Bob Trussell trains Western-style and Spanish Vaquero methods in Pudlestone

2:46pm Thursday 13th November 2008

When Bob Trussell decided to hang up his hunting boots he knew it was going to take something really special fill the gap.

“Hunting was my passion and, when it was under threat, I felt I needed to look for something different,” he explains.

“I was concerned that, if I didn’t do it then, in a few years’ time it would be too late and I would be too old to learn something new.”

He bought a three-year-old quarter-horse and decided the Western way of riding and training was something he might be interested in.

Hunting requires the careful preparation of the horse to do a job three days a week, but what appealed to Bob, from Pudleston, about Western riding was that it is designed to train the ultimate animal for working on a ranch, day in and day out.

Little did he realise, however, the steep learning curve on which he was about to embark.

He was already an experienced horseman, having trained and produced his own hunters for many years, but he says his subsequent journey has inspired him to move up to levels of horsemanship he never imagined existed. It has also enabled him to meet people who have given him the inspiration to create the happiest, calmest and lightest horses imaginable.

It was during a trip to the USA to source a particular saddle for his quarterhorse that he discovered the two different traditions in Western riding: the Spanish Vaquero (meaning cowboy), originating in California and tracing its origins back to the Spaniards who first settled there, and Western-style, more familiar worldwide and which originated in Texas.

“There are subtle differences between the two,” reveals Bob.

“For example, the Californians don’t use a stiff rope to rope their cattle. They use a much softer one and play the animal like a fish. it is all about difference in technique and the way of riding has adapted accordingly.

“They seem to add an extra lightness and refinement to their horses and that is what appealed to me.

“I believe my method of training is unique in this country.

“It is known as the Spanish Vaquero tradition and is undergoing something of a revival in the USA but is almost unknown here.”

The ultimate aim, he says, is to produce what is known as a ‘bridle horse’. The finished horse should be extremely light to handle but razor sharp in its responses to the rider’s cues, have tremendous acceleration but a calm attitude to enable the rider to accomplish his tasks with ease.

“It is a really practical way of riding,” says Bob. “I don't show the horses but I believe you should be able to show a finished horse as well as anything else.

“I aim for it to be calm and responsive enough to be able to have a go at anything.

“You should be able to go into a pub for a pint and the horse will still be standing there when you come out, or ride for hours.”

Bob starts young horses and also takes in animals for remedial training. He always begins the same way, working them on a rope in a round pen.

“When you first throw a rope around his neck something changes inside the horse and he becomes more focused on you,” Bob says.

“It is important, too, to remember you are trying to educate the horse, not wear him down.”

There follows a lot of ground work and subtle body language to encourage the horse to focus on his handler and to desensitise him to as much as possible.

I was fortunate enough to see two perfect examples of the benefits of this at Bob’s small, peaceful yard.

First, an amazingly quiet and gentle yearling colt moved around Bob in the pen and didn’t flinch when a rope was thrown over him.

Then, I met Bob’s beautiful foundation line stallion Grudini.

To our amusement, one of his dogs managed to attach itself to a plastic feed sack and ran around by Grudini’s feet. The horse didn’t move!

Bob’s underlying ethos is to respect the horse and keep the work pleasurable by making it easy and comfortable while also making it difficult for the animal to do the wrong thing.

Once ridden, the horse is worked in a bosal first – a bitless bridle to encourage lightness – before moving on to a snaffle bit.

It is worth mentioning here the subtle differences in the saddles, Spanish Vaquero ones are not quite so bulky as the usual Western saddles, enabling the rider to have closer contact with the horse.

As its training progresses, it gradually moves to a spade bit, which would inspire horror in most English riders, but Bob points out that by the time the horse gets to this stage, it is so finely tuned that just picking up the rein and laying it on his neck will result in the required response so his mouth is rarely, if ever, touched.

“The great part about this thorough and methodical training is that it can be used for any horse, whether it is to be ridden Western or English, going to dressage competitions or show jumping,” he says.

The last 20 years have seen Bob work his magic on cobs, Andalucians and thoroughbred racehorses as well as the more traditional quarterhorses.

“I don’t believe there is any horse which can’t be improved to an extent with this kind of training,” he says.

“The thing to remember is that this isn’t a quick fix.

“You need commitment and time to get your horse as light as the Spanish Vaquero tradition dictates.

“A horse will be six before it is considered ‘finished’.”