K-I-N Stables & Arenas

EVA — Imagine the teaching effort Ernestine Linton could have saved if she had the same telepathic ability to speak with her former English students as she apparently does with her horse.

Her students from Wallace State Community College or Eva School could do her bidding as easily as Goldie obeys her silent commands in the horse ring.

She demonstrated her newfound skills at K-I-N Stables by walking Goldie in a 12-foot-wide circle around her using a loosely held lead line. Linton's teacher instructed her to mentally invite Goldie to come to her after the second lap. Linton did so without calling or tugging on the rope, and before Goldie completed the third lap, she strode casually to Linton.

"I never would have believed it," said Linton, who began taking natural horsemanship lessons from Jim Swanner three weeks ago.

Swanner said whether the horse truly read Linton's mind or if, instead, Goldie noticed a subtle hint from her owner's body language isn't what's important.

The point is Linton communicated with Goldie in a way that used minimal effort to move her, and the horse did so in a comfortable manner that makes her safer to handle.

Safety is the cornerstone of the natural horsemanship method Swanner began learning two years ago and which he hopes will become the preferred training style for the state's nearly 187,000 horses.

"All horses communicate with each other silently, non-verbally," Swanner said. "Man needs to learn their language to fully enjoy them. Mostly all we've ever done is force them to do what we want by using mechanical devices. This may get them to do or go where we want, but if it upsets them, they're more likely to be dangerous.

"A horse that is scared will hurt you quicker than a horse that is mean," he said.

Swanner, 52, has learned to communicate with his walking horse, Scooter, so well that he can ride without use of a bridle and reins. He uses body positioning, gentle leg pressure and a technique of focusing on his direction to tell the horse which way to go.

Scooter and Jim Swanner demonstrate a mutual love and respect. Horses naturally fear man, Swanner said, so he teaches horse owners how to remove that fear and replace it with trust.

DAILY Photo by Gary Lloyd
Scooter and Jim Swanner demonstrate a mutual love and respect. Horses naturally fear man, Swanner said, so he teaches horse owners how to remove that fear and replace it with trust.

Though not a dominant form of training, natural horsemanship is done worldwide. Swanner has no idea how many trainers do it in Alabama, where one in 20 households owns a horse, but he's the only one he knows of in North Alabama.

Cindy McCall, a Ph.D. equine specialist and professor at Auburn University, said natural horsemanship is a proven and growing training method and quite a few trainers in the state use some variation of it.

"It works very well," she said. "It's very easy on the horse and the person."

Whether or not a rider uses a bridle, the basic concepts of natural horsemanship teach the same thing, McCall said. Many riders would never feel safe enough to ride without a bit and bridle to control the horse, she said.

When he tells people what he does, Swanner said, most people immediately think of Robert Redford and the movie "The Horse Whisperer" in which Redford's character uses his special ability to communicate with horses to help a young girl and her horse recuperate from a collision with a truck. Swanner said what he does is "similar," but the movie doesn't truly portray what he does.

The basic premise of natural horsemanship is understanding that horses are prey animals like rabbits, deer and other animals that have eyes on opposite sides of their heads. Man, on the other hand, is a predator, like wolves and other animals that have both eyes on the front of their heads.

In other words, horses naturally fear man, Swanner said, so he teaches horse owners how to remove that fear and replace it with trust.

A key to achieving that, he said, is not using mechanical devices like metal mouth bits, blinders, spurs or tie downs to train horses or forcing them to go against their will.

"My horses want to instead of have to," Swanner said.

He starts training sessions by playing a simple game of pulling a short rope over the horse's neck and back for five to 10 minutes to mimic the way mares play with their colts. He also shows the halter, blanket and saddle to the horse prior to attaching them as a way to get the horse's permission.

Linton began riding two years ago, and initially used another trainer for a walking horse. The horse proved too wild for her to enjoy and she sold it. She appreciates that Swanner teaches her horsemanship rather than training the horse.

"If I knew then what I know now, I would never have gotten on one unless I knew somebody like Jim," she said.

Swanner said anybody can learn natural horsemanship and he noted he only started handling horses daily six years ago.

He grew up in Limestone County and rode regularly as a youth. But as an adult, he got caught up in the corporate world and didn't ride again until six years ago when he moved to Eva.

"You know God gave everybody a talent," he said. "It took me 52 years to learn what my talent is. This is what I'm going to do the rest of my life."

On the Net: www.kinstables.com.

MGH Arena Talladega, AL

This article appeared in "The Daily Home" the newspaper in Talladega, AL where we held a seminar/clinic for the volunteer horse handlers and guest, at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. We would like to thank Ellen, Carol, Tim and Elizabeth and all the people at the MGH Arena for their hospitality. FEATURES

Teaching horses, the natural way

Laura Nation-Atchison
01-28-2007

The big bay mare dropped her head, licked her lips and let out a slow snort.
She wasn’t concerned at all about what the stranger was doing around her.
Jim Swanner was showing what natural horsemanship is to a group of guests and hippo therapy volunteers at the Mariana Greene Henry Arena Thursday.
Speck was the first “student” from the program’s barn, where hearing and or visually impaired youngsters who might also have developmental delays have therapeutic riding sessions each week.
The Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind also operates an independent riding program of Special Equestrians from the facility, added to the school 17 years ago.
Horses used in the program have to be carefully selected and tried out before ever putting a student on their backs.
Ideally, horses in the program are considered to be “bomb proof,” explained by arena staff to the non-horsy as so laid back they would practically stand still even if a bomb went off around them.
That’s why it’s good to have ongoing access to good horsemanship practices and training for those associated with the program, said Tim Greene, arena manager.
And too, even the best school horse can get a little sour or have his quirks, Greene said.
Swanner wanted to know specific behavior problems, if any, while he demonstrated his methods, to assist handlers in working with the horses.
Speck, for the most part, is a pretty agreeable character for the students, said program manager Elizabeth Stanley.
But, there is one thing, she told Swanner.
“When he’s groomed or curried, and sometimes when he’s saddled, he opens up his mouth and shows his teeth and looks like he might bite,” Stanley said. “It looks scary, but so far there hasn’t been any harm in it.”
Stanley said the behavior made them wonder if Speck would indeed bite someone some day, or if it was just a strange habit of his.
Swanner didn’t seem bothered by the report, slipped his own halter over Speck’s head and got started.
The halter change, he explained, was for training purposes. Instead of the flat nylon one she was wearing, Speck now sported a thinner round rope one that would comply with Swanner’s intent to show how horses can learn to “give”-or step aside-from light pressure.
Swanner calls his techniques “games” to play with horses, but shows how they really teach the animals to respond positively to people.
But first, there a re a few things Swanner wants to make sure people understand about the concept of natural horsemanship.
It’s based on the way a horse thinks and how they’re made.
“It’s teaching a horse using their own characteristics,” he said. “What they’re born with.”
Building trust and respect is critical to the process, he said, and that’s built into the games he explains.
Critical, too , in natural horsemanship, is understanding the inherent nature of horses, Swanner said.
“They’re prey animals and we’re predators,” he said. “They’re naturally afraid of us.”
And to make matters even worse, horses are skeptics, cowards and claustrophobic, he adds.
When horses sense something they’re afraid of, there’s one thing you can be sure of.
“They run,” Swanner said, “and they’re not thinking. It’s all right brain.”
What people have to do, he says, is cultivate the horse’s left brain.
That’s where the games come in.
But first, Swanner lets Speck take a good look at him and get in a few good sniffs.
In the game called “porcupine,” Swanner uses a stick about as long as his arm to ask Speck to “give to it.”
It doesn’t take the 17-year-old Quarter Horse long to figure it out. Within five to 10 seconds, the head lowers, the step away from the pressure comes and the horse stays relaxed through the whole thing.
Before the porcupine game, Swanner showed Speck the stick he uses with its long attached cord, and explains to observers that it isn’t a whip.
Throughout the session, he uses the stick to rub the horse, along his back, neck and winters and around his hocks and rump, reassuring Speck that nothing’s going to hurt him.
A little “white-eyed” about the contraption at first, Speck soon sees that the stick attached to the strange man isn’t a threat.
She soon doesn’t even mind when Swanner flips the string along her face and neck.
Swanner says the activity is a lot like what a mare does to a new foal.
After a few flicks with the string Speck starts lowering her head and the submissive lip licking starts.
That’s what Swanner predicted would happen, although the time factor can vary from horse to hose.
Time is something a good horseman needs to forget about when working with the animals, Swanner says.
“They don’t understand it,” he says. “And I’ve never seen a horse with a Timex.”
Swanner works with horses on a slack rope, not once during the session needing to pull Speck to him
Instead, his games taught the horse to seek him as a playmate, and Speck began to follow Swanner on her own.
One thing Swanner says repeatedly throughout his presentations is horse handlers do not want to become viewed as predators by the animals.
He has a story to illustrate.
A friend of his who’s also a believer in natural horsemanship practices was asked once what he would do if a horse kicked him,
“He said, ‘I’d go ouch,’” Swanner said. “You don’t react, you figure out why.”
Swanner travels to demonstrate the techniques, and also holds seminars at his farm in Eva.
The farm is named KIN Stables, for “keeping it natural,” Swanner explains.
The next seminar, or camp as he calls it, is March 17-18 at the farm.
Swanner says the methods of natural horsemanship have become a passion for him since discovering them about three years ago.
“I want to see people enjoy themselves with their horses,” he said.
When working with horses, Swanner advises “leave your attitude in the truck, your cowboy in the street and your macho somewhere else.
“If you get into a fight with your horse, who’s going to win? Nobody. You’ve backed up. You’ve become the predator.”

About Laura Atchison

Laura Atchison is The Daily Home lifestyles editor.

Contact Laura Atchison

Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:

256 299-2115
256 299-2192
lnation@dailyhome.com

Athens News Courier May 24, 2007

Fri, May 25 2007

Currently
85 F

Athens, AL
High 82 F Low 61 F

CLICK FOR MORE WEATHER

Homepage Local News Obituaries Opinion Sports Lifestyle Columns Our community | Classifieds Autos Employment Real Estate

Published: May 24, 2007 10:05 pm

Tanner native teaches people to communicate with horses

By Jennifer R. Hill
jennifer@athensnews-courier.com

A horse is a horse, of course, of course.

And no one can talk with a horse, of course.

That is, of course, unless the horse is trained by Jim Swanner.

Yes, Swanner can talk with horses. So to speak.

Swanner, 52, a native of the Tanner area, has been studying how to communicate with horses for three years now and teaching others how to communicate with their horses for two years. He owns K.I.N. (Keeping It Natural) Stables and Arena in Eva where he teaches natural horsemanship. He teaches students from all over North Alabama, including Fort Payne, Athens, Vinemont, Hartselle, Cullman, Blountsville and Union Grove.

Swanner grew up in Limestone County and is currently in the process of looking for land in the Reid community in hopes of starting an equine center. He graduated from Tanner High School and grew up on a farm, riding horses.

“It took me 52 years to find this gift and it has become natural,” Swanner said.

Swanner will hold a natural horsemanship clinic and seminar to share his technique at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 2, at Grassland Ranch in Athens, owned and operated by Reitzel Murphy.

When horseback riding, Swanner appears to direct his horse, Scooter, with the delicate guidance of only a peacock feather.

“I’m looking forward to the seminar myself. I’ll learn a lot,” Murphy said.

Swanner is likely to impress audiences at his clinics and seminars about natural horsemanship in the seemingly effortless ways he is able to maneuver horses.

“Get rid of words like ‘break’ and ‘make.’ We don’t break horses we start a relationship, a partnership,” Swanner said.

Natural horsemanship is about love, language, leadership, respect and reverse psychology verses fear intimidation and mechanics, he said.

Natural horsemanship does not allow mechanics, cruelty, fear or intimidation as tools or methods of teaching. For example, Swanner is more likely to use a hackamore (a bridle that can be tightened around the nose) instead of a bridle with a bit. Many of his students ride bareback and without a bit or bridle.

One cannot teach a horse that is scared or mad, he said.

“Reward trying. Never ask a trying horse to try,” Swanner said. “You want to gain trust in this rascal.”

As one might say Swanner goes right to the horse’s mouth to draw ideas and learn more about getting to know horses. He credits much of the techniques he has learned to the influences of Bill and Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt, Kell Jeffery, Maurice Wright, Dr. R.M. Miller and Pat Parelli

Natural horsemanship is based on teaching a horse to yield to the pressure, either by touching or air pressure.

“Pressure motivates and release teaches,” Swanner said.

Many people go wrong because they anthropomorphize a horse, Swanner said. However, learning horse psychology is also a key factor in communicating and ultimately building a good relationship between man and horse.

“They look at us like we’re an animal,” he said. “They are prey animals. We are the ultimate predator. We’re so good, we have people package our food for us.”

Reading the horse’s body language and responding with the correct body language is a large part of building a trust between horse and trainer.

Swanner said one must learn how horses think, read their body language, understand what they are asking, and do plenty of ground work involving games and obstacles.

“All it is horseplay. Horses love to play. They want safety, comfort, and play before they want food,” Swanner said.

Body language such as ears going back looks, licking and chewing are signs of communication.

“The clinic shows what you can do with a horse by learning the silent language of the horse. We teach people how to teach their own horse,” Swanner said. “It’s a journey. I would love to see people to get on this journey to horsemanship.”

Admission is $10 per person for the Natural Horsemanship clinic and seminar at Grassland Ranch, located west on Airport Road in Athens. Participates should bring lawn chairs. West Highland Baptist Church will prepare food for purchase to benefit the youth group.

Murphy teaches ranch work, sorting cattle, western style riding, barrel racing, poll bending, and also boards horses at Grassland Ranch. For more information about Grassland Ranch visit www.grasslandllc.com or call 998-0181.