David Stuart

I have now just arrived back into the U.K. stopping over in Dubai to catch up with good friends over there. Since my last blog all the young horses that were in for the May / June young horse intake have gone home.  All reports are that they are going well for owners.   The week before flying out for the U.K. I had the first horsemanship / cow working course at home in Qld. 

This went really well and as I said to everyone on the course, what will help to make this course unique is the facilities.  With different sized round pens, a mechanical cow and access to cattle.

This course was only 2 days and next year I am planning to run a 4 day course. The dates for this will be up on the website schedule in the next week.

The image below and to the right is of a young horse that I own and who has now had a couple of starts on cattle. As I mentioned to the riders on the course he is a horse that does buck and does a few other things, but that side is getting less. I don’t get to ride my own horses as much as I would like due to travel and schedule commitments, that aside for me as the horse grows in confidence and the foundation gets solid and dependable the rest starts to fall into place. With this course being a horsemanship / cow working course you have the principle and purpose combination.

For horses and riders I think that there is a real need to see a reason for doing things.  With the cow working side you are going to have transitions and need  to have your horse lengthen and shorten and learn to rate. So the horsemanship side was also about making smooth transitions up and down, straightness,  having  your horse be forward and off your leg.  As riders improved in their horsemanship they got better with the cow working. The cow working will always show up areas for improvement.  The mechanical cow was used in preparation for the cow working.  The good thing with the mechanical cow is that it stops when asked and goes at the speed that you tell it. Over the 2 days you could really see an improvement in all riders and their horses.

May began with Beef Week in Rockhampton, during which I was able to catch up with many friends that I had not seen for a long time. As well as have the opportunity to sit in on seminars and listen to speakers from  an aurae of fields.  After Beef Week it was back to the horses with a new bunch of young horses coming in for the month, all are making good progress and are now being ridden outside.

The image below is of some of the new intake of young horses.  The country side here at home in Qld is in stark contrast to that of the U.K. with many places in Western Queensland facing a long winter with little chance of rain until the end of the year. The horses below are mostly 3 year olds with an older gelding in the herd as well.

Last weekend I was in Gatton in South East Qld doing a 2 day horsemanship course. It was good to have riders from the previous course in October last year and see the progress that they had made. Many thanks to Wendy Palmer and Ron Howland for their hospitality and all their efforts in organising the weekend. Everyone made good progress and I often believe riders make more progress when they go home and have the opportunity to put into practice the lessons of the weekend.

One of the topics of conversation that I spoke about during the course was the need for your horse to be off the leg. There are times when you will feel that your horse is moving forwards but when you put your leg on there is a resistance or a lack of forwards or your horse is escaping from the leg. This is something to be aware of as some horses will buck, or  hold the rider to “ransom” , with a, if you put your leg on, I am going to buck you off, or kick out, run off etc .  A quote from Baucher  ” I like the horse to be behind the hand and in front of the leg, so that the centre of gravity is placed between these two aids, as it only on this condition  that the horse is absolutely under the control of the rider.” I have heard other words and metaphors used to describe this and  help riders gain a better understanding and meaning.  Over time with experience and understanding the meaning of  these words will change and enlighten. Better yet, as riders we will get to feel this with our horses even if it is only briefly.

Towards the end of next month I travel back to the U.K., I will have the opportunity to catch up briefly with friends in Dubai on the way over.

April has come and gone and May will be similar I am sure. Yesterday I returned home from DeGrey Station, in the Pilbera of Western Australia. While every year is always a great experience for all. This year everyone made great progress in both their  horsemanship, cattle work and overall stockmanship. The Bettini family who own DeGrey Station put a lot of effort into training their staff and this was showing through with individuals really trying hard throughout the course. The image below shows Mark Bettini riding a young 2 year old horse, we started last year and rode a couple of times and bought back in this year as a 3 year old.  All went well and we picked up from where we left off. When you take the time it takes and the horse gets confident you will often pick up where you left off, even if it was 12 months ago.

During the course riders had 2 horses, in the morning they would ride one set of horses and in the afternoon the second set of horses. The morning horses were young horses that had been started. In the mornings we would work through some ground exercises and ride, with afternoon sessions then following on from the morning sessions with the older horses, that were already in the mustering string. We also would have cattle to work with in the afternoon sessions. The image below was of one of the morning sessions where we turned the young horses loose and moved them around to expose them to the saddle a little more at a walk, trot and canter. On the last day, riders were tracking cattle around on the young horses, I am sure that these horses will also soon move into the mustering string. When horses and riders have a purpose it gives a reason for the principle.

This coming month I have a full young horse intake and a course in Gatton, Queensland, This course can be viewed on the course schedule page of my website. In June, I travel back into the U.K. for 2 months again, my UK schedule can be viewed on the website. For those interested in courses or young horse starting in the U.K. please contact Tina at:  [email protected] ,   Buck Brannaman will also be in the U.K. in June.

The start of the new year is now well and truly upon us all. I still have young horses in  and they will all go back to their owners over the next few weeks. The next intake will be in May, places are limited so please book in early to secure a place. In March this year I will attend the  Legacy of Legends in Fort Worth, Texas. My U.K. schedule starts again at the beginning of July, dates are on the website for viewing.  There are still some course dates available for my Australian  schedule at the end of the year. In the next few weeks the last article in the Feel, Timing and Balance series will be available for viewing on the website as well.

I have just returned from Melbourne from a 3 day course with U.S. jumping legend George Morris.  While I was only a spectator it was a very educational course for everyone. The principles of horsemanship apply to all disciplines, George Morris covered many  horsemanship subjects in a similar manor as I have heard many of my peers speak. Some of the material cover through out the course was the;  importance of riding position, learning to carry your hands, having your horse’s poll be the highest point, inside leg to outside rein and riding leg to hand. Exercises in counting strides, lead changes and lateral work were also covered in the 3 days.  All the riders and their horses made improvement throughout the 3 days and will have a lot of information to soak on for some time. In finishing the course the comment was made that the horse was to precious to compromise.

I have upcoming courses in Qld at  Eidsvale and in W.A. in Perth in February, the course in Eidsvale is a 2 day course with the pony club. The Perth course is a 5 day course and  is being hosted by Andrew Turnbull and his wife. In April I will be back at Degrey Station outside Port Hedland Western Australia for 2 weeks. For more information on courses and schedules please check the website or email i[email protected]