For a horse to be textbook correct when spinning, he should plant his inside hind foot. Horses that tend to plant their outside hind foot do so because they're sucking back too much. While it's generally a good thing to have a horse thinking "get back," in this case, you want to get forward on his mind. To correct this problem, first make sure you're not causing the horse to suck back by pulling back on the reins and causing the horse to back up or putting him in so much of a bind that he can't move. You just want enough pressure on the reins to stop the horse from walking forward.

A great way to remind the horse to step forward is by trotting him out into a small circle after he takes a few correct steps and then spiraling him back down into the spin. Ask him to move his front around his rear, and as soon as he takes one correct step, trot him out in a circle. Then spiral him down into the spin again. Asking him to actually move out will help him think "forward" in the spin rather than stepping back.

China, a 17-year-old Quarter Horse mare that has been associated with Downunder Horsemanship for most of her life, is starting a new career as a therapeutic lesson horse. The bay mare starred in the original Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground and Riding with Confidence DVD series and returned to filming in 2007 as the lesson horse in the DVD series Horsemanship 101. Since her filming career ended, China has been turned out in a pasture on the Downunder Horsemanship Ranch and occasionally made appearances in clinics as a lease horse for participants coming from overseas.

When Clinton learned that Stable Hands, a PATH International Premier Accredited Center located in Yreka, California, was looking for a lesson horse for its students, he knew China would be the perfect horse for their program. Finding ways to help therapeutic riding centers isn't new to the clinician. From the start of his career, Clinton has been donating money, equipment and training tools as well as his time to centers all across the country. He became familiar with Stable Hands when Professional Clinician Brittany Huff began her apprenticeship at Downunder Horsemanship. Brittany's sister Kori takes lessons from Stable Hands and Brittany volunteered at the center for nearly 10 years before relocating to Texas to pursue a career as a Professional Clinician. Clinton got to meet the Stable Hands team personally at the Fresno Walkabout Tour in 2012 when the group ran the Ritchie Charity Ball Toss. 

When Brittany mentioned to Clinton that Stable Hands was looking for a lesson horse, Clinton immediately thought of China. "She loves being around people and having a job to do. She is a well-trained, easygoing mare that is going to be a perfect fit for Stable Hands. She'll take care of the riders, build their confidence and teach them as well," Clinton shares.

Members of the Stable Hands team attended a celebration Clinton held for his Professional and Certified Clinicians last week in which Brittany was recognized. After congratulating Brittany on her achievement of becoming a Professional Clinician, they took China to her new home in California where she will give students the gift of learning horsemanship. Everyone at Downunder Horsemanship wishes China the best of luck in her new career.

With the Lexington, Kentucky Walkabout Tour just days away, Clinton and the Downunder Horsemanship crew are ready to take on the fourth tour of the year. Based on our past experience with our fans in the Kentucky area, we're expecting a big turnout at the Kentucky Horse Park. The two-day action-packed event will get started at 9 AM Saturday, June 22nd and will wrap up Sunday evening. Clinton will work with several problem horses throughout the weekend, including a horse that is hard to catch, a spooky horse, a disrespectful horse on the ground and under saddle and a horse that's hard to load on the trailer. The most anticipated demo of the weekend is always the advanced riding where Clinton shows off the partnership he shares with his Quarter Horse gelding Diez. Professional Clinician Shana Terry and her horse Marty are becoming a must-see team at tours as well. The two show off tricks that include bowing, laying down, the Spanish Walk and more. In between the training demos, Clinton will give away great prizes from Downunder Horsemanship and our incredible lineup of sponsors. 

If you're at the tour, don't forget to help support a great cause and take part in the Ritchie Charity Ball Toss. Clinton and feature sponsor Ritchie Industries are teaming up to help Central Kentucky Riding for Hope, a therapeutic riding center, raise funds for their program. Be sure to visit the nonprofit group's booth and purchase a tennis ball or two for your chance to win incredible prizes, including a complete collection of Clinton's DVDs, a mecate set and more!

For a complete schedule of the weekend's events, check out our Tour webpage. We hope to see you there!

With the Fundamentals, Intermediate and Advanced Series, Clinton has laid out a step-by-step guide to putting a solid foundation on a horse in order to succeed in any discipline. However, Clinton's instruction doesn't stop there. Did you know that the world-renowned clinician has specific training series geared toward select disciplines?

Cow Horse
Clinton's mentor and Australian NCHA Hall of Fame inductee Ian Francis shares the knowledge he's used to be a three-time Australian NCHA Open Futurity champion and two-time Cloncurry Stockman's Challenge champion, the ultimate performance cow horse event in Australia, in Cow Horse Training with Master Horseman Ian Francis. Including exercises for both dry work and cow work, Ian uses several different horses with varying levels of experience to help you increase your knowledge and training level. From introducing cattle to a horse to putting the finishing touches on a performance prospect, Ian lays out the road to achieving success in the competitive arena. Learn more.

You've seen Clinton use the Method to reform a problem horse or help a rider gain confidence, but do you know the man behind the Method? In our "Who is Clinton Anderson?" video, you'll learn more about Clinton's rise from a little-known horse trainer in Australia to the internationally recognized clinician he is today. It's a behind-the-scenes look into what Clinton believes in and what his method of horsemanship is capable of helping horse owners accomplish. See for yourself how the innovation, inspiration and instruction Clinton has brought to the horse world is truly awe inspiring.

Once your horse understands an exercise, it's important to move on. There's nothing horses hate more than being forced to do the same exercise every single day. Humans are the same. Imagine if when you were in school your teacher never got past teaching you the alphabet. Every day, she'd drill on the same lesson. You'd get bored quickly and start to resent even seeing her. The same theory applies to your horse. If your horse has the roundpenning exercises down, get him out of the roundpen and introduce new exercises to him. Don't nag him to death. All of the groundwork exercises are designed to earn the horse's respect and build his trust in you as a leader. Continually driving your horse around in circles is only going to cause him to get sour. Lots of horses develop bad attitudes when they are forced to do the same exercise over and over.

If your horse is developing a sour attitude, be sure you're introducing new exercises, mixing things up and giving him a purpose for doing the exercises. That's why I built the obstacle course at the ranch - it allows me to fine-tune the groundwork exercises without boring the horses to death. Now, just because the horse understands a particular exercise, it doesn't mean you won't ever come back to the exercise. You'll certainly still practice it, but maybe only twice a week, and you can keep it fresh by incorporating obstacles.

On June 14th, Clinton is holding a party to celebrate the impending graduation of the 2013 Academy students and Brittany Huff as a Professional Clinician. Certified Clinicians Dale Cunningham, Mark Tarver, Chris Webb and Jaclyn Sansaver will also be recognized for the outstanding job they've been doing to help people around the world build better partnerships with their horses using the Method. The entire Downunder Horsemanship team and the clinicians' family and friends will gather in Stephenville for a catered dinner and festivities. The clinicians will be presented with diplomas and custom designed belt buckles that depict the Roo logo. You can learn more about Clinton Anderson Professional and Certified Clinicians and how you can receive one-on-one instruction from them on our website www.certifiedclinician.com.

At the beginning of the month, Clinton welcomed a new class of Academy students to the ranch to begin their 14-week trial period. The students applied to the Academy and were accepted into the program after they took part in a Fundamentals clinic with Clinton. The students were selected to enroll in the Academy because of their outstanding horsemanship skills and potential to follow in Clinton's footsteps as clinicians sharing the Method. While Clinton puts emphasis on a potential clinician's horsemanship skills during the selection process, the majority of his decision to accept a potential student is put on their possession of Downunder Horsemanship's four core values - loyal, hard-working, ambitious and personable. The Academy is a 70-week program that requires students to work with a variety of horses (from colts to problem horses), study the Method in depth and be tested over their acquired knowledge. All throughout the program, the clinicians in training are instructed and mentored by Clinton and Professional Clinician Shana Terry. The students took part in the Colt Starting clinic that concludes this week and will begin training horses for the Academy Horse Program towards the end of the month. Learn more about what's expected of an Academy student and the program on the Clinton Anderson Clinician Academy website.

If you live in the United States, we're going to pick up your shipping tab on any purchase (excluding saddles and Behlen products) from now through July 1st. It's our treat to you for being loyal followers and supporters of the Method! Visit the Downunder Horsemanship online store to check out all of our training tools and equipment that are proven to help you build a safer, more enjoyable partnership with your horse.

MyHorse Daily editor Amy Herdy is embarking on one of the most exciting and trying experiences of horse ownership - raising a foal. The first-time foal mom has armed herself with Clinton's Foal Training Series and is chronicling her journey of expecting and then bringing up baby in her blog. The first installment, titled "Foal Watch, or Why Camping in the Horse Trailer is No Treat," had us giggling at Downunder Horsemanship because we could relate to Amy's anticipation, concerns and antics. If you've ever raised a foal or have it on your bucket list to do so, you'll appreciate Amy's insight and humor. We know we'll be eagerly looking forward to the next installment!