Brandt Clark - Horseman

11/13/2025

I am honored and excited to share insights and experience at the Michigan Horse Expo! See you all soon

Welcome to the 2026 Michigan Horse Expo Clinician lineup:
𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘁 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗸 from Brandt Clark - Horseman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟔-𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘶 𝘗𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘚𝘜 𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘯

"Brandt Clark is a second-generation horseman whose work is rooted in experience, humility, and a deep respect for the individuality of each horse. Having learned from some of the best in the equine industry, Brandt's approach is ever-evolving—guided by the belief that each horse is only doing what he thinks he needs to do or should be doing and must be met where they are mentally, physically, and emotionally. Rather than forcing methods, he focuses on leadership, trust, and building genuine partnerships between horse and rider.
At his farm, Brandt offers hands-on training, personalized evaluation sessions, and customized plans tailored to both horse and rider. Brandt is committed to helping others grow alongside their horses through thoughtful, TRUTH-BASED horsemanship."

👉Tickets available at: www.mihorseexpo.com

10/28/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AEQi3PDn5/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Horse training is messy. It's not for the faint of heart or for the perfectionist. Training horses is a process of showing a horse the task, getting them to do it however well they can at first and then refining how they accomplish the task one step at a time. And because a horse is a powerful being with will, sometimes it can get oppositional with a horse that doesn't understand or doesn't want to do the task. After all, they just want to eat.

The part about not being for the faint of heart is about how a horse trainer deals with misunderstanding or opposition in a horse. Both require patience. If a trainer lacks patience and tries to force an outcome, all that is accomplished is the horse learns to fight.

The part about how perfectionists do not make effective horse trainers is that the process is hardly ever perfect. Training horses is by its nature messy. If a rider has been trained, for example, to please judges with perfect positions they can have difficulty being effective in the process of introducing new tasks to a horse and still maintain their perfect show riding. Only later in the process, when the work moves to refining tasks, is when their equation becomes useful. Until then, it's about staying on the horse while moving the horse as best you can through a training task to completion. This also requires patience.

I see a lot of people today who call themselves horse trainers who are really horse sorters. They sort out the tough ones and work with the easy ones. Or there is a type that bribes a horse with treats to accommodate them, but a horse that is "trained" through accommodation is not really trained because their will has not been challenged. These horses tend to spend the rest of their lives being the boss and not a partner with a rider. And of course, there are the horse trainers who use calming "supplements" or other drugs to make a horse in training more manageable. But I don't think a drugged horse can completely learn from training or retain training.

There is no getting away from it. Horse training is not easy. You can get frustrated, injured, disappointed and exhausted doing it, and in the end the outcome is not ensured. You can fail and along the way to success or failure, it's messy. Therefore, if you lack patience or are a perfectionist and fear failure, horse training is probably not for you.

09/24/2025

I must apologize. I've tried to post nuggets of wisdom on this page in the past but as I tell all my students…horsemanship is a giant onion…and after your done crying and peeling the first layer…. you realize there are so many layers beneath it that you don't know if you have enough tears.

So, we study and experiment and learn.

I will dedicate more time these coming months to discourse.

“Nothing aside from the dearest human relationships can give the pleasure found in working and playing with a horse. That magnificent, powerful, yet dependent creature so willingly gives so much that surely it behooves his master to study thoroughly all things which may help in understanding his mute and faithful servant.”

Brig. Gen. Harry D Chamberlin
From his book. Training Hunters Jumpers and Hackse pve

04/02/2025

Do or don’t listen. Very good information

Have you ever considered the story your saddle is telling? Throughout history, saddles have symbolized connection, partnership, and the journeys we take. But...

03/06/2024

Sometimes we have to be a good example to the horse. They are great imitators. They become what’s inside you if your not careful.

01/07/2024

My seven year old daughter got to learn a great lesson today. Not every ride is going to be amazing. Sometimes you take the good with the bad. Tomorrow might be better. Don’t fight the bad rides. Just accept it for what it is and start afresh. My Dad used to say “Manana”. I hope she remembers this lesson because life won’t always throw good days your way. I’m thankful to the horses that teach such good lessons .

11/17/2023

As we come into the Holiday season, I am thankful for all the good people in my circle. Phil Oakes has been a friend of mine for many years. He's an amazing horseman and a genuine amazing human being. I got to visit with him about his Juvenile Court Program he does at his ranch in Ga***rd, MI. Its worth a few minutes of your time.

08/30/2023

One’s character finds its expression in their art of riding and behavior. The horse is always showing us what is inside us…and is always trying to make us better.

He who is judicious becomes a master.
The Inspired becomes an artist.
The technician, a control freak.
The violent, an abuser.
The one who has a bad temper becomes unfair.
The worried gets frustrated
The impatient becomes unhappy.
The prudent, an eternal student, even if they are already a master.

UNKNOWN

08/07/2023

When I started taking Cinco to the rodeos in June he was deceivingly immature. He seemed quiet on the outside but when adversity showed up, He would let his nerves cause him to become angry. Pawing, pulling back, running backwards etc.

After 2 months of long road trips and late nights together….1000’s of kids wanting to pet him…bucking bulls, ropers, loud music, bright lights…

Cinco has learned and is still working on some valuable life skills.
✔️How to breath first
✔️How to be patient and wait for me
✔️That the world is dangerous but it’s not always after you.
✔️That he is strong enough to be without other horses
✔️That he is in control of his emotions…still working on this one

All that said…the greatest gifts are ones that don’t look like gifts. That force you to look at yourself. There is no way out that you can take to make it stop. It’s just the cards your dealt. That’s where you learn the most about yourself. It’s where you grow.

06/23/2023

Couple people asked if I'd share the trailer loading video from the Michigan Equine Network Podcast. I don't generally like to post videos because there are so many variables and approaches that could be relevant according to the specific situation. No video will solve your problems...but here you go. If it helps, great. I could do an hour-long podcast on just this 3-minute video.

06/22/2023

If your done with chores by 7pm check this out. I’ll have a segment on tips for loading horses.