Insights by Steve

Natural Horseman ~Steve McClure (Reno)

For me, Sun Fire Stables is a special place. It’s Jen and Dean and all the wonderful people and critters that make it what it is. I’ve visited many barns over the years and that is not always the case. Now it’s always dangerous to single out one particular person in a group so special but it’s been on my mind to single out one other lady, besides Jen, who best personifies Sun Fire Stables for me.

That lady, Karen Sizer, has been at Sun Fire a long time and she sure doesn’t need me to validate her but I’ll give it a try. If you’ve been a client at Sun Fire for any length of time I bet you know Karen and for all the right reasons. She’s soft spoken, gracious and one heck of a horseman.

As far as I know she has had six horses at Sun Fire, a veritable cavvy! Sadly three of them have since passed. Those three, Beau, Oky and Silli, now enjoying belly high grass, lived long productive lives. The surviving three, Nique, Lali, and Classi are now, I believe, late twenties and early thirties! This is not merely sheer luck but the mark of a dedicated horseman who cares for their stock.

On many occasions, day or night, I would see a figure in the paddock, rain or snow, and sure enough it was Karen administering medicine or just checking on one of her charges. I’d come in from a lesson at 9:00 pm and there was Karen still brushing one in a stall or cleaning hooves. That earned her a lot of respect from me and a lot of other folks. I’ve seen her in the saddle as well and that lady can sit a horse just as you would expect. She’s not “all hat and no cattle” but the complete package.

Some years ago I was doing the evening feeding. It was January, had snowed heavily the day before and the the temperature was now sub-zero. I loaded hay on the trailer hitched to the four wheeler and headed to the paddocks behind the outdoor. I got stuck past the pump house and I had to unhook the trailer to get the four wheeler moving. In the process I realized I had frozen the tips of my fingers and headed for the barn to check it out. Karen was there checking on her remuda and quietly asked me if I was alright and how she could help. She kindly offered me hand warmers to continue that night and extras for the next day. That’s Karen. On social media, she is always writing a positive comment or encouraging someone’s effort. Always cheerful, I have never heard her utter a disparaging word about anyone. She always answered my equine questions and I’ve learned a lot from watching her interact with the horses. She works at the Project Day in the spring and helps out at the Fun Show in the summer. She’s good “eyes” at the barn making sure that things are safe and the critters are alright. I could go on but I’ve embarrassed her enough.

When you think about it she is kind, loyal, walks the walk, takes good care of the stock as well as being modest and dependable. Sounds like a real cowboy to me.

~Steve McClure (Reno)

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Insights by Steve -- McCarty

Horse Do ~Steve McClure (Reno)

Years back a lady that I knew at Sun Fire Stables asked me to “look after her horse.” She was going to undergo shoulder surgery and would be out of commission for most of the winter. I agreed and promised to put the horse in question in “my rotation.” She wanted to pay me but I deferred since I do not do it for hire, it’s not my facility and I was glad to do what I could for a friend. She’s a fine horsewomen with years of experience and I was, quite frankly, pleased that she trusted me to look after the animal. In our conversation, she told me that her horse needs a “strong man’s hand” so I was semi-qualified.

The horse in question was a young mare and any work/training at this age will likely shape a lot of her behaviors into the future. I watched this same animal two years ago work for the first time with cattle at one of Steve’s clinics. She and her owner were a natural. I never saw a horse and rider take so quickly to cattle. The horse was well muscled, coordinated and smart as a whip. We did a lot of ground work as well in the saddle. This mare had a penchant for tossing her head so we worked on that. I normally learn as much or more from the training than I think the animal does and anyone who knows me knows that I believe in small steps and building on basic foundations. I worked her with my rope and eventually was able to throw a loop horseback. I enjoyed the experience and learned a lot from that little mare.

One weekend the owner made an appointment with her farrier. I promised that I would ride the horse first, then bring her in and hold her since the owner was still on restrictions due to her surgery. The farrier commented several times how much better the horse stood than in previous sessions and mentioned that I must be responsible for the change. She asked if I followed natural horsemanship and what particular method I used. I had no formal answer and was decidedly unaccustomed to being singled out for my equine knowledge so I told her that all I used were the methods taught to me by my equine mentor, Jennifer Gaudes Raemisch.

Believe me I know that the farrier was just being kind and trying to please a customer. As they say “don’t try to sell a salesman.”

If you read these blogs you know (and probably tired of hearing) that I am a martial artist and, as such, I am required to honor those who show me the way. One of the martial arts I teach is Aikido (eye-key-doe) which in Japanese means “the way of harmony”, the "do" meaning "way of." It felt good that I had found "the way" to hopefully help the horse, do a favor for a friend and acknowledge my indebtedness to those who teach me. In this way, all benefit. That is harmony (aiki) in its truest sense.

~Steve McClure (Reno)

To read more by Steve McClure (Reno)--see below.

Insights by Steve -- Horse Geology?

Insights by Steve -- Working Together

Insights by Steve -- The Circle

Insights by Steve -- Natural Horseman

Insights by Steve -- Natural Horseman

The Circle ~Steve McClure (Reno)

(To a cowboy the “circle” is the path they ride daily to check on the stock but there are other circles as well.)

I've always ridden. Even as a child I would beg my parents to stop whenever we passed a riding stable. I was a city boy but my heart was out west and horseback. My dear Mother was responsible for my ardor due to her own fascination with the west and her love of the mountains. She was raised in rural Minnesota and lived with her family in a railroad depot as her father was a track foreman. Her western imagination was fueled by the numerous dime store western novels the engineers would drop off at the depot for her to read. She also rode when she moved to Milwaukee at the old Joy Farms stable. I am also proud to say that my paternal grandfather had worked as a cowboy in Arizona.

When I was eight or so my parents planned for a vacation out west. My mom had been saving money in a large Ma Bensch's herring jar for years. This was before much of the Interstate system was built so travel was mainly on two lane highways and there was a town every twenty miles. Progress was slow and we took the standard route to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons through South Dakota and its well advertised Corn Palace, Wall Drug and the beautiful Black Hills. These places are very special to me now since I have been able to cowboy in those same areas several times over the years.

We finally got into Wyoming and after we had passed the Wind River Range we saw a dusty commotion up ahead causing Dad to slow to a stop. My brother didn't notice since he was looking down at a comic book which was a position he maintained throughout the entire trip. Up ahead of us was a herd of cattle being pushed across the highway by cowboys! I was mesmerized. Mom was as excited as I was and took many pictures (slides in those days) and the sound, dust and sight was something I'll never forget. I watched that herd in the back window till they were out of view. I also got a chance to ride out there as well on that trip. I was always angling to get horseback. In later years I was able to push cattle across highways myself and it was all I hoped it would be. Well that along with the dust, noise and recalcitrant cattle! The West was everything I hoped it would be and more. Mom was right, I was hooked.

We went back three or four years later. My brother had enough the first time around and he talked my parents into letting him stay home with grandma. It was only my little sister and me this time. It so happens that I had begged my parents incessantly for a cowboy hat before we left. Nothing was promised except for those vague references like “we’ll see” which any kid assumes only means no. But in Rapid City Dad suddenly stopped at a genuine western store and he came out with a big silver belly cowboy hat for me. It was no mere souvenir but the real thing and I was ecstatic. In my rapture I didn't immediately notice that it was a little big for me. When I meekly mentioned it Dad replied with the obligatory "you'll grow into it" thing. Dang, we were already on the road and he wasn't going back. But he was right. Over the years I did grow into it. Dad knew better than me. It one of those kid karma things. Mom and Dad were far from rich and I'm sure that hat wasn't cheap so I sure appreciated it. I still do. That hat has been with me for many years and lost most of its shape mainly due to getting soaked one year during a selfish quest for candy, dressed as a cowboy, during a trick or treat downpour.

The years passed and in 2016 I was able to take part in a weekend clinic hosted at Idlewild Farms in Sturgeon Bay. It was “The Full Mooney” clinic given by my good compadre Steve Lundean. I was undeservedly given the “star” treatment thanks to Steve. They furnished me with a fine horse and they even carried my rig in from my truck! I had a bunk on the second floor of the main hacienda with the aforementioned Bill Mooney (check him out on Facebook. I highly recommend him) and his lovely wife Aline. All the big shots had stayed there including Branaman, Cameron and the like. I didn’t like that, made me nervous, so I slept in my bedroll on top of the bed. They had a picture frame of Buck next to my bed, on a shelf, staring at me so I laid it flat so you couldn’t see it. That’s how I roll or bedroll (sorry I couldn’t resist). Great venue and wonderful hosts.

What sticks in my mind most was my return to Milwakee on Sunday evening. I had wanted to visit Mom at her assisted care facility. She was 95 then and not in the best of health. I got there around 9 pm and it was quiet. Now I was completely “cowboyed up”. Boots, jeans and hat. I smelled like horses and sweat. I walked to her wing and found her door was locked. She was obviously in bed and I had missed my chance. Out of nowhere a nurse appeared and offered to open the door for me. I thanked her, she opened it and said “Angie, a cowboy is here to see you.” The room was dark and only the light from the corridor lit the scene. I sat down next to her on the bed. I took her hand and kissed her forehead. She looked up at me and said “oh my cowboy is here to see me!” We spoke briefly and then I wished her goodnight.

The great Zen circle was complete. The little girl who dreamt of cowboys while reading dime store novels finally had one. Something special happened that night and I will never forget it. Now Mom’s gone on ahead and is with my Dad. Miss em both.

In loving memory of my dear mother, Angeline McClure, who passed away 6/18/19 at age 97.

~Steve McClure (Reno)

To read more by Steve McClure (Reno)--see below.

Harmony and Horsemanship ~Steve McClure (Reno)

Recently I was listening to a song in which a portion of the lyrics were “keep your eyes on where the trail meets the sky." Although I enjoy the song as well as the artist, I must respectfully disagree with this particular premise.

Allow me to explain. There is an old martial parable in which the prospective student asks the Master, “how long will it take to earn a black belt?” The Master pauses and finally answers “ten years.” The student, dissatisfied with the answer replies “what if I train twice as hard as any other student?” The Master pauses again and replies “twenty years.” Truly bewildered the student asks a third time “how long if I train day and night only stopping to eat and sleep!?!” “Thirty years” wearily answers the Master. The student now completely exasperated pleads “Master, why is it that the more I promise to work the longer it takes to receive true enlightenment?” The Master pauses and finally replies “it is because when you have one eye fixed on the destination you only have one eye left to find the way!”

The moral to this story is that in every endeavor we must pay attention to where we are now. We must live in the present. Progress is often slow and difficult. If I think ahead too much then I may well miss a lesson in the now and that can eventually prove to be harmful to training and potentially dangerous. The destination will be eventually reached and you will probably discover that the destination was only one step. Many more lie ahead. This is a very martial arts idea. In the East, the journey is savored much more than the destination. In the West, this is normally not the way we live. We want our food and our cars fast and our life is always in that fast lane dedicated to reaching some imagined goal.

My particular interest is in applying this philosophy to my work with horses. One of my black belts is in the martial art of Aikido. It is a Japanese art which literally means “the way or art of harmony” or blending. What does that mean? Well to me and I am only a student of the art, it means to re-direct energy in such a manner that it becomes useful or at least harmless. This means that as I interact with a horse I try to keep a real time sense of energy transfer between the horse and me. It cannot be a conscious thing because that takes to long and you end up back in time like a DVR which is minutes behind. You lose the sense of now. The Japanese call this “mushin” or the “no mind.” Action without thought and that takes practice.

Without getting any more “Eastern” suffice it to say that I believe the practice at being in the now while paying attention to the various energies between horse and human lead to a more harmonious relationship. The more you learn the more you realize how much you don’t know. I know more about martial arts than I do about horses but in reality both don’t add up to much and that's fine with me. It is the journey that is to be enjoyed.

~ Steve McClure (Reno)

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