I bought my first horse at age 54 and have been practicing horsemanship now for 5 1/2 years. I knew nobody with a horse when I bought Nugget, a 7 year old paint, and the first 3 months were pretty rocky. Fortunately, my vet sponsored horsemanship clinics for her clients at the time. It was nerve wracking at times and it took a few years, but I finally got to where I could accomplish a thing or two with my horse.
I now have a second horse, Talus, a Spotted Saddle Horse. I got him because my vet told me I was going to send Nugget into early retirement if I didn’t give him a break. I’m lucky to have a very nice trail system close to home, the Oregon State University McDonald Research Forest, and I’m out there nearly every weekday riding 3 to 10 miles a day.
Buck Brannaman is my favorite clinician, and I’ve been to 3 or 4 of his clinics. I love Eclectic Horseman for Buck’s articles, but I also appreciate articles from other points of view.