we did 2pt with no stirrups around the arena.... it was awesome & made me appreciate the yelling & toughness. also if you werent wearing boots & breeches & gloves with a belt & your shirt tucked in, no lesson plus push ups ! talking back lost you [and anyone else in your lesson] your stirrups for the rest of the ride. he is also a super nice fun guy, i guess he just found a really good balance.

it also takes a lot to get me to cry, my boyfriend says im a robot !


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