The Most Important Step

Clinton and his clinicians are in the thick of instructing a 10-day Fundamentals Clinic at the ranch. The group of riders and horses is making great progress and Clinton is seeing daily improvement from everyone, which is what a clinic is all about! While the horsemen participating in the clinic are learning the Fundamentals and fine-tuning their application of the exercises and seeing immediate results, the real success comes after the clinic, when they’re enjoying their horses at home. No matter what you do with your horse – compete on him, ride him on trails or work him at home – the Fundamentals level of the Method is the foundation for everything you’ll ever do with him. Through a series of groundwork and riding exercises, the Fundamentals allows you to earn your horse’s respect and trust and prove yourself to be the leader in your relationship.

“Horses are great followers if you are a great leader. Think of the Fundamentals as the foundation of a house. I’ll be the first to admit that there’s nothing exciting about a house’s foundation; in fact, it’s the most boring part of the house. It’s also the most important. If a house’s foundation is cracked or uneven, the house is no good. A faulty foundation leads to cracks in the walls, leaks and holes. You can go around and keep patching up each little problem, but it’ll be a constant issue. The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter how fancy the rest of the house is; if the foundation is bad, the whole house is bad. The same is true of your horse. If his foundation is lacking, everything you do with him will be a struggle or impossible because he lacks the knowledge required to progress,” Clinton explains.

Learn more about the Fundamentals level of the Method on our website.