Programs

We offer several programs to meet you and your horses needs.

Colt starting includes ~ ground work, desensitization to being touched all over the body, picking up feet, flexing both sides, ground driving,  backing up a few steps, carrying the saddle and rider, mounting and dismounting from both sides.  Colts are direct reined, learn to give to pressure and are taught to stop with one rein.  I like a nice stop and when I sit deep the colts feet should stop moving.  My pet peeve is a horse that moves off while you are mounting, I want them to stand still and be relaxed.

First and foremost is to give the colt a good foundation to work from with some flexing and giving to the bit.  The colt will work off a loose rein in a snaffle bit and will almost be ready for neck reining, however that can get confusing to a young horse learning so much.  Colts learn to work off leg pressure along with direct reining.   I really try to get colts to collect themselves and work off their hindquarters, some catch on and some just do not until later down the road. Colts will receive minimum 30 hours of groundwork and saddle time, most colts get 45 hours of training depending upon weather and time of year.

Colts are taken to the National Forest and worked on trails for 10 - 15 mile minimum rides weekly or 3 to 4 hour rides as their learning and fitness levels improves. 

Colts are worked at walk and a lot of trotting only for the first month of training.  I do get them to lope out a few times and a good full out run so that they can feel the rider movement and not stress out and potentially start bucking when asked to in the futue.  Trotting builds endurance and builds all the muscles. 

Basic training includes ~ Everything under the colt starting plus roll overs.  The colt learns to really sit back and roll over on the hind quarters, collection posture is improved upon and they learn to really work from the rear instead of pulling with front end, half pass, tracking, backing, opening gates and to really learn their lead changes.

I add backing to this catagory due to it being really hard on a colts body.  Backing is not a natural movement, horses will turn or step to the left, right, or spin over on a foot rather than back and some may just jump or try to jump the object.  Just watch a herd move around a pasture (say a group of brood mares or colts-not riding horses), you will hardly ever see one back up as it is not a natural movement for them.  The young horse in training must learn to collect himself for backing and use muscles, ligaments and tendons in a way that is really not designed for this movement.  Futurity horses are generally not ridden past the age of 10 or 12 years as their bodies are shot from too rigerous a workout at too young an age.

Re-conditioning or tune ups includes ~Gound work and being touched all over the body, picking up feet, flexing both sides, teach one rein stop, backing up and miles and miles of National forest, lots of trotting, some loping and walking.  I never take someone's word that their horse is broke unless I have seen them being ridden, even then I go back and reinforce the basics.

Trailer Loading includes ~ teaching the horse to approach a trailer and load confidently and quietly.  Horses are worked in a 2h bp and goose neck open stock.  I want a horse that loads each and every time with no issues. 

Desensitization/spook proofing  includes ~ Ground work, being touched all over the body, picking up feet, flexing both sides, teach one rein stop, work with scary objects (plastic bags, umbrella, things that flap or blow/roll in the wind), noisy items (such as: kids toys, fire crackers, whistles, firearms, 4-wheelers, dirt bikes), object that owner specifies.  We diligently try to teach a horse to spook in place.