Horsemanship Clinics

I have both audited and participated in a Gascon Horsemanship clinics. I swear I learn something new every time i go. Participating is a lot more fun than auditing but either way you leave with a wealth of information. I also enjoy Michael's style of teaching. He uses every day comparisons to help you understand the lesson or the reason for his actions. He also is very entertaining by adding in just the right amount of humor and always has that "never give up" attitude.

I audited at the New Jersey clinic in September. Even though I wasn't able to bring a horse, I learned more by actually watching Michael work the horses in person. I was able to see what he was doing more clearly and it was easier to understand how much pressure he was using. I learned a lot, even though most of the material he covered was already in the program. I look forward to taking a horse next year! There is always more to learn.

I went as an observer to a 2 day clinic and he rode and fixed every problem on all different kinds of horsed. He even started an 8 year old mare alpha mare with a how dare you think you will tell me what to do attitude...In an big arena...without running her...40 minutes later he rode a calm mare in a walk, a trot, and loped circles on a loose rein. Do you and yourself a favor go see his clinics!

I attended a clinic last year & speak from personal one on one experience with Michael. He is an excellent trainer of horses & people. So patient & kind. I, as most horse people do, try to make things more complicated with horses than they need to be. He takes the time & simplifies the process. He worked with my horse, gave me his opinion then, worked with me with my horse. I proudly wear my "MG" hat to support the MG team. Thank you for all you do! Keep up the awesome work!

What was: Lost, yep, lost in not fully understanding how to apply training techniques; therefore, my horse, Major, a 15 y/o TW gelding, was too - except he took the brunt of my lack of knowledge, for years. I needed the know how to make us work in conjunction wit one another.
What could be: It was serendipity! Not knowing of any gaited horse trainers, I went surfing the Net. There he was, The Horse Guru, Michael Gascon. And, he was holding a clinic just 2+ hours from me... bingo!
What is: Didn’t know what to expect, but I was determined to do it and make it work, because I had a great horse when I purchased him three years ago.
Two jam packed days of watching, learning, and doing. Plenty of personal instruction; one-on-one. Yep, wasn’t expecting that.
Michael showed me what I was doing wrong, and with some tweaking here and there, and learning how to correct and MEAN IT, my boy and I are now working in sync. We train briefly four days a week then try and ride after each work out. I stay on it! Michael works to instill this during the clinic. I finally found what I had lost three years ago. Thanks, Michael, you are truly The Horse Guru.

In 2018 my friend, Annalee and I attended a clinic in Lyons, Illinois. I don’t think I closed my mouth for ten seconds as it was open in excitement, surprise and joy the whole time. What I learned as an auditor would fill Wikipedia. And, surprise! Michael talked to the auditors as much as to the clinic participants. That blew me away. Since then I have been working with my extremely smart Racking Horse using things I learned at the clinic. It takes my Herbie about 10 seconds to figure out what I want and once he’s done it twice he’s bored! But once he learns something it’s there forever. Because of this I am always looking for new things to do with him. Needless to add, watching Michael work with the clinic horses and riders gave me a bunch of things to do with my guy. I think Michael Gascon is one of the best clinicians I have ever watched and I‘ve been attending clinics since John Lyons started out. I think my friend feels the same way. We are definitely planning to see him again. I would recommend him to anyone with a horse, gaited or not!

I always learn something new from michael . His techniques and way of teaching humans to understand the horse are unbeatable!

Loved the way Micheal taught and relatives examples of what he taught us. Relates to the the horses and the people.

I took part in a clinic with Michael last year. I learned so much both on the ground and ridden. I loved the insights Michael showed us and great to get a different perspective too. Highly recommend to anyone wanti by to learn more and improve their equine skills across the board.

Highly recommend this dude!! He is incredibly talented, so entertaining, effective, and a gifted teacher. His philosophy and approach are unmatched and align with everything that every horse has ever wanted their rider to become... Each participant in his clinic not only experiences his approach in action on several different horses all at different stages of training, but will receive hands on one-on-one instruction with their horse from a master of equine education. Michael won't quit on a horse and will only move on when he is satisfied that the horse is in a good place, as well as the rider. The clinics run long, sun up to sun down if needed, so that each rider/horse pair receives the personal time and instruction required by where they are in their equine goals. Each team will leave educated, empowered, and advanced in their relationship and ability. Shout out to the entire Gascon team for your warm welcome and dedication to your craft!!

Please tell Michael that Kirsten and myself worked our horses this morning. They were totally different horses from before he worked with them. Kirsten's mare was soft and mellow and did everything asked of her. Koda did all the exercises quietly and I discovered he had no bend so we worked on softening his head and neck. Once I have the basics covered properly with him I now know how to work on his gait under saddle. I left the best to last!! I CANTERED Tapi. After a few false starts (my fault not hers) we cantered until both of us were relaxed and working as a unit. No pogo sticks or heart failures. I have not cantered a horse in at least 7 years. She was soooo good. Initially when she put in a few canter strides and I panicked, she just dropped back into gait until I settled and then we tried again. She carried her head low and when I remembered to sit deeper in the saddle, lean back a bit we had a nice smooth canter. It may not seem like a big deal but to me it was huge and my grin is almost as big as your internet one. All this after only an hour with Michael. Very jealous of those that an send their horses to him for 30 or even 90 days!

Attended the Michael Gascon (The Horse Guru) clinic today with my pony Lincoln. All I can say is..Absolutely fantastic! I was very impressed with his methods, feel and timing to the horse. The results with all horses were outstanding. Lincoln has always been a “stranger danger” not very confident pony, with a huge flight response. I’ve done a lot of work for him to freeze instead of flight. Michael did his thing and I had a pony that made me extremely proud with how he presented himself. I haven’t worked Lincoln since well before Christmas so he was fresh as a daisy but you would never of known. To have Lincoln have his first ride in walk trot and canter and so relaxed speaks volumes. Looking forward to tomorrow. Extremely impressed.

The clinic was extremely educational. First Michael explains the number one priority....YOUR SAFETY....how and where to stand when working with any horse. Michael teaches the importance of gaining the horses respect and how to achieve it. There is so much tried and true education in a single clinic that I decided to join TEAM MG....THE HORSE GURU. I have since been able to work with my horse feeling much more relaxed and confident knowing that I am doing it right. It's amazing how quickly my horse has responded to the simple instructionsMichael teaches. If you pay attention to his details you will learn that....PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.....so if you're having ANY problems with your horse go to the experts. MG HORSEMANSHIP.

I have been watching Michael online for about a year through facebook and youtube. I was very excited when he started Team MG and joined right away. He worked through some issues I've been having with my Paso Fino mare and I have greatly benefited from watching the video series on the Team MG website. Gracie and I are making progress and Michael is helping me to understand what I need to do to reach the goals I have for my personal horsemanship and my goals to make Gracie a safe and fun trail partner. His videos build on each other and are easy to understand. I have watched many clinicians, have been a part of other clubs, have a small library of equine instructional videos, and have taken lesson with local trainers. I am a slow learner and often struggle with the "time and feel" I need to have in training Gracie. I keep buying the next video or watching the next session at equine affaire. But with Michael, I am finding his approach easier to understand and take to the barn to apply to my communication with Gracie. I haven't had the opportunity to work one on one with Michael yet. But hope to soon. So, if you're like me and need distant learning, then I highly recommend you joining Team MG.

I learned so much watching Michael at the Southern Equine Expo, I attended clinics in both TN and WA. I am a 65 year old who hasn't ridden since I was a kid. Michael has given me the confidence to ride my adopted mustangs and understand so much more about what horses are thinking and how to check to make sure that the horse and I are on the same page. I wouldn't be riding without having spent time with Michael. He makes horsemanship fun and attainable for all levels of riders and horses.

Michael gave me the confidence to not only ride my horse but to challenge myself and my horse.

I attended a retreat and also a clinic. The retreat was a fantastic experience. We were treated like family and learned a lot. The Clinic was in Michigan and I was only auditing. It was a good learning experience to see what MG did for "green" horses.

Thor, aka Milky, was the very first horse that I trained from birth without any help. When Michael worked with him at the clinic it gave me great confidence that I had, indeed, done a good job. I have let my lack of confidence stop me from moving forward in my dream to be training and changing horses' lives. I live in remote Wyoming where dominance over horses is still the mainstream "cowboy" way. That is not my way with horses and I feel unsupported and ostracized. Keeping a connection with Michael and Team Gascon inspires me to keep pursuing my goals and ambitions.

I was able to see that my horse will not respect me if I don’t have confidence in myself.

I learned so much I don't know where to begin. Michael was fantastic with the riders, the horses and with us auditors giving us much of his time. I returned home ready to reexplore a relationship with a horse I've loved for 12 years!

I have sent 2 National Champion Pasos to Michael for rehabilitation and safety training. It probably saved my life and theirs too. I have been to 2 retreats, 1 clinic, and followed Michael to the Southern Equine Expo in TN two years in a row. Michael's training (both for myself and my horses) has made a world of difference. I am a more knowledgeable rider, and my horses are safe, trusted partners that are unmatched on any trail, any where. The retreats were fun filled, with great food and days of learning experiences, as well as hospitality like no other. Michael and his family care about people and their horses, and safety is their #1 concern, especially when dealing with problem horses. Michael has a very special gift, not only in his horse training abilities, but in making concepts easy to understand for everyone. The money spent on horse training and furthering my own horse knowledge was a bargain! Team MG all the way!

I have been to many clinics over the course of my 50 years of riding horses. I learned more with Michael in 1 session than all those clinics combined. He is clear, simple to understand, and passionate about his work. I was so impressed with his method I bought a Paso from him! I look forward to many years of friendship and many more clinics. Thanks Michael for helping me to communicate better with my horses, and for introducing me to the Paso breed.

Even as just an auditor I was blown away by what could be done following the simple and effective program Michael laid out. Tried what I could at home and got some good results.

The first time a saw MG on facebook I knew I wanted to go see him "live" at least once! Planned en saved up for the clinic and I'm so happy I did!!! The people, the ranch, the horses, everyone and everything was so wonderfull. Micheal was so down to earth, always answering questions and making sure you understood everything and why he did it like that. Even though he was injured he still worked and trained all those horses like it was the first horse. Never slacking or lacking in what he does. I'm so grateful with what he does, helping so many horses and riders reaching their potential. Thank you for an amazing weekend!!