Tri-State Neighbor: South Dakota Farm Newspaper

E.J. Karp can't remember the first horse he rode - he says he was too young to remember.

A ranch boy from Owanka, S.D., he says his passion for working with horses began about the same time - he's loved working with them for as long as he can remember.

“I always liked horses - it's the one thing I always wanted to do was ride. It was my thing, just riding and being able to work with horses always seemed to come easy to me,” said Karp, 22, who is pursuing a bachelor's degree in equine studies at National American University.

It didn't surprise Karp's family or neighbors when he chose to work with horses as a career. His natural talent for working with horses is well known amongst the ranchers who live on the western South Dakota Plains in and around Meade County.

“E.J. is a neighbor boy. He has had a way with horses since he was a little boy. He could take a colt and do things with that horse that I didn't think you could do,” said Mel Anderson, 71, a horseman who ranches north of Wasta, S.D. “He made friends with them and bonded with them so easily - not just colts - all animals.”

The summer between his freshman and sophomore years of college, Anderson asked Karp to ride 25 horses for him.

“He has a great deal of respect and character. He's not one of those guys that goes out and drinks all night - he takes his job seriously. He keeps his tack clean, keeps the horses clean and did a good job with the horses,” said Anderson, who has trained more than 300 horses in his lifetime. “I was impressed with him. He has an awful lot of natural ability.”

The art of horse training

Dean Johnson, Karp's equine instructor at National American University (NAU) says that one of the traits that make Karp a good horseman is his patience and ability to listen to the horse that he is training.

“He is very level-headed. He thinks things though before he initiates. He lets the horse tell him what needs to happen next,” said Johnson, a professional horseman certified with the American Quarter Horse Association and National Reining Horse Association.

When training a horse to ride, Karp says there is no magic formula.

“Every horse is so different. You really have to understand that you cannot do the same thing every day with the same horse. Every horse needs something different,” said Karp, who trained his first horse, a bay mare, as a freshman in high school. “You can read a lot by watching their eyes and ears - if they are scared or if they are wanting to be friendly.”

Johnson and Karp both say that gaining the horse's trust is key to successfully training a horse.

“They have to understand that you aren't going to hurt them. They are a prey animal so they are cautious of everything,” Karp said.

He often starts out his training session in a round pen with the horse “sacking them,” or flapping a piece of fabric around their legs, back and head. He does this until the horse gets used to being touched and realizes that he is not going to hurt them.

Johnson says you can't rush the process of gaining the horse's trust - or any step of the training process for that matter.

“E.J. is good at working with horses because he's not an overly aggressive rider. He waits for the horse to respond to what he's asking for. He uses his knowledge to mold the horse instead of forcing the horse,” said Johnson, who also owns and operates Dry Well Ranch Performance Horses, Vale, S.D., a horse training and consulting operation.

Karp's ability to communicate with horses that he works with during his equine labs at NAU led Eudell Larsen, the rough stock rodeo coach for the NAU rodeo team and equine facility manager, to suggest that Karp train some horses for his parents.

“In my position I get to observe students as they work with horses during their daily labs. He is confident but not overly aggressive with a horse. He knows the right time to discipline a horse and when to reward a horse,” Larsen said. “He can take an unbroke colt and turn it into a trusted horse in just a few days.”

Larsen's parents own and operate XJBar Quarter Horses north of New Underwood, S.D. They were happy with their son's suggestion.

“He is gentle and asks what he thinks he can ask of them - then he quits,” Luvene Larsen said.

She adds that knowing when not to push a horse is very important.

“If you push them too hard you basically blow their mind. They get flustered then they get mad and you've lost all the work you've done - and they don't forget it,” she said.

When he graduates from NAU, Karp hopes to work for a cutting horse or reining horse trainer. He was recently selected to represent NAU in a trainers challenge March 9 during the Black Hills Horse Expo, held in Rapid City, S.D. During the challenge, Karp and two other trainers were given two hours to work with an untrained horse, train it and ride it through an obstacle course.

“Working with horses is rewarding. It's fun learning their different personalities and watching them learn” Karp said.

This story does not contain many details on the NAU equine studies program due to a March 17 announcement made by the NAU board of directors. They announced that they will be discontinuing the equine studies program at NAU. The program is scheduled to officially close in 2011, after all the current students have graduated. The board also announced March 17, in a mandatory meeting with students and faculty that it will discontinue the rodeo team and volleyball team as well.