Ray Hunt
Encyclopedia
Ray Hunt was an American horse trainer
and clinician of significant influence in the natural horsemanship
field. He had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
.
. His views about horse-human relations were embraced by inspirational writers about human relations. Lance Secretan
wrote that "We may respect a leader, but the ones we love are servant-leaders."
Ray Hunt is said to be Tom Dorrance's best-known student. They met around 1960, at a fair in Elko, Nevada
. While Dorrance avoided media attention and clinics, by the mid 1970's Hunt was giving clinics far and wide. Ray Hunt is famous for starting each clinic with the statement "I'm here for the horse, to help him get a better deal." He also liked to say "make the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy." His philosophy has been interpreted as "If you get bucked off or kicked or bitten, you obviously did something wrong, and that's just too bad. The horse, on the other hand, is never, ever wrong".
Ray Hunt was a mentor
and teacher of Buck Brannaman
.
Horse training
Horse training refers to a variety of practices that teach horses to perform certain behaviors when asked to do so by humans. Horses are trained to be manageable by humans for everyday care as well as for equestrian activities from horse racing to therapeutic horseback riding for people with...
and clinician of significant influence in the natural horsemanship
Natural horsemanship
Natural horsemanship is the philosophy of working with horses by appealing to their instincts and herd instincts. It involves communication techniques derived from wild horse observation in order to build a partnership that closely resembles the relationships that exist between horses.- Basic ideas...
field. He had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , also known as chronic obstructive lung disease , chronic obstructive airway disease , chronic airflow limitation and chronic obstructive respiratory disease , is the co-occurrence of chronic bronchitis and emphysema, a pair of commonly co-existing diseases...
.
Natural horsemanship
Hunt was widely regarded as one of the original proponents of what became known as natural horsemanshipNatural horsemanship
Natural horsemanship is the philosophy of working with horses by appealing to their instincts and herd instincts. It involves communication techniques derived from wild horse observation in order to build a partnership that closely resembles the relationships that exist between horses.- Basic ideas...
. His views about horse-human relations were embraced by inspirational writers about human relations. Lance Secretan
Lance Secretan
Lance H.K. Secretan is perhaps best known for his work in leadership theory and how to inspire teams. From 1967 to 1980 Secretan was the Managing Director of Manpower Limited, based in the UK, part of the global Manpower Inc....
wrote that "We may respect a leader, but the ones we love are servant-leaders."
Ray Hunt is said to be Tom Dorrance's best-known student. They met around 1960, at a fair in Elko, Nevada
Elko, Nevada
Elko is a city in Elko County, Nevada, United States. The population was 18,297 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Elko County. The city straddles the Humboldt River....
. While Dorrance avoided media attention and clinics, by the mid 1970's Hunt was giving clinics far and wide. Ray Hunt is famous for starting each clinic with the statement "I'm here for the horse, to help him get a better deal." He also liked to say "make the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy." His philosophy has been interpreted as "If you get bucked off or kicked or bitten, you obviously did something wrong, and that's just too bad. The horse, on the other hand, is never, ever wrong".
Works
- 1978 Think Harmony with Horses: An In-depth Study of Horse/man Relationship
- 1992 Turning loose with Ray Hunt (video)
- 1996 Colt starting with Ray Hunt (video)
- 2001 The Fort Worth Benefit with Ray Hunt (video)
- Back To The Beginning (video)
- Ray Hunt Appreciation Clinic: 2005 Western Horseman of the Year (video)
- Ray Hunt: Cowboy Logic
Ray Hunt was a mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
and teacher of Buck Brannaman
Buck Brannaman
Dan M. "Buck" Brannaman is a horse trainer and a leading practitioner within the field of Natural horsemanship, which is a philosophy of working with horses based on the idea of working with the horse's nature, using an understanding of how horses think and communicate to train the horse to accept...
.