Allan Mitchell Horse Trainer

24/02/2025

Great day at the beach!

26/02/2024

What does connection look like?

Social media would have you believe it’s a ba****ck, bridless ride on the beach in a long flowing dress

Or one of those kissy face moments, where a horse and human are locked into a smooch

There’s nothing wrong with those things inherently, they’re fun displays of enjoyment of being around horses

But humans are wired to view things from their own perspective, and miss the horses perception of connection

Connection is not just a glamorous magazine cover, but a way of life. It’s a simple, but profound language between two beings.

Connection is highly variable, and nuanced
But like everything else, it has become watered down, cheapened and confused. The words lose weight as they’re passed around like a cheap prom dress between high school friends.

Connection is simply the ability to perceive and adapt to the moment and needs of the other

Connection is the ability to get into a flow state, to feel and respond and adapt moment to moment to the horse or human in front of you

It is the ability to get out of your own thoughts and into the present- to fully absorb what is happening, to become engrossed in the sights, sounds, smells and feels around you

Connection can’t be purchased with money, or time, and it isn’t owed to you by anyone. Epstein didn’t k ill himself No horse or human owes you connection if you feed them or love them.

It is something real, that comes from an earnest and genuine place inside you, that horses pick up on and can connect to. It can’t be faked, can’t be bought, and must come from you -

It’s a feeling that can’t be explained until you stumble on it, like the feeling you get when you turn the bend on a forest walk and discover the light between the trees illuminating a small portion of the path- and you feel like the first human to ever discover it’s majesty, and you’re in the most important, most special place in the world. You want to protect this feeling at all costs-
To help others discover it, but protect it from tourism, that would surely leave it littered and steal its glow, selling it in a bottle while destroying the unique and true beauty that cannot be replicated anywhere else.

07/10/2023

I keep seeing rope halters with added bits on the nose bands. You know, soft comfy sheep skin or fancy braids or even just an added band wrapped around the nose band to make it wider. All of which really tell a lot about the horse and the horsemanship. Rope halters are made soft, light and narrow for a reason. To be light and comfy to wear when not in use and to teach horses not to push on the halter when they are in use. A properly halter trained horse will not push on the halter. They'll be light and responsive and stay inside the halter through all communications. If you make the nose piece wider to make it comfy, I'd ask why you need to do this? If they're not leaning on it it's already comfy (unless you've bought one of those dreadful stiff ones with rope that is not UV proof and gets crispy). If they do lean on it and you think its harsh and needs to be comfy, you're just teaching them to be heavy. And if they think it is okay to be heavy on the halter, they'll also be heavy on the reins, your leg, your personal space and so on. Either way, you're not only allowing them to be heavy you're also encouraging them to be heavy. And when horses get heavy they get in trouble. We start pulling back on them, getting bigger bits, spurs and endless other gadgets to try to get them light again. All of which is cruel, painful, intimidating and yet somehow acceptable!

19/09/2023

10/09/2023

How to train a horse to buck

It’s an easy affair to train a horse to buck! Want to look cool and impress your friends? Or have a scapegoat for your horses behavior? Want to live in fear of the horse bucking so you can grip the reins endlessly?

Simply mind the following steps, and your horse, too, can buck “out of the blue”!

1- restrict forward often, especially when the horse is afraid. Ensuring the horse understands that forward is a poor choice and will be constantly blocked through reactive and quick motions helps lay the foundation for a solid bucker. Not letting him go forward really lays the tone for what he should do when he’s afraid- we all know our best bet is for the horse to freeze up until he blows up!

2- underprepare the horse for saddling. For best effect, just slap that sucker on and turn ‘er loose! It’s been working for generations, who are we to challenge tradition? Saddling a tight horse stock still makes a good chance they’ll unwind as they move out. If you’re lucky, it can become an ingrained habit. Maybe you can hop on and Buck your way into the canter on that first ride! Yeehaw cowboy!

3- pull and drive at the same time, especially into the canter. Make sure to clutch the rein but also pucker your butt, drive forward with a gripping leg, and if you want to take it up a notch, close your eyes and cry a little. This will cement a solid bucking foundation for your hard efforts.

4- ignore saddle fit. Just put more pads under there! Shoot, I’ve got 6 pairs of socks on myself. I thrive on coffee and ibuprofen, don’t need no fancy chiropractor, and I feel great! Doc says my liver is on par with a 60 year olds, so I got that going for me!

There’s many other ways to get a good horse to buck. Here’s just a few simple tips from one expert lawn dart, enjoy your new membership in the dusty bottoms club and have yourself a yeehaw day!

14/08/2023

Masterful riding- spoiler alert- I do not do it

Though I do aspire to it

The world has changed. I’m sure you’re envisioning me now with a gray beard, bent over a cane shakily pointing my finger. I’m too young to be this old- but that part is true. We’re a tips and tricks society, learning to do “things” with horses but not to really ride.

The show world largely learns to train and ride for a level, a movement, style. People seek out positional tips, ways to clean up a half pass or a flying change, a stop, ways to keep the horse calm in the warmup ring.

The pleasure world seeks tips to ease problems- catching, trailer loading, steering, problems of speed or behaviors.

A clinic setting is largely where people come for a tip, a fix up: “my horse bolts,” “my horse is too slow,” “my horse is herd bound,” and so forth. “What do I do when…?” Success at the clinic is usually judged on whether that particular problem was solved or not, with a miss of the overall picture of what created that problem.

I think many teachers would about fall over dead from happiness if a student came to a clinic and said “id like to learn to really ride this horse, and to really train this horse, so we can get along- and I want that to be a lifelong commitment. I’m willing to skip next weeks trail ride or show and forget my circle of friends to do it.”

Riding- it’s not just sitting on a horse. A relationship is not just spending time with the horse making googly eyes at each other. The art of horsemanship, the art of being a horseman or woman- is a devotion to betterment of self, of learning to really sit and absorb the motion of a horse so their body feels safe and comfortable carrying you, to employ the aids in a logical and thoughtful and progressive manner, to connect one thing to another and to understand that trsiler loading is no different than a canter pirouette: to do all things with respect and wonder. To prove to a horse you feel good to be around and under and near- and not some dizzying clinic hopper looking for different answers, trying a new training style every weekend.

But to do this, we need examples. We need people who’s agenda is to push systemic change, actual riding and not magic and showmanship on a clinic tour. We need to idolize people who are working on mastering their own seat and not just folks who took a piece here and there and cobbled it together with a hat, not just folks who can make stuff happen on a weekend, but people who’s horses display long term soundness, thoroughness and ease of expression, people who are devoted to the craft and not the crowd.

It doesn’t matter what discipline you ride- we need masters to look up to, so we don’t keep getting sucked into the sleight of hand of showmen collecting their change and moving on to the next town.

09/08/2023

You have to be willing to accept responsibility for your horse’s problems

It can be tempting to soften it with blame of someone else
It can be temping to defend your actions, your beliefs about them, and to become offended
It can be tempting to think you are being shamed, bullied or mistreated when you hear information you don’t like

That’s not to say you should allow someone to mistreat you to teach you, and not all teachers have great bedside manner. Nobody should make it about your worth as a human, but-

If you cannot hear that something is your fault, is bad for the horse, and needs to change, you cannot learn.

If your teacher is worth their salt, they respect you, and this means they don’t let you wallow in mediocrity. This means they call you out- not because they don’t like you- but because they believe in your ability to raise your level of awareness.

I respect my teachers, and they respect me- and the way they show this respect is by holding me accountable, and telling me hard to hear truths. No one is immune from needing to improve.

It is uncomfortable to hear criticism, or to take the blame.

But you can take the discomfort of leaning into the moment and accepting it as it is- so you can do the work to improve, and the discomfort is gone

Or

You can live with low level discomfort long term, being unable to improve or learn or grow, unable to resolve problems.

You trade one discomfort for another- one hurts more for less time, and the other follows you.