Hands On Horse Training

My name is Troy Griffith. My lovely wife Nancy and I recently moved to Aumsville, Oregon from our long time home in Southern Oregon.

I am a lifelong student of historical martial arts and, for many years, have been working toward training myself and my horses in the skills of the medieval knight astride a warhorse.

As part of this training I have developed methods of preparing horse and rider for the challenges faced by warhorse and rider as they practice such medieval equestrian activities as jousting, mounted sword combat and archery from horseback.... (read more)

Obviously these sorts of activities require a physically capable, mentally steady mount that a rider can count on to calmly face challenges the average horse might find overwhelming.

In the past several years I have begun teaching my methods to other horse owners. While some have an interest in training a warhorse of their own, most are simply interested in having this kind of relationship and level of confidence with their own horse. Much the way folks take their horses to Police Horse Workshops when they have no intention of ever being a mounted officer. After all, a horse that has no issue with charging another horse and rider in armor, is simply unlikely to have much of an issue with more common activities.

It may be counter-intuitive, but while the warhorse activities may seem aggressive in nature, the methods used to prepare horse and rider for them are anything but. The “Hands On” method, as I call the techniques I teach, are based on gentle, consistent repetition to acclimate the horse and create a relationship of respect and trust, while straightening and balancing the natural asymmetry of the horse to improve collection and agility. While many of these methods find their roots in classical horse training stretching back hundreds of years, they bear a remarkable resemblance to modern methods often referred to as 'Natural Horsemanship' in that understanding the natural responses of the horse is key to systematically and gently condition and train the animal, not simply force it comply with the wishes of the rider.