Horse Trainer Bob Logan
By: Julia Campbell
http://www.hvjournal.com/articles.php?id=1047
As my husband, Rod, and I watched Bob Logan train his horse at the
Wa****ngton County Regional Park in Hurricane, we were very impressed
with the knowledge, expertise and intuitiveness he has with horses.
Logan's horse is being trained to go to the Reining Futurity World
Cup in December, 1999, which will be held in Oklahoma City, OK. He
says his horse is the most talented horse he has ever ridden in his
life. The horse is named Doc Royal Mahagony, after both his father and
mother, but they call him Roanie: Roanie, the good pony. Roanie's
father comes from a line of world champion cutting horses, and his
mother comes from champion cutting horses. Roanie is a beautiful,
eye-catching horse.
Logan said, "Roanie was trained all last summer, and just turned
three in January. He's a very hot blooded horse, so I started
working Roanie slow, using a lot of gentleness and quietness. Roanie
can get very fast and speedy and turn around quick."
Right now, Logan and his other trainers are working with three
horses that age, which they are preparing to go to the circuits
throughout the '99 season, and then some two-year-old horses being
prepared for the year after.
Logan showed us some of the reining pattern they do while training
their horses. He doesn't talk a lot while riding, because it
desensitizes the horse's ability to recognize the command to stop.
The reining pattern consists of loping in circles and changing leads.
He did the left hand lead and then the right hand lead. Then he took
off the bridle and guided Roanie through the reining pattern. Roanie
responded through leg cues and voice commands, and they are also taught
to respond to very light hand movements. The Trainers don't move
their hands more than half an inch when they turn the horses around and
make them lope. Roanie was able to follow very well. Logan keeps
Roanie under control with his movements, making him lope very slowly.
When Logan finished training Roanie for the day, Rod and I walked
with him back to the stalls while he led his horse and talked about
Roanie and the other horses. "There are probably not too
many horses in the United States with his talent," Logan said.
"Roanie has accepted it real well. We don't always turn the horse
loose with the reins, because he would lose some of its form. Roanie
is almost too sensitive to leg cues. He feels them too much, probably
his biggest weakness, but we have a year to train him. Roanie will
compete for $100,000 plus trailers, saddles, trucks, etc. I usually
send horses out to someone else and let them go; however, Roanie was
supposed to be a paint horse, but he didn't get any spots, so a lot
of people don't want to take a chance on a horse like that. I'm
taking a chance. I've had a lot of guys call me and want me to drop
prices so they can take him, but I'll just train him. I'll take
him to the circuit. I believe this horse can win it. I need to take
the talent God has given me and do something with it and see what I can
do to bless Roanie's life. This is a very intelligent horse."
Logan continued to explain more about how horses are trained.
Reining horses learn to cross their legs over in front. A horse
like Roanie gets a lot of speed, then starts crossing over very fast
and bangs his knees. The horses wear protective boots to protect their
legs from getting hurt.
The trainer rides in a reining horse saddle and teaches his horse
to respond to very light hand movements and to the trainer's legs.
It takes about six to eight months even to get the horse started in
that direction. They get even better after that.
When the horse has trained for a year, the trainer puts them in the
bridle, called broken shanks snapple, and then teaches the horse to
respond to even lighter movements and to listen to them.
Logan explained the interaction between trainer and horse: "You
really have to communicate with the horse you are training. The
interesting things that are going around now are 'The Horse
Whisper.' We don't whisper to horses, but we do listen to them.
Right now, Roanie is saying, 'Scratch me and pet me and tell me I did
okay; I want to be your friend.' By those actions that he just did
by moving his head, he told me certain things he wanted done. I know
him and I know his actions. Instead of whispering, which about the
only whisper we do to horses is to say 'Whoa.' We can scold them
like we do our children. We use a growl like we do our sheep dogs or
we can say no, or whatever we want. Again they hear us. Too many
words are too confusing to them. We communicate with these horses by
looking at them, we don't stare them in the eye until they're
comfortable with us. We communicate with our hands and legs. Not all
horses want to be communicated with in the beginning, but as they get
comfortable with the trainer being their friend, then they get used to
us communicating with our hands, with our legs, and the seat of our
britches when we sit down. I asked Roanie to go faster by getting up
in the saddle, then I sit down and relax my legs and Roanie went down
into a little tiny comfortable pleasure like lope. We watch their
faces, their head, their ears, and they tell us certain things. He's
telling me right here, he would like to go somewhere, probably to bed
or to his stall. They'll tell us when they accept something in
training, when something bothers them. We have to listen to them.
They will talk to us."
Logan said that they keep about ten or twelve horses in training
all the time. Some are in training to become Western pleasure horses.
Some are in training for reining horses. They can start horses in
cutting also. One horse Logan pointed out to us is a pleasure horse
belonging to a woman who works in our area. Logan called the horse,
"a stallion that is one of the top halter stallions in the United
States." Another horse, from Chicago, IL, is training as a reining
horse for the following year; another horse belongs to a woman in Las
Vegas; and another one belongs to a man in Reno. A variety of people
want their horses trained for different reasons, but most of them are
being trained for reining, cutting, pleasure, or sometimes just to be
started right so they can go into different events. By being started
right, a horse has a better chance of winning later on.
Logan explained, "The horse tells me where they are going, what
they need to be trained for. Horses share their talents and abilities
just like people. They develop their own style and their own way of
moving. I just ride them and take what they have in their ability and
make it even better."
How did Logan get into training horses? When he was very young,
he was a sheep herder for a large ranch in Colorado. He grew up
working ranches around them. His family moved to California, and Logan
went to work for one of the largest horse ranches in the United States,
training show halter horses and pleasure horses. He rode horses for
about 17 years, showing reining horses, cutting horses, and Western
pleasure horses throughout the Midwest, and southern Texas.
Then Logan decided his family was more im****tant. He joined the
LDS Church, and started a whole new way of life. He learned that
kindness and gentleness was the way to train a horse. He quit the
horse business and went to work for a large cor****ation. He stayed
away from horses and all horse people for awhile to spend more time
with his family.
Later on, Logan's wife bought a wild mustang for the purpose of
Logan teaching their sons how to train horses. That got him back into
the horse business, riding his own horses and training them. Logan
said, "I train horses a lot different than I did years ago. I am
more patient with my horses, and listen to them. They tell me what
they can and can't do. I ask them to do certain new things each day.
Most of the time, they tell me they'll try, but might not be able to
do it today. But in about three days, they usually can do a new
trick."
He believes his horses learn faster now than before. He explained;
"A horse needs discipline, but if you scare a horse, you're way
behind. If you hurt a horse, you're way behind, and there are some
horses that can hurt you. There is a more pleasant and happier way.
The other day a lady came by and commented, 'I like the way your
horses move. Their ears are forward. They look happy at what they are
doing.' That's because we are building confidence in them. We
teach them something. Then we teach them again and again the same way
every day.
"It's like training your children. You have to push them out
on the ball fields and the pitching mound and say, 'I know you can do
it.' And they will say, 'but I did lousy today' and you say,
'but I know you can do it the next time.' It's the same way with
our horses. We teach them a new maneuver like I did today, asking
Roanie to lope down into a slow circle, which is hard for a horse to
slow down in that little lope and relax with you on top of him because
he is trying to find his balance. You say, 'You can do it. Let me
show you how.' You guide him, you lope slow, you pet him, you tell
him thank you, and then he says, 'I did it' and you can feel it in
him. In about three or four days, you come out and they say, 'Come
on, let's do it, I can do it,' and you don't have to get tougher
on them. You just have to guide them."
Logan said, "People ask, 'What's the biggest secret you can
tell us in training horses.' Do the same thing every day until they
learn what you want. If I teach that horse to say yes and no, which I
can, I have to do the same movement the same way every day for about
three days, and pretty soon he will start shaking his head 'yes'
and shaking his head 'no'."
Logan's wife is Jolene, and they have six children ages 14 to
25, five sons and one daughter. Only his twenty-two year old son,
Bobby Logan, helps Logan train horses. The others are not interested
in working with horses right now.
Logan rides most of the reining horses he trains in the show
circuits. Bobby Logan rides some of the cutting horses and reining
horses. They are helped by another trainer, Troy Mangum. Some of the
owners ride their own horses.
As we left the park, we realized how much we had enjoyed being out
watching Logan train and seeing the horses. For a great time, go on
out and see the shows. For a schedule of events at the Wa****ngton
County Regional Park in Hurricane, call the Dixie Center.
alt.animals.horses.breeding,uk.rec.equestrian,misc.misc,rec.equestrian
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