# Chris Cox & Clinton Anderson



## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

Chris Cox has won the Road to the Horse colt starting competition four times in four entries, so he stands alone in the horse world with that particular accomplishment. I have never seen him in person or watched his videos.

With Clinton Anderson, what you want is either the Fundamentals series or the Colt Starting series. Either one will take you all the way through his program. If all you watch is one of his youtube videos or RFD episodes, you will get a warped idea of what he teaches.


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## gssw5 (Jul 30, 2013)

I like Clinton Anderson because he is a good teacher. He explains how, what and why your doing what your doing. His focus is gaining your horses respect and staying safe. I like the kits because everything is laid out step by step, like a recipe. If you do not have any horse training experience then the fundamentals will help you gain some understanding of what your doing.

If you start at the beginning of the fundamentals and follow every exercise in order at the end if you never go any farther you will have a well behaved horse. CA says if every horse knew the fundamentals he would be out of a job. If you continue on with his intermediate series and onto the advanced you will have a solid broke horse with skills.

CA fundamentals gives you the tools you need for a well mannered safe horse. The intermediate and advanced go on to teach skills. 

I have no experience with Chris Cox, but I have done clinics with his brother and have been told they train similar to each other and at the clinics we were doing a lot of the same stuff that CA does. 

I think you have to decide whose teaching style fits you best and go with that. Either way no video is going to teach you feel and timing, those things come with practice and experience. Nothing can take the place of eyes on the ground watching you, and correcting you to make you more effective.


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## ducky123 (May 27, 2014)

Joel Reiter said:


> If all you watch is one of his youtube videos or RFD episodes, you will get a warped idea of what he teaches.


I've never seen the DVDs he produces but I always assumed his training program would be quite similar to what is shown on the RFD episodes. Where's the warp?


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## camcam78910 (Jun 15, 2015)

Thanks, I'm going to go with Anderson for now. However, we can't afford a membership for giddyupflix right now. Is there anywhere I can buy/rent it for less? I tried eBay and didnt find anything. Any ideas?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

ducky123 said:


> I always assumed his training program would be quite similar to what is shown on the RFD episodes. Where's the warp?


The warp is in the speed, the skipped steps, and the kind of horses that appear in the TV show. Most of the episodes are about fixing a problem. So you start with a horse that has made a career of bad behavior and you have 40 minutes to fix it. And people watch that and think Clinton Anderson is cruel and impatient.

In his training DVDs he shows how he actually trains a horse, rather than trying to fix a problem in a hurry. Because he goes so slowly, it would make terrible TV. It can be very boring. The colt starting series is 28 hours of video and nobody is going to sit through a whole TV episode where Clinton does nothing but rub his hands all over a colt.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

camcam78910 said:


> we can't afford a membership for giddyupflix right now. Is there anywhere I can buy/rent it for less? Any ideas?


In order of cheapness:


Your local library -- check with the librarian or online to see what kind consortium they have. Possibly one of the libraries in their association has one of the sets. That's how I got to watch the colt starting series.
Ebay, Craigslist, Amazon used, garage sales -- you have to keep watching, because the stuff won't last when it shows up. If you have a smart phone you can get an app that will monitor for anything you wish to buy.
Black Friday sale -- the best time to buy a kit is almost always the day after Thanksgiving.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

You can`t assess training methods by Road to the Horse, as any of the good competitors taking part in those types of events, stress that what is seen in those competitions, is NOT a true representation as to how they start a horse at home, esp time frame used
Those events are NOT for the horse, they are pure and simply crowd Entertainment, with the horse being the pawn.


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## camcam78910 (Jun 15, 2015)

thank you Joel! I watched some of Clinton's training, and I absolutely love it!! Can't wait to get started  I would like to start a training journal on here once I get started. Is that allowed?
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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Clinton Anderson's Downunder Horsemanship: Establishing Respect and Control for English and Western Riders: Clinton Anderson, Ami Hendrickson: 9781570762840: Amazon.com: Books

Less than $50.00
I've been through it cover to cover.
If you set aside the time, go slowly and are both very positive with your horse, and let no bad habits go un-addressed, you should do very well. =D


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

Smilie said:


> You can`t assess training methods by Road to the Horse


I agree, you can't judge training methods, because they are modified for speed. Do you think you can make any judgement of training skills?



Smilie said:


> Those events are NOT for the horse, they are pure and simply crowd Entertainment, with the horse being the pawn.


True, but Stacy Westfall was happy to buy Popcorn after she won the event with him and she competes on him today in mounted shooting.


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## tim62988 (Aug 30, 2012)

I personally like what I have watched so far from kerry Kuhn. I know not one of the ones you asked about but easy to listen to and $80 for his DVD set vs $80 PER dvd or $600 for some of the sets.


Between lessons with our trainer and the Kerry kuhn dvd's I feel my wife's mare is making a lot of progress and we are understanding how to communicate with her better


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Between the two, I'd go with Chris Cox. I like the way his finished horses move and respond, better than Clinton's horses IMO. Not a fan of the cranking the neck to the stirrup or the pulling the head to the chest thing. Also I just like Chris' program better all the way around. 

BUT, they are not the only ones out there. You could also check out Richard Winters, Stacey Westfall, Julie Goodnight, Charles Wilhelm ... to name a few.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

Yeah, one of the very best free resources I've seen is Stacy Westfall's _Riding Safely on the Trail_ DVD, which is available free with a purchase from Weaver Leather. Ride Safely on the Trail | Weaver Leather

Her DVDs on ground work, colt starting, and teaching the stop would be helpful to you, and are less expensive than many at $49.99 each. You can buy her entire set for $209.00 but a lot of it is pretty advanced stuff. https://stagecoachwest.com/dvds-c-260_411.html


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## camcam78910 (Jun 15, 2015)

Joel Reiter said:


> Her DVDs on ground work, colt starting, and teaching the stop would be helpful to you, and are less expensive than many at $49.99 each. You can buy her entire set for $209.00 but a lot of it is pretty advanced stuff. https://stagecoachwest.com/dvds-c-260_411.html


So if I got one of her DVDs, would I be able to do it mostly without help from a trainer? Or would I absolutely need a trainer? I reeeaaallly wanted to get Clinton Anderson Fundamentals but I can't find it anywhere for under $300
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## STT GUY (Apr 23, 2014)

We used Clinton Anderson Fundamentals as a foundation. Its very easy to understand and outcome based which works well for us.

We also like Chris Cox, more so the more we watch his tutorials. Chris isn't as dynamic with his presentation skills as Clinton. Also like us some Julie Goodnight and Craig Cammeron too.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Smilie said:


> You can`t assess training methods by Road to the Horse,...Those events are NOT for the horse, they are pure and simply crowd Entertainment, with the horse being the pawn.


 Well said.


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## hollysjubilee (Nov 2, 2012)

I love Clinton, but no one talks as much as he does. lol He's entertaining and thorough and I've used some of his training, and it's good.

I adore Chris Cox and don't think that anyone sits a horse as nicely as he does. Chris is also one of the only trainers I have heard (outside of Julie Goodnight) who talks about HOW to be balanced ON the horse (something I found greatly lacking in any of the Parelli trainers I've seen).

Find someone you don't mind listening to for hours on tape or dvd.  I love John Lyons and can listen to him all day, but some folks get very bored with his repetitive manner. I don't mind the repetition because it helps me remember better when I'm out in the arena or on trail with my horse. Clinton is funny and entertaining and effective, and can fit more into a minute of talking than anyone I've ever heard! Chris is more serious, very focused on safety, and I've never listened to him on a recording, but I've seen him in person and liked his calmness and honesty and his encouraging attitude toward the student. There are many good trainers out there. Look at the trainers' horse(s) to see if it's what you want . . . calm, not fidgety; responsive, not resistant; trusting, not fearful.

Have fun and be safe!!


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## gee50 (Dec 31, 2014)

My suggestion is not to get stuck on one trainer only. You may find you like something from one trainer and somethings from another. You can't be CA or CC. So you and your horse will learn in your own ways. Having more than one sorce to draw from will help a lot.

I would suggest you get some DVD's form both these trainer. Add in Warwick Schiller, Mark Rodney & Debbie Eisenhauer-Rodney as well as Monty Roberts. Youtube is a great resource as well.

If you work hard. Put your horse on a good training schedule you should be able to take your horse from Start to Finish in 2 years or so. But you and your horse will never stop learning.


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## Ian McDonald (Aug 24, 2011)

If you want to really get good at this yourself, get both. Then get some more! In fact study as many trainers as you can find, especially the good ones. And study different disciplines!


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

camcam78910 said:


> would I be able to do it mostly without help from a trainer? Or would I absolutely need a trainer?


The answer is pretty simple. If you spend the time with your horse and apply the lessons, in sequence, you will progress. If you just sit in front of your TV, your horse won't get any better.

If you had the money, and if you could find a really good trainer, I'm sure you would progress faster having a coach instruct you and provide instant feedback. But money and really good trainers are both rare.

Think of it this way. If you spent full retail for the Fundamentals or Colt Starting kit, you'd be shelling out $600. 28 hours of instruction for $600 is $21.43 per hour. No trainer is coming to your house at your convenience for $20 an hour, and certainly not one that teaches as clearly as Clinton Anderson.

Stacy Westfall recommends that you watch a training video a second time with sound off, so you have focus on what is happening rather than what the trainer is saying.

I've found it helpful to videotape what I'm doing so I can compare it to what I'm supposed to be doing. I don't enjoy seeing how pathetic my initial attempts have been, but it really helps catch the mistakes.


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## nothingsempty (Jun 29, 2015)

Thanks Camcam for letting me know about GiddyUpFlix.com! I couldn't believe it when I went online and found out that Clinton Anderson's Foundation series is $1800!!! It must be for prospective trainers or something. This way it's much more affordable. And it allows me to get material from several different trainers. Although it's going to take me years just to get through all of Clint's stuff!


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

nothingsempty said:


> Clinton Anderson's Foundation series is $1800!!!


CA sells fundamentals, intermediate, and advanced training kits for $600 each, or you can buy all three at once. His web site calls that the Method Progression Package.

https://www.downunderhorsemanship.com/Store/store/DVDS/DH/0/1/12

If you really wanted to buy all three at once, it would make more sense to join the No Worries club for a year and pay the $950 club price. But until you get your horse all the way through either the colt starting or the fundamentals material, I don't see much point in spending money on the more advanced stuff.


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## DaveJ (Jul 21, 2015)

I think everyone should try out Clinton andersons Method. I've been using it on many horses for some yrs now and while everyone around me seems to have issues with just one horse, I have no issues with as many as five horses. I do use 10% other methods but 90% is CA'S Method. Great results, you just need to be able to duplicate and take the time. Small steps, big results. I recommend every horse owner should have at least the Clinton andersons establishing respect and control for English and western riders and the fundamental series minimum.
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