Cowboyin’ is in Kerry Kuhn’s pedigree and that means being horseback is just about his favorite place on God’s green earth.

And Kerry would likely tell you it’s even better atop a well-trained horse.

These days, after faith and family, Kuhn’s life revolves around helping horses and the folks who ride them. His Practical Horsemanship approach has reached out to thousands of equine enthusiasts and made him a go-to guy when it comes to taking the horse-rider relationship to the next level.

Kuhn, who will share his expertise at HorseFest—March 12, 13 and 14 at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds in Springfield, Mo.—encourages horsemen to look a little closer when working with their mounts.

“I want people to focus on the part of the horse they can’t see,” the Coats, Kan., trainer and clinician says. “What I’m after is frame of mind. If you can use the physical side of the horse to gain access to the mental side, once you’ve opened that up, you have much more control physically.

“It’s a building process where you convince your horse you’re worthy of his trust. Most of the trouble people have with their horses comes from a lack of communication—good, accurate communication. What we try to do is get horse and rider headed in the same direction.”

Kuhn emphasizes that no two horsemen or horsewomen begin in the same place but he suggests that every time they work with their horses, they should strive to gain better access to the animal’s mind.

“Sometimes the biggest thing that stands between a rider and his or her horse is that the person thinks they’re smarter than the horse,” Kuhn observes. “That’s just not the case.

“The Good Lord designed a horse so that he focuses on so many little things. He’s extremely intelligent but he doesn’t think like a person. You have to understand that and use it to communicate with him.”

Kuhn grew up around horses. His father, Earl Kuhn, is a well-known Western artist and Kerry’s grandfather, Dale Lukens, was the quintessential old-time cowboy.

“Granddad looked after a lot of cattle and I went to the pasture with him whenever I could,” Kerry recalls. “I guess that’s when the Lord put the desire in me to work with horses. I learned a lot from Granddad and from a lot of other people and I do my best to keep learning.

“What I offer people is a simple approach I’ve developed by learning what works and what doesn’t, when to push and when to back off—a balanced approach. There’s no magic to it but it’s effective. It starts with realizing that there’s a lot more to the horse than what you can see.”

Kuhn and his wife, Misti, have two sons—Kaury and Kolt—and another on the way. In addition to raising and training horses on their south central Kansas ranch, Kuhn has traveled the country sharing Practical Horsemanship.

From 2006 to 2008, he was the horsemanship expert for “Best of America by Horseback” which airs on RFD-TV. That show took him to just about every corner of the nation and introduced him to all kinds of horses and all kinds of horse people.

“I grew up with Western-type horses but I’ve had the chance to work with horses of all breeds and just about every discipline,” Kuhn says. “Yeah, there are differences in breeds but whether you’re a trail rider with an Arabian or a barrel racer with a Paint, the most important thing you can do is to open up the door to that horse’s mind.

“We’re focused on Western events with our horses but the concepts will benefit any discipline.”

Practical Horsemanship has been built and honed over the past 22 years. Kuhn is doing more activities at his ranch these days but he still loves to get out to clinics and work with horse enthusiasts like himself.

Additionally, he’s getting ready to begin production on a new set of DVDs aimed at conveying his Practical Horsemanship techniques.

Area horsemen and horsewomen will have the opportunity to meet Kuhn in person at HorseFest and learn more about Practical Horsemanship in clinics each day of the event.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Kuhn says. “We love sharing what we’ve learned and showing people how much more is possible when you and your horse are both headed in the same direction.”

More information about practical horsemanship is available at www.kerrykuhn.com. For more about Kuhn’s clinics at HorseFest, as well as the many other happenings at this year’s event, log onto www.horsefest.net, contact Farm Talk at 620-421-9450 or the Ozark Empire Fair at 417-833-2660