Horses tell on them selves

     Horses are honest creatures. They will tell you when their about to act up and if your paying attention they will even tell you where. Foxie for instance is a good one for bowing her neck right where she is thinking about trying to quit on me. Over the last month or so she quit but if I miss a couple of days in a row, she doesn't seem to feel that she needs to go back to work.
     When I'm giving a lesson to a new student I almost always start off with lunging the horse,because first and for most it's a great way to see what the horse's mood is before you start and second the bast way to show someone the body language and movement of a horse is on the ground where they can see it for them selves.
     For reasons I don't understand the importance of ground work has gotten lost. For every discipline I've even have been involved  in grown work like long line, and lunging are always the foundation to a good start to building a good working communication with your horse. not to mention it's a great way to learn your horses tells.
     As for lessons I've found it makes it easier and quicker for the student to learn how to read a horse.

puppies

Alright I admit it, there is no reason for me to write this post outside I think these puppies are the cutest things ever! Enjoy.

Foxie

Back to Foxie. As in my earlier post about this mare she needs some work, however I do see a lot potential in her for improvement. The best direction for her seems to be dressage. she likes the routines and dose well with arena work.
She is an older horse (13 years old now) and retraining dose take longer when you start with a horse that is older and has had nothing done with her.

First step is working on her frame and build up her top-line as well as getting her use to indiscipline. she has a good mind on her but it's still slow work.
As I continue to work with her I'll be adding more up dates about her.

a 'free' horse

Every once you  get that offer to take a free horse. Now if you own a horse you know nothing about horses are free. however, every once in a while one comes a long that could do something for you. As it so happens this one is a cremello Quarter horse stud.

A few things to consider before taking on a free horse let a lone a stud.

A) Can I afford another horse? this means unforeseeable things like that late night vet call. where to keep the horse is another, after all I'm talking about a stallion here. just turning him out with the herd is a bad idea.

B) how long will it take to get this horse going? In this case I'm looking at about a year because he has never had anything done with him and he's five now.

C) what will the long term cost be? true he is a nicely put together horse even with a stud that you can keep booked through breeding season. you have to look at showing expenses (to get their name out there.) Promoting, and advertising expenses. Remember this is a business after all. If you have horses you know that it is complete myth that you can make money off them. your doing great if you just brake even at the end of the year.

So back to my main point there is no such that as a free horse.

full board and training

I started giving lessons and training saddlebreds at the age fourteen. After graduating I took a job under Gorge Knight unable to reconcile how saddlebreds are trained with the my love for horses I quit looking for a more natural breed. Finding Frisians I took a job at Walnut Way farms in Kentucky working under Morris Curr. For six years working as assistant trainer learning to drive multiples and ride and train classical dressage.

I believe that any training method that requires gimmicks or tricks is inherently flawed.
I believe the best way to train a horse is listen to the horse. If that horse does not naturally take to jumping you can not train it into them.

Training people I find it much the same way. Go to their level. do not assume that they can feel a beat in a trot. It is my job to break the process down to the point they can start to feel it instead of just assuming that sooner or later they will get it. That approach to me is both frustrating and dangerous. I also believe in teaching the whole horse. there is far more to them then just hopping up and riding. If you are going to ride a horse you should know how to deal with them on the ground as well as what to look for before throwing your self up on a back of a flight animal that out weighs the average person by eight hundred pounds. 

With this in mind I am opening up two stalls for full board and training. This offer is a first come first serve bases.

 For full board and training it is $350. per month. this includes; daily turn out, feed and hay 2x daily plus hay at night, worked 5 times per week (depending on the horse!) and a program designed around the horses and owners needs.

up dates are given to your horses progress, and you will be given the truth! I've worked at too many barns were the trainer tells the owner what they think they want to hear.
if interested please call (254) 679- 1135 

Lady's and gentlemen this is Smoky. He belonged to an old man that could no long make it out to take care of him.

And this is the proud flesh that was growing on Smoky's neck that had gone untreated for about a year.

This is were it stands today. My plan with him is to try him on Barrels. I will keep putting up post to see how he is doing.

You have to love Morgans!

If anyone has Morgans you'll know what I'm talking about! They are a great breed but they have their quarks, one of them is their stubbornness. My little mare is just four and normally I hold her up as an example as what a horse could be.
However, being a Morgan, she is prone to her moods. I pulled her out of the field for a little ride out back to watch the sun go down. however she had other things in mind to do and none of it had anything with doing what I wanted. She wouldn't go forward, she wouldn't back and little girl refused to even bend her head.
So at this point you have only a couple of options;

A) loose your temper and blow up at the horse. (If you have Morgans you already know this wouldn't get you anywhere with them

B) put her back and wait for another day

C) Try and find something positive to do.

I went with C and with in a couple of minutes ( less the 30 ) I had taught her to bow. Not that I had intention in doing that but she is great at it!