Carrie S brought Ranger into the groundwork portion of the March Joel Conner clinic, and had this to say about the experience:
“What a fun way to start the clinic season! Ranger participated in his very first Joel Conner clinic in March 2025. It was a big week for this smart and handsome appaloosa. Not only was he in the groundwork session with me, he was also getting his first rides with Joel and Lexee. This double duty didn’t slow him down in the slightest. He was energetic and lively even on the last day. What I really appreciated working with Ranger is that he doesn’t fill in the gaps in my knowledge. If I’m imprecise or give conflicting instructions, he shows his confusion at my request. That makes me have to figure out how to become more clear. Often I was asking for something he didn’t know how to do until I broke it down into smaller discrete steps. Once the smaller steps were clear, he was then able to put them all together in a sequence.
Ranger made leaps and bounds in his education throughout the clinic. He now bends his neck on a float on both sides, something that he worked out sometime during Saturday night and proudly showed off on Sunday morning. He now consistently reaches around as soon as I move to touch the lead rope. He needs improvement on keeping his ears level when he bends and that will come as he gets more balanced. He is reaching through nicely when asked for hind quarters and moves with a light touch to his side. Ranger has also freed up significantly in moving his feet when asked for a backup. There is a brace in his neck that we are working on next. The goal is for him to be able to back up with a soft arch in his neck with his head level.
We are also helping Ranger discover that he can move his front feet when asked for front quarters. He does this easily when asked for front quarters from the back up. But he hasn’t quite figured it out when asked during the transition from hindquarters. Again, as he becomes more weighted and balanced on his hind end, his front end will free up allowing him to reach over consistently while pivoting on his hind legs.
Since Ranger is being educated as a riding horse, accepting the bridle is important. He is understandably head shy around his weepy right ear. He is making significant progress in letting us touch his ear for cleaning and bridling as we spend time helping him find peace and quiet.
This guy is going to be a wonderful horse for someone wanting a smart and friendly riding partner. He always comes up to you to be haltered, even when he has just gotten his hay. He’s engaging and curious and lots of fun to work with.”
