Ride Every Stride | Horsemanship And Personal Growth With Van Hargis

I’ve been having some conversations lately around the nature of “bonding” with horses. I hear it all the time, “I can’t wait to get back home and bond with my horse.” Well, what exactly does that mean? When asked, most people say that they mean hanging out with their horse in the pasture. Doing some work, occasionally petting them, and just generally being close in proximity to them. While that’s all well and good, I’m not convinced that’s all there is to bonding with a horse. See, a bond requires a relationship. Relationships require more than just “hanging out” around one another, like a lazy couple sitting in their living room with the TV on, not actually interacting with one another. So the two cornerstones of the human – horse bond I’m talking about on this episode are trust and respect. No relationship I’ve ever seen is worth its salt without those two key components.   Key Takeaways In the horse human relationship there needs to be a leader. If the horse is the leader and starts treating you as a fello

There is a student of mine who has been taking lessons from me for years, and before that, her grandparents plopped her down in a saddle at the age of six. She can ride well. She doesn’t bob around in the saddle and flail her arms. She has good posture as well. But something I noticed time and time again is that after riding a horse a few times, the horse starts resisting her commands. She may want to move up to a trot but the horse wants to grind down to a walk. What I realized through observing her is that she needed to work on her seat—meaning to work with the horse rather than have the horse do all the work. Working on your seat means working on being a leader. Key Takeaways The student I just mentioned suffered from a condition I call Dead Butt. This means that you aren’t setting the rhythm for your horse, you are literally just riding along, letting the horse do all the work for you. You need to lead your horse, not just sit dead up on them. Laura’s husband is a musical genius—you can bet that whatever

I always used to think that lunging was a great idea for the right reasons, but I have to admit, my attitude towards lunging has changed. It always seemed like a good warmup for the horse—or even a warm up for the rider’s courage before they hop in the saddle. However, over the years I see that lunging can be a great way to set the tone for the day. A pilot check, if you will, of what the horse’s attitude is and what’s in store. Key Takeaways When I lung a horse now I come at it from the perspective of a trainer. Not just in that I’m training a horse, but training an athlete. If you were an athletic trainer working with people, what kind of things would you keep an eye out for? You’d watch for their form, how much strain they’re enduring, where that strain is located, what muscles are being worked, and how the athlete feels about their performance. This is exactly what I keep an eye out for when lunging horses now. In lunging in a different direction and watching the horse’s performance, I might see that they

I had the privilege of spending a week with Mr. Dorrance, watching and learning how he practiced horsemanship.  One night at dinner I said, “You know what? You’re worse than my grandad.” See, I couldn’t remember a single time growing up where my grandad gave me a straight answer to a question. He’d either ask another question or make a statement that I didn’t even think was related. Well, Mr. Dorrance told me if you went and asked ten different trainers how they did something you’d certainly get at least ten different answers. He told me if I asked him the same question ten days in a row I might get a different one each day. His point was this—the way you do something and how you do something might be infinite. Key Takeaways It’s the number one question I get asked. “Van, how do you this?” So, I think real hard about what they really want to know. But I have to say, again like Mr. Dorance, the answer might be different or change. If there was just one cure-all for a problem people would have a little noteboo

We’re back with episode 60 of Ride Every Stride, our first show back in 2018. We want to thank all you listeners who’ve been nudging Laura and I about getting back to recording. After sorting through some technical issues and inclement weather, we’re both happy to be behind the microphone again and continue with the show. For this episode we’ll be going over a topic that applies equally to you and your horse: success as a habit. Key Takeaways Most of the folks today in the horse industry, the vast majority of them are women. And I hear a similar story played out over and over again that goes something like this: Well, I loved riding horses when I was little, but then life got in the way. I went to school, found a job, but I always vowed I would get back into riding again. However, coming back into the scene has been much harder than I thought. They don’t remember it being as difficult as it is today. They want to build back confidence in their riding. And how the heck do you do that? Through forming good

We travel around a lot to different expos and shows, and what I love most about traveling around is hearing stories from everyone I meet. Sometimes their stories are touching, sometimes they leave me laughing, and sometimes they leave me scratching my head. One kind of story I hear a lot starts with, “Well all of a sudden, and for no reason…” and at that point my red flags are all shot up into the wind. There’s always a reason. So we’re diving into how our horses communicate with us and how we can better listen so it doesn’t seem like they’re acting out of nowhere. Key Takeaways Horses are incredibly honest, truly. They let us know when something is bothering them in most cases well in advance of acting “all of a sudden”. If we learn to pay attention to what they are telling us then we can address their issues before you end up hanging on for dear life as you’re drug across a pasture. Now don’t get me wrong. Things do happen all of a sudden, like a tree branch cracking and falling out of nowhere. Deer can be

Well, we’ve been roughing it through a South Texas winter – which is to say we practically have our bathing suits on in the near 90 degree weather. This week was Thanksgiving here in the states, and I hope you all got to spend some quality time with your families and horses, too. This week we’re going to talk about a question I’ve gotten a lot as of late, which is how dental care and hoof maintenance pertain to training. Key Takeaways Proper hoof care is incredibly important. For example, have you ever walked around in a pair of shoes that “almost” fit, and then walked around in a pair that actually fit? The difference is huge. Horses don’t have the means to communicate to us that their shoes don’t fit, so to speak. You want to work with an experienced farrier that understands how a horse hoof works, not do a trial and error run with someone who just throws a bunch of trimming tools in the back of their truck. Think of it this way – I was a running back in college. At one point, I stubbed one of my toes inc

I’m in high cotton this week, but the subject we’re bringing up gets me pretty upset. Last week we talked about Hurricane Harvey and evacuating. This week we are going to talk about people who pander to your heartstrings with their “displaced horses” to try and make money. These, quite frankly, scumbags will go to a horse sale and buy horses for cheap – then turn around and post pictures of them on Facebook saying, “If someone doesn’t buy this poor horse by Tuesday it’s going to the slaughterhouse.” Reputable rescue facilities don’t do this, and I’m here to give you an earful about it. Key Takeaways I’ve had the pleasure to work with wonderful rescue facilities in the past. They aren’t trying to turn a profit off of their horses. The most you’ll pay is an adoption fee and a fair one at that. I’m talking about $150 dollars, and maybe at most $500. Not $1,500 or $2,500 – and just the other day I saw a $3,500 adoption fee. The whole point of a rescue facility is to prevent the horse from being slaughtered, not t

Welcome back to Ride Every Stride! We’ve been on a bit of a hiatus, if you haven’t noticed, but we’re good to jump back in the saddle now. So why have we been gone? We were way more fortunate than others after hurricane Harvey – we only lost power for ten days. However, getting an internet connection back up and running took a good bit longer. There aren’t any land lines out here and all the towers had been damaged by the winds. Everything is good to go now and you can look forward to more episodes dropping week to week. Now, I’m from tornado country in north Texas – in fact, we had two tornadoes touch down in five years on our property. But after moving to south Texas I heard about the dangers of hurricanes and kind of shrugged off any worry about them. Well, after seeing roofs blown off houses and tin sheets soaring through fields, it’s safe to say I’ve changed my mind about that. Huge swaths of south Texas saw massive flooding and got absolutely hammered – I’ve just never seen devastation like that. Thankf

This week we’re answering questions from two different listeners. Both still had questions after listening to previous episodes, and Laura and I are here to clear the air. Key Takeaways First question - what to do with a horse that won’t respond to go forward cues. Well, it depends. First off, you want to make sure you are being deliberate with your request. You don’t want to send subtle cues that might make the horse think a fly just landed on their back. You want to get their attention and make a deliberate request. Once the horse yields a bit to that request, you want the horse to feel a change in your demeanor and energy. You are demanding that they respond to your commands, you’re looking at them like you are almost a hungry predator. If that look is enough to have them move then you release that stare and make sure the horse is following through with your command. How do you make them follow through? If your horse stops or doesn’t move to begin with, you want to swing your lead rope to their neck at

This episode is dedicated to that iconic symbol of all cowboys and cowgirls: the boot spur. Mine never come off my work boots. I check them in my luggage when traveling and as soon as I get to where I’m going they go right back on. They are a part of me and my culture. There are some mixed emotions about spurs and so today we will be going over many questions I’ve got about them. Whether you need spurs, don’t need them, and what purpose they serve. Key Takeaways First off, no. You don’t need to have them. At a base level, they are just an extension of your heel. They let me communicate with just a little less effort to whatever horse I’m riding. With the smallest movement, I can give a subtle message to the horse, and I like to be as soft as possible when doing so. Here is my response to those who may think they are cruel and could hurt a horse. The truth is they are only as harsh as the person using them. They aren’t sharpened like knives. Now, for the inexperienced user or someone not in control of your

Welcome back to Ride Every Stride – we’re in the thick of summer now and I thought it’d be good to have an episode about something you all have probably heard. “Oh, that horse just needs some wet saddle blankets. That’ll do them some good.” I get where this comes from, the idea of getting a horse busy to have them fall in line with the behaviors you want. But you can’t just give a horse busy work and expect them to grow. That’s the equivalent of throwing a monkey on a border collie – just putting a rider on and running your horse aimlessly won’t teach them anything. So, wet saddle blankets alone don’t get you a whole lot of anything. It’s the purpose and intentions behind the work that matter. Key Takeaways When you work with your horse you want to make that time valuable. Productive time means you’re doing something positive for you and your horse’s relationship and education. Remember, practice doesn’t make perfect – practice just makes permanent. So keep this in mind: are you training your horse to be a

I’m often approached by those who consider me a saddle expert. And yes, I have designed saddles with manufacturers that I’m extremely proud of. However, I’d hesitate to call myself a saddle expert. I spend my energy thinking about the horse and what they need far more than I think about what adjustments I need made to any given saddle. I like to keep things simple. My saddle should be basically neutral, not causing myself or the horse any problems. You may’ve gotten advice from a saddle expert, talking about saddle fit and custom saddles, but before you run off and get something tailor made I’d ask yourself this: where are this expert’s intentions coming from? We’re giving you the rundown on my take on saddles this week, so let’s head off. Key Takeaways It can be intimidating when you go into a tack store and see racks and racks of saddles. You’re not alone if you find yourself not knowing where to start. So, let’s make your saddle buying decision a bit more simple. First, let’s see if your current sadd

We have another listener question that will be the focal point for this week’s episode. While I like to respond to these personally, sometimes I like to bring them up for episode topics as well. This topic in particular is something many horse owners may have dealt with, and that’s aggressive horses. The question that came in was specifically about a 15 year old mare - one that was bottle fed at some point because her mother couldn’t produce enough milk. This mare will get aggressive on trail rides if any horse comes up from behind. She’ll stop and run backwards to kick at the other horses. Keep in mind that my suggestions here are what I “might” do. There’s not a surefire solution I can give without being there myself, but this should provide a good starting point for anyone with similar issues. Key Takeaways Let’s find the source of the problem first. When another horse approaches from behind the mare gets aggressive. So when another horse is out of her range and approaching she reacts. This is most li

There’s a story I’m reminded of just about every day. It’s one that comes to mind when I’m pushing myself and my horses to be the absolute best that we can. Back around when ranch horse versatility events were getting popular I started exercising my competition skills. I’d take clients horses and often win first, second, and third place with their different horses. It got me some recognition from some publications, and one of my clients took notice, too. He started bragging about me, boosting my ego and getting my hat a little too tight, and asked if I could get him to see 1% improvement a day with one of his horses. I said yes sir, of course I can do that. Well, he went on to tell me that he’d bring me the horse 100 days before a competition to get them ready. Of course, I immediately realized it was going to get that horse more than 100 days to be show ready, and so did he. It was a humbling lesson in the way we progress both through our horsemanship and humanship, and it’s one I’d like to share with you to

We’re back from the pacific northwest where we’ve had some excellent clinics and met some great people. I fielded a fair amount of questions on the trip and many of them had to do with bits. When I get asked, “What kind of bit do you use?” my favorite response is “Just use a bit of knowledge.” In all seriousness, what bit you use depends on a lot of factors. But keep in mind that bits are just tools. Buying a new one just because it’s easier than learning to use the one you already have is not a good reason to switch bits. We’re going over how to look at why certain bits work for certain people and horses, and also what kind of mentality you need to have when exploring them. Key Take Aways Another of my favorite sayings is that you know why there are so many bits, dont’cha? It’s because none of them work. Again, jokes aside, manufacturers have demands put on them by the consumer, who goes into retail stores and sees all the products. Unfortunately, some riders have the idea that buying a new bit is going t

Some of my favorite questions are more philosophical in nature, and recently I’ve been asked an interesting one: How do you know if your horses are happy? Understanding this boils down to the main differences between horses and people. We tend to apply human emotions and characteristics to our horses that often don’t apply to them. But horses don’t jump out of airplanes or go to the movies or go on hikes to find happiness like humans do. Horses are very different animals from us with different ways of expressing themselves. In this episode, we’re going over signs that your horse is anxious or frustrated and thinking about what horse happiness actually looks like. Key Takeaways In order to give a cure you first have to find the cause - this is something Jack Brainard once taught me. So, if we want to make our horses happy it will do us well to figure out why they are unhappy first. Horses can show their anxiety and frustration by swishing a tail or pinning their ears, even if they go on to do what you ask

If you’re familiar with our show you’ve heard me talk about horse’s herd instinct. You may have wondered though if that instinct still survives in our domestic horses, and if so, how strong it actually is. Well, the answer is that yes, horses still very much seek out herd interactions with fellow horses. Us humans tend to be a bad replacement for another horse in this regard. In today’s episode, we’re going to be discussing aspects of how horses behave in herds and how that affects how we as trainers and riders interact with them. Key Takeaways If you watch horses objectively as they interact with one another you’ll see that they tend to group up. In a large group of say twenty horses, you might see three or four subgroups form as well. And not only are these horses ranked in the whole herd, but they are ranked in their subgroups as well. Identifying where your horse falls in these groups can help give you a leg up in understanding how to best communicate that you are their leader. Communicating that you’re

We’re tackling a pretty in depth question this week from another one of our listeners: how do you know when you’re ready to buy a horse? It shouldn’t come as a surprise that horses are large animals. Much larger than any other pet. And with that increase in size also comes an increase in time, effort, money, and responsibility. I’m going to walk you through some steps that should help you decide if you’re ready to make the kind of commitment it takes to keep a horse in your care. And as you might’ve guessed, it starts with gauging how truly passionate you are about these wonderful animals. Key Take Aways Finding out how passionate you are about having horses be a part of your life can be a bit of a process. No one wants to rush into buying a horse and end up having to sell it after a month because they didn’t know what they were getting into. This is why I recommend volunteering. You get to see first hand what it’s like to shovel poop, clean the stalls, and groom the horses. Therapy ranches and boarding far

We’ve been getting some great feedback about our show and some great questions have been flooding in. So this week we’ll be addressing a listener question that just came in: should we have different expectations when training mares vs. geldings. To answer this we need to first acknowledge that we expect a job of our horse. We want them to perform. Take a second to look at the kind of performance you’d ask of a man or woman at their job. Regardless of gender, you’re going to be expecting equal performance. And so it is for our horses. My expectations for males and geldings don’t differ. However, there are some things we need to understand the nature of horses that will help us keep our expectations consistent. Key Takeaways The core of this episode is about setting expectations, standing by them, and supporting them. While we shouldn’t expect mares and geldings to behave differently, we need to acknowledge that, at times, they do. Mares see their purpose, naturally, as one of survival and procreation. Us h