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.

09/05/2026

"Whenever a horse has learned a new movement or a new aid in its basic form, the rider should give him a break and deliberately ride something else for a few days or weeks. When he returns to the movement, he will notice how much more easily the training will proceed."
Dr Reiner Klimke (1936 – 1999)

09/05/2026

“When you ride your horse with hand and heels, then the horse is not a part of you. You are just sitting on top of it.”
Bent Branderup

09/04/2026

"As far as the rein aids are concerned, the main principle is that with the correct cooperation of the outside rein, the inside rein aligns, guides, and positions the horse, executes the turns, enlarges the inside shoulder, executes down transitions, and brings the horse onto his haunches.
The outside rein has to support all the aids of the inside rein, to accompany them and often to precede them. It provides the latter with strength and effectiveness; it determines the correct bend and flexion of the poll and the throat latch, as well as the degree of bending and flexion along with the turn radius. It produces the contact and a lively mouth. It collects, frames the haunches, and maintains the gait. Finally, every aid of a curb or snaffle rein requires the measured cooperation of the opposite rein, since otherwise contact is unthinkable, and a faulty rein contact must develop."
Adolf Kästner 1876

09/04/2026

"The disability from which I suffer is a great handicap, but there is a bright side to everything, and my inability to apply the aids strongly has been a great lesson to me. I can use but very little force, and the results obtained by my weak efforts have convinced me that horses are generally over ridden; that much more strength than necessary is habitually used in applying the aids. The rider must reduce his actions to the very minimum and leave the horse the greatest possible freedom in his."
Captain Etienne Beudant (1861 - 1949)

09/03/2026

"A horse, I insist, habitually responds logically to demands made upon him. Instead of trying to force him to respond to our possibly and, indeed, probably illogical or unintelligible demands, we had better carefully study ourselves. The correctness of the response is almost always in proportion to the accuracy of the demand."
Capitan Beudant Étienne (1863 - 1949)

09/03/2026

"In order to excel at an art, it is not enough to know the principles and to have practiced them for a long time. It is also necessary to be able to choose wisely the subjects that are capable of executing these principles. This is what constitutes mainly the skill of the masters and the perfection of the disciples. It is also what most riders neglect. Out of presumptuousness or ignorance, they try unsuccessfully and flatter themselves in vain to train indiscriminately all horses they encounter, as if nature had created all animals equal and destined them for the same usage. Experience only condemns the conduct of these would-be riding masters: Although they might be lucky enough to reach their goal in some cases they encounter, the insurmountable difficulties they meet in a thousand other subjects prove that coincidence plays a larger role in their school than knowledge."
Gaspard de Saunier (1663-1748)

09/02/2026

"Any time the horse stiffens a joint, he has to be asked to relax it trustingly. Everyone who practices this will recognize the importance of keeping his own limbs equally relaxed without tensing any muscle. For as soon as he stiffens a muscle, the horse braces with all of his muscles out of suspicion. This is the soul of the abovementioned thought: ‘Always place the same amount of weight into the horse’s mouth that he places into your hand, at the very moment in which he does it.’ You can see how bad things are when you reverse the principle, since the horse will brace immediately, as soon as the rider becomes stiff. How attentive do we have to be in order to refine the feel in our entire body, so that we feel any stiffness immediately, and so that we are able to match the horse’s pressure."
Otto von Monteton 1877

09/02/2026

"I remember one of the foremost princes of France, who took his son to M. Duplessis, who was already the most distinguished of the famous ecuyers that I have mentioned. I remember, I said, how the prince told him as he approached him: 'I am not bringing you my son to make him an ecuyer. I simply want you to teach him to coordinate his legs and hands with the thought in mind of what he wants his horse to do.' M. Duplessis answered him in my presence, as I had the honor of being one of his disciples: 'Sire, it has been around sixty years that I have been working towards learning what you have given me the honor of telling me. And here you want me to teach him all that I hope to accomplish myself.' "
Gaspard de Saunier (1663-1748)

09/01/2026

"Some people, who do not know that arena work is necessary in horsemanship, say: ‘Do I have to do all these movements? I only want my horse to serve me well, to walk and canter in a way that I am comfortable.’ These good people, who know nothing about riding, have no idea that when a horse is well trained and when he understands the rein hand and the aids well, he is most comfortable in anything one may ask of him. That is what a rider must strive for. "
Gaspard de Saunier (1663-1748)

09/01/2026

"Any unnecessary or involuntary aid is incorrect.

Every aid is intended to have an effect on the horse’s conformation and biomechanics. The aids must therefore be given in harmony with the horse’s conformation and biomechanics.

The horse’s conformation and biomechanics always remain the same when it is regulated. Consequently, the aids must always remain the same in every stage of development.

The aids for all the exercises are always the same on green horses, trained horses, and School horses. The only difference is that they often have to be given strongly and visibly, frequently repeated, sometimes in conjunction with punishment, on the former, whereas the trained horse requires them more rarely and more subtly. The School horse needs only the weakest, invisible indications, yet obeys quickly and without delay."

Adolf Kästner 1876

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

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(541) 535-7974

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