Downunder Horsemanship Fundamental Series

Stephenville, TX “Hey mate, how can I help you?” begins a typical conversation with Clinton Anderson of Downunder Horsemanship. Born and raised in Australia, Clinton’s heritage is readily apparent thanks to his thick accent. His natural ability with horses was recognized at a young age and by nine years old, Clinton had his first horse. In his teens, Clinton played Polo-Cross and by age 15 he was apprenticing with Gordon McKinlay, a noted trainer and clinician in Rockhampton, Queensland. Over the next two years Clinton started and trained over 600 horses under the watchful eye of Gordon.Clinton’s arrival to the United States in 1996 culminated in an apprenticeship with Al Dunning, a multiple winner of AQHA World Championships. During a brief return to Australia, Clinton began participating in reining competitions. His arrival back in the United States in October of 2007 was the start of his training, touring and clinics. As the first horse trainer to debut a “made for TV” weekly training program, Clinton has been a leader within the equine industry. His work with untrained horses covering common problems has proven helpful to thousands of horse owners across the country and beyond.The Fundamental series is Clinton’s signature method. The recently restructured program is designed to help horse owners get the results they desire using easy to understand training methods.  DVDsFilmed in high definition, the Fundamentals series contains over 28 hours of footage, including horsemanship philosophy, round penning, groundwork and riding exercises, ensuring you won’t miss a single step to achieving a trustworthy and respectful partner. What separates the Downunder Horsemanship Method from others is Clinton’s unique approach to teaching horse owners how to effectively communicate with their horses. As you progress through the levels, you’ll notice that every lesson is presented in a step-by-step system called the Eight Steps to Success. Each exercise is laid out in the easiest, simplest way to understand, ensuring that you’ll know exactly what steps to take and what you can expect your horse to do when teaching a given exercise.1. Goal: Using Mindy, his Australian Quarter Horse mare, Clinton shows how each exercise is supposed to look. If you have a clear picture of what you’re looking for, you will be better able to help your horse understand what to do.2. Why: Clinton explains why each exercise is an important step in the Method. If you understand why it’s important, you will be more likely to practice it and be thorough with each step.3. Teaching Stage: Clinton shows you how to teach the exercise to a horse that has never learned it. For some exercises, he brings in a second horse that will respond in a different way than the first to give you an idea of how to handle horses with opposite personalities.4. Handler/Rider Mistakes: In this section, Clinton describes all the mistakes he sees people making when teaching the exercise to their horses. If you know what NOT to do, you will save yourself a lot of frustration.5. Horse Problems: Here Clinton lists all the most common problems that horses will have when learning these exercises, and how to fix them and/or avoid them. Horses don’t learn perfectly; the key is to know what to do when the horse doesn’t give you the right response.6. Troubleshooting: Sometimes you think you’ve done everything right and the horse still isn’t getting it. This section will give you advice on what to do when you feel like you’re out of options.7. Success Tips: In this section, Clinton gives you extra advice that he has found will make the exercise go a little smoother.8. Practical Purpose: The more you can give your horse a purpose to what you’re asking him to do, the happier he will be. This section will give you ideas of how to use the exercise during your everyday routine and how to spice it up to keep it interesting for your horse.The series follows the progression of a Quarter Horse gelding named Bow. When Bow stepped off the trailer and onto the Downunder Horsemanship Ranch, he brought with him typical issues horse owners face each day. “He was terribly trained and extremely spooky,” Clinton says. “When he arrived, I acted as if he was a two-year-old colt that I got in for training and started him at the very beginning of my Method.” The camera follows Bow’s progression from an overly reactive hot-blooded horse to a willing and obedient partner.The DVDs also feature a student lesson at the end of each exercise. When you first start applying the Method with your horse, it can sometimes be frustrating when both you and the horse are trying to figure out what to do, especially if you’re new to using the training tools. The student lessons will give you ideas about how to practice your rhythm, timing and coordination without the horse. The use of improved cameras and technology allow viewers to get a bird’s eye view of the exercises so that they feel as if they’re in the saddle with Clinton, all of which makes these high definition DVDs the most comprehensive training tool you’ll ever use. Arena MatesThe series comes complete with pocket-sized training guides that follow the exercises presented in the DVDs. The Arena Mates are sealed with a protective cover so that you can take them to the barn to use as an easy-to-follow reference when training your horse. Each of the 15 Arena Mate booklets features detailed steps from round penning exercises to riding with confidence maneuvers. “For years people have been begging for reference guides they could take to the arena with them so they wouldn’t forget the steps to the exercises,” Clinton says. “Our Arena Mates not only detail each exercise, but they also list ways to avoid common handler and horse mistakes and allow you to track your horse’s training progress.” Colored photographs accompany each exercise, highlighting the finer points of the lessons. Philosophy BookIllustrated with full color photos, this 100-page book explains the philosophy behind Clinton’s Method. Knowing exactly why your horse behaves the way that he does is the first step to becoming a true horseman. “My job is to help you to understand my Method, which in turn will help you better understand your horse. Your job is to become the best horseman you can be. To do that you must understand the fundamentals of horse training, which starts with learning the basics and earning your horse’s respect,” Clinton says.For more information about Clinton Anderson’s Downunder Horsemanship Fundamental Series, visit www.downunderhorsemanship.com.