Collective Horse Training

09/16/2024

Took the ponies out for a mini hike this past weekend! My non horse friend did great with Miss Taka! Both horses started out uppy but they did eventually settle. Can't wait to get them out more!

07/09/2024

Been a long road to this moment. Both ponies took a trip over to Julie's for a visit and a little work time. I was amazed they loaded as easily as they did and hope it can be a consistent thing. They need to start getting out more!

06/28/2024

Julie Steorts will be teaching this 2 day course. If you have interest in the Masterson Method and want hands on training, this is for you!

04/20/2024

Minna and I went on an adventure with the greenies! Had a great time at the friends of the equestrian skills course poker 5k! They have some fun obstacles for anyone to check out! Both horses did GREAT on their first adventure out and about.

03/14/2024

Wow! Lucky for me the horses were hiding behind the shed and were easy to get into their pens! Shout out to all the people that have to care for animals today. Be safe out there today!

01/11/2024

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

01/11/2024

This was a good watch.

The 24 Behaviors of the Ridden Horse in Pain is a film that dares to challenge the way we look at "badly behaving" horses, and promotes the notion that lamen...

12/25/2023

Marey Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! I wish you all the bestest day!

11/23/2023

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

09/26/2023

Anyone looking for a cat?
This young cat showed up at my house but Miss Thing wants her dead, so she needs to find a safe place. She is now fixed and has shots. Loves attention, good hunter, is a climber. Would be fine as indoor/outdoor, currently living outside but has been inside. One hundred $.

07/14/2023

Riding a horse is easy.
Training a horse is easy.

Both of those statements are true. It's easy to get on a horse and ride around, just the same, it's easy to train a horse to react to cues.
Riding and training well, with the specific intent of benefiting the horse both physically and mentally, building longevity through thoughtful, ethical and biomechanically sound methods is what is difficult. Made even harder by the fact that many have not seen or felt a correctly moving horse during their riding lifetime, or had coaches with the knowledge/skills/desire to create better horses through developing better riders.

A lack of qualified individuals, along with the time pressures of competition and just human ego push horses beyond their limits too fast and quickly revert to the use of harsher tools and methods to "tame" the "naughty, spiteful horse" and bully them into submission.
As an industry, the focus has shifted away from correct to flashy with little to no consideration on the physical impact of these hypermobile horses. When riding is no longer looked at as an art, as a lifelong journey, then it only makes sense that the degradation of the standards in what we consider correct riding cause the gradual decline of the industry, with it being most prominent in the show and training rings.

We, as an entire community, need to begin looking at riding as beyond simply sitting on a horse and making it do what we ask. Instead of only focusing on the horse moving off cues, we must look at the quality of movement offered, both from ourselves as riders, and our horses. A horse can move off the leg in many way - heavily onto the forehand, rushing, collapsing into the next gait, falling into the next gait, or stepping beneath himself in full balance and self carriage.

The same can be said for a horse responding to a turning aid - they can fall in with their shoulder, fall out with the shoulder, fall out with the hind, overbent at the neck, tilt their head and be crooked, rush/fall through the turn, become heavy in the hands, slow down and be incapable of maintaining an even pace, counter bending, or they can have the correct flexion and bend with correct balance and self carriage.
Even halting - the horse can come up above the bit while hollowing the back, they can curl behind the bit and evade contact, they can run through contact, lean heavily into the hands with mouth agape, come to an eventual halt all disunited, or they can have energy into the downwards transition which allows them to stop in a balanced manner without falling, leaning or avoiding the bit.
The quality of movement is a direct result of the quality of riding and the ability to FEEL your horse. You cannot feel anything if you're holding the reins with a vice grip, with tension running though your whole body. Also, you cannot feel your horse if you have no rein contact at all.

One of the many components of correct riding is to be able to have a conversation with your horse through your hands, to feel what they say and be able to respond without sharp movements, "yelling" with the aids or imbalance.

This skill isn't taught as widely as it should be, and many riders simply don't seek to learn it, not realizing that they do themselves and their horses a disservice. Riding, for the most part, simply means sitting on a horse and telling it what to do.

Having a partnership with your horse, with two way communication is what we must all strive for, for the sake of our horses, and the sake of the future of this industry and community.

There is no deadline for correct riding, no time limit when you need to start by. It's not too late. But, before jumping head first into new methods on riding or working with your horse, first learn to train your eye to see what is and isn't quality movement, relaxation and willingness.

07/03/2023

FINALLY got this horse on a mattress! She has by far been one of the most challenging horses to get a foot on the mattress. Guess she said screw it, look at me go!

01/01/2023

Got 2 of the horses hopefully safe from run outs and Gracie has a partially, hopefully break proof, side. Many thanks to Lani for helping me put the way too heavy gate up!

12/25/2022

I was working Miss Taka today, and the thought hit me. Why do we do what we do? We work with these 1000 lbs creatures, that could kill us easily if they wanted to. We challenge them as much as they challenge us, however it may be. We put our heart and souls into them, they make us, they break us, and yet we go right back to them because we are the horse insane people that we are.

Anyway, I was super excited to do xmas pictures this year but today turned out rather eventful. The neighbors alpaca came over for a visit and ALL the horses went through fences and forgot they had any piece of a brain. So instead of a beat up horse picture, you all get Miss Thing, with a bow that she tried to eat off.

I hope you all have a better holiday weekend than me, a VERY MARE-Y CHRISTMAS and happy holidays!

11/24/2022

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope you are all feasting down and were able to spend time with your horses.
It is a time to be thankful and give thanks, and I want to thank all the people that have entrusted me with their horses, either training, riding or shareboarding, you all have given me great opportunities and learning experiences. BIG thanks to all the people who have instructed me throughout my life, and helped me pursue my horse passion, taught me better ways to do things and expaned my knowledge however it may be. And those that have been there as the most helpful friends through all of it. Thank you all!

11/12/2022

It finally happened! I got an opportunity I could not say no to. I now have my dream of horse property! Collective Horse Training has its very own place! A HUGE heartfelt thanks to Regan and Andy for this opportunity! The horses are moved in and we are figuring out a routine. When time allows, an outdoor arena is on its way! Then maybe, one day, an indoor! 😆

10/17/2022

The roan rangers added another horse among the group! And yes, she is roany as well!

09/10/2022

It saddens me to do this, but I am listing Miss Taka for rehome.
Miss Taka is a 15h titled 5 y/o mustang mare from Spruce-Pequop HMA. Has a walk, trot, canter. The canter is still a work in progress. Has lateral work (leg yield, turn on haunches/forehand), halt and back. Is started in dressage but will best suited as a pleasure horse for someone that knows how to ride and can help her balance. She may work well as a trail horse or with obstacles. She does have more whoa than go, but is NOT a deadhead. She is a super honest horse that has extensive groundwork, does w/t liberty work, longlines, and been ridden over some obstacles. She will take advantage of a beginner and someone with less confidence. She does need a patience yet firm hand as she is rather persistent in what she wants to do. She does better physically when she has a constant work routine, and has lots of turn out. She has good feet, is good with farriers, vet, chiro, massage, she ties, and is an easy keeper. She does have the tendency to lose her legs, but does better with balance and work. I will be picky as to where she goes, fiveK negotiable. Please message for any further information. Located in Fountain, CO.

Liberty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz4q9-3iGFs
Ride
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhYZmIbPVrw
Obstacles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu1902jChwk

09/09/2022

Miss Taka has her first off property adventure today! And alone! She did AWESOME! She was alert when we hit tall weeds on both sides of the trail, but that was about it. We had one freak out at a sign, but she figured it out really fast and had no issues after that.

09/06/2022

Bahhahah! We did it! Michele offered me a ride to get Gracie and offered a ride back! I tried to get Gracie to lead behind a truck a long time, and it was a no go. I did have to encourage her to keep up a few times (you know, actually having to walk is hard) but she did it pretty easily.

07/31/2022

Derp alert, Miss Taka wanted some music.

07/17/2022

Took Miss Taka for her first ponying experience yesterday! Big thanks to Michele for letting ride her horse Duke! Miss Taka did well, we did have some moments where I had to drag her and Michele had to push from behind as she didn't want to move. Will pry have to try this again with her elsewhere on the property.

06/28/2022

Zyanya got tortured with pool noodles today. I need to rig this up better to stay on. She has gone way back since her injury and is super flinchy and reactive to just about everything. So today she had to work with things on her side! Maybe there will be a day theres things hanging off the noodles...... oh the possibilities.....

06/02/2022

And the winner of the pool noodle obstacle was Miss Taka! She was the only one I closed it enogh to touch her. She did care about it, but wasn't dramatic. The other 2 rushed through the wide enough opening, with Gracie being the most dramatic. They will get there, till I lay the posts down......