Keith, better known as Doc, grew up on his family’s farm nestled in the northeast corner of Nebraska. The Schumachers had a menagerie of animals, raising chickens, pigs and beef and dairy cattle with plenty of horses, cats and dogs thrown into the mix. Doc always enjoyed being around the animals, especially the family’s horses.
When he was 6 years old, he remembers a veterinarian coming out to the farm and as he watched him work on the animals, he decided he wanted to be a vet when he grew up. For the past 30 odd years, Doc has run a veterinarian practice with nine other partners in Howells. Along with the practice, he and his family raise horses and team rope, spending their summers at rodeos and jackpots.
Since discovering Downunder Horsemanship when Clinton came to the United States back in the late 1990s, the Method has played a key role in Doc’s horsemanship. “I was interested in what Clinton was doing because he explained his training process in an easy-to-understand manner. When I applied those principles to the horses I was working with, I’d get results,” Doc says.
Although he found success with the Method, an issue kept creeping up. “I could never seem to get my horses to the same level that Clinton got his,” Doc says. So when he was able to work it out with his family and his partners to attend the Academy, it was an experience checked off his bucket list. “Now, I can see why my horses didn’t act exactly like Clinton’s did. There’s always a little bit more information that can’t be explained on the videos,” Doc says.
As a Method Ambassador, Doc enjoys sharing his horsemanship skills and knowledge of the Method with horse owners. “I look forward to teaching small clinics and helping people who are having trouble with their horses. I’d really like to offer help to 4-H kids and get them off to the best start with their horses,” he says.