Mctavish Horsemanship

05/03/2025

05/03/2025

Cracking day for it!

28/02/2025

Back in Waikuku now, starting horses and giving lessons - get in touch 😉

26/02/2025

Righto folks - so in desperate need of some portable yards to hire around Timaru, halter breaking a young c**t so he can leave the property.
Worked with him yesterday and he now has a halter on which is about as far as I can take him safely without some sort of yard, he’s a little sensitive chap.
SOS 🐴

24/02/2025

And now I am off for a few more days, I don't have time to go as far as some of the booking's sorry 😆 but if your between Timaru and Christchurch and need some help with anything equine - drop me a line, I'm home again by Saturday morning and will then have horses coming here for starting/restarting.
HOWEVER - mid April I will be doing another big loop including a potential clinic in the Wakatipu area.

24/02/2025

The end of the session, leading, backing up and good to trim - cheers little buddy, see you next time!

24/02/2025

24/02/2025

24/02/2025

24/02/2025

18/02/2025

Well half way through the trip 👏
I’ve done plenty of foal handling this trip, and have heard some really positive things regarding a friend’s buisness which is always nice!
I know Andrea offers several services but im hearing about her Artificial insemination work, that’s a tough thing to get right - its really cool when I’m working with a youngster and hearing the story behind each one and out comes the story about ‘tried everything then went to Andrea and here we are!’ When I’m in Nelson I base myself at Belagrove and I see how things roll here, I help out if required and so on but this place is very meticulous.
As a small business we often rely on word of mouth as our best advertisement, I also think that hard work and putting out a consistent product leads to growth, it’s nice to see a friends buisness thriving - the horse industry isn’t an easy one 😅
BellaGrove Equine

09/02/2025

Top of the South - here I come!

I am planning a trip as per the pic and I am looking to leave this Friday 14th.

After week or so recharging from the film job I have caught up on jobs around home, kicked off training again, rode dirt bikes with Wade and horse’s with Flynn and also planned a wee itinerary which runs a bit like this -
This week I have a couple of loading jobs and a lesson or 2 locally (let me know if anyone else needs a hand) will also service the bike and get her ready for the adventure.

Heading away on Friday I will head through Molesworth to Seddon and work around to the West Coast over the next 7 - 10 days depending on bookings.
Home for a week to play and power up.
Then Friday 28th I saddle up and ride south - usually I go Tekapo, Central then Otago - another 7 - 10 days again depending on bookings and the kindness of strangers.
On return I will be starting a round of horses beginning with a couple of flash Xbred horses that belong to a friend of mine, Ive handled these 2 since purchase as weanlings so I am excited that we are finally at that point together, will also have a rather large WB gelding from Ranfurly way up for a couple of weeks work, I handled him maybe a year back on another trip and got him over a few silly habits, this time I will teach him to load onto the owners horse truck in preparation for coming up and and learning how to be a good citizen.

Ive had some really great booking so far for this trip, re visiting old clients and their horses is always super rewarding, horses, people, me - we all develop together and Ive made some proper friends on these trips, Ive got a young c**t to start and a potential ‘film horse clinic’ on the cards down Wakatipu.

Anyway - back to this ’top of the south’ trip on Friday, I have enough bookings to make the trip worth while but these things prove to be fairly organic.. please send me a msg on this page to make a booking.
This post is likely to be shared around so for those of you that I haven’t met this is what goes on during these trips -
Make a booking and I come to your place or wheresoever you choose and work with you on any issues you may be having, loading, halter training, handling young horses, bad for the farrier, horsemanship lessons, difficult horses, groundwork, whatever really - Im pretty fun, knowledgeable and easy to talk to.

I travel pretty light on my bike, and you know what? Most of the gear is clothes, camping stuff and motorcycle equipment, I’m not coming there to pit myself against the horse in some form of confrontation, what I am coming there to do is to truely listen to that horse and see where the way forward is, because there is always a way forward - often its just that, if that horse is worried then it needs to be able to go forward, not up and down, not backwards or sideways..built the confidence to got forward.
Whatever the issue or reason for me being there I know that there will be 2 points that the horse will offer me, the horse will at some point want to swap breath with me and the horse will also present a time to be still together, they are trying to feel me just as I am trying to feel of them, years ago I read in a Tom Dorrance book about this, kinda reaching and and trying to feel their soul and next thing they reach back, try it sometime.

06/02/2025

Soooo, now I need to rejoin the real world!
Its been a while 😆
What's the call people - take in some horses to start? Ive got a few horses up and going after the film so could do some lessons or rides with them? pretty keen to do a road trip around the south if there's demand? how's all the Hackamore people going after Jeffs visit?

06/02/2025

Film stuff

14/12/2024

Hello everyone!
I am currently working on a Netflix show and looking to hire a horse truck for January!
I have a good rate and milage deal, so if you have a 5 horse truck with living available please msg me 🙂
Correction - I’m now also looking for a 4 horse truck 🙏

31/10/2024

The glamour of being a horseman..

20/10/2024

Hi all, well I am back home at Waikuku beach after some time away working on two film productions - a large overseas show as well as a NZ funded film(now wrapped), there's 2-3 weeks spare now before I go up to Auckland and go back to working the large production as we get closer to shooting.
So while Im around I would like to run some horsemanship lessons, its that time of year when the horses are brought back into work and for some horses that can be a bit of a process itself, or new horse purchased - its time to get out there doing it!

Last week I went out and gave a groundwork lesson to a new rider/horse combo, the lesson went really well with the horse being big, athletic and blessed with a lovely disposition so we figured the next best step would be to accompany me on one of my horses out on a ride at the Waikuku forest park so we met here at my place on Saturday morning.
After a short round pen session we led the horses down the beach road to the park and had a really good ride through some trails, the new pair soon got the feel of each other with me and my horse there to lend support when needed, we had a peek down on the beach but there was a lot of people with dogs out so we figured discretion to be the better part of valour and turned for home, as we rode through the horse float/car park we to to talking with a lady who was new to the area and wanted to know where she could ride her horse - small world!
My advice to Emma after our ride was to return in the morning and repeat the ride we just did unaccompanied, she was a little hesitant but I assured her that her fine horse 'had her back' and the ride would be a great success, which she happily reported to me afterwards that this was indeed the case!
Now Ive know this lady for many years and she has had some TOUGH horses, she's hasn't come through completely unscathed but lord has she gained some tools to put in her toolbox! I think that this is the right horse at the right time and thats a beautiful thing which I intend to take great pleasure in watching over the years to come.
Anyway.. Im not much of a one for doing group clinics but a few lessons over the next couple of weeks could be good thing for some of you reading this - Im very good at what I do and would love to help you out.
Im also available for my usual travelling horseman thing, loading, handling, groundwork, problem solving, all that good stuff..
So flick me a msg if any of this struck a chord 🙂