Skipper

About the Book

"SKIPPER" relates how the trainer emerged from the great depression with a deep love for horses, as well as profound admiration of his father and mother, both of whom were extremely creative in managing devasting difficulties in those very harsh years. Then the book seeks to show how Orion's love for horses moved him to learn some important techniques in horse training.  In this process the author moves from "cheeking the young horse around, swinging up into the saddle, and wearing down either the horse or the rider" to a much more sane method of building understanding of both horse and trainer to such an extent that in his latter years of horse training, the young horse very seldom bucked or stomped around when it was being shod or tube wormed.  Knowing horses and helping them know their trainer makes great horses. This is a basic book on making a well trained cow horse.

About the Author

The author of "SKIPPER" grew up on a ranch in Live Oak County, Texas, where he first started training horses with his father. After returning from service in The Army Air Force in World War II, and entering the United Methodist Ministry, he was frequently asked to train horses for his parishioners and other people near the towns where he served as pastor.

To be near his two daughters, upon retiring from the Southwest Texas Annual Conference, in 1985, he and his wife, Dorothy Lewis, retired in Franklin County, Kansas. He continued training horses and giving riding lessons, as a sideline, in addition to part time work in a couple of churches and operation of a small farm, which he and his wife purchased upon their retirement.  Rev. Lewis continued with this much loved hobby until he was 75 years of age, and loved every day of it.

Skipper was born to Orion's saddle mare in 1977, while Orion was pastor at Smithville, Texas, and this horse was involved in most of the horse training that took place across the years from soon after he was trained as a cow horse. He was outstanding, which this book seeks to portray.

Orion salutes, with true gratefulness, the many trainers, ranchers, and students; far too numerous to mention individually, who have contributed to the enrichment of his hobby across the years.