# Clinton Anderson, What Do You Think of His Methods?



## Whispering Meadows (Apr 30, 2009)

Ok well I just found this Clinton Anderson apprentice program, working with Clinton Anderson for 4yrs. I haven't heard much about Clinton or his methods, but what I have heard was good. So I was wonrdering if any of y'all had use(d) his methods or been to any of his clinics? If you have/do what do you think about them? Would it be worth it to give this Apprentice Program a shot? Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!


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## goldilockz (Aug 1, 2008)

I like some of the stuff he does, and others I'm not sure about.

Any apprenticeship is good though, as I believe the best horseman takes his techniques from various sources


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## dee (Jul 30, 2009)

His methods are very similar to the Parelli method or to Dennis Reis (all are on RFD-TV). I have tried a number of his little exercises, and they do work. I'm not very experienced with training horses - my previous horses were all pretty much ready made. These last two I bought haven't had much handling recently, and I'm pretty much starting all over. If I could afford his videos and/or his "No Worries Club," I sure would!


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

goldilockz said:


> I like some of the stuff he does, and others I'm not sure about.
> 
> Any apprenticeship is good though, as I believe the best horseman takes his techniques from various sources


Yep, yep, yep! I don't subscribe to any one person's methods, but there are several for whom I have a lot of respect and agree with much of what they use/teach. Clinton Anderson is one of the ones I respect and agree with on most counts.


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## LadyDreamer (Jan 25, 2008)

The Apprenticeship program will be very hard to get into, just like a good college. Clinton is never easy on his apprentices, and it is going to ivolve very VERY hard work. 

I suggest if you are really interested, start practicing some of his methods, join the No Worries Club(you can talk to some of the current apprentices there), and see if it is right for you.

The more you have to show, the more confidence you have, the better you present yourself, the better off you will be.


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## Whispering Meadows (Apr 30, 2009)

thanks guys! I haven't completely decided on his program yet due to the fact that its 4yrs and i cant take my own horse. I'm also still looking at other trainers that I might be more interested in. So if you know some others that have good methods I could check into please let me know!

Dee,
how much like Parelli are his methods? does he use the "games"? Like I said in my first post I dont know much about his methods but I've heard he is really good. As for Parelli I know a little bit more about him and his methods and some of his methods I really dont like, like his "games" I find could turnout very dangerous and would never attempt to use them.

LadyDreamer,
I expect that any horse training program would be lots of hard work as horses are hard work.


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## Spirithorse (Jun 21, 2007)

I do not like Clinton at all. He treats every horse the same and he is very aggressive. You have to be assertive with horses, not aggressive. I've seen him spur the crap out of horses b/c they weren't bending, yank on their mouths because they weren't softening, and I heard him say, with my own ears, that he doesn't care if his horse is behind the vertical, just as long as he is giving to the bit. Going behind the bit is EVADING, not giving. His horses are robots. He uses intimidation to get things done. You never hear him talk about the relationship, only do whatever it takes to get the task done. He will also not hesitate to put a twisted wire snaffle in a horse's mouth. I can not respect anyone who does that.
If you watch closely, you can see where some of Clinton's stuff looks like Parelli's 7 games. But I can tell you Clinton DOES NOT come anywhere near being as good with horses at Pat. Clinton used to be a Parelli student and he's put his own twist on Pat's games. I can say first hand that Parelli's 7 games are not dangerous. Doing them makes things safer for both horse and human. 
All of that being said, I will say that I have a lot of respect for Denis Reis. He is a wonderful horseman and he's a beautiful rider.


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## Scoutrider (Jun 4, 2009)

If there were some crazed law that every rider had to choose a big name trainer to follow (come heck or high water), I would probably pick Clinton Anderson. My horses respond really well to the techniques, especially the groundwork. They are calm, respectful, friendly, safe, and easy to handle. That's awesome, Whispering Meadows, that you may have to opportunity to participate in his Apprenticeship program! I personally use a lot more of a classical dressage based riding program, but, for my new horse (basically green) I started off going through the motions of CA's gaining respect/control exercises to be sure that I stood on level ground, so to speak. A lot of the commercial NH trainers focus on building a foundation, and to have a complete picture different concepts need to come in to play (hence my classical dressage after control).

That's interesting, Spirithorse, I didn't know that CA was once a Parelli student! Wow! Although he doesn't say much about partnership in his videos, etc. (at least from what I've seen), to do the liberty work and bridleless riding that he performs at exhibitions, there is a great degree of partnership that has been attained, and that I am sure he must acknowledge and be working toward. Just my opinion, as always, but all of my experience of the Parelli system is talking about partnership, very little "this is how it's done", lots of "this is what you will get to." Granted, this is the free TV show, not watching a DVD set.

Kudos on the wonderful opportunity, Whispering Meadows!


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## Spirithorse (Jun 21, 2007)

Yep, a 5 star Parelli Professional, who has been with Pat from the beginning, told us that at a clinic she was giving. He was doing Level 3 when he decided to go out and do his own thing. My personal opinion, the Parelli program is better off without him.

You can achieve bridleless riding through micromanagement. You just have to have a hum-dee-dum horse who isn't going to test you. This is where you can seperate TRUE bridleless riding from bridleless riding achieved through micromanagement. Clinton's horse Mindy is a phenominal athelete, but she is one of those hum-dee-dum horses you can do anything on. I have yet to see Clinton take on a real challenge and ride it bridleless. My personal opinion again, but that's because he does not emphasize the relationship in his training. If Clinton were to get a hold of my horse, oh man, I can only imagine what Arie would do to him. It would not be pretty AT ALL. 

Parelli's TV shows are to motivate and inspire people, not to teach them. This is a good and bad thing. The DVDs are the "how to" material, it goes very in depth and is a lot like taking a private lesson with Pat and/or Linda in a lot of ways.


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## Scoutrider (Jun 4, 2009)

Spirithorse said:


> Clinton's horse Mindy is a phenominal athelete, but she is one of those hum-dee-dum horses you can do anything on.


 You just described what I strive for in a horse, lol. A horse that will willingly follow my lead and I can do anything with. There are the differences in ambitions and goals between horsepeople in action!

I have heard extreme emphasis of _not_ micromanaging from CA's system (and similar ideas from Parelli); making the horse responsible for his gait, speed, and direction without the rider constantly tugging him back to the rail, or holding his mouth to keep him slow, etc.

The tv show makes more sense, if the DVDs are the informative aspect of it. Sometimes I think that if Pat got hold of Scout, Scout would just stand there and watch, wondering what was going on. With so many different trainers and options, it's like all roads leading to Rome. Lots of ways to get there, the ultimate goal the same. It's all about how your horse is "wired" and what he responds to the best.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

I've only purchased one DVD from him. Handling foals, weanling's and yearling's. 
I used it exclusively on my 2 babies (now 3) I think they've turned out great so far


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## FlitterBug (May 28, 2009)

I'm not a huge fan of Clinton Anderson. He works on submission, basically the "if I do this, the horse will do that", often with little regard to why the horse doesn't want to do that in the first place. The task is finished when the horse completes it, whether it has physically helped the horse or not. He does get rough with horses, that is not really what bothers me though. What bothers me is that he gets rough without taking the horses physical condition into the picture.

On that note though, I am also not a huge fan of Parelli. I know people don't believe me, but his "games" can also be harmful to the horse physically. Other than that, the man just drives me nuts.


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm not a "fan" of either (Pat or CA), but I have been to some CA clinics and think his methods work fine. The think with CA is that he trains people. He is not a phenomenal horse trainer but he makes things easy to understand and that is why, in my opinion, he is at the level he is at. Personally, I would rather apprentice under Monty Roberts. 
CA does expect a lot from his horses. I have never seen him be aggressive, but he demands a lot, I could see where you could say he just wants a task completed regardless of the horse though. He is one of the big name trainers in the "Natural Horsemanship" world that still uses cowboy methods.


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## Spirithorse (Jun 21, 2007)

Clinton is not "natural horsemanship." He himself has said he is not. And I agree. He isn't. He is far from it.


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## SamboStar (Sep 18, 2008)

Spirithorse said:


> I do not like Clinton at all. He treats every horse the same and he is very aggressive. You have to be assertive with horses, not aggressive. I've seen him spur the crap out of horses b/c they weren't bending, yank on their mouths because they weren't softening, and* I heard him say, with my own ears, that he doesn't care if his horse is behind the vertical, just as long as he is giving to the bit. Going behind the bit is EVADING, not giving.* His horses are robots. He uses intimidation to get things done. *You never hear him talk about the relationship, only do whatever it takes to get the task done.* He will also not hesitate to put a twisted wire snaffle in a horse's mouth. I can not respect anyone who does that.
> quote]
> 
> The sentences I highlighted were the ones that stuck out to me.
> ...


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

I mentioned natural horsemanship because though he may no claim to be a natural horsemanship trainer, most of the horsey public believes him to be.


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## Spirithorse (Jun 21, 2007)

A horse going behind the vertical is never okay. Plain. and. simple. So for him to say he doesn't care whether or not a horse goes behind the vertical is ridiculous. Again, JMO.


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## Whispering Meadows (Apr 30, 2009)

Spirithorse said:


> A horse going behind the vertical is never okay. Plain. and. simple. So for him to say he doesn't care whether or not a horse goes behind the vertical is ridiculous. Again, JMO.


ok call me stupid i dont care lol but what is *the vertical*? and how do you know if the horse is behind/infront of it? :?


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## Raphael (Aug 5, 2009)

Whispering Meadows said:


> ok call me stupid i dont care lol but what is *the vertical*? and how do you know if the horse is behind/infront of it? :?



Try this site. The Horse's Balance it should at least give you a little bit of an idea.


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## Whispering Meadows (Apr 30, 2009)

Raphael said:


> Try this site. The Horse's Balance it should at least give you a little bit of an idea.


thanks  that site makes it easy to understand. very helpfull!


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## SamboStar (Sep 18, 2008)

Hey, here's a thread that's got a video on it - I'm not yet sure who the western rider is, but watch his horse - he's behind the vertical! Does the horse look like he's fighting the bit? 

http://www.horseforum.com/english-riding/western-english-32646/newmessage/

There you are! My stupid computer is so slow, I only loaded the first 20 seconds of it, LOL!


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## .Delete. (Jan 7, 2008)

Alot of Clinton Andersons ways helped my show horse a ton and really helped me finish him. His bending exercises are fantastic. I lovelove Clinton Andrerson sometimes. But he is a tad over agressive on repeating EVERYTHING. His intructional video on the tie-ring when it came out he must have said "Your horse will die 1 2 3 DIE" atleast 12 times at the least. Some of his methods make me giggle. To each is own


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## hotreddun (Jun 27, 2008)

I think his methods are so convulated with marketing tricks and "tv personality" agendas that I can't stand watching him. Which is kind of sad because he either is or was a good trainer probably.


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## Calamity Jane (Mar 16, 2009)

Would you rather be bored to tears by a trainer who's got zero personality? 
What's wrong with the guy making a good living at what he does?? Never could understand people begrudging Clinton Anderson and others like him who have found a nitch and made it work for themselves. Welcome to America, dude. Land of the free and home of the infomercial.

CA has got some awesome stuff that works. I use it all the time and get the results I need. he cuts through the crap and gets to the point. Yeah, he can use his goofy stick a bit much, but it's fiberglass and it doesn't hurt. I've hit myself with it and can attest that it's more of a bounce, than a whack. 

If you don't want to spend the $ on his handy stick you can get the exact same thing at half circle ranch.com. You can buy all the rope there then rent his videos from several dvd rental places online. You can rent his stuff for less than $10 a month. 

Funny story....I went to see CA at a demo where there were these two women who were walking out at the intermission. They were miffed. One of them said to the other, "it's the same stuff that he does on tv!"
(um. yeah. things that make you go, "DUH!!")


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

I have seen CA and Dennis Reis clinics and I hosted a Ray Hunt clinic. Ray Hunt is the "inventor" of the horse clinic and has forgotten more about horses than most of these other clinicians will learn. Sadly, he died earlier this year. I would try to get the Dennis Reis appreticeship if I were young and unattached but either one would be great for starting a carreer. One of the hardest things for an aspiring trainer to do is get good horses and build a reputation. Being in a program like that gives you a little credibility.
Good luck it's extremely competitive so if you don't make it with one of them keep trying.


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

I don't know much about CA except for a book that I have, I'm not sure of the name right off the top of my head but it has pretty much every one of his exercises with tons of pictures and information, but from that book I've gained a dislike of him.

It seems like a lot of his methods depend on turning the horse into something that won't do anything without human intervention. Like his exercise where the horse is supposed to go in a straight line at whatever gait you tell them until you tell them to stop. I personally want my horse to think for herself. I want her to be able to choose where she think the safest place is to walk on the trail instead of relying on me to tell her. 

He does have a few great exercises, I really like how he explains flexion and disengagement of the various body parts in his book. 
I'm sure it works great for some people and I'm happy for those people but Lacey and I will never be one pairs that has success with that sort of thing.

I'm with Spastic Dove, if I had to choose a trainer to apprentice with it'd be Monty Roberts.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

*I think his methods are so convulated with marketing tricks and "tv personality" agendas that I can't stand watching him. Which is kind of sad because he either is or was a good trainer probably*

I went to my first CA clinic about 9 years ago and enjoyed it greatly then I went to one a couple of years ago and it was like the circus had come to town. There literally were two big tents with all kinds of stuff he was trying to peddle. It's the same way with his TV show. At one time it was informative and interesting and he concentrated on training techniques. The last time I watched it it was an infomercial about stall shavings or something like that. That takes away some of the desire to go to his clinics but I would not say his techniques are any less effective.


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## dee (Jul 30, 2009)

Whispering Meadows - I completely forgot about this thread. I'm sorry I didn't get back to you - especially since we are practically neighbors! I hope you got what you needed from this thread. There are pros and cons for each of the current trainers on RFD-TV. I suspect that CA is a very good horse trainer - especially when he is NOT on TV or in front of a crowd. No one can deny his showmanship - that's for sure. I would encourage you to try to get the apprenticeship. You don't have to agree with his methods to learn from him. 

As for the rest of us - we can take from his methods what we want or need, and disregard the rest - yes?


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## Candace09 (Jan 10, 2010)

I know I am a little late on this but I just joined this board. HI! lol
Whispering Meadows::: I watch RFD-TV all the time. I saw that he was taking applications for the "Learn. Train. Teach" Apprenticeship. I applied thinking "what the hay ill try it and if i dont get it oh well!" well low and behold i got a call from Shana Terry who went through the program and has graduated and is teaching at his ranch still. And i got it. Im on the waiting list at #6 but my life has done a complete 180. its crazyyy. i hope you apply and get started!!


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## southerncowgirl93 (Feb 5, 2009)

I like his methods. He has incorporated many good trainers into his method. But, like it was said earlier, it would be very hard to get into his program. But you don't know if you don't try.


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## Jolly Badger (Oct 26, 2009)

OP, you didn't specifically state what you want to accomplish as a result of being a student of CA. 

Do you want to be a riding instructor for beginners and recreational riders, or are you interested in having students who will be competitive in a chosen discipline? If your goal is to focus more on training horses, do you want to train horses for competition or a specific type of work? 

The thing with a lot of the BNT "apprentice" programs is that they're much more likely to teach you their system and _only _their system. That includes memorizing their own brand of lingo, reading all of their books and watching all of their DVDs with some hands-on guidance by other trainers who have already been through the same program. To me, that sounds more like a new employee orientation at a corporate job. 

Finishing a BNT's "trainer course" probably will not impress people who do not already have some interest in that BNT. In fact, there are many within the horse industry who would tell you that being a "certified" trainer from a BNT's program is worth less than the paper "Certificate of Completion" it is printed on. 

If you're looking for horse experience that will make you more marketable, seek out working student opportunities with reputable, successful trainers. 

_Not_ famous clinicians with their own "signature" products, tv series and merchandise, but _real_ trainers with a _real_ business and _real_ clients. Through them, you can not only develop your horse training and riding abilities, but also learn about the business side of things. It will give you the chance to network with other horse professionals and build a reputation for yourself based on who _you_ are. . .not which BNT's name is on your Certificate of Completion.


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## Candace09 (Jan 10, 2010)

Jolly Badger said:


> OP, you didn't specifically state what you want to accomplish as a result of being a student of CA.
> 
> Do you want to be a riding instructor for beginners and recreational riders, or are you interested in having students who will be competitive in a chosen discipline? If your goal is to focus more on training horses, do you want to train horses for competition or a specific type of work?
> 
> ...


I do not agree with the red text. You should try out these programs if you are handed them in life. The more professionals you know in the horse world, the better. repuation means everything. And unless you know their program and have physicaly been there with a specific (as stated above) "Famous" clinician and have 1st hand been around them as they work them you should try it.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

The hardest part of being a horse trainer is getting experience. The more different horses you ride the better you get. If you are a part time trainer riding 2-3 horses at a time while you hold down a "real" job you will ride 25-35 horses per year maximum and probably alot less. If you are riding with a big name trainer even if it's just the local "big name" you will ride as many as 10 horses per day and you may not ride the same ones every day. In addition, you get some one-on-one time with the trainer and you develop contacts with other trainer and riders. Building a solid reputation is the most important thing a young trainer can do and it is also one of the easiest things to ruin.


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## Candace09 (Jan 10, 2010)

well said kevinshorses!


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## Jolly Badger (Oct 26, 2009)

Candace09 said:


> I do not agree with the red text. You should try out these programs if you are handed them in life. The more professionals you know in the horse world, the better. repuation means everything. And unless you know their program and have physicaly been there with a specific (as stated above) "Famous" clinician and have 1st hand been around them as they work them you should try it.


The thing is, the majority of NH-in-a-box programs are just overpriced common sense advice, with catchy new names for very old concepts, neatly packaged and printed on glossy paper. 

I could make up a bunch of silly names for manure forks and muck buckets, create a special program to teach a "new way of stall cleaning," and probably find some idiot who "had horses for years, but never thought of it that way" and would be willing to pay me for it. 

I could even create special levels. . .like "advanced sifting techniques,: which students could achieve by sending in videos of themselves. And I could have my own booth at horse shows and expos, complete with demonstrations, $75 manure forks, $100 muck buckets, and specially-designed wheelbarrows with my name and logo prominently displayed in shiny gold writing on each item.

And I could probably use that to start a program to train Certified Muck Specialists. They would pay to apprentice with me for a year or so, during which time they'd have to learn additional, secret techniques for cleaning stalls in very cold or hot weather. Once they completed the program, they would then go out into the world as professionals to offer their own clinics and demonstrations, and sell all of my overpriced certified items to the local customers.

And yes. . .this is sarcasm. . .


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## Jarrett (Jan 5, 2010)

Ouch, that came across as very bitter.


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## Candace09 (Jan 10, 2010)

Jolly Badger said:


> The thing is, the majority of NH-in-a-box programs are just overpriced common sense advice, with catchy new names for very old concepts, neatly packaged and printed on glossy paper.
> 
> I could make up a bunch of silly names for manure forks and muck buckets, create a special program to teach a "new way of stall cleaning," and probably find some idiot who "had horses for years, but never thought of it that way" and would be willing to pay me for it.
> 
> ...


you're cool.


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## Whispering Meadows (Apr 30, 2009)

Jolly Badger said:


> The thing is, the majority of NH-in-a-box programs are just overpriced common sense advice, with catchy new names for very old concepts, neatly packaged and printed on glossy paper.
> 
> I could make up a bunch of silly names for manure forks and muck buckets, create a special program to teach a "new way of stall cleaning," and probably find some idiot who "had horses for years, but never thought of it that way" and would be willing to pay me for it.
> 
> ...


****....thats funny but very well put! 


I decided not to do this program and find something more my "style" i guess.

His program is set up for people to learn how to be clinicians and thats not what I'm looking for.


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## Jolly Badger (Oct 26, 2009)

Jarrett said:


> Ouch, that came across as very bitter.


Actually, I prefer the term "cynical.":lol:


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## Marecare (Jan 1, 2009)

There seems to be a great deal of resentment towards trainers and clinicians that just keeps building and it is even starting to impact the non-NH people.

CA does not say that he is a Natural horseman that I know of.
He is fairly successful on the clinic circuit and has lots of endorsements.

I personally am getting tired of the jealousy and resentment.
I would not pay for a CA clinic but there are people that get help from them and any success that can be had in these tough times in the horse world is fine by me.

There are way more people making it up on their own and screwing up horses without any help.


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## Jarrett (Jan 5, 2010)

Marecare said:


> There seems to be a great deal of resentment towards trainers and clinicians that just keeps building and it is even starting to impact the non-NH people.
> 
> CA does not say that he is a Natural horseman that I know of.
> He is fairly successful on the clinic circuit and has lots of endorsements.
> ...


Ironically, recently finding this forum really helped me understand the need for people like Clinton Anderson. We just happen to live in an area where many of the best Western horse riders in the world are within driving distance. Due to that, there are tons of really good riding instructors/horse trainers in the area. So much so that the majority of people in the area are good riders and know a lot about horses. That being the way it is, I always had a hard time understanding the need for the clinicians.

Coming onto this forum and seeing posts from people all across the country and into Canada that are struggling with getting information and help with even the most basic horse fundamentals really opened my eyes. In our area, we take that sort of knowledge for granted as its so readily available; but I can now see the use in a DVD/clinic program such as Clinton Anderson's. It's an easy to follow program that most anyone can follow and get repeatable results.

So while it might seem unnecessary to some that have an abundance of knowledgeable horse people around them, it can be crucial to those who don't.


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## Cowgirl140ty (Jan 7, 2010)

I Will tell you that I love Clinton Anderson. Im not big on Pat Parelli at all. I have used CA techniques on my own horse. And can now ride him bridleless. And I can tell you... he will test you to the point that no one else can usually ride him but myself. I have even worked cows with no bridle when he shook it off. 
Pat Parelli... I personally believe is in it more for money. I cannot afford to spend hundreds of dollars on his training tools and DVDs. And with out his DVDs you really dont get to see what he did to get such results.
And from my own experience... and CA show on RFD-Tv... I have trained all my own horses... as well as many others and they are all great. As a matter of fact.. my horse that is so testy... I was offered $20,000 for at a cattle cutting show. (but my horses are my kids, so i refused.)

I say go for Clinton Anderson. What I wouldnt love to be his apprentice.


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## SamboStar (Sep 18, 2008)

I know I've posted my opinions earlier (about 4 pages ago!), but for me it's depended alot on the horse. Sam and William, TB's, are very flighty when you bring out the end of the lead rope or the stick. I don't know if that's a TB thing, or if that's because they were abused once before. Buck, on the other hand, is so great after a few minutes of CA-type lungeing, yielding HQ's and FQ's, and a bit of what I call "free lungeing"...I turn him loose in the roundpen and I can guide him with the end of one of my split reins. I, personally, don't like to lunge him until he's worn out, just long enough to establish respect. Oh, and I bought myself a pair of Mecate reins...love 'em.
But, to each his own. I prefer to keep an open mindset and not judge a trainer just because I don't like the way he's treating a horse on TV. You have to try the methods/exercises yourself, and then you can say "that's junk" or "that works!".


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## Candace09 (Jan 10, 2010)

Jolly Badger said:


> Actually, I prefer the term "cynical.":lol:


 
Have you even tried any of CA's method or any other well know trainers?


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## Candace09 (Jan 10, 2010)

Cowgirl140ty said:


> I Will tell you that I love Clinton Anderson. Im not big on Pat Parelli at all. I have used CA techniques on my own horse. And can now ride him bridleless. And I can tell you... he will test you to the point that no one else can usually ride him but myself. I have even worked cows with no bridle when he shook it off.
> Pat Parelli... I personally believe is in it more for money. I cannot afford to spend hundreds of dollars on his training tools and DVDs. And with out his DVDs you really dont get to see what he did to get such results.
> And from my own experience... and CA show on RFD-Tv... I have trained all my own horses... as well as many others and they are all great. As a matter of fact.. my horse that is so testy... I was offered $20,000 for at a cattle cutting show. (but my horses are my kids, so i refused.)
> 
> I say go for Clinton Anderson. What I wouldnt love to be his apprentice.


 You get it girl! Thats awesome that your useing his method to train not only your horse but other peoples aswell. Im glad someone else on here feels the same as I do about CA's Method.


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## rockaway (Jan 14, 2010)

HI, wow lots of debate. I did not read every one of them so sorry if I repeat. I think it boils down to personal style and choice. From what we have seen Anderson, Parelli, Reis, Cameron are all pretty darn good and they must be doing something right. 
*You cannot blame Anderson for going out on his own and making it his way. Parelli did the same thing - Tom Dorrance was the original natural horse trainer ( well he probably learned from others too - at least a little). They all honour Tom.* Parelli seems to teach people more ( although they all do that). The main strategy seems to make the wrong choice difficult and the right choice easy. Anderson and Cameron seem to get more to the point about how to deal with a horse. Reis is in the middle. I like Anderson (and all of them)- we have many of his DVDs. His methods work. He believes in using as little force as possible but as much as necessary (not beating but forceful -remember you are dealing with an animal that could easily kill you - I have seen a number of horses ruined by people that would not "hurt" their babies and let them do as they pleased - 'hurt' means using appropriate force). I do not see that as treating all horses the same. If you are going to sell training videos you have to have a recipe - that is what people are looking for. Anderson states that he took methods from many people and used what worked for him ( he also states that you never stop learning). It is his hope that you will get good enough to make your own methods work, but until you are that good why not use tried and true methods. It is no different than any teacher. When we go to teacher's college we are given recipes on how to teach so we have some basic skills but the real learning comes once we start working and gaining some confidence. Your best bet is to try and watch RFD TV and gain some insight into the top more well known trainers. I come from a small town in Northern ON but we have an older trainer/breeder of world class (reiner) -he believes Clinton is the only one who puts his money where his mouth is - he and his horses compete in the top rodeos. Best of luck.


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## Candace09 (Jan 10, 2010)

rockaway said:


> HI, wow lots of debate. I did not read every one of them so sorry if I repeat. I think it boils down to personal style and choice. From what we have seen Anderson, Parelli, Reis, Cameron are all pretty darn good and they must be doing something right.
> *You cannot blame Anderson for going out on his own and making it his way. Parelli did the same thing - Tom Dorrance was the original natural horse trainer ( well he probably learned from others too - at least a little). They all honour Tom.* Parelli seems to teach people more ( although they all do that). The main strategy seems to make the wrong choice difficult and the right choice easy. Anderson and Cameron seem to get more to the point about how to deal with a horse. Reis is in the middle. I like Anderson (and all of them)- we have many of his DVDs. His methods work. He believes in using as little force as possible but as much as necessary (not beating but forceful -remember you are dealing with an animal that could easily kill you - I have seen a number of horses ruined by people that would not "hurt" their babies and let them do as they pleased - 'hurt' means using appropriate force). I do not see that as treating all horses the same. If you are going to sell training videos you have to have a recipe - that is what people are looking for. Anderson states that he took methods from many people and used what worked for him ( he also states that you never stop learning). It is his hope that you will get good enough to make your own methods work, but until you are that good why not use tried and true methods. It is no different than any teacher. When we go to teacher's college we are given recipes on how to teach so we have some basic skills but the real learning comes once we start working and gaining some confidence. Your best bet is to try and watch RFD TV and gain some insight into the top more well known trainers. I come from a small town in Northern ON but we have an older trainer/breeder of world class (reiner) -he believes Clinton is the only one who puts his money where his mouth is - he and his horses compete in the top rodeos. Best of luck.


well said!


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## Jolly Badger (Oct 26, 2009)

Candace09 said:


> Have you even tried any of CA's method or any other well know trainers?


I sort-of followed Monty Roberts when he came out with his first book, and did all of his TV interviews. He seemed interesting, though a lot of what he (and many of the other well-known clinician/trainers) teaches is basic common sense, broken down into steps and given different names. 

It's nothing you can't learn just from spending time around horses, riding and working with different types and breeds and ages. Those well-known trainers learned from doing. . .trying different things, seeing how different techniques worked with different horses. 

I put more value on a personal experience than a training-program-in-a-box.


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