John Lyons (horse trainer)
Encyclopedia
John Lyons is one of the nationally-known horse trainers
in the field of natural horsemanship
. Lyons has been presenting training clinics and horsemanship symposia since 1980, has written several books on horses and horse training, and is the founder of John Lyons' Perfect Horse magazine. He lives and works out of Parachute, Colorado
.
and he encourages owners to notice what is going on with their horses and to use consistent cues and reinforcement to encourage positive behavior and discourage negative behavior in the animal. He places a strong emphasis on safety of handler and horse, using gentle techniques, and eschewing dramatic results in favor of setting specific goals, then teaching them by use of clear signals, responsible methods, and consistency.
Lyons is somewhat different from other natural horsemanship practitioners in that his Christian faith plays a very public role in his presentations and materials. Beginning in 2010, Josh Lyons will move east and work out of Cross Plains, Tennessee
, near Nashville. Father and son both offer a trainer's certification program to develop new horse trainers.
's John W. Galbreath Award for outstanding contributions to the horse industry. Lyons' son, Josh Lyons, also is a working horse trainer. Both father and son have competed in the invitation-only Road to the Horse competition, John Lyons doing so shortly after knee replacement surgery. Prior to the creation of the annual Road to the Horse competition, Josh Lyons won the original "In a Whisper" competition in 2002, a head-to-head horse training
challenge between himself, Pat Parelli
and Craig Cameron
, which was made into a film documentary.
Lyons gained both support and notoriety due to his critique of the film The Horse Whisperer
, noting that while there were many positive messages, there was also the potential for people to get some dangerous messages about horse training from certain sequences. He first noted that the multiple horses that played Pilgrim were all well-trained animals and that the movie did not represent a real-life time frame for training a single real-life animal. He pointed out that the film made the rehabilitation of the horse appear to be a one-session event, when in reality it would take considerable time for such a change to occur. Lyons criticized a number of dangerous practices shown in the movie, and was particularly critical of the scene where the lead character hobbles, ropes, and lays the exhausted horse on the ground, then has the horse's owner, a girl with an amputated limb, get on the recumbent horse, which is then allowed to rise, and the horse and girl miraculously are both cured of their fears and once again a horse and rider team. He argued that the actual real-life practical risk of injury to horse and human in such a method is considerable, that a horse pushed to exhaustion is not "trained," and pushing a fearful rider in such a fashion is ill-advised. However, Lyons' critique also recognized the limitations of Hollywood filmmaking, stating, "In order to tell a story, things are often done that would be imprudent for horse owners to attempt."
Horse training
Horse training refers to a variety of practices that teach horses to perform certain behaviors when asked to do so by humans. Horses are trained to be manageable by humans for everyday care as well as for equestrian activities from horse racing to therapeutic horseback riding for people with...
in the field of natural horsemanship
Natural horsemanship
Natural horsemanship is the philosophy of working with horses by appealing to their instincts and herd instincts. It involves communication techniques derived from wild horse observation in order to build a partnership that closely resembles the relationships that exist between horses.- Basic ideas...
. Lyons has been presenting training clinics and horsemanship symposia since 1980, has written several books on horses and horse training, and is the founder of John Lyons' Perfect Horse magazine. He lives and works out of Parachute, Colorado
Parachute, Colorado
The Town of Parachute is a Statutory Town in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,006 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Parachute is located at ....
.
Philosophy
Lyons' approach of establishing a partnership between horse and handler is based in part on the principles of operant conditioningOperant conditioning
Operant conditioning is a form of psychological learning during which an individual modifies the occurrence and form of its own behavior due to the association of the behavior with a stimulus...
and he encourages owners to notice what is going on with their horses and to use consistent cues and reinforcement to encourage positive behavior and discourage negative behavior in the animal. He places a strong emphasis on safety of handler and horse, using gentle techniques, and eschewing dramatic results in favor of setting specific goals, then teaching them by use of clear signals, responsible methods, and consistency.
Lyons is somewhat different from other natural horsemanship practitioners in that his Christian faith plays a very public role in his presentations and materials. Beginning in 2010, Josh Lyons will move east and work out of Cross Plains, Tennessee
Cross Plains, Tennessee
Cross Plains is a city in Robertson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,381 at the 2000 census.-History:In 1778, the first settlement in Robertson County was made by Thomas Kilgore on the waters of the Middle Fork of Red River, three-fourths of a mile west of Cross Plains. Cross...
, near Nashville. Father and son both offer a trainer's certification program to develop new horse trainers.
Recognition
Awards given to Lyons for his work include Equitana USA's Modern Masters Award for Outstanding Horsemanship, and the University of LouisvilleUniversity of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
's John W. Galbreath Award for outstanding contributions to the horse industry. Lyons' son, Josh Lyons, also is a working horse trainer. Both father and son have competed in the invitation-only Road to the Horse competition, John Lyons doing so shortly after knee replacement surgery. Prior to the creation of the annual Road to the Horse competition, Josh Lyons won the original "In a Whisper" competition in 2002, a head-to-head horse training
Horse training
Horse training refers to a variety of practices that teach horses to perform certain behaviors when asked to do so by humans. Horses are trained to be manageable by humans for everyday care as well as for equestrian activities from horse racing to therapeutic horseback riding for people with...
challenge between himself, Pat Parelli
Parelli Natural Horsemanship
Parelli Natural Horsemanship is a program of natural horsemanship, created by Pat Parelli.-Program:...
and Craig Cameron
Craig Cameron
Craig Lauder Cameron is a retired professional ice hockey forward who played 552 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota North Stars, and New York Islanders....
, which was made into a film documentary.
Lyons gained both support and notoriety due to his critique of the film The Horse Whisperer
The Horse Whisperer
The Horse Whisperer is a 1998 American drama film directed by and starring Robert Redford, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Nicholas Evans...
, noting that while there were many positive messages, there was also the potential for people to get some dangerous messages about horse training from certain sequences. He first noted that the multiple horses that played Pilgrim were all well-trained animals and that the movie did not represent a real-life time frame for training a single real-life animal. He pointed out that the film made the rehabilitation of the horse appear to be a one-session event, when in reality it would take considerable time for such a change to occur. Lyons criticized a number of dangerous practices shown in the movie, and was particularly critical of the scene where the lead character hobbles, ropes, and lays the exhausted horse on the ground, then has the horse's owner, a girl with an amputated limb, get on the recumbent horse, which is then allowed to rise, and the horse and girl miraculously are both cured of their fears and once again a horse and rider team. He argued that the actual real-life practical risk of injury to horse and human in such a method is considerable, that a horse pushed to exhaustion is not "trained," and pushing a fearful rider in such a fashion is ill-advised. However, Lyons' critique also recognized the limitations of Hollywood filmmaking, stating, "In order to tell a story, things are often done that would be imprudent for horse owners to attempt."
Works by Lyons
- Lyons, John and Jennifer J. Denison.(2002) Bringing Up Baby. Primedia Enthusiast Publications. ISBN 1-929164-12-2.
- Lyons, John with Sinclair Browning. (1991) Lyons On Horses: John Lyons' Proven Conditioned-Response Training Program. Doubleday, ISBN 038541398X, ISBN 978-0385413985
- Lyons, John. (2006) John Lyons' Troubleshooting Primedia Equine Network, ISBN 1929164319, ISBN 978-1929164318
- Lyons, John with Maureen Gallatin. (three part series, 1998, 1999) Communicating with Cues: The Rider's Guide to Training and Problem Solving Belvoir Publications, Inc. ISBN 1879620553, ISBN 978-1879620551 (part 1)