Paul Van Dyke’s Blog
Like the horses of a cavvy gathered into the rope corral, here you’ll find a gathering of thoughts, ideas, and musings on a variety of subjects—all brought together for your enjoyment.
Having been in the saddlery trade for over twenty years, one of the more basic and often asked questions is how to price used saddles. While this process is certainly far from an absolute science, there are a few guidelines that will help…
Groundwork, first rides, and what a young horse is actually learning.
As a result of having a number of family and friends with either brain injuries or developmental delays and disorders, I have become exposed to how…
When preparing a young horse to be saddled many people go through a process that they call “sacking out.” I am not sure I like the term but it is…
An important tool in my training arsenal is what I call side drive. Essentially, I define this as creating energy from only one side of the horse’s…
When a horse gets frustrated he gets sour. When he gets sour he starts demonstrating what we would call poor behavior. This behavior is an attempt to…
Why snub a horse? Good question, glad you asked! When many people hear the phrase “snubbing horse” it conjures up images of a 1915 era cowboy climbing…
Uncertainty. Confusion. Ever feel that when riding? Do you ever see it in a horse? When I see a colt step into the round pen, often, the first thing I…
Riding miles, reading a cow, and a book worth your evening.
If you have never had the pleasure of riding with Sonny Rice you have missed out. Stories of cutting horses, doctoring screwworms, bird dogs… the…
If you enjoy western history and have never read J. Frank Dobie I hope this will tease you into reading one. I have enjoyed Dobie’s writing for years…
There are many things I like about working with different guys on various ranches. One of my favorites is seeing new ways to do an old thing, in this…
“Where did you learn this? Who taught you to do what you do?” Occasionally when I travel and people see me train these are questions that I get. What…
Collection, lightness and the making of a horse anyone can ride.
I train powerful horses for little ladies with big dreams. In the dressage world, most of our horses are over 16 hands, over 1,100 pounds, and bred…
Conveying the idea of collection to a horse can be likened to pulling back a bow. It can be followed by the bow breaking under the pressure of an…
What a saddle is worth, and why.
Having been in the saddlery trade for over twenty years, one of the more basic and often asked questions is how to price used saddles. While this…
Get in touch
If something here raised a question, or you want to talk about a saddle, the school or the courses, Paul would be glad to hear from you.