Giddy Up! A new way to learn the old ways
by Marlene Fritz

Leta Trahant was perching on the back of a packer horse by the age of two. Now married to a Shoshone-Bannock tribal member on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, she can’t remember not riding horses. But when her granddaughter Jessi resolved to improve her own riding skills a few years ago, Leta was delighted that the reservation’s UI Extension Educator Danielle Gunn could teach her.

Some of Jessi’s relatives are “excellent horsemen,” Leta says, “but they’re not as patient as Danielle.” That patience is paying off, as Leta watches 11-year-old Jessi become a “more well-rounded, polished rider—disciplined, confident, and more skilled.”

Grandpa Thomas Trahant says riding horses is still what the family does for pleasure. “It’s neat to go to the mountains and be there with the trees and the wild animals, and horseback riding is part of that,” he says. Thomas learned to ride from his older brothers at four or five and enjoys watching Jessi’s progress during Gunn’s twice-weekly sessions. “We just jumped on ’em and rode ’em,” he says. “Jessi has learned to warm her horse up before she rides it very hard.”

Teaching kids to ride, and communicate with their horse
Gunn, a skilled horsewoman who spent some of her earliest years on a southeastern Idaho cattle ranch, began offering her summer 4-H horse program in 2001 at the request of tribal elders. Her primary extension responsibilities at the Fort Hall Indian Reservation involve livestock, range, and noxious weed management, but Gunn was glad to help. “Horses are still of great importance to the reservation,” she says—in working cattle, competing in rodeos, or participating in cultural events. But the tribal elders were “concerned that youth weren’t learning some of these horsemanship skills that are so important to their culture.

“Many of the tribal elders have said they wished the kids would do more of what they used to do—being outside rather than sitting inside with the electronic games,” Gunn says.

Learning to work cattle, to be a leader, to be responsible
Four years later, the program has grown from one member to 15, with more than a 90 percent retention rate and a few young riders qualifying for state 4-H competitions. Participants must be between the ages of 8 and 19 and bring a horse to ride. They learn to ride both bareback and Western style, to work cattle, and to tend their charges. They also build responsibility, self-esteem, and leadership skills.

“They have to demonstrate responsibility by taking care of something and they have to learn how to deal with unexpected situations,” says Gunn. “A horse can spook or get caught in a wire and you have to learn how to react quickly.”
Aaron Buckskin’s family rides bareback but he wanted to see the difference that a saddle would make. “It’s easier to lope and to sidepass,” he says.

At 14, Olivia Yokoyama is already competing in Indian relay races at the Eastern Idaho State Fair. Because her family runs cattle, she’s ridden for much of her life, but says Gunn’s classes are boosting her showmanship and cattle-working skills.

Of passing raw eggs and dancing
Gunn, who has also taught therapeutic riding lessons to severely disabled youngsters, emphasizes respect for and communication with the horse. “My main goal is to get them to use natural horsemanship—keep them fluid and supple with the horse,” she says. That means “more body riding, rather than yank and jerk. The kids are taught how to ask the horse first, with nice cues and soft pressure from their body weight, legs, and hands. You don’t jab a horse in the ribs and expect it not to jump out from under you.”

The young riders improve their balance by passing raw eggs on spoons to one another while in the saddle and—over their pre-teen protests—learn how to signal directions to their horse by dancing with one another on the ground.
“Horses are the ‘old ways,’” says 10-year-old Chasen Coby. “It’s pretty cool and it’s pretty fun.”

Contact Danielle Gunn at dgunn@uidaho.edu.

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