We start horses with Natural Horsemanship methods. We use a gentle approach.  We are as firm as nessacery but light as possible when training horses. The objective of training should be to end up with a safe, calm dependable horse that will willingly do what we ask it to do, when we ask it to do it.  I believe in establishing a solid foundation on a horse. Like the foundation under a house, solid and correct reining is essential to avoiding riding problems and helps in solving difficulties should they arise.  A solid foundation includes softness in all movements of  a horse.  We start horses from the ground up.  Ground training and round pen work prepares a horse for work under saddle by teaching them to relax and to respond when pressure is applied. The result is a horse that is a willing partner.


 Colt Starting
     Designed to build trust and confidence in the horse, the colt-starting program will allow the horse to overcome the natural flight instinct and to view humans as leaders that can be trusted. The horse will be exposed to the basics of becoming a riding horse and helped to accept these things in as stress free a manner as possible. The horse will develop a foundation of skills that enables him to be comfortable in the human world.  We work with horses for a couple weeks on the ground with ground work and then the rest is mounted work with working on reining and cues.  Some horses may get more riding or less riding depending on how quickly they advance.  We teach horses to be soft and respond to pressure on the ground before mounting.  We ususally pony horses from another horse to get him used to the environment before riding them out. Horses then will be rode through pastures, around cattle, and we take horses on trail rides, through streams, up hills, down hills and everywhere. We try to expose horses to as much as possible. 


By the end of the first month a colt should give good to the rein good in both directions. We use a rope halter or a sidepull for the first few rides, then advance to a snaffle bit as the horse learns to respond to pressure without much resistance. They will back, flex from side to side, and be starting to move off of leg pressure. They should stand to be saddled and mounted, and be desensitized to ropes and other objects. A colt should know how to walk, trot and lope with rider. They have been ridden several times outside. Again this all depending on how the horse learns. Some may not be that far, some may be farther. 



Riding - If you have a horse that needs miles put on it, we can do it for you.  We go on long trail rides, check cattle with them, ride down roads, and just ride around in the pastures. So if you don't have time to ride your horse bring it by and we will do it for you.

Trailer Loading - Your horse can learn to go willingly and trustingly into any trailer without you having to climb in ahead of him, even if he has developed a fear of the trailer due to poor previous handling. Our trailer-loading program can take your horse from resistance and fear to willingness and confidence. Horses that have had bad or frightening experiences can overcome them and return to easy trailer loading.

We don't ride problem horses anymore, just colt starting and some riding.

We will be adding roping to our program someday soon.
 
Check out our pictures page for pictures of training. 
 Pictures