https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/ Paul Van Dyke builds custom saddles by hand in Sheridan, Wyoming, teaches saddle making at the Sheridan School of Saddlery, and offers online leatherwork courses. en-us https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/training-for-ease-and-lightness/ https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/training-for-ease-and-lightness/ Tue, 03 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT 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 for athleticism and power. The majority of the owners of these horses are petite women, and a high percentage of them are mothers and grandmothers.… https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/the-power-of-first-impressions/ https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/the-power-of-first-impressions/ Fri, 11 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMT 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 our brain works or is damaged. The more exposure I have had, the more curious I have become about any similarities between the horse and the human… https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/sonny-and-grande/ https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/sonny-and-grande/ Mon, 22 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMT 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 tales are endless. Chances are you know of him though if you have followed cutting at all over the years. “Grande” on the other hand you have most… https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/feet-alive/ https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/feet-alive/ Wed, 05 Sep 2018 00:00:00 GMT 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 commonly used and mostly understood. This term generally means a process of getting a horse to accept different scary objects, such as tarps, flags,… https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/the-mustangs/ https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/the-mustangs/ Mon, 29 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT 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 and in particular, The Mustangs. https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/side-drive/ https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/side-drive/ Thu, 13 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT 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 body at a time. This energy can be used for forward or backwards motion. The energy though is generated one side at a time. The reason this is so… https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/collection-of-youth/ https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/collection-of-youth/ Tue, 21 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT 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 unskilled hand, losing your grip and everything flying out of control, or.... the executing of the most elegant and powerful display of dangerous beauty. https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/moving-on/ https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/moving-on/ Tue, 28 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMT 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 stop the source of his agitation. His behavior of course now becomes a problem and a learned experience he will revert to in order to stop his… https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/snub-that-horse/ https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/snub-that-horse/ Tue, 21 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMT 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 on a blindfolded bronc. That bronc is snorting fire and fear while the “snub horse” is laying into the halter rope. With this image burned into their… https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/saddle-depreciation/ https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/saddle-depreciation/ Sun, 05 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMT 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 you determine a value. First, however, let me share two… https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/tied-off-with-rose/ https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/tied-off-with-rose/ Mon, 16 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT 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 instance, “tying off”. If you are unfamiliar with what this is, it is the method used to restrain a bovine while you doctor it for illness. While you… https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/stephens-quote-of-success/ https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/stephens-quote-of-success/ Sat, 07 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT “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 people are after is my story and philosophy of training. Well, the story of how I learned what I know and how I continue to learn is much more like… https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/making-sense-that-makes-cents/ https://www.vandykesaddlery.com/blog/making-sense-that-makes-cents/ Sat, 17 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMT 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 see is uncertainty. When people show up with their horses and need help, many times I see they too are uncertain. In both cases, if a colt and the…