Hands On Horse Training

Hands On Horse Training Hands-On Horse Training is the method of training horses and riders developed by Troy Griffith My name is Troy Griffith.

I live with my lovely wife Nancy, two dogs and six horses in Aumsville, Oregon. I am a lifelong student of historical European 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 a

s they practice such medieval equestrian activities as jousting, mounted sword combat and archery from horseback. 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. I teach these 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. Many of these methods find their roots in classical horse training stretching back thousands of years, where the understanding of 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. If you would like to discuss your horsemanship goals and how I might help you achieve them, feel free to contact me at 541-535-7974.

06/08/2026

"Everybody is taken with the races, nobody with art. Once again, I say: this modern day and age trains riders, but no horses, and no trainers, which is the same thing. The former is a craft, the latter an art, for riding is no art, but training is. The art says: The horse is the end, the rider is only the means, and this day and age confuses the means with the end."
Otto von Monteton 1877

06/08/2026

"Thus, obedience and the horse’s self carriage go hand in hand at all times, because only self carriage enables the horse to obey willingly and instantaneously, which is what has to be demanded of a soldier’s horse. The horse’s resistance against the rider’s will is rooted in pain, or at least great discomfort. But when the horse is balanced, there is no reason not to obey the rider."
Otto von Monteton 1899

06/07/2026

"The principles of the training method are based on trust and respect, achieving obedience with the horse executing the rider’s slightest “aids” and performing his duty to his last breath, willingly, without being helped by the rider. Methods that do not lead to this goal are useless. When horse and rider are in a permanent state of war, you can never count reliably on obedience. Correct dressage is only based on a secure, trusting relationship. Equestrian art does not consist in defeating an enemy, but in the education and the gymnastic development of a trusting student whose body the teacher gradually gets so much under his control through anatomically correctly applied exercises that the physical power over the horse becomes so ingrained that it is impossible for the horse to be disobedient, even if the voluntary obedience should fail. "
Otto von Monteton 1899

06/07/2026

"Those who teach like this feel very frustrated when nowadays only the dogma of the unconditional poll flexion is applied, and nobody sees how irregular the gait still is, for which the vertical nose is so detrimental. However, it is so convenient and does not require any thinking, because it is so easy for the teacher, the student, and the inspecting officer, and any child can convince himself of the discovered truth when someone says: the nose is not vertical yet. This dogma has done infinite harm because horses are forced into this position instead of waiting patiently for them to assume it themselves. It is only through studying the individuality that science and art begin in horsemanship."
Otto von Monteton 1899

06/06/2026

"I want to mention here also that nowadays you can hear every day that this or that horse has no problems whatsoever, and I am too polite to answer: Then you have not even progressed to his difficulties, yet. For with all the infinite variations in the horses, I have never sat on a horse where I did not sigh secretly at some point: I wish he were a little less difficult."
Otto von Monteton 1877

06/06/2026

"I just want to add that the above-mentioned willingness to go forward has nothing to do with the horse’s temperament. A horse can be very reactive, but without any urge to go forward. Just as in humans. A hotheaded person can be very lazy. The forward urge is the loyal desire to work to the last breath, and it is the horse’s greatest virtue."
Otto v.Monteton, 1898

06/05/2026

"Nothing is more harmful for equestrian art than that its results take so long to become visible and remain so hidden for the eye of the uneducated person."
Otto von Monteton, 1877

06/05/2026

"The Aids, Their Application
The secret of riding lies in doing few things right.
The more you do, the less you succeed.
The less you do, the more becomes possible.
Feel your horse. Don’t sit on him like on a bicycle without feel.
I don’t want riders who work hard. I want riders who work by thinking.
It is good to ride with closed eyes from time to time.
Fixing the reins means establishing a soft contact.
One has to have an immobile hand with mobile fingers.
The hands have to be like concrete when the horse resists and like butter when he yields.
The descente de main is not a gesture, but it is simply a means to cease using the hand actively.
Descente de main: the rider opens his fingers, and the horse has to maintain the same gait, the same posture, and the same cadence.
In equestrian art, any excuse will do to yield.
There is a world of difference between holding and pulling."
(Nuno Oliveira, 1998)

06/04/2026

"Of course, those who ride with their legs off the horse will never be able to collect him. Those who use their legs and spurs only to kick the horse will make him tense and perhaps push him into the bridle for brief moments, but they will never create a steady, light, consistent contact. Should it become necessary to address the horse more with the rein, the old principle applies that the hind leg that is grounded behind the line of the hip is the “resisting” one, whereas the one that is grounded in front of this line is the “yielding” one. It would therefore be useless to try to flex the “resisting hind leg“ with the rein! Strength does not help when skill, knowledge, and feel are lacking!"
(Kurt Albrecht, 1983)

06/04/2026

"I was in a corner of a well-known manège watching a Horse Master work. The latter stopped near me and gave me in the beautiful French language, academic French, an extremely knowledgeable and detailed explanation of the difficulties in the mechanics of the movements of his horse. He invited me to sit on the horse. I did, and at the end, finding that I had obtained results, he expected a long, detailed, knowledgeable explanation. I simply said to him to try to relax his hands and have a lighter contact. I have been giving riding lessons for more than 40 years, and it is this I repeat incessantly to all students and pupils who show me their difficulties in all corners of the world. Think of this, and all will be easier and, what is more important, the horse will thank you. "
Nuno Oliver's (1925 - 1985)

Address

7743 Mill Creek Road Se
Aumsville, OR
97325

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 3pm
Sunday 7am - 7pm

Telephone

(541) 535-7974

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