Most lessons are private unless specific individuals agree to working with other students for various reasons.
Fees
Lessons w/ Riding
- Lessons at our facility using our school horses, 1 hour 30 minutes / $55
- Lessons at our facility using the student’s own horse, 1 hour / $45
Lessons For Groundwork, Work-In-Hand, Lunging (No Riding)
- Lessons at our facility using our school horses, 1 hour / $40
- Lessons at our facility using the student’s horse, 45 minutes / $40
Lessons Off Site / Student’s Horse
- Lessons at student’s facility, 1 hour 15 minutes / $55 (additional driving fee after 20 minutes distance from our facility)
Who-
For students ages 11 through adults. Absolute beginners through solid intermediate level, and anyone wanting to broaden & deepen their foundation skills. For kids 10 and younger see our Pony School program.
What-
Horsemanship 101
These are the skills needed to handle and care for a horse for daily care:
- Ground handling / ground work for daily care activities.
- Grooming.
- Basic body work (for relationship building and body health).
- Tack & equipment use (daily handling gear, riding equipment).
- Basic first aid.
- Basic feeding.
- Anatomy & conformation.
- Ethology / equine learning theory.
- Teaching through an ‘experiment’ mindset, encouraging the student to become an independent self-thinker.
- Self improvement / personal development theories are also discussed as it is applied to human learning, such as “Process before you proceed” and “Think, Act, Check, Then Change”.
Riding
- A general purpose / utilitarian balanced riding position for flat work in the arena, over small obstacles and out in the open on varied terrain.
- Use of the aids (cues / signals) with a focus on ‘form & function / effective & efficient’, biomechanics and relationship building.
- We use balanced general purpose english saddles because they allow the rider to do seating exercises without being restricted by the bars and horn of a western saddle. Compared to a western saddle, english saddles are also generally easier to fit to the horses and the stuffing in the saddle can be frequently adjusted to the horses changing musculature by a saddle fitter. Despite using general purpose english saddles we are not ‘discipline bias’. We work on developing a functional and fit horse and rider for lots of activities.
- Frequent work on the lunge line so the rider has time to develop balance, strength, suppleness and a sense of feel without having to dedicate brain resources to controlling the horse.
- Teaching with a discovery mindset, using a lot of “2 millimeter adjustments”, looking for 1% improvements, and “what if you tried it like this” to encourage the student to actually feel or see how what they do influences the horse.
Work – In – Hand
- Deeper work that focuses on the horse’s responsiveness to our intentions and our awareness of the horse’s physical balance and mental state.
- Work with a cavesson so the handler can see the horse’s physical state to relate it to riding, and to help the horse improve for carrying the weight of a rider.
- Teaching lunging skills so the handler can see the horse’s physical state and how a horse uses his body.
Liberty Work
- How to be with a horse, as a companion, in his / her environment without expectations of the horse performing for ‘us’.
- How to go beyond being merely tolerated by the horse, learning how to develop a blending with a horse similar to a school of fish or a flock of birds.
- Learning how to ask the horse to do things without equipment will help the student develop more sensitivity while using equipment.
When-
Lessons on our school horses at our facility can be set up depending on the teacher and student’s schedules. We do not typically teach on Sundays, or start lessons after 6:30 PM. We can also schedule lessons off property with a students own horses within a 30 minute drive from our facility, or have students haul-in with their own horses.
What Else-
We have a small, fully insulated and enclosed riding arena for year round use. We only cancel lessons due to extreme weather / weather warnings.