Rebekah Halladay Training

03/10/2025

FROM A PARENT:
One of my friends asked "Why do you pay so much money for your kids to ride horses?" Well I have a confession to make, I don't pay for my kids to ride horses. Personally, I couldn't care less about the horses.

So, if I am not paying for them to ride, what am I paying for?

- I pay for those moments when my kids become so tired they want to quit but don't.

- I pay for those days when my kids come home from school and are "too tired" to go the barn but go anyway.

- I pay for my kids to learn to be disciplined.

- I pay for my kids to learn to take care of their body.

- I pay for my kids to learn to work with others and to be good team mates.

- I pay for my kids to learn to deal with disappointment, when they don't get that score they'd hoped for, but still have to work hard in the grading.

- I pay for my kids to learn to make and accomplish goals.

- I pay for my kids to learn that it takes hours and hours and hours and hours of hard work and practice to create a champion, and that success does not happen overnight.

- I pay for the opportunity my kids have and will have to make life-long friendships.

- I pay so that my kids can be in the arena instead of in front of a screen...
..I could go on but, to be short, I don't pay for horse riding, I pay for the opportunities that horse riding provides my kids with to develop attributes that will serve them well throughout their lives and give them the opportunity to bless the lives of others. From what I have seen so far I think it is a great investment!

03/03/2025

Love this! Completely agree and how I teach students and horses!!

Often with horse training we like to say that less is more, slower is better⁠—and I believe it to be true.

As horseman, we have the great responsibility to really think, not just about what we are doing, but also about why we are doing it. The wrong course of action on our part will have serious consequences for the horse.

Understanding the intentions behind the horse’s action is essential in determining whether to support an action or correct it. It also determines to what degree you should support or correct. This will affect the confidence of the horse either positively or negatively.

One of the biggest misconceptions in the equestrian world is the idea that we train horses.
The reality?
We don’t—we prove to them that they can trust us more than their own instincts.

02/08/2025

Be the lucky one to get this amazing mare! Skor is on the market due to not fault of her own. Unfortunately, life is forcing me to find her a new home.

Skor is beautiful, safe, smart, sane, sound and super sweet. She is around 15.2 hands and is a Summer of 2013 model by the Holsteiner stallion Cory and out of paint mare Mizz Splashy Bars Too.
She can be registered through the American Warmblood Society and am happy to help with the paperwork. Her breeder is a friend of mine and will be glad to put you in touch with her.

Skor’s forte is horse camping and trail riding. She can ride in English or western tack. Her breeder sold her to a friend who liked to ride intoxicated (not what I recommend. LOL) while horse camping/trail riding in the Pacific Northwest. Skor took great care of the lady!

Skor is more like a green horse in the arena. She is a good girl and wants to please, but needs someone who would be patient to show her how to keep a steady rhythm/tempo, straight lines, being on the wall, etc. Someone must have tried to “make” her an arena horse in the past as she was tense just walking around the arena and roots when you pick up the reins for contact. She would be a nice dressage, jumping or 3-day eventer with some time and patience.

Skor has more go than whoa and would be great for someone who wants a horse who is good, but has pep in her step and happy to move forward when asked. She would also be great for energy healings as she has already assisted in a couple sessions.
Maiden mare with silent heats cycles.
NON marish! Loads/unloads, ties, stands, etc. She is a horse and has wiggled, but No buck, rear, bolt, cribbing, and not known for being spooky. Fantastic barefoot hooves.

This mare is special and will only go to a loving, knowledgeable home.
Asking highest of 4 figures. First right of refusal. Located in North Alabama.

More pictures and videos are available on request.

Please contact message or call/text Rebekah at (256) 436-6699 for additional information.

01/31/2025

Horsemanship Lessons!

Have fun loving on and learning about taking care of horses on the ground in a supportive environment!

These lessons are perfect if you:
Don’t have a horse, but have always wanted to learn about horses,
Have a horse, but want to learn more

Learn about:
Ground manners
Grooming
Feeding/nutrition
Basic Saddle fit
Hoof care
Basic first aid
Lunging
Bits
Tack from multiple disciplines
Breeds
And so much more!

Youth Horsemanship Lessons
1st and 3rd Thursdays at 6pm

Adult Horsemanship Lessons
2nd and 4th Thursdays at 6pm

Riding lessons are also available!

Please message Rebekah or call/text 256-436-6699 for additional information.

01/22/2025

💥𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐭?💥

https://www.ruralamericainaction.com/petition/stop-the-horse-protection-act

01/01/2025

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas!!🎄

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15k7k6KR6F/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Good Morning 🎄🎅

12/04/2024

11/22/2024

Be the lucky one to get this amazing mare! Skor is on the market due to not fault of her own. Unfortunately, life is forcing me to find her a new home.

Skor is beautiful, smart, sane, sound and super sweet. She is around 15.2 hands and is a Summer of 2013 model by the Holsteiner stallion Cory and out of paint mare Mizz Splashy Bars Too.
She can be registered through the American Warmblood Society and am happy to help with the paperwork. Her breeder is a friend of mine and will be glad to put you in touch with her.

Skor’s forte is horse camping and trail riding. She can ride in English or western tack. Her breeder sold her to a friend who liked to ride intoxicated (not what I recommend. LOL) while horse camping/trail riding in the Pacific Northwest. Skor took great care of the lady!

Skor is more like a green horse in the arena. She is a good girl and wants to please, but needs someone who would be patient to show her how to keep a steady rhythm/tempo, straight lines, being on the wall, etc. Someone must have tried to “make” her an arena horse in the past as she was tense just walking around the arena and roots when you pick up the reins for contact. She would be a nice dressage, jumping or 3-day eventer with some time and patience.

Skor has more go than whoa and would be great for someone who wants a horse who is good, but has pep in her step and happy to move forward when asked. Loads/unloads, ties, stands, etc. She is a horse and has wiggled, but No buck, rear, bolt, cribbing, and not known for being spooky.

This mare is special and will only go to a loving, knowledgeable home. First right of refusal will be in sale contract. Located in North Alabama.

Please contact message or call/text Rebekah at (256) 436-6699 for additional information.

Picture is of one of my mares that is nearly identical to Skor. I am planning on taking pictures and videos of Skor on Monday.

11/21/2024

Please message me if you are interested in breeding your mare AI to this handsome stud muffin!

10/29/2024

Love this!

08/17/2024

I had someone ask me this week why attendance is one of the factors that affects scheduling.

I thought it was an odd question, because it has a pretty simple answer...open lesson times don't pay bills. So scheduling someone who isn't going to show up regularly isn't a good business decision.

But it really goes deeper than that.

One of the most profound lessons that horses teach us is commitment. Commitment to caring for them, commitment to bettering ourselves, and commitment to setting goals and achieving them.

If you aren't attending the lessons you scheduled (horseback riding or any other sport) regularly, you're missing this point. Your progress will be minimal and you'll end up frustrated.

Holding space for someone who isn't committed to that space will suck the life right out of you. (Read that twice, because it applies every single day of your life). It isn't just a financial drain. It's tough to get excited to teach someone who isn't committed to learning.

So yes, I'm going to schedule riders who are committed to learning and who attend regularly first. Their enthusiasm keeps me going when the day is kicking my butt. They remind me that this purpose is far bigger than just what is happening in the arena.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk. 🤣

08/11/2024

08/07/2024

Imagine a world where dressage scores were awarded for the most ethical performance? The lightest of pressures, the most self-carriage, the least amount of gear, and so on.

As in other sports, many horse-owners, trainers and riders will arrive at a choice between doing something ‘bad’ that may increase their chances of winning, or not doing it and relinquishing the possibility of first place.

It may be a decision about using a gadget or a drug, withholding food or water, or hurting the horse.

The extent to which sport horses are coerced to perform is often the focus of welfare debates. Equitation science will be able to play a vital role in deciding the outcome of these discussions, and, particularly in dressage competition, emergent technology will remove subjectivity from judging and will underpin the development of high-welfare dressage.

The sport of soccer has set an excellent example of how judges’ decisions can be supported by technology (e.g., by introducing goal-line technology to increase objectivity of judges’ decisions when keeping scores).

Equestrian sports that involve judging decisions might be well advised to learn a lesson from the progressiveness of other sports and science may be able to help us value training of any manoeuvre that is dependent on and achieved through lightness of pressure (i.e., attesting to self-carriage and the horse’s self-maintenance of rhythm, straightness and outline).

Equitation Science, 2nd Edition, Andrew McLean, Paul McGreevy, Janne Whinther Christensen & Uta König von Borstel