Liner underscores importance of ‘guiding’ instead of ‘training’ a horse

While many exhibitors made the trip to Fort Worth, Texas, to
experience the excitement of winning APHA World Championships and
watching the best Paint Horses on the planet compete for 14 days,
others headed this way for other reasons—to educate others about the
talent and abilities of the American Paint Horse.

Robert Liner brings his 25 years of horse experience to the Colors of the West Arena on a regular basis at World Show. During each clinic, he uses his “Equine Intuitive Guidance,” technique to help others delve deeper into the art of training horses.

Robert Liner is doing just that. The Terrell, Texas, native with more
than 25 years of horsemanship experience has visited almost daily with
the crowds at the Purina Mills Colors of the West Arena. Covering
topics ranging from getting to know your horse, to fitting your
horses, to reading your horse’s personality and everything in between,
Liner bases his clinics on what he refers to as “Intuitive Equine
Guidance.”

“I prefer to use the word ‘guidance’ rather than ‘training’ because
when you ‘guide’ something your goal is to get there safely, but when
you ‘train’ something often times you have a deadline you are trying
to meet, regardless of how you get there,” said Liner.

Each clinic Liner hosts at the World Show combines unique methods he has picked up from several other horse trainers and owners in his
search for discovering a deeper meaning when working with horses.
While many clinicians prefer to use a horse with which they have
previously worked, Liner opts to have an unknown Paint Horse handed to him as he walks in the arena.

“This way my audience can see what I can do with a horse in a short
amount of time and how I get there,” said Liner. “They can watch and
learn how to apply what they are watching to their own horses and
training programs.”

If you haven’t been able to catch one of the talented trainer’s clinics yet, it’s not too late. Coming up for the remainder of World Show are the following seminars:
• Today from 11 a.m. to Noon—What is Intuitive Guidance?
• Thursday, July 3, from 11 a.m. to Noon—A Truly Broke Horse
• Friday, July 4, from 9 to 10 a.m. Reading Your Horse’s Personality
• Saturday, July 5, from 2 to 3 p.m. Riding What You Have

Liner spends half the hour conducting the clinic and spends the rest
of the time personally interacting with the attendees to discuss what
their personal barriers with their own horse may be.

“I like doing these smaller clinics in a smaller venue,” said Liner. “
They don’t overwhelm the audience and it’s easier for the audience to
discern something from them.”

Getting started
Although Liner has been around horses nearly all his life, he got his
start teaching clinics and seminars at the 1998 State Fair of Texas.
Liner was not originally scheduled to conduct clinics and was involved
with the fair in other ways. When a trainer that had been scheduled to
give a training clinic at the fair couldn’t make it because his truck
broke down, Liner got his break.

“They asked if I’d be interested,” said Liner. “They invited me back
the next year, and this year will be my 11th consecutive appearance at
the State Fair of Texas.”

Over time through his appearances at the state fair, he came in
contact with employees of APHA and has since developed a close bond
with the association. Also along his journey, Purina Mills recognized
his talents and the feed company now sponsors him.

Along with conducting clinics, Liner is the founder and head trainer
of Equine In Line. The Certified Horsemanship Association trainer in
English, Western and trail instruction, Liner owns several horse
schools dedicated to providing the opportunity for children and horse
lovers across the world to learn about and deepen their relationships
with their horses.

“The horse picked me, I didn’t pick the horse,” said Liner. “It set me
on a path and created a journey where I now get to teach the world
about horses.”

For more information about Robert Liner and his unique training
methods, visit equineinline.com