I am following Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling teaching since I first found his work some 15 years ago. What he is doing with horses is different from anything else I ever saw, and there seems to be an agreement on that. I just came across this post:
Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling’s Transformational Approach to Horses and Life
on his Facebook page that didn’t get too much discussion which surprises me – this is may the most comprehensive explanation of what is behind this special way of being with horses.
I would be happy to hear how others perceive this article.
I admit I stopped browsing the FB page after I saw 2-3 horses rearing in- hand. Not a fan of teaching a horse that and never have been. Why promote a potential vice? I just got clocked by my mini who was buzzed 4-5 times by a large loose horse at a show. He reared up and nailed me on the way down. Not the minis fault really, he felt terrorized, but had he been bigger, I would’ve had a problem. Why ask for trouble?
There are many trick trainers and ground work folks out there, some posting well curated images of their work.
Rather than try to evaluate the wall of verbiage that is Hempflings website home page, I’d like to ask you a few questions to get some context.
What’s your own current level of training skills, what do you do as far as ground work, in hand, trick training, liberty work, and dressage? What other practitioners in this field do you follow? How does Hempfling compare/contrast to your own teachers?
To be fair, here is my disclosure.
My primary riding these days is in French influenced dressage, in hand and in the saddle. I’ve also had low level jumper lessons and did self taught reining moves in my teen years
I also do a lot of inhand, groundwork, liberty work, clicker tricks, obstacle work, etc. with an emphasis communication and safety. So for me, I can admire a nicely polished or deftly edited online photo or video of people working these modes. But I’m not overawed or mystified by it. I know how it’s done. I also know that different horses put on a different kind of show at liberty and stuff will look more impressive both at liberty and under saddle if you have a hot expressive horse to play with.
So anyhow, for me, mysterious subtle body communication and spiritual connections and horses totally focused on you is just the base line normal of working with horses. As a teen I got it more from riding everywhere all day and honing mutual trust on technical mountain trails etc. As an adult I’ve developed a large set of ground work skills that target trust and attention more directly.
So when I come across trainers bragging about these things I’m kind of meh, that’s just normal. Obviously it’s not in say hunter jumper world which is way more pragmatic, but good horse and rider pairs in jumpers are still really in tune with each other
Anyhow, my question is really: what’s your starting point for evaluating Hempfling as so amazing, more so than any other liberty trick trainer?
Is he the first one of his kind you’ve come across? That’s fantastic, welcome aboard the liberty trick groundwork inhand world, there are many many ways to do this.
Are you already doing this work, and if so what in particular stands out as necessary reading for someone like me who is an amateur in all this?
Finally what problem with your own horse do you think Hempfling could solve? What would you like to accomplish by his methods?
There is a thing called Levade in haut ecole that comes at the end of long training, a controlled rear up.
There is trick training for movies. You can cue a horse to rear as a plot point, but teaching them to buck or shy on command is more difficult and dangerous. That’s why movie scenes of accidents on horseback show the horse rearing and the stunt rider sliding off. But most falls IRL are from bucks or spooks.
Finally, it’s a nice addition to a circus style liberty performance.
If you are a good trainer the horse will wait for a cue to do whatever.
But I agree that for most ammies it is a very stupid thing to encourage
I wanted to add that liberty work is not dangerous, mysterious or that difficult if you have some proprioception, some timing, and the ability to focus on the horse.
But for anyone who is new to the idea, don’t think for a moment anyone goes for a real trail ride or even tries to hand walk a horse down a road with traffic without a bridle or halter. Any video of people apparently riding on beaches or through forests with no tack are carefully set up in know places with fences and helpers. Cantering the woods in your back pasture can look like a trail ride in the open. It’s not.
Trick training is about making something look one way when it’s not. That isn’t necessarily bad. But don’t believe it.
Thanks everyone for the discussion and sharing their opinion. I appreciate the time you put into the responses.
I would happily express my view on the points brought up, though I must say I was aiming at a somewhat different aspects of the post. I would mention those in the end.
I certainly agree that uncontrolled rearing horses, in hands of inexperienced people are dangerous. Also, with the fact that the Levade shown in the picture has nothing to do with this, as Scribbler mentioned. I can imagine that the comparison of this picture to a horse that is rearing to defend himself is due to lack of understanding of the picture and the level of the horse work presented – it can’t really be compared. I am sure also that with a closer it is evident to all.
Related to this there is material on stallion education and development, also in the book “Dancing with Horses”. Essentially this is an integral part of training a stallion, letting him express himself and develop. Here is an example I like, for those who are not familiar:
Concerning comparison to known horse people – Hempfling has written “Dancing with Horses” over 30 years ago and this book has changed the world. Where he tries to explain how he achieves the results he does using body language – which is on level no other trainer has shown to my knowledge. Many horse trainers, also the well known are trying to copy what he presents in this book, his teaching and encounters with horses. I have not seen anyone doing anything similar. I do know his work good enough to say with full confidence that it has nothing to do with trick-training, or any training for that matter – it is just completely different. In my opinion a crucial part to recognize is that the bonding and the results with ANY horse are there in seconds – you can see this in the videos of his work. Rest assured they are not “set-up” – including trail riding, unfenced free horses and aggressive horses putting their heads down and following in 10 sec. I have met Klaus in person on a few occasions in seminars and I know his work – and even if I haven’t, from the level of the delivered material, the books and the results you can see it is evident that this is different and talking about setting things up to look like something different, doesn’t belong here. Here are examples of work with horses, any encounter will look like this and WILL have a success –it is a guarantee – to me this a fundamental to define the work of a Master, there is no trial and error. These videos are from the very beginning of Hempflings’s work with horses. Is there another person who can do anything like this when they just started to work with horses?
As for my own level in horse training – I had two horses for several years. I’ve tried different things, Parelli-like attempts included, and the conclusion I came to is that the humane and responsible way of being with horses is the one Hempfling is showing by his example – and anything else I am not willing to do. It is clear to me that I am not on the level to approach horses, as described in the essay - the path is not through trial and error with the horse but through self-development. It does make a lot of sense to me that you need to come to the horse already for the first time already being at a master level in several fields – this gives a certain requirement to the character and the general level of the person approaching this big, gentle and innocent animal. And it is essentially this aspect of the post I perceive as key. It is also my view that today this kind of pre-requestees to approaching a horse are not existing.
Thank you again for sharing your opinion – please see my reply here as merely sharing my view and information I have with people interested in the general being with horses and their wellbeing.
Interesting. I think you are letting the Hempfling shtick over awe and limit you.
Any input from a trainer or resource should point you towards your own starting point. It shouldn’t make you feel you need magickal self development before you can even try
You do need proprioception, some physical.fitness, timing, extreme patience, zen mins to focus on the horse and be in the moment, and a totally open expectation such that you have no capacity for frustration. And a sense of play.
Now these are all qualities that are best developed by actually interacting with your actual horses. You don’t develop them in some other area. They are taught by horses.
The thing to remember about any mass marketed trainer is that it’s all edited to be the greatest hits. And they are canny about sourcing horses that hit the right spicy but good natured combo to put on a good show for audience or camera.
But spice is not the final arbiter of your training, unless you need to find a paying audience.
You yourself in some dusty sand pen at some anonymous barn can have amazing break throughs and communications with a quiet horse that learns to respond to subtle gestures and looks at you with love
I agree this is all counter to Parelli and other American ground work gurus that are about forcing things on the horse.
I’m ready to believe Hempfling is a gifted groundwork trainer with a long track record. But I know better than to think that anyone is doing anything truly original. I’m ready to believe he markets himself well.
But if the outcome of that marketing is a cult of personality that leaves folks feeling they can never aspire to competence with horses, I’d say he’s effectively more for arm chair admirers than active horse people.
And sorry that stallion video is ridiculous. I can’t tell what’s going on. I see a hot horse that needs to run off steam, not a really aggressive horse. The slow motion and bad music and self important narration is really annoying.
I would let a horse in that mood run it off on a big arena loose, then work slow on the longe. Dude is putting on a show for the audience and camera here. It’s of no use to me as a trainer.
I know Hempfling and his work since many years, and as I said I have seen him working live many times. Your statements about working for the audience etc. are clearly guessing with no knowledge of the person. Since I know Hempfling, for me this guessing it completely unqualified and this was also not the topic I was proposing for discussion. I have to state it very clear that the claims you put forwards about editing to impress people have no grounds and are simply wrong.
Another point you are touching, that one can only practice with horses is exactly in contradiction with the article – and this is what I was interested to hear about. It was never in history the case that people can develop these skills by working with the horse. And I fully agree with Hempfling’s statement, that you should practice in other activities that don’t involve living beings. If you a practicing with a guitar and you are not yet good, you don’t harm the guitar. However if you do it with a horse you are risking to harm the animal and yourself. And the approach of first mastering your skills and then approaching the horse is the only one that makes sense to me.
Thank you for sharing your opinion.
This sure feels like someone attempting to promote themselves under the guise of a follower and then trying to do damage control when it wasn’t received quite as positively as planned.
So the reason that horses are so great for kids is that done right, they help you develop timing, balance, empathy, proprioception and self control.
Hempfling is clearly a showman. That’s fine, good clinicians need to be. But the more you say, the less I think he has to teach me.
The kind of post that will intruige me is when someone says something like:
I was working through a persistent behavior issue with my horse (describes behavior in succinct terms). I tried x, y and z. Then I read/watched/ was shown IRL a technique from trainer x (describes technique in clear terms and effect). So I really recommend trainer X because they have good useful tips explained well.
I don’t fangirl trainers. I was going to say I don’t fangirl anyone, but on reflection I maybe do fangirl Bruce Springsteen. But that was imprinted on me when I was 17 so it’s there for life. He’s an exception :).
I don’t fangirl trainers, and I if I’m going to take the trouble to watch videos I want clear concise and useful.
We may be after different things. I’m actively expanding my skill set and trying things out with horses.
Anyone tells me I don’t have the right to feel things out with an appropriate horse, I am going to stop right there.
Everything I know about horses I learned from horses. I’ve got access to useful local coaches but they teach me with the horse. Not apart from the horse.
So if that’s the major takeaway from Hempfling I am so not interested.
I must tell that I am somewhat surprised by the direction this conversation is taking.
It was not meant to be a discussion of how the work Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling is presented in terms of video editing. There is no question for me.
In the first place I was mostly wondering why sharing this information have not led to a discussion in the first place. I now can see it.
I have to admit I regret bringing up a topic that is important and serious for me here – I would somehow expect a respectful discussion, whether people agree of disagree. The one we are all having here is in my eyes very marginal.
Nevertheless, I thank you for the inputs and wish you all the best.
What do you want to discus exactly? It’s just a bit of an unusual first post on CoTH that seems veiled as an add or promotion that’s all. It’s not clear what you are actually looking to have a discussion on?
It did lead to a discussion. I asked you what concrete improvements this material made in your own training, and you replied that effectively it over awed you to the point you don’t feel adequate to do horse training at all.
That’s a real pity. It’s the exact opposite of what should happen. So I was interested in exploring why that was and encouraging you to have some confidence.
For me, doing a deep dive into an online trainer and evaluating their methods is a big commitment of time even if it’s free material. I need to know it’s worthwhile. What you say you are getting from the videos is not of interest to me. And the stallion video is ridiculous.
There are 1001 liberty trainers online of varying degrees of competence and show manship. Because I actually do liberty training in my own small way, I can appreciate a good show but I am not mystified by it and I would be extremely offended by any online trainer implying I wasn’t spiritually advanced enough to do liberty work.
I also understand very well what a greatest hits video looks like and that a greatest hits video of my liberty work could be quite pretty. With a bunch of editing.
I also know that Feral Meryl the Project Horse can act like that stallion in hand when she’s in heat, especially out handwalking alone on the trails. Even my good Paint can put on a show on a crisp winter day and look (and be) dangerous.
They all can. It’s not just a Wild Stallion thing.
The idea was to discuss the content of the post - which talks about the path towards the horse, the historical background, the requirements towards the rider.
For the avoidance of the doubt - it is not a promotional post. I was simply asking for the opinion of people sharing a similar area of interest.
I do understand your stand point now and since it seems we are rather far is our perception I would bow out of this conversation. Thank you for your time and effort.
