AN ECLECTIC HORSEMAN ARTICLE PERMANENTLY POSTED
AS A PUBLIC SERVICE TO ALL HORSES
Bennett, Deb. 2016. Longeing your horse: why and how. The Eclectic Horseman no. 91 (2016), p. 5-13. We see horses so badly longed so much of the time that this article became for me a must-write. Most horse owners have never had a formal lesson in how to longe or how to work a horse on either the long or the short rein. If that's you -- please avail yourself of the opportunity presented by this succinct and well-illustrated article.
ECLECTIC HORSEMAN ARTICLES
POSTED ON A ROTATING BASIS
(SOME OF THESE ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE AS BACK ISSUES, SO THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE YOU
WILL BE ABLE TO GET THEM)
Bennett, Deb. 2010. How horses work: The anatomy of the soft feel. The Eclectic Horseman no. 51 (2010), p. 6-11. The "soft feel" is a key concept in our school of horsemanship; this article relates what goes on internally with the bones and muscles to what the rider sees and feels on the outside.
Bennett, Deb. 2010. How horses work: Untracking. The Eclectic Horseman no. 52 (2010), p. 13-17. Untracking the horse, or causing him to step under the body-shadow with the inside hind leg, is fundamental to all horse training as well as to safety and control. This article contains one of those illustrations that you really need to copy out and put up with magnets on the door of your 'fridge, so you see it every day.
Bennett, Deb. 2010. How horses work: The anatomy of straightness. The Eclectic Horseman no. 53 (2010), p. 17-22. This article picks up where "Lessons from Woody" (permanently posted on our REQUIRED READING page) leaves off. Very clear color illustrations.
ECLECTIC DOWNLOADS
Dr. Deb Articles in
The Eclectic Horseman
On this page you will find articles by me which were published in the pages of The Eclectic Horseman magazine. By the courtesy of my editors, you can download a rotating selection of them here.
I knew and was privileged to ride with Ray Hunt and both Tom and Bill Dorrance, and The Eclectic Horseman is the primary place where I go to meet others who knew them in order to remember and reminisce on the glory days when they were all still alive. Writings by Buck Brannaman, Tom Moates (who reports for Harry Whitney), Joe Wolter, Bryan Neubert, Melanie Smith-Taylor, and Millie Hunt Porter regularly appear. Other talented riders, trainers, and teachers including Josh Nichol, Bryan Neubert's sons and daughter, Jim Hicks, and Tom Curtin -- who either knew the principals of this school of horsemanship, or who are students of the first generation and who employ the same approach -- also appear. In sum I do not believe that anyone could find a more concentrated source of experience, excellent training advice, and wisdom than in the pages of The Eclectic Horseman.
The Eclectic Horseman regularly gets five-star reviews for its big, clear format and its focus on sharing and teaching practical training and handling techniques. Besides "how-to" articles, they publish horsemanship history, craftsmanship, non-timed ranch skills competitions, and the philosophy of mutual communication between horse and human.
The Eclectic Horseman Mercantile is also a handy source of books, videotapes, and other materials by and about our teachers. The Mercantile also features a wide array of worthwhile books on training specialties such as finishing a bosal-spade bit horse, using the 60-foot braided riata in traditional Vaquero/Buckaroo style, and proper ways of training and finishing a horse for the Classical High School and/or competitive dressage. The Mercantile is also where you order back issues of the magazine.