Ask Cari

Al I can say is Thank you so much Rex and Cari for your wonderful job and safety you gave Tye. He was terriffied of the monster horse trailer that bites, but you guys showed Tye the way to over come his fear of the trailer by being gentle and patience and so understanding about his fear. Tye had a bad experience in the trailer and he never forgot it. I tried for years to help him over come his fear but to no avail I couldn’t do it. People told me to get rid of him he’s never going to trailer, he’s a waste of time,i was just about to give up till Rex and Cari took Tye into there hands and worked with him and with there knowledge and huge hearts they showed Tye the way and NOT to be affraid, its a good thing to be inside the trailer. The horse knowledge they have is a unbeleivable site to watch. I am know bringing Tye all over with out any problems at all!

Thanks to Rex and Cari at Windrock Farm I have a new horse that is in the same body. I thought this would NEVER happen in my wildest dreams and I am know laughing at all the people who told me to get rid of him. I want to say from the bottom of my heart Thank You so much for helping Tye find his way through his fears. You guys are remarkable, awesome horse trainers/people and words will never express my feelings towards you and your training. I will recommend Rex and Cari for any kind of problems you might be haveing. They have the blood of a horse and the will of the horseman and a 1 in a million master horse trainer Thank you for putting faith and heart back into Tye and me and with your help and kindness tye is know a horse that can do it and trust me to do it. I will never have enough words to say how much we look up to you wonderful people.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts Tye and Heather Poughquag NY

I have had the privilege of learning about horses and riding from Rex Peterson, and the good fortune to watch up-close the remarkable results he achieves with even the most challenging of horses and riders. He has guided me through the movies “Hidalgo” and “Appaloosa”, and I have been lucky to become his friend and ride many miles in all sorts of conditions with him. He makes his job as horse-master look effortless, but those who have trained under him over the years know it most assuredly is not. He does appear to have a gift for “reading” people and horses, always finding the most suitable teaching approach in each situation, but he works extremely hard every single day, often for many hours at a time. He has an iron will, and will not quit on any horse or rider, but is remarkably patient and leads with a steady and kind hand. One of the most helpful bits of advice he passed on to me - which can be applied to working with horses and to life in general - is “go slow to go fast”. He would never, unlike others not as gifted or patient in his line of work, rush things unnecessarily or ever ask anyone to do something he was unwilling to first try himself. He invariably has the safety and well-being of his horses as his topmost priority. He speaks highly of his own legendary teacher, Glenn Randall, Sr., often saying that he will never know as much as his mentor did. Although I never met Mr. Randall, I cannot imagine anyone asking more of themselves or getting more out of horses and riders than Rex Peterson does. I look forward to working with him again soon.

Viggo Mortensen

Rex will be teaching a clinic at Windrock Farm this weekend, June 19-21, bring a horse to work with him or come watch him work RJ/Hidalgo at liberty at 3pm on Saturday.

contact cari@cariswanson.com for details

The horse is a beautiful creature So proud and so bold This we can see for ourselves No need to be told

A beautiful creature Right down past his knees I look and behold! What are these???

For his feet are contracted Wry-footed, quarter-cracked And bent Without good feet He’s not worth a cent

For to see a horse limp Gives me grief untold And if Someone’s at fault I’ve been known to scold

Through sandy desert And over rocky trail A horse can’t do his best If his feet they should fail

Though it’s been said before I’ll say it once more A horse can’t do his job well If his feet are sore

A horse should be shod With a sense of panache If he is to run A 300-yard dash

A horse should be shod With a certain sense of style If he is to carry his rider For many a mile

The horse is a beautiful creature Of fine symmetry and form And so should be his feet This should be the norm

It only makes sense That his shoes be made neat So that they only enhance His already beautiful feet

So farriers please endeavor To learn your craft well If you don’t, you’ll cause Many a horse living hell.

Mike Bromley, The Blacksmith Poet

Here is Rex Peterson with Tuff at Quarterfest in Nashville TN:

Started the chestnut filly a week ago, she wanted to buck but we would not let her, she tried everything but would not be allowed to be ignorant so now a week into her training she is obedient and listening to the legs and hands and seat of the rider.

Bella learns to canter along side her stablemate, Tuff who teaches her how to stay in forward motion, using the horses natural instinct to be part of the herd helps them learn quickly with little fight.

Started the grey warmblood, he is 6 years old and never been broke.  He is a sensitive horse, has learned to steer and move off the leg with many circles around the arena in walk and then trot.  Whenever he drifts away from the track, we circle and point him back toward to track, until he wants to stay out there.  This is a very intelligent willing horse.

Remember to practice schooling your cross country jumps with rhythm and balance as the basic criteria when approaching a fence.  You must also be straight to the jump and coming at it with an appropriate speed.  Practice makes perfect, so be sure to take your time and do your homework.

Will your horse clear these pooches??

At a recent clinic, Rex Peterson introduced this Ancora to a Grand Prix dressage horse who wrings his tail in piaffe and passage.

This simple device known as the Ancora, will help your horse stop wringing his tail, thus putting all his energy into his work.  The bells on the bottom also teach him to not be afraid of anything behind him.  You must ride your horse with this for a minimum of 10 days so that he learns that every time he lifts his tail it cannot go anywhere, eventually he will not even try to swing it.  Trick ropers ride their trick horses in this for the first 2 years of training so that the ropes never get caught under the tails.  Horses trained for the movies all learn to ride with this as part of their desensitizing routine.

“I can’t” is not in his vernacular.  Spoken from the man who has trained horses to fall into lion pits, fight on command, bury a horse alive, drive a team of ten horses, roman ride, trick ride, round up a herd of over 500 horses in less than an hour, and many other seemingly impossible stunts.  Rex Peterson is a Master Horseman.  Anyone can see that he connects to each horse he works with.  He is one with the horse, asking for simple tasks, bringing out the quality in every horse . His corrections are quick and efficient and he gets the job done.

Rex Peterson was born and raised in Ogallala, Nebraska into a family of horseman.  His father taught his six kids how to trick ride as soon as they could walk.  Dennis, the oldest brother was the World Champion trick rider of the year in 1960.  Dennis was famous for jumping a team of horses over a Chevy convertible. At the age of 17 Rex traveled with his family to Japan to ride in the Wild West Show for 5 weeks.  Every performance was “western” chasing the stagecoach, falling off a horse after pretending to be shot, trick riding and roman riding.

Rex learned from the greatest horse trainer Hollywood has ever scene, Glenn Randall, Sr. the man who trained the Triggers for Roy Rogers, the horses for Ben-Hur, the last Rex for Gene Autry and many others.    Rex knew he had to learn from this master of horses.  Upon arrival at Glenn’s ranch with several rogue horses he was given a memorable lesson of mannering a horse quickly and efficiently.  Glenn watched Rex rope the horse to catch them, disgusted, he quietly stepped over and  began to whip break the horse in less than an hour, teaching each horse to obediently follow him around the arena.  This was a life changing moment as Rex realized he must study with this Master.  Many people came and went, but Rex stayed the longest.  Glenn would sit in his swivel chair barking commands, not allowing any dialogue while training, but open to discuss any of his methods and techniques at the end of the day.  To this day Rex claims he knows only a fraction of the knowledge Glenn possessed.

“Cross training is the best thing for any horse.  I believe the more you do with a horse, the better they become.”  Rex has found this philosophy helps train horses for the movies as he has proven many times that teaching horses in more than one area of education creates a better and better athlete and performer.

A perfect example is Hightower, one of the best and most famous horses Rex has ever trained.  This extraordinary horse was ridden Western, English, Driven and trained at Liberty.  He  was roped off of, drug calves to the branding fire, roped wild bulls, turned back the cutters, team penned, team roped, and trained mules. He jumped five feet effortlessly and competed in dressage. His talent driving included a single, double and multi-horse hitches.  Most people who worked with Hightower, recognized that he was one of the greatest horses they ever knew. Hightower was also trained as a liberty horse that was unmatched in his career.

Rex has a clear methodology is that training horses is a lesson in persistence and patience and reward.  He says ,”You must be persistent in asking a horse to do something but also be patient enough to allow the horse to figure out the task requested, and finally reward him to let him know he made the correct choice.  By asking a horse very consistently it is amazing how successful the training becomes.   Being a horse trainer requires being patient enough to understand what your horse is doing and figure out what to do to make him do what you want.  The reward is a vital ingredient so that the horse understands he was correct.  Each and every horse is an individual so he must be treated as such. “

Rex says, “Teaching horses is like Piano, learning each and every key.  In the beginning you must hunt for them.  As time goes along and you know them individually, you play a chord and finally you learn to play a song.  Each note is equivalent to the individual movements such as, controlling the head, controlling the hips, moving each foot independently.  Put several of these together and you have a chord.  In the end you are dancing with your horse creating a song.”

Rex is known for training horses to do impossible.  One of the more challenging requests came from a British Rock Band who wanted to bury a horse alive in the desert so that he could be filmed bursting from the earth in an image of power and strength. Many said this would be impossible, however, after careful study, Rex figured out a way to bury his horse Justin alive 9 times for the camera.  Although pressed by many, he would never reveal the secret to this trick.

Hollywood Horses

Working successfully in film for over 30 years, Rex has created some of the most demanding and   spectacular horse sequences on film.  Throughout the years he has often been called upon to fix a scene if the regular wrangler cannot get the shot.  It is known in the industry that you save money by hiring Rex in the first place, because he delivers the shot.  Others underbid his rates and cost the studio hundreds of thousands of dollars when they cannot deliver for the scenes.  Many actors will not work with any other wrangler on a film because they must know that their safety is protected including Viggo Mortensen who insisted Rex train his horses in Appaloosa.

Rex has trained horses for over forty films including Black Beauty, All the Pretty Horses, The Horse Whisperer, Flicka, Dreamer, Runaway Bride and The Return of the  Black Stallion. The film he is most proud of is Hidalgo which proved to be an amazing challenge on all levels.  From logistical nightmares, communication breakdowns, a multitude of studs on the starting line and difficult cast members in a country with cultural barriers and language problems.  Not to mention that the film was shot in numerous locations in Morocco, Montana and California. Rex promises to write a book one day about the misadventures  and life threatening circumstances involved in the making of this film.

Now that fewer horse films are made in Hollywood, Rex has shifted gears to pass along his knowledge and experience through clinics, products, training DVD’s, and a TV pilot  which is in production.

For more information about Rex Peterson, visit Swanson Peterson Productions

Last weekend we broke 2 young horses to accept the saddle and rider.  Here you can see Rex controlling this young gelding for his first ride.  Steele stays close to Cache as he learns to accept the aids from the rider.  Rex is able to stop the horse from bucking or rearing with the neck rope so that he never learns these bad habits.

Rex trains a group of students how to teach the horses how to bow, say Yes and NO and do a camel stretch.  One client wanted to lay her filly down which was easy under Rex’s direction.

At the same time, Cari trained several students in dressage and jumping sessions.  This beautiful kind palomino quarter horse learned his changes.  Several other students worked on improving dressage basics which showed in much more elastic gaits and better obedience.

The jumping clinic was a great success with all of the horses improving the rhythm and balance to the jumps.  Each rider also improved their postion and confidence over fences.

Barb works with her mare teaching her to laydown and get up on command.  She learned the bow at last years clinic with Rex and went a step further laying her down completely.

Clinics with Rex are always fun because clients work on a variety of horse training issues from improving the canter, working on Spanish walk, teaching the horse to move off the leg, teaching tricks, breaking colts to ride,  and improving communication with the horse.

Every horse and rider leave the clinic with more knowledge and confidence.  For more information about Rex and his background visit Swanson Peterson Productions.

Check out this new Youtube video of Rex Peterson working Tuff at Liberty

Teaching a horse to trust and work this well takes hours and hours of patience.

We just returned from a successful weekend in Nashville, TN where the AQHA hosted the first of many Quarterfest Events honoring the Quarter Horse from many aspects of the horse world.  Reining, roping, mounted shooters, trail classes and amazing performances each evening kept us all busy each day.  Tuff  (from the films Flicka, Van Helsing, Appaloosa) and Cache (Viggo’s mount in Appaloosa) performed each evening in a liberty act , amazing the audience with a display of control of each horse with Rex using only body movements and the whips to guide his horses.

17 hand gelding, very elegant, easy to ride, this horse is a very special guy.  If you are looking for an Equitation horse, jumper, dressage or event horse, he is talented, a bold jumper, light to the aids and a true gentleman on the ground.  At 6 years old, he shows tremendous promise to excel in any job.  contact Cari to schedule an appointment to try this exceptional athlete.

Last summer, Rex trained Miley to ride this grey gelding for her new movie, Hannah Montana:  The Movie there is one scene where he has to pull the wig off of Miley’s character to reveal her true identity.  This stunt took hours of training and the horse performed on cue to grab the wig without harming Miley’s head.  There were also many other scenes Miley had to work with the horse which she found much easier after working with Rex.  Check out Rex Peterson’s training techniques at Swanson Peterson Productions to train your horse to do whatever you ask him to do.

This horse has had ear plaque his entire life.  After several vets have tried to treat it by burning it off, the owner gave up until Rex came along and had a simple solution.  Rub baby oil on the fungus and it will kill it.  Easier said than done because this horse would not let you touch his ears, let alone put cotton balls inside to rub the baby oil on.  In fact he always has to have the bridle or halter taken apart to put on because of his panic around his ears from the painful fungus.

After an hour of patience and using the Sugar String, Rex was able to rub the cotton balls soaked in baby oil inside his ears.  Treated every day for 5 days resulted in perfectly clean ears with new pink skin emerging.  The hair is even starting to grow back after 10 days and still no sign of the fungus returning.

Sometimes the old methods are far less expensive and more effective than the newer solutions of drugs.  You can see this horse is actually enjoying the treatment now, learning to allow his ears to be touched and rubbed without the panic.

Send any problem you have to us to solve, Rex Peterson loves a challenge and has not met a horse he could not improve or fix yet….we look forward to your challenge!

Rex Peterson learned from the greatest horse trainer Hollywood has ever scene, Glenn Randall, Sr. the man who trained the Triggers for Roy Rogers, the horses for Ben-Hur, the last Rex for Gene Autry and many others.    Rex knew he had to learn from this master of horses.  Upon arrival at Glenn’s ranch with several rogue horses he was given a memorable lesson of mannering a horse quickly and efficiently.  Glenn watched Rex rope the horse to catch them, disgusted, he quietly stepped over and  began to whip break the horse in less than an hour, teaching each horse to obediently follow him around the arena.  This was a life changing moment as Rex realized he must study with this Master.  Many people came and went, but Rex stayed the longest.  Glenn would sit in his swivel chair barking commands, not allowing any dialogue while training, but open to discuss any of his methods and techniques at the end of the day.  To this day Rex claims he knows only a fraction of the knowledge Glenn possessed.

Currently Rex is developing a TV program for RFD-TV and is continues to work on films.  Take advantage of the rare opportunity to train with Rex in a clinic at Windrock Farm, contact Cari to schedule a session.  There has never been a horse Rex could not improve.

Plan on attending the next clinic with Rex Peterson at Windrock Farm.  Teach your horse how to have perfect ground manners, improve the communication between you and your horse, develop better quality gaits, and develop more confidence training your horse. Contact cari@cariswanson.com for details.

Meet RJ, one of the famous horses Rex has trained for film, RJ starred with Viggo Mortensen in Hidalgo and recently worked with Ang Lee in “Taking Woodstock”.