Searching for your next trail partner?
Sound... Sane... Broke... Well-Gaited... Cheap... pick 3!
Our thoughts: Quality should always outweigh "budget". You want a trail horse for life, not a trail horse that will go lame in a year... that doesn't gait smooth, easily, or consistently... or that you'll have to spend thousands on to have trained. You're better off saving for the horse you want than buying 2-3 horses cheaper, pouring money, feed, and care into them. Just to realize they weren't as advertised, are lame, or just are not compatible with you, your riding style, or riding expectations, and want to sell him/her... Then sit and wish you had purchased the more expensive one, that was perfectly matched to you, and got it over with.
Not all training is created equal... and not all sellers are honest!
Bonnie prides herself in her knack for matching the horse to the rider. Riding styles, levels, and interests are all different. She works to put you on a horse that will meet all the criteria that fit with YOUR style, level of experience, and matches everything YOU want in your next horse. Bonnie is known for her upmost honesty and full disclosure with all of her sale horses. If that horse has a quark or flaw of any kind, you WILL know about it. We ask that our buyers be just as honest back. We are looking to make friends and get you on your perfect horse, not just make a sale. She will help YOU get to know the horse and link up with that horse before you take him/her home. You are shown/taught all of his/her buttons, understand his/her gait and how to achieve/maintain it if needed, and tips and tricks we use here at the farm. Down the road, if you have ANY problems with that horse, she encourages you to NEVER be afraid to call. Questions and Concerns are ALWAYS welcome and never overlooked. She will do her best to walk you through any issue you may have, or give you any bit of info that might be helpful in a situation. During your visit we encourage questions. No question is a bad question.
Our Training
Our training begins at young ages. Our horses learn all of their groundwork as they grow. Halter training, tying, leading, flexing their necks to both sides, yielding hind and front quarters, backing, and desensitizing are all done BEFORE a saddle touches their back. Once they become of age (3-5yrs old depending on development and maturity, we will NEVER start a horse as a 2 year old) they are LIGHTLY started under saddle. When we say lightly we mean ridden/worked with maybe twice a week, maximum. During this time they are not pushed to gait, primarily asked to just walk, turn, back, and learn the basics of leg cues and mounting in the first few rides. From there we will take them out of the round pen and into a larger pasture to do the same exercises. Next we move out to the on-property trail system (easier style trails - but great for training!), again, practicing the same exercises. Once they are comfortable on the trails (some go a lot quicker than others) we allow them to gait if they want to and begin to teach them to ride front, back, middle, way behind, or way out in front. We start gait work if they require it, and start slowly introducing them to longer rides under saddle (some can handle more than others, if you listen to the horse and it's body language, you'll know when they've had enough for the day). From there we add perfections and finishing touches to each horse and their handling, and take them off the farm to experience some more complicated trails. Our whole process takes roughly 4-6 months depending on the horse, it's age, and it's abilities.
We have been to a lot of Rocky barns. Met a lot of great people... But we can't say we have met many that share our absolute love for riding on the more "rustic" trails. Cow paths, single horse lanes, down trees/logs, crossing water, mud, rock, and steep hills are our favorite type of riding! We go out riding every chance we get! Our sale horses are ridden ON THE TRAILS regularly and are often ridden by multiple people throughout the course of their training. We see a HUGE difference between the horses we brought home and trained or finished training on, compared to our born, raised, and trained stock! Training can truly make or break a horse. Once a horse is trained to do something, or gets away with something at a young age/early in their riding.. it sticks.. and becomes a quark that you may never get rid of. Bonnie prides herself in her training abilities with her horses. Each horse it trained according to its own personal needs and requirements (not all horses ride, train, handle the same. Some require different methods and approaches to achieve the same results). Our horses are never asked to step higher than what their natural gait is. Some will gain speed and or lift over time, but we do not push for it. We only ask for a steady, consistent, comfortable gait!
When You Visit
When visiting, you should expect to spend the entire day looking at horses (if not 2), riding, and learning more about the horse and it's history with us. Expect to go out into the pastures/paddocks and interact with the horses, catch them, lead them up, tie them, brush them, watch us saddle them, and then go for a ride. The vast majority of our horses can be/have been ridden up from pasture in a halter and lead, but, we do not want visitors doing this for safety reasons. Miranda and Bonnie will willingly jump on just about anyone ba****ck in the pasture if asked. Safety is our #1 concern, so we do require all riders to wear a helmet (if you do not have one, one will be provided for you), and Bonnie will ride the horse you are inquiring on BEFORE you ride it. Again, this is a safety thing, you don’t know the horse. We would never jump on some one else’s horses without seeing them ride it first, we do not expect you to. If you are inquiring on one horse, and Bonnie thinks a different horse would be a better fit, expect to be shown/ride that horse as well.
Additional Note: We only deal with our horses. We have a lot of horses and only have time for our own. We apologize and hate that we even have to bring it up, but, we do NOT want to look at an outside horse for you just because it is cheaper than the one you inquired on from us. I will say it once and a million times over... a quality equine that is literally matched to YOUR riding style and expectations, from an HONEST seller... is worth every penny. YES there are some great, cheap, SOUND horses out there. BUT they are like diamonds in the rough. You best know what you’re doing when looking at them or you WILL get burned. And if you’re asking us what we think of a horse, I’m sorry, but you don’t know what you’re doing. Apologies that it had to be said so bluntly but it is the truth. If it is a horse that was previously owned by us, or born on the farm, that is a different story and we will do what we can to get you info on history and whatnot. But please... no questions on outside horses. Thank You!
Quality Rocky Mountain Horses of all ages. Standing our hand picked breeding stock
