Equine Connections

I love to train horses.  It is probably my greatest passion.  I believe however that it is very important to teach not only the horse but their owner/rider.  I had a lot of experiences where I would work with a horse and they would be doing really well with me and then the owner would come along and the horse would revert to their old behavior.  I use many natural horsemanship techniques to build relationships with all horses. 

Depending on what an owner wants and what the horse needs we can tailor make a training program to suit both of them.  Sometimes the owner wants to do all the work themselves and just have some coaching and I am all for this provided I feel that everyone is going to be relatively safe (after all there is never a guarantee).  Other times they want me to do the training and then they come for some lessons to learn what the horse has learned.

I don't believe horses want to be in the ring all the time and they need the stimulation of the environment beyond the barnyard.  After I feel that I have reasonable control of the horse we will begin taking walks away from the barn.  Usually in hand at first and then under saddle.  We do short walks back and forth making each one a little longer until the horse is entirely comfortable leaving the barn and his buddy's.

I start all horses in bitless bridles.  I love these bridles.  The horses are so much happier in them.  I tried my first one about seven years ago and have not looked back.  Now all my horses wear them all the time.  The only horse that I own that ever wore a bit is my mustang and only because I didn't know any better.  All that being said horses transition well from bitless bridles into bits so if you want your horse to go in a bit there is no problem.

I've also gotten pretty fussy about saddles.  I really like the Ansur treeless saddles.  I have found that many horses behavior problems are pain related and often that pain is induced by an improperly fitted saddle.  The treeless saddle will fit any horse.  I bought my first one for my mustang mare because she was so wide I couldn't find a saddle she was happy in.  I bought the Ansur just for her.  My first ride in it was 7 miles.  About halfway through the ride I realized my back didn't hurt nor did my butt.  I had always gotten a low grade back ache between my shoulder blades when I rode.  It is an investment for sure but worth every penny.

If you have a horse with some behavioral problems or one that needs to be started from the bottom up give me a call.  I will be happy to talk with you, give you a tour of the farm, give you references and book a stall for you.  Space is limited so the sooner you book the better.