The *Real* Clinton Anderson (profanity)

I was in a conversation with a well known, kind and gifted horse trainer, who told me she worked for Clinton early in her career and has never experienced harsher abuse done to horses.

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I read you guys posts after I saw and responded to the non horse girl. Iā€™m guessing this horse has been let down by a lot of ā€œtrainersā€. If thereā€™s nothing physically wrong, then maybe itā€™s a case of a mare being pushed into the fight mode and thatā€™s her go-to now.

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Seems like he pushes both women and horses to the point of learned helplessness. Well, not in the case of this horse. She fought back. Love mares.

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ā€œIā€™m wore the fck out. Iā€™m exhausted. My fuse is about fcking done, and this woman is asking me stupid questions and mouthing off at me.ā€

Surprisingly, exactly what the bucking mare was thinking too. But sheā€™s deemed fit for a bullet in the head and to be shoved in a hole because of it.

Donā€™t get me wrong. Iā€™ve known horses that Iā€™ve said should be shot. I have no issue with that. But Iā€™m not a trainer who claims heā€™s Godā€™s gift to horse training with a TV show and people coming to me to fix problem horses.

Iā€™m all for keeping it real with people, but maybe hold yourself to the same standards you hold the horses you train. If youā€™re tired and your fuse is short, you might still have to answer a stupid question without acting like a jackass and ā€œbuckingā€ that person off in a manner of speaking.

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He did retire from training outside horses for the most part.
He does his tour still, which is a handful of stops over the year, but he trains and rides his own reined cow horses these days & runs this podcast.

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If some gross celebrity ever bragged about being part of a scenario where my husband apologized ā€œfor being horrified about my behaviorā€ and treated me like a three year old embarrassing him in public by ā€œdragging me out the doorā€ā€¦ that would just beā€¦I have no words for what that would be. I am glad I am not part of a world where men treat women or animals as described in this transcript.

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And still has membership subscriptions ā€“ I know two women who have them.

Interesting because at one time that was a huge thing for him. The basis of his program.

I suspect that over-promise and under-deliver were a problem, just from internet comments from horse owners. He was unable to force every horse to be what he wanted it to be.

Horses are like that, as we know.

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Holy cow. Lotta hate inside that man. Not much bothers me but I was actually triggered/enraged by every word. I canā€™t imagine being face to face with him. It wouldnā€™t end well for one of us.

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When I sent my little homebred stallion off to the trainerā€™s to be started, he asked me ā€œwhat do you want to do with him?ā€
I responded by telling him that he should get the horse started and then let me know what he wanted to do.
(and added that I hoped it wasnā€™t Western Pleasure because I really didnā€™t want to buy another whole set of tack.)

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Well, yeah, but I was simply responding to the OP and the subject of the post which was his personality.

Not even going to touch my opinions on his training or methods. :rofl:

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You said it. If he were a horse, wellā€¦obviously heā€™d be gelded right away. Donā€™t want to pass that nasty disposition on to any offspring. Then turn him out with a band of bred broodmares so he could get his ass kicked on the regular for the next six to eight months or so. Then bring him in and see if heā€™s got a new outlook and better manners.

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I am now getting his videos on my social media.

Just watched a couple of videos and while I would communicate it a little more candy coated and less crass, he ainā€™t wrong on his video about teaching your own kids.

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So you think a horse that has been through 5-6 trainers has never been vet checked for pain issues on that journey?

My bet is she had been. Any trainer I have ever dealt with would have had her checked for pain had I not done it myself, and the owner should have done it after the first trainer sent her home for bucking.

Do you think multiple trainers would have taken this horse on, without considering pain to be an issue, if the owner was being honest with them about the horseā€™s history?

Rather putting that responsibility on CA, why not throw it back to the owner, whose responsibility it is?

What future does a 20 year old mare, that bucks people off, have? Realistically, none. She is ripe for the slaughter pipeline should her happy home suddenly no longer exist. She is too old to be bred, and a horse like this would not be a horse that should be considered for breeding.

How many posts are there on this very forum where people discuss the fact that there are many, many greater evils than a kind death? My bet is hundreds.

Most certainly not a CA fan, but could he have handled it better? Absolutely!

Did the woman deserve to be spoken to that way? That is impossible to know as none of us were there.

Could he have said, ā€œWell, just send her to meā€, and bilked her out of months of training money? He could have, but he didnā€™t.

Does the language appall me? Nope, not one bit. I have worked with worse, and pearl clutching does not help. When you use the f bomb right back at them they tend to back off.

Can you imagine how many of these people a trainer or clinician encounter throughout their career? People with no realistic goal for their horse, still attempting to make something happen with a horse that is not be capable of what the owner wants.

It happens every day of the week.

As far as not being a horseman, you need to realize true horseman are a dying breed. They are out there, but they usually donā€™t have all the fancy facilities and accouterments the ā€œcelebrityā€ trainers have. Their farms are not fancy, nor are they tooling around the country in the latest, most expensive trailers, and they are certainly not selling merchandise at horse expos. Many of you would not darken their doors as they would be below your standards.

Not every horse can be saved, not every horse can be fixed, and not every horse will have a productive career or even be rideable.

That is reality folks!

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Letā€™s make an appointment for his ā€œbrain surgeryā€ pronto!

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As true as all this is ā€“ any ā€œsympathyā€ for this POS is literally defending the indefensible.

Sorry. NOT sorry.

I am and have been a trainer for decades ā€“ my specialty is lower level riders who want to improve, enjoy their horses, and get the best out of them - but unlike this arrogant ass I treat all horses and riders with respect - even GASP the annoying clueless ones who donā€™t actually ā€œwant to get betterā€, and who wonā€™t follow instructions, wonā€™t do homework, wonā€™t do research, and just want someone to solve all their problems without them having to do any work.

The horse world is full of these types - though they are hardly all riders; the majority have good intentions and want to improve and try - just donā€™t know what they donā€™t know. This doesnā€™t mean that they should be treated like shit. It doesnā€™t mean that their horses should be bullied and forced with an approach devoid of sympathy, patience, or actual skill.

He is an arrogant asshole who treats people (women) like crap, abuses and uses horses, is consumed by his ego and incapable of humanity or compassion, is truly lacking in skills if he canā€™t solve problems without abuse, and should not be anywhere near this industry. PERIOD. THE END.

ā€œArt ends where violence begins.ā€

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I watched him at one of our local exposā€¦15 years ago? He was pretty rude, crude and definitely a prick. I was afraid his horsesā€™ necks were going to break and fall off he did so much wagging 5 seconds one way then immediately 5 seconds the other way. Yuck. I pretty much wrote him off then as someone that had nothing to say to me.

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Thatā€™s disgusting.

I watched a video of him a few years ago, riding - in his words - a ā€œstud coltā€ (not the biggest fan of that term, though I know that itā€™s common in Western parlance), the horse was barely 2.

He rode this small (14 hands?) colt for what seemed like forever - sitting heavily behind the motion, cranking his head to his chest in a curb bit, violently flinging his head from side to side, slamming on the brakes and spinning him, backing him up, kicking and spurring.

Was ā€œteaching him a lessonā€ :roll_eyes: The young horse was trying to comply, doing nothing wrong at all - having to deal with a heavy seat and harsh hands and a lot of cranking - it was ugly to watch. The poor horse was sweating heavily, heaving.

Surely there are better Western trainers out there :rage: I canā€™t imagine anyone much worse ā€“ even Parelli doesnā€™t abuse horses like this ā€“ though I guess his wife does?

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OMG there are so many much better Western trainers out there. Also, Parelli is a total hoax. If your contact points for western training are CA and Parelli youā€™re miss a LOT.

And, this all reminds me of when Buck Brannaman advised the lady at his clinic that had the unruly stud colt. He didnā€™t shame her and blast her on the stupid SM and indulge in cruelty. He had the common respect to not be a dick and realize his mentorship in the situation.

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Holy crap on a cracker. Heā€™s lucky I wasnā€™t there. Thatā€™s all I can say. Whether he spoke to me or any other woman like that, heā€™d be walking out of there with a busted nose. I donā€™t care WHAT she said, HOW tired he was, or anything else. Misogyny should never be tolerated. And the BS he spouted at the end of that spiel? True, some women only want to vent. Some of us want solutions. Some of us want both at different times. Guess what? Weā€™ll tell you! No need to guess or mansplain to us what we do and donā€™t want, thanks.

My ex-riding instructor was absolutely enamored of him. Every time I pointed out how he was treating the horses in the video, sheā€™d defend him. That should have been my first red flag, honestly. I watched him do a clinic at EquiFest - he was invited back two years in a row. Watched him drive, whip, back, and freak out a perfectly lovely little Arab gelding who didnā€™t want to get in the too-low stock trailer his idiot owners had. Never ONCE did he tell them to buy a taller freaking trailer. No. The horse was wrong. The horse had to pay.

Men who treat women - and horses - like this need spade bits and spurs used on them.

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