Tom Davis Horsemanship

Tom Davis Horsemanship ~ " The Horse's Solution"

Horses are a passion and a lifestyle for Tom Davis. Tom was born in the state of Washington and caught horse fever at an early age. Tom started working on ranches in Washington, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming when he was fourteen. This exposed Tom to many different styles of horsemanship, both the good and the bad. Through his natural abilities and feelings for the horse, he began a process of filtering what worked and what did not, but mostly which way started and kept the horses expression calm, relaxed and in a learning frame of mind. This way of teaching horses was mostly influenced by working with Don McEwen, an elderly man that had moved from California to Oregon, where Tom met him, while looking for a young prospect to purchase and train (in turn this filly taught Tom more then he ever did teach her). When Tom went to try out this filly, she ran out from underneath him 3 times. Don liked Tom's try that he showed by getting back on again and again. Don saw in Tom that he did not loose his patients with this filly.  Tom purchased this filly, then a few months later Tom received a call from Don McEwen, to inquire about Tom helping to gather cattle for local ranchers off the Umatilla National Forest. Tom leapt at the chance to go work with these men and learn all he could from the experience. What he didn't know is that he would be working with Don on the down time, with various young horses, that Don raised. This experience was more valuable then any pay, Tom received gathering cattle in the Mountains. This time taught him to be patient and aware of the smallest details, when working with a young or old horse. The smallest things end up making the biggest difference. This experience instilled the "set it up and wait" philosophy, that Tom still practices today. In these five years spent in Oregon, Tom rode for a variety of people and worked with a wide range of horses of all breeds. Which led him to pursue a career in horsemanship. This later brought Tom Davis and his family to Texas, where he has continued to work with even more people and horses.  

Tom's philosophy is to build a solid foundation for the horse that, will last the horses entire life, regardless of the horses breed, size, sex or temperament. Tom uses a light-handed, quiet method in working with horses, and has an extraordinary feel for the horse. He believes in working off the basics - teaching a horse to go forward, back, stop, move left and right, when asked not forced. Time is spent on ground work and getting the horse used to being handled all over. The amount of time spent on each step is based entirely on the particular horse. "Why would you want to force a horse to do something ~ when it is so much more fulfilling and fun to to set it up and let them find it gradually." This way of thinking is why the horses Tom has worked with retain what has been showed to them, and are not having to be constantly "tuned" on.

Tom says each horse has taught him something new, and he is still learning from the best teacher of all - The Horse. If you are interested in having Tom help you with forming a solid foundation for you and your horse, please contact us here at TnT Ranch to see where the next clinic will be held or to arrange a weekend with Tom here at TnT Ranch .

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