4-H event - equiworld.net Magazine January 2003

4-H event

"How to talk horse talk and train better," will be demonstrated by internationally known author/trainer Don Blazer at the 12th annual Trumbull County 4-H Equine Development symposium slated for Saturday, March 8.
Blazer will explain how horse behavior can be modified by using the horse's natural instincts, gaining the horse's respect and eliciting his desire for praise and acceptance by his trainer. Blazer will ride local horses, demonstrating how the techniques are applied. Blazer's presentation will begin at 1 p.m. at the Trumbull Career & Technical Center in Champion, OH.
Open to the public, there is no admission fee. There will be a new and used tack sale. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Trumbull County 4-H. The event is being co-sponsored by the Western Reserve Farm Cooperative.
Blazer, Scottsdale, Arizona, has traveled from Alaska to Australia demonstrating horse training techniques. He has trained horses which have competed at world championship show events, and he has trained stakes winning Thoroughbred and racing Quarter Horses. The author of the syndicated column, A Horse, Of Course, Blazer is also the author of Natural Western Riding, Training Performance Horses and Nine Secrets of Perfect Horsemanship. He has taught horsemanship for six colleges and universities. His company, Success Is Easy, is the leader in online horse training courses, presently offering three courses through his web site: www.donblazer.com.
"Horses can do all the exercises we expect of them by the time they are an hour old," Blazer says. "They can run and jump and stop and pivot. So we don't actually train them; we simply teach them to understand what it is we are asking. That is training by communication, not domination," Blazer says.
"When a horse is dominated by a rider, the horse submits and never gives a brilliant performance. But when a horse is a willing and happy partner who wants to please his rider, the horse's performance shines," Blazer points out.
The event begins at 10 a.m. when veterinarian R.L. Genovese speaks on "Equine Leg Problems." Psychiatrist Dr. Terrance Heltzel speaks on "Competition and Self Esteem" at 11:15 p.m.