Lessons and coaching

Groundwork

Whether you and your horse are struggling with the basics or want to work towards better obedience, balance and self carriage, I can help! I use positive reinforcement and pressure release techniques to improve communication, obedience, connection and natural self carriage in your horse. Here are some examples of things we can work on:

Haltering. Does your horse avoid the halter or eagerly stick his nose in the halter ready to work with his favorite person? I can help!
Foot lifting: Do you have to pinch your horse's leg and push her body around to get her to lift her feet? Does she paw and lean on you? I can help!
Leading and standing still: Does your horse push you around when you are leading, wander off and eat grass, or fidget and dance when you need them to stand still? I can help!
Turn on the forehand/haunches, lateral movements on the ground: Lateral movements help your horse engage her core and move in better balance. I can help you develop these skills on the ground to improve your horse's core and how he performs these under saddle.
Lunging, long reins and long lines: Do you need to start your horse lunging? Does your horse race around on the lunge like a bat out of hell? I can help. Does your horse lunge well and you want to get him started on the long reins or long lines? I can help.
Proficiency at the four basic responses: Does your horse just need a tune up or better confidence in a variety of settings? I can help you using the basic responses that every horse has: varieties of going forward, backward and sideways. Using principles of equitation from the International Society of Equitation Science and Purdue University Equitation Science curriculum, I can help you refine your horses' basic responses to improve confidence and proficiency in a variety of settings.

Riding

I have been a student of rider biomechanics taught by Mary Wanless. This approach worked for me and it might work for you if:

You struggle with a horse who puts his nose in the air.
No matter how much "contact" you put in the reins, the result is only increased tension.
You struggle to find "harmony" in the saddle.
You just don't feel like your body can do what instructors are asking you to do.

Let me provide an introduction to rider biomechanics for the untalented, and physically awkward rider to see if this way of thinking about rider biomechanics could work for you like it has for me.

Fun Stuff

I can help you step away from the training grind and have fun with your horse. Teach your horse to:

play with a ball
stand on a block
step into a hula hoop
stand at the mounting block

Whether you need a second set of eyes, coaching help to train your horse, or you want me to do the training and show you what your horse has learned, contact me today to see how we can work together to solve your groundwork and riding challenges!

Lessons and coaching

Groundwork

Riding

Fun Stuff

Let's Talk