Ian Leighton is a professional horseman, a 1964 vintage, married to Liz, and lives in south eastern Tasmania, Australia. He has worked professionally in rural, agricultural and equine industries for much of his life.
During his childhood, Ian enjoyed competitive mounted game days and like many rural kids spent countless hours roaming the local districts on horseback. In his early teens, he had the opportunity to watch and learn from neighbouring horse trainers, starting his own horses and developing his early skills.
Over the years, as a young(er) man he competed in rodeo events, and spent time working in regional and remote areas doing stock/station work including cattle mustering.
He gained extensive experience starting young horses for performance, pleasure & racing, consulted to breeding studs halter starting and handling young stock, and drove horses in harness (owned a wagon & Clydesdale-x pair).
For over a decade, Ian professionally specialised in young & problem horses, in starting, progressive development and remedial retraining.
During his life, Ian, has worked with and been taught by horsemen and horse people from many and varying parts of the industry from old time stockmen, rodeo competitors, horsemen specialising in heavy harness horses, working horses, and even racehorses to well-known clinicians and competitors from many differing backgrounds and genres.
Ian believes that what he has learned from this exposure has been a gift and that what he learned from largely unknown people in the pre-internet days is of as much importance to him as what he has learned from the modern-day professionals.
Ian will show the same interest in what a classical trainer has to offer as that of a natural aficionado.
Ian has a thorough knowledge of horsemanship, equine care and husbandry, training techniques and instructs riders of varying abilities and disciplines across Australia. For the past 20 years, he has successfully conducted clinics and lessons Australia wide, having gained sufficient and broad experience to confidently and clearly convey his teaching philosophies and training methodologies to a wide range of students across many disciplines and diverse abilities.
Ian does not specialise in any “one type of horsemanship” or method but takes what he has learned from his exposure to many and varied ideas. His experience with thousands of horses and horse people enables him to deliver a philosophy and style that is adaptable enough to suit the circumstances arising from a horse’s current view on life and a rider’s ability, experience and ambitions.
“All riders should learn to help a horse be soft, relaxed and at ease with their work and environment. That is Horsemanship.”
