[wyldterv]

Actually, Ray Hunt learned his craft from Tom and Bill Dorrance Tom especially, REALLY started the current trend with Natural Horsemanship. Ray tells some great stories about them both! I sure wish I'd have met them both in person, the things I'm sure I could have/would have learned. Sigh...

Ray IS a wealth of knowledge and he has a very unique style of communicating with a horse. Frank Bell is another one ... There are alot of great guys (and gals) out there, just not many who have TV shows, Videos, Magazine articles and books all on the market One thing you have to give to both Parelli and Anderson, they BOTH know how to market themselves extrememly well. Actually Lynon's is pretty good in that department as well.

[hay burner]

yup Tom Bill and Ray they are my idols i look up to them everytime i dont know what to do yes actually Tom and Bill met Ray beacause Ray brought up a problem horse and then he just was amazed at how tom worked. It is said that tom would hate all the horse whispering stuff that is going around today and its so true. ya he doesnt really have alot of stuff out he has a few videos though but wow if you ever get a chance to go to one of his clinics its the chance of a life time. Im glad there is someone on this forum whos actually heard of Ray i felt like i was talking to a door lol Ive never heard of Frank Bell but have you heard of Sue Brett she lives in London Ontario she taught me all i know actually she is my Aunt

[Lopin' Leopard]

I watch RFD-TV (dish channel 9409) all the time and I've seen monty roberts, parelli, and clinton anderson. I've attended some of clinton's clinics at our local horse expo, Equimasters. I defintley like him best. He's fun to watch and is logical about everything. It all makes since. And he's cute on top of it!!!

[wyldterv]

No I haven't heard of your Aunt, but how very fortunate for you to have a close relative who's saavy to horses and there to assit when you need it! MOST Excellent I say!

Leslie Desomond is someone who spent quite a bit of tutelege under Bill Dorrance and helped him write his book... Tom and Bill's books are a bit of a tough read because they're written in the style that they both spoke, so you have to learn to catch the finite meaning but they're a really good read once you figure out their speaking styles.

Ray Hunt is quite excellent, the person helping me train my mustang is trying to get me to spend the $1000 US to ride for a day with Mr Hunt... I'd really like to do it, it would be a very unique learning opportunity, but I need MORE MONEY, LOL...

I've also had an opportunity to speak with some Portugese riders and trainers who train in Classical dressage and it's interesting to see they use many of the same techniques. That which is new is old and that which is old is new again

[John]

It is interesting to see that there are several claims to be the first to teach NH methods. Of the ones mentioned Tom Dorance was giving clinics long before the others. However I have some read some weekly newspaper articles dating from the late 1940s by Dr Beery that used almost exactly the same methods as todays NH He also had a write in question and answer section. I may still be able to get some of the copy from my family history people and post it

[hay burner]

Originally Posted by John

. Of the ones mentioned Tom Dorance was giving clinics long before the others.

I dont know about the others but Tom Dorrance never actually gave clinics it was Ray who actually talked Tom into doing a clinic with him hes always been shy and that clinic got him out of his shell.

[hay burner]

yes Ray is Very expensive isnt he but its such a learning experience and i found it soo emotional it was amazing. Yes my aunt and Ray are good good friends actually Sue and Rays wife joke about trading husbands lol. you would be very very lucky to go and see ray.

[John]

Yes that is right HB but Tom was using the method for a long time before. One of their first clinics was out on the Gang Ranch , do you know when that was?

[wyldterv]

John, if you could get your hands on those old articles, I'd LOVE to read them Tom and Bill learned from old cow hands themselves and of course the old vaqueros were probably the best at it of anyone in history... Hence why the Spanish School of Riding has been so sucessful for so many centuries!

I think that if more people would learn to watch and listen to people riding in other disciplines we'd gain more insight and technique to the benefit of our horses. Really all NH is, is the application of common sense and learning to read horses body language and learning to read them as a prey animal, not as a predator (us). Of course we all know 'common' sense isn't necessarily so common anymore and too many people want an instant fix for EVERYTHING today from weight loss to horse training when in reality to end up with a quality product or result from ANYTHING you have to invest time and emotion into the project. I think that's what the Dorrances were really good at, investing their time into their horses. If you're riding 10 hrs a day, your going to improve, you can't HELP but improve your riding and your understanding of what is making that horse tick. The majority of us don't have 8-10 plus hours a day to invest in our horses and our riding and horsemanship skills. We have to hold down jobs that pay for your hobby time, we have families, other hobbies, etc, so we REALLY need to keep in mind that it is going to require even MORE of a time investment from us to get an animal that is truly willing and open to trying anything we ask of them.

The dog that lives in the house with it's master ends up much more cooperative and biddable then the one living in the back yard all of the time by virtue of the fact that you can't HELP but interact with the dog that lives in your home.

The same is true of our horses. The horse that has a job and is used around us at least 8 hrs a day can't HELP but become a better partner and we can't help but become a beter partner with them because we learn to read one another better versus that horse we might get to go spend time with a few hours a day at best.

[John]

The articles were a series in the Western Producer and another farm paper in western Canada .The ones that I read were saved by relatives for a diferent reason and I will try to get some to post