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Starting your Horse
All great structures require a solid foundation to underpin development and it's no different for the horse...
It doesn't matter what discipline you ultimately choose for your horse the foundation is the same; one based on trust, acceptance, respect and understanding. Every horse simply reflects the experiences they've had in their lives, good or bad, so it's important for your horse to have the start it deserves, one that avoids conflict and confusion.
I work to develop a harmonious relationship where the horse learns to relax, yield to pressure, respects space and see's you as a leader in the herd. Like humans every horse progresses at their own pace so the starting process can take a minimum of 4 weeks but this will depend greatly on your horse's acceptance, physical strength, temperament, past experiences and even their breed.
By the time your horse is ready to go home you will have a young horse that is confident, soft, forward moving and balanced. Your young horse will have experienced desensitisation, positive re-enforcement, correct balanced lunging, long reining, moving into small dark and confined spaces along with confidence to be anywhere on our property.
Your horse's ridden experience will give them the confidence to stand quietly for mounting and dis-mounting and to just stand still, walk, trot and canter on both reins with a soft yielding contact. Acceptance of both hand and leg aids in a balanced regular free moving rhythm forms the foundation as well as a soft back up, yield laterally and equiped with a good set of brakes..!!
I prefer to have a young horse come to me that is free of any pain or discomfort so that your horse gets the best possible start and is attentive to this starting process rather than whatever maybe troubling them. Please have your horse's teeth checked by a Veterinarian or qualified Equine Dentist prior to comming to me. Feet trimmed and if shod their rear shoes removed please (this is a safety issue). Also they will need to be in good paddock condition and fully vaccinated against tetanus, strangles and recently wormed.