Tom King
Tom has been riding horses since 1964 and he was lucky enough to be given a job by Tom Marvel when he was just 13 years old.
He worked the hay fields and occasionally that year got him opportunity to ride. Jim Dorrance was working on the ranch
at that time so he learned from the two of best horseman in the country.
In 1965 his dad ordered him a western saddle out of catalog and bought a mustang that Tom’s cousin
had just caught for 40 dollars, this started a life long career with horse.
Working for Tom Marvel while in high school and as a adult he had the opportunity to start colts and show horses,
and learn from other horseman that visited the ranch such as Ray hunt.
Tom also worked for Ray on a ranch in Gerlach NV.
Over the last 44 years he has had the opportunity to work with other horseman some known by lots of people
and some only know to a few. He never misses an opportunity to learn something new.
Through the years, he has worked on ranches in Nevada and California.
He has always supplemented his income training and shoeing horses.
In 1998, He moved to Winnemucca bought a small place and setup full time training and shoeing.
On Training Horses......
He would like to tell you some things about his training.
He believes that the first thirty days are very important in a horse’s life.
If you do not set a good foundation in those first days, you will have problems later on.
You have to watch your horse and learn to read him and by learning to read him,
he will learn to read you In those first days a horse can be more willing to learn new thing
if you have show him how to learn and become relaxed with you and his surroundings.
A horse will tell you when he is ready to move on to some thing new if you are listening to him.
When a person spends to long on one thing some horses get bored and sour on what you are
trying to show him so he try’s to add some thing new each day and go over what they did before.
When things need to be reinforced, He will go back to day one and build back from there.
He try’s to make it fun for the horse and not defeat him when he is learning something new.
If you do the same thing repeatedly, the horse will start trying something other that what you
want him to try because you have not told him that he has the right answer to the question you have asked him.
Therefore, the horse will try another answer in hopes that that is the right one.
He has been asked when he knows when to get on a young horse for the first time
and Tom tells them the horse will tell him when he is ready.
He does believe that when he is ready and you do not get on you lose ground.
That goes for other things that you are doing with your horse. When he feels it is time to go outside, go outside.
If you miss these things you will have to build up to that point again this time it may take you long to get there.
In thirty days, Tom like’s his horses to be able to be ridden outside the arena and in the brush to be
able to lope in circles both way stop and back up and to know where his feet are when he turns around.
Tom also like him to start to step over with his front feet and pivot on his hind feet teaching him how to turn slow
at first he will learn how to move and not get scared about it.
He try’s to get on his colts as soon as they want him to get on but not before.
He does not drive his colts or use anything to pull their heads out of balance.
All Tom uses in his training a young colt are a snaffle bit, halter, a long cotton rope,
saddle, a lase rope and a flag. He has a forty foot round pen where he turns the horse loose
and works with him until he gets him to give to him on the ground and lets Tom rub the flag over
him while he is standing there loose when he does this he is telling Tom that he accepts
the flag on his own terms.
He builds from that point on but if Tom needs to, he can go back to that point,
reinforce what he is comfortable with, and then go on.
Tom takes colt from the start to finish his training is for 30 days or until the owner feels that,
they have the horse they want. Tom will halter train your young colts or start your older colts under saddle.
Contact: Tom King
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