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From The South To The North Shown here on Hes Suddenly
Famous, winner of several major futurities and owned by The Famous
Partnership. |
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Since I’ve made the move from Texas to Minnesota, the climate has been the major factor in my training program. The basic training techniques that I use are still the same, it’s the approach to my horses both mentally and physically that I’ve had to adjust. For example, I ride in an indoor arena much more than when I trained in Texas. This means I’m dealing with a more confined area. The cold weather has a big effect on how I work my horses. A horses mental and physical ability are the same whether in a warm or cold climate but the preparation is very different. I feel that I’m slower in my progress with my colts, but if they’re strong enough, mature enough, and are educated well, it shouldn’t matter where you live. We should remember that our horses don’t like being in the cold any more than we do, so we use our time wisely, especially when dealing with young horses. I spend a lot more time in the drive lines with my young colts up here before getting on. I spend a good 30 days driving, whereas I would have gotten on our colts much sooner with the warm weather down south. Driving helps gain control of their minds. Since moving to the North, I drive my broke horse 2-3 times a week. It seems to keep the fresh off and they stay softer for me. Another way that I’ve found to gain control of our horses mentally and to leg them up in the cold weather, is to use the medium trot for 10-15 minutes. I tie my horses around quite a bit more since my move to Minnesota, especially the young horses. It gives the young horses a little time to play and again, helps knock the fresh off so that we have our horses attention when applying a training procedure. Up here, my goal is to fit and condition their body and ride their minds. It takes me more time and more effort to finish a horse in this climate because it is harder to obtain a certain level of concentration. As I’ve adapted my training program to the climate here in Minnesota, I’m finding quite a few ways to make my program a successful one. The most important thing that I’ve found is that you still need a quality horse and a trainers quantity of time for success no matter the geographic location. Jay Barnett was raised in Connecticut where he met Buzz Nastri and David Kirk who started him in his riding career. After high school, he worked 2 years in Florida for Jim Pelton. At this point, Rob Foster was instrumental in getting Jay a job with Cleve Wells where Jay remained for 4 years. At Cleve’s, Jay was very fortunate to train and show good horses and learned the very important concept of approaching a horse mentally when training. Jay then became employed at Paws Up Ranch and worked under the guidance of Gil Galyean. During this time, Jay had the opportunity to show the 2 year old mare, Without Principles, and feels his time working with Gil gave him tremendous confidence. So much confidence, in fact, that Jay decided it was time to go begin training for the public on his own. He moved back to Cleve’s where Cleve helped him start on his own. After spending a period of time in Burleson, TX, Jodie, Jay’s girlfriend, brought it to Jay’s attention that there was a need for trainers in the North. This is where Jay moved to and now operates Jay Barnett Show Horses in Rosemount, Minnesota. Since moving, some of Jay’s accomplishments include; top 3 placings at the 1999 Paint World on Tonitesthenitehoney, owned by Jodie Ploog, Reserve World Champion at the 2000 Paint World on A Subtle Impulse, owned by Shannon Wacker, 9th in the Amateur Pleasure at the AQHA Championships with Bea Impulse, owned by Kari Grefsrud qualifying 3 horse for the 2000 AQHA World Show. If interested in Jay’s training program, he can be contacted at 817-247-5481 or 952-432-0647. |
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