K.I.S.S.: The Struggle Of Being A 5th Generation Horse Trainer & 1st Generation People Trainer

For those of you that don’t already know my background, I am a 5th generation horse trainer. I’ve been blessed to grow up with some of the best and most amazing horse trainers in the world at my fingertips. With all of that knowledge, one of the most helpful things that I have learned was from my grandfather on my mother’s side. I was working a horse one day on the ranch early on in my career and I was getting frustrated and so was the horse. He looked at me and said, “Son, K.I.S.S.” As I sat their confused he said it again, “K.I.S.S., Keep It Simple Stupid.” And from that point forward it was like a light bulb went off. The simpler you can make things to a horse, the more clearly they can understand what you are asking, the better the results that you will get. Now, my family was able to make that connection to the horse world in regard to training, but when I first decided to set my goals for becoming the best equine clinician and colt starter in the world, I ran into a new problem.

As a kid, I spent hours upon hours watching my dad train horses and teach people all around the world to compete at a national and international level. I also spent hours upon hours as a kid, being the translator for my father. When people wouldn’t understand what he was saying, he would get frustrated that they didn’t understand and just say it louder. I learned from an early age that being able to clearly communicate to humans is equally as important as clear communication to horses. The method of K.I.S.S also applies to equestrians.

Early on in my research of deciding to become a world-renown clinician, I found that many of the industry leaders in the equestrian world are amazing top-notch horse trainers but can’t talk in front of people. They make things so complex and use big words that often times either confuse, take away the rider’s confidence in their abilities, or both. It doesn’t have to be difficult to understand. It doesn’t have to be difficult to get results. If you can simplify the process to where you are only asking for and looking for one thing at a time, your results will be so much quicker. Finished results and finished horses are result of many small things put together over time. That being said, you should be seeing immediate results if you are asking correctly and simply. How much easier would it be for you to feel confident as a rider working with your own horse if you knew that it was okay to look for one thing at a time and be able to see immediate results?

I wanted to create a program that I could present in a way that is simple and easy to understand for both horse and rider. One of my favorite parts of teaching a clinic is the after effect when non-horsey husbands approach me and say that they learned so much and were actually engaged and paying attention. Being a great clinician is like being a great teacher, if you can’t engage your audience or your students, you will not be able to teach them properly and effectively. In my clinics I teach all levels from brand new horse owners to professional horse trainers. It doesn’t matter who is in my audience, I teach things in a way that EVERYONE can understand or relate to in order to make it simple. What I have found is that the general public can relate to at least one of four different categories: driving a car, raising a kid, training an obedience dog, or joining the military. All of these analogies can be broken down into what you should want and expect from your horse. What is simpler than relating horses to parts of life that you already understand or are familiar with?

Confidence and simplicity are the keys to success with training horses. Having the tools in your toolbox, in a manner that is easy to understand, will make it where you can start reaching your equine goals today. A training program for you and your horse SHOULD NOT take 6 months’ worth of dvds and videos to start seeing any results. Join our Team MG Membership Club that offers unlimited access to videos 24/7 and the ability to suggest video topics to be made to help you and other equestrians like you who may be having the same issue. And above all, remember, keep it SIMPLE!