Heart Bar Haven and Equine Services

We had a good day today! Every one is enjoying the weather and after al lost two weeks we have finally been able to make bigger strides in training with some of our more in experienced crew! We also had some of more experienced horses start back and square one the last couple of days just make sure no one forgot what they learned before the cold snap! It was all in all a good day for everyone!

The horses and myself are so happy to be out of the deep freeze! It definitely takes a village to keep things running in those temperatures! Every one was safe and well fed to keep them warm. So happy life is no longer on pause. There will be more updates to come!

It is so so cold! I cant thank the barn staff enough for looking after the horses in this gross weather! Jeff and betty do such an amazing job looking after everyone. I'm also thankful for my amazing clients that are so understanding and are willing to leave thier horses with us knowing that they will be well looked after no matter the conditions. I'm hoping that after the weekend everything will be back to normal temperatures and training will resume! ... If any one has questions please feel free to contact me!

It has been so so cold here the past couple of days so the horses have had it a bit easy. So I figured I would share some progress videos. Along with a few things I like to teach and do before I ride. Many of the horses that come in go on to be kids horses. So I want to be pretty confident in thier ground work before we ever make it to our ridden work.

I have to brag for a moment. Most people know that's not my nature.....BUT! I have the best helper! I got a Christmas card and a gift that nearly had me in tears. Thank you miss your words of kindness mean the world to me.... Once a week miss Sharis comes for work experience through school. She is a very hard worker and learns so fast! She takes every detail and works with it. It makes me so happy to share what I can do and what the horses can do with other people. I am very much missing lessons this year. As it's my favorite part.

I cant say enough about the barn management here at Birchwood. Everyone did such an awesome job looking after the horses during the recent storms. Every one is safe and sound. Well fed and happy. Even through the gross weather! Thanks Jeff and Betty for the awesome teamwork! Makes my job easy and keeps clients and horses at ease!

An update on Bonnie. I was hoping to have her on a walk outside the last couple of days but the weather has decided otherwise. We are to the point of riding. She can do all the obstacles I have given her with.out a worry! I have zero doubt she is going to be a great kids horse!

How old is too old to start a horse? Talking with a client today. We were discussing how a lot of trainers like to start colts. Most of the time no older than 3. I like to start horses at any age.... I find the methods I use have the same results no matter the age or breed. I dont always use the same tools for each horse. Much like people they have personalities that are different. I use tools on a case by case basis. I find it easy to work a sensitive horse that has had no training over a horse that has been handled and can be dull. But I wont turn the handled horse away. It may take I little longer to get there but we will get there. Some people keep horses for various reasons and things dont line up until they are a bit older. I dont mind these horses at all. They all deserve a fair chance. Photo: mom and her 23 year old sweetie bell.

Miss bonnie had a great day with our barn farrier yesterday! She was pretty much perfect! I can't thank cordell enough for the work he does with these training horses. I try to make them as handle able as possible before he gets to trimming them. But they are not always perfect. Having a patient farrier to partner up with to work with these horses really helps sets them up for the best experiences and easy handling later when they go home. It's not just me as a trainer it's also the professionals I work with. From farrier. To barn owner maintenance in the arena. The barn manager that does chores. It really does take a village to get these horses going and I cant thank them enough!

Me and fancy made it to town and back today she did pretty good! Walked most of the way to town. Turned her around and rode back. Next time we ride there and back. We met sleds, quads and vehicles! People were all so nice to stop amd ask if I was ok while I walking. Closer and closer to where we want to be!

Had a great day today. Was very pleased with every ones progress through the month!

My question to you is, how well can you read your horses body . There are many signs of subtlety that we often miss when working with our horses, such as their head level, eyes, tail, leg position and lips.They often progress from subtle to major behavior issues such as bucking, bolting and rearing "bad" horses. Even though horses can't tell us what is going on they can show us! Can you recognize these signs? Would you be interested in learning what your horse is telling you?

This is very much why I believe that a bit does not have to control a horse. A horse controls the horse. When you can put down a solid foundation while training you can achieve some pretty amazing stuff!

This applies to training! Everyday I work with a horse I do not ask for perfection. We work at small things a little bit each day and the learns and grows. A perfect example of this is Mr. Waldo. At the end of 30.days it seems like a lot of small stuff but those small things really turn into the bigger things.