Trainers Signatures

Over the years I've learned that every horse trainer has a particular pattern or way of doing things and once I learn that pattern it is fairly easy for me to identify horses trained by that person.

I had an email conversation going with a woman and she mentioned something about the way her horse responded to certain aids (signals). There was something familar about the aids she described using on her horse but it took a while for me to remember where I'd learned about this particular method of telling a horse what you want it to do. Something people either forget or never learn is that a horse will learn to do what you want via whatever signals you choose to use as long as you are consistent in their use. Here is some of my response to her.

I had to sleep on it, but when you mentioned the business of cuing your horse with your thighs I remembered when I was looking at Pasos I went to a farm that had one of the top trainers from Peru working for them. I rode some of their horses and he instructed me to cue the horses using pressure from hip to knee. The lower leg was used separately to signal forward movement and upward (collected) movement.

Later when I was riding a gelding at another place I used these signals and got a perfect response. I asked the owner how long the horse had been with that particular trainer and she was amazed I could tell it had been with him.

I learned back in my livery stable days that every trainer has a "signature" and once you know it any horse that person's worked with will be easier to handle if you use those signals. It is something that has stood me in good stead for a lot of years. When trying a new horse I don't waste time trying to give perfect aids, rather I try to find which ones that particular horse has been taught to respond too.

Lazy Trainer Tip

When riding or driving a horse for the first time ask the person responsible what aids the animal is accustomed to. Do not assume the ones you usually use are ones that horse will understand. If someone tells you a horse is trained to respond to different signals than the ones you know use what the person tells you not what you have learned.