Curt Pate
The Teacher is the Best Student
by Marilyn Short

Anyone can become a better horse person. That’s right, anyone whether it be instructors that have been in the horse business for years or newcomers just getting into the horse business. As long as they keep an open mind, and are dedicated and committed to continue to improve their horsemanship skills, they can become a better horse person.

“There are really just three things people have to do to be successful with horses,” Pate said. “First, you have to have a very strong work ethic, because you have to work hard at it. It doesn’t always come easy. Second, you have to have a good time while you’re doing it. You can’t be so stiff and serious that you and your horse aren’t having some fun.” The third key is to have a plan. “You have to figure out ahead of time what you want to do, what you want to accomplish and how you’re going to do that,” he said. “Otherwise, You’re not going to make any progress.”

Curt Pate believes those three areas are all intertwined to the development of a great horse and good horse person. There are so many things and opinions to consider, along with different styles and disciplines to explore, but if you keep those three thoughts in mind you’re on the right track to becoming a good horse person.

Curt Pate, Montana native and professional horse trainer, grew up with a ranch background. Curt’s grandfathers were in the horse business and he spent time with both in learning the ways of horses and began training horses. While attending a Buck Brannaman clinic, Pate found a style of horsemanship that felt right. Pate’s training methods are based on Horsemanship that feels natural and comfortable and he considers the horse a partner rather than a servant.

As Pate’s skills with the horses grew, his clients began to ask for more instruction. He began to give small clinics around his hometown and the demand for his instruction grew which has led to clinics and demonstrations throughout the United States, as well as Europe. Curt now spends his time traveling and giving clinics in Colt Starting, Horsemanship and Ranch Horse Skills along with demonstrations at fairs and horse events.

Pate also served as a technical adviser on the set of “The Horse Whisperer”. In the film, Redford portrays a man who has an almost mystical way of relating to horses. Pate states that the movie and the techniques used by Redford were accurate. But the secret is not whispering, it’s not some obscure gimmick, and it’s not magic.

Pate goes into clinics and demonstrations telling his audience that what he is about to show them are just his opinions on how training should be done. If these ideas and techniques work and make sense to them, they are theirs for the taking. If they don’t like them, they can simply ignore them.

“To me, someone that teaches anything is simply a timesaver,” said Pate. “I hope to present something to an audience that I have learned from other folks over the years that maybe they wouldn’t have the chance to learn from, and to save them the time of making all the same mistakes that I have, and am still making.”

A good place to start is to just stop and think for a little bit and decide what you want your relationship with your horse or horses to be.

“I read a book that said our purpose in life is to be happy,” said Pate. “That really made a lot of sense to me with respect to the horse. I see a lot of people that don’t seem to be happy with their horse. Maybe the horse is not performing properly, they are feeling unsafe, or they just don’t have any purpose in what they are doing.”

Good horsemanship is critical to success in any horse-related sport. Many so-called horse problems are actually horsemanship problems. Many problems that develop with your horse can be traced to your horsemanship skills, and the way to solve them is focusing on your horsemanship skills.

Pate gives a few examples to assist the horse owner in improving their skills.

Be Flexible – when working with a horse, try not to get a set pattern. That’s the hardest thing to avoid, especially when you train a lot of horses. Don’t think that if it worked yesterday you’ll just keep doing what you did the day before, and the day before that. If you do that, pretty soon, all your horses have to fit you rather than you fit the horses. A good horse person has to change to fit the horse more than the horse should have to change to fit you.

Focus on the Future - with round pen work, or arena work, try to think of what you can do, right now, at this moment, that will not only help this horse now, but also in the future. Every decision you make, everything you do with your horse should help the horse in the future.

Pay Attention to Details - most folks want to get on their horses and ride, especially at performance events. The rider is thinking about their roping, barrel racing, or jumping. Always watch for little changes in your horse. All horses pick up little habits and problems and the problem usually starts with the rider. The riders are too busy competing to see the little hints that their horses are showing them. They may miss that their horse is getting a little bothered with something until the horse finally does something to make them take notice such as set back, rear up, bolt or any number of things. It is very important to become a better horseman and be aware of the little changes in your horse’s behavior and attitude.

If you don’t pay attention, your horse gets a little worse each day, not better. Pate’s goal is that his horse gets a little better every day, and by the end of the year then he’ll have a great horse. Remember to Relax – with our fast-paced lives, people don’t sit on the porch anymore and analyze things, like our ancestors did. We don’t take time to sit and relax, or relax our horse and think about our horsemanship. To keep our horses good mentally, we need them to relax. Drop those reins, let them let the air out, and just plain relax. When you pick up the reins, the horse needs to think, “Okay, what do we need to do?”

Have you ever wondered why your horse is relaxed at home and works well, but then you go to a show or event and the horse behaves differently? Things are different at a show or event – you’re excited, and there’s a lot going on and your horse feels that. If you can teach them to relax when you drop the reins, they learn that no matter what or when, they can relax and settle.

“I think in our world today we’re way too fast,” said Pate. “We have too short a time to ride and when we’re finished we bale off our horse and head for our next task.”

Pate suggests after taking your horse on a ride, take the time to think about things while sitting on your horse. Just sit on your horse so he gets in the habit of sitting and waiting and he doesn’t start anticipating getting turned loose. Take the time to consider what you’ve done for the day — how it was good or bad. He believes we need to do that with our horses and in all the things we do in life. The only way to really learn how to ride a horse is to ride more than one hour at a time.  

“You’ve got to get out of a flat arena, get on a trail, and get up, down, sideways, slow, fast, for five to seven hours,” Pate said. “If you ride long enough your subconscious takes over and you become one with your horse.”

All Pate wants to do is become the best horseman he can. To really learn, he goes to clinics and events to put on demonstrations and where people ask him questions about various problems and training issues. He has to think about their questions and come up with answers that will work for both horse and rider in the long run.

“I think it’s an old Chinese thing,” said Pate, “where the teacher becomes the best student.”

Curt Pate will be at the TETRA Horse EXPO June 21-23 at the Bell County Expo Center, Belton, Texas.

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