Trained Horses

 Here are the stories of some of the horses we have trained:

Joey is a wild mustang that was adopted as a 3 year old from the Bureau of Land Management.  His owners sent him to me because they wanted a safe horse that anybody could ride. 

When Joey arrived, he had several problems that needed to be resolved. First, he was difficult to load. Second, he did not respond to the lunge whip. (His owners had used it to desensitize him when they first got him, so it no longer was a good training aid.) Third, he was terrified of the hose. (At the mustang auction, they used a hose to chase the horses.) Fourth, he was terrified of people on horse back. Fifth, he would not move under saddle. Sixth...

Once we overcame these problems, Joey became one of the best horses I have ever worked with. Within 6 months, I had him under saddle at the walk, trot, and canter. I even started trail riding him past dogs, motocycles, and heavy traffic. 

Currently, his owners are very happy with him. He is  bomb proof and safe for anyone to ride including beginners and children.

Harmony:

For the first  two years of  her life,  Harmony was left on several acres with her herd. The people who owned Harmony did very little with her, and although she was imprinted at birth, they did not handle her. When I bought her, she did not lead, load, or tie. She had never had her feet seen to by the farrier, and she was practically wild. For the last year, I have done basic training with Harmony, and she has made wonderful progress. She will now load straight into the trailer, go to horse shows, and she  also trail rides safely by herself.  Currently, we have started jumping small crossbars.

 Minx:

 Minx is a purebred black Thoroughbred. Before i started working with her, she had some basic training at the walk and trot. To start with, we did extensive flatwork and basic dressage work. We also introduced her to trail riding, which she was excellant at. At that point, I started her over fences, and introduced her to horse shows. Unfortunately, Minx had anhydrosis, and did not sweat, so it was difficult to work her in the heat. 

At that point, her owner made the decision to breed her, and she has a beautiful baby boy named Riley.

Magic:

Magic was a gaited paint saddlebred. His first time owners did not know how to handle him even though he was well trained. They asked me to work with him after he had kicked someone in the head, resulting in a huge hospital bill, and about 76 stitches. 

Upon working with Magic, it was evident that he was extremely well trained. He lunged perfectly, and he was well behaved under saddle. The only reason he acted up was because he felt like he was dominant over his owners, since they did not know how to handle him.

Unfortunately, although i stongly encouraged his owners to get riding lessons or work with their horse, they were unwilling to spend the money.  I can only hope that Magic ends up with a better home in the future.

Bellagio:

Bellagio, also known as biscuit (after seabiscuit) is a  registered American Warmblood. I started working with Bellagio about the day after he was born. His mother, a large Quarter Horse came down with a severe uterine infection, and needed to be closely watched for at least 72 hours. During those long hours, I spent a lot of time just peting Bellagio, and practiced picking up his tiny little feet.

For the next year, I worked on teaching him to walk on the lead  and have good ground manners. I also helped introduce him to trail riding by taking him on long walks down the street.

I recently heard that Bellagio is being trained in upper level Dressage, and now has a new home.

Gus:

Gus was a grey percheron cross. He was badly abused by his previous owners and he had been severely beaten with a whip. He was very nervous about being ridden. Even the slightest shift of weight in the saddle could make him jump forward. It was impossible to touch him behind the saddle without him flinching.

With a lot of work Gus became a  really nice, calm horse. He was well behaved on trail rides and did not spook. He also was well behaved around other horses, and was a nice jumper. 

Unfortunately, a young girl bought Gus even though he was way to big for her, and even though he was not ready to be a child's horse since he had only a few months of training.  

At the beginning, it seemed like it was going to work out ok. The girl  adored Gus, and liked to take him trail riding. However, she started riding bareback, and taking short gallops on the trail. Even though Gus was generally well behaved, he was still young and inexperieced.

Then one day, Gus spooked on the trail while she was riding bareback, and galloped all the way back to the barn. Although his owner did not fall off, she became terrifed of Gus, and started treating him roughly. Shortly after that, she sold him.

The last time i saw Gus, he was like a different horse. He had retreated back into the scared, aggressive horse he had once been.

Since then, I have tried to relocate him so that I could buy him back, but have been without success. Within a two year period I tracked him as he went through seven different homes. At last I finally lost track of him. I just hope that eventually he will end up with a good home and with people who understand him.