For some time, folks have been telling me to check out horseman Jeff Griffith. I did and loved what I saw and heard.
Griffith worked alongside Buck Brannaman for years, managed the La Cense Horsemanship program in western Montana, and developed an instructional DVD series for the American Quarter Horse Association.
The Montanan visited Iowa recently and held colt starting and horsemanship clinics at Kirkwood Community College, home of the Iowa Equestrian Center.
Griffith has a nifty way of setting up a round pen like a doughnut with a doughnut hole. Or, it’s a big round pen with a lil’ one inside it. The design encourages more fluid traffic movement and is especially helpful when there’s a big group.
During the morning colt-starting sessions, Griffith had all the students put the colts in the doughnut-ed round pen. He watched them and moved them for several minutes, giving him the opportunity to assess the horses AND giving the horses time to move and sort themselves out.
In this video, he talks about the challenge of teaching his young saddle horse not to simply go with the other horses, but to listen to his cues.
Check it out:
