For the Love of your Horse

FIRST OF FOUR REPORTS
Trainer: Leadership Wins Colts' Obedience

 A common complaint among those who ride Western, performance in particular,
is that it's almost impossible to find a good trainer. Trainers can be found.
There's no doubt about that. But finding a good one can be as frustrating as
stopping a horse from pawing. After a while, you just give up.
 However, if you would like to improve your riding and your horse's
performance, enlisting the help of a trainer is invaluable. With that in mind,
I have saved you the footwork and the expense of trial and error and I would
like to share the Western performance trainers I have found to be competent,
professional and talented. All four have good reputations and what I believe
to be fair prices. Here is the first of four monthly reports on these
trainers:

 On any given day, a young woman is working with a young horse. You wouldn't
call it ``breaking. '' The word conjures up images of rugged cowboys violently
roping wild horses, jumping on their backs and riding them until they submit.
Micaela Zanat of Califon, N.J. is a trainer who is anything but violent.
She advocates resistance-free training and the horse's own language as tools
to train a young horse. Though this type of training is the trend nowadays,
Micaela incorporates old-time, tried and true methods as well.
 Resistance-free does not mean being a wimp and letting the horse walk all
over you, she explains. Resistance-free means looking for the smallest try,
releasing the pressure when you get that and teaching the horse that you are
the boss. You must know the horse's language so that you know when he is
trying. You must have great timing and reward the horse the second he gives
in.

 After working a colt in a round pen, Ms. Zanat cleans all four feet while the
horse stands loose, able to run away whenever he wants. But the colt willingly
submits, licking his lips and cocking an ear in her direction. After she
cleans the feet, she slowly walks over to the gate where she picks up a saddle
and ambles back to the horse, kicking up dust with the toes of her boots on
the way. The horse keeps an eye on her, waiting. Ms. Zanat gives him a scratch
on the withers. Then she swings the saddle up and gently lowers it into place
on the horse's back for the first time. If the colt resists, Ms. Zanat sends
him away in the round pen again and works him until he is ready to turn in to
her. However, most of her colts have enough confidence in Ms. Zanat to know
that she is the herd leader and is one who can be trusted. Saddling, as well
as the first rides, usually go quickly and quietly.
 Depending on the horse, it takes about four days to get on him for the first
time. ``I try to make this an excellent experience for him because I want a
horse who's willing and who loves people,'' Ms. Zanat says. ``Basically, I
believe in resistance-free training, but I am not a fanatic. Sometimes you
have to persuade a horse to give in. In a way, even a halter is a form of
force because if you have to make them stand there, they are not doing it of
their own free will and my ultimate goal would be to get the horse to do as
much as possible willingly. I teach a horse to saddle, get his feet cleaned,
clip and load, all completely free. '' Sometimes it takes a little longer for
one horse than another, Ms. Zanat admits. ``But that's OK. I train a young
horse for as long as the horse needs. ''
 Ms. Zanat also works with older horses and the occasional problem horse.
 Kristen Marotta, who boards her horse, Lilly, at Ms. Zanat's farm, says,
``Ms.
Zanat is extremely patient with horses. She has given me an outrageous amount
of confidence to handle a horse. When I first got my horse, I was scared of
loping. Ms. Zanat taught me to trust my horse. ''
 Ms. Zanat spends a part of every year in Blue Ridge, Texas, in apprenticeship
to Jim Stroup, who is a well-respected resistance-free trainer who raises
horses to do real jobs, such as move cattle. Whether you're training a horse
to go out on a trail ride, run a set of barrels or check a fence line, the
horse must do what you want him to do,'' Ms. Zanat insists. ``When a horse
gains enough trust, he will pretty much do whatever I ask him to. I don't like
hearing things like, my horse doesn't like cows. It doesn't matter what he
likes. He has a job to do. And if he is a well-trained horse who is physically
capable, he will do it. And he will be happy to do it if you are his leader. I
become the herd leader by making a horse know that I m the safest place for
him to be, and when I push him away, in his mind, he could be eaten by a
mountain lion; he's vulnerable to being attacked,'' she explains. ``When I let
him in my herd, he begins to trust and shows loyalty because he feels safe. A
horse needs to know his place in the herd, but he would rather not be the herd
leader because it's too much work looking out for all the other horses and
fighting for the top spot. So horses are pretty receptive to letting a human
be the leader. When I go out to Texas,'' Ms. Zanat continues, ``I work with
horses who don't have the luxury of being pets. We go on trail rides that last
for days and your horse cannot have any gaps in his training. He's got to
navigate any terrain that you may come across and he's got to stand tied when
you want him to, for as long as you need him to. You have to trust your horse.
''
 And to do that, he's got to trust you. When a client contacts Ms. Zanat for
training, she will make an appointment to evaluate the horse and give an
estimate of the time it will take to complete whatever training is requested.
Many clients contract for a basic 30 days but often continue the horse's
training after they have seen the results.
 Ms. Zanat encourages owners to be involved in the training and many opt to
take advantage of the riding lessons she includes in the training package.
 ``When I m finished with the horse's initial training, I like to get the
owners to come to me and work with the horse so they know how to continue the
training. If the owner is going to use the horse for something, like trails or
being around traffic, I can work on that. ''
 Ms. Zanat takes horses at her farm or will travel to where the horse lives
for training. She also takes horses for conditioning, has an occasional colt
for sale, and gives basic riding lessons.
 Her phone number is (732) 673-4825.

ESTABLISHING A `HERD LEADER'  is the key to training horses, according to
Micaela Zanat of Califon, N.J.

Horse News: Debi Kelly-Van Cleave

By Debi Kelly-Van Cleave

Horse News
September 2002

Lillian Shupe
Horse News