LPZ Training

So proud of Scout and her horse.....6 months ago we purchased Pepper for our lesson program. She came to us very underweight and after having her in our barn for a couple days, it appeared she was not only malvourished ,but abused and afraid. Pepper would have a nervous breakdown in any arena, regardless if she was in a rope halter or completely free, never mind someone sitting on her back. So, we asked nothing of Pepper. We just allowed her to be herself and cared for her. Over time, she let us in (particularly Scout) and accepted trail riding and ground work, albeit frenetic. I kept telling Scout that she may never be able to ride Pepper in an arena as her trauma seemed associated with it. But we never gave up hope....we just took what Pepper offered and didn't push for more. Fast forward to now! One month ago Pepper started to let Scout ride her in the arena. The trust Scout built by letting Pepper be who she is and loving her regardless of what she gave to Scout transformed their relationship and now they are jumping together. I can't say enough of how proud I am of both horse and child. The greater lesson is this....allow those you love to be who they are and love them for it. Of course we can be there to help our friends and loved ones push through discomfort or leave a comfort zone, but it's about loving unconditionally. #loveandhorses #jumpinghorse #commitment #unconditionallove

Kiki is back jumping and oh so happy about it! 🐎 In this video Scout does a great job of keeping her eyes up while going over the fence. She allows Kiki to spot her jump and take it in stride. Great job Kiki and Scout!

Management of the gates through trot poles. In this session Laura gradually decreased the width of the trot poles as Maru and Pnut went over them. At first Pnut had to extend out his trot. As the session went on he had to shorten his stride. Maru worked on management of his gait through her seat and half halts. At first a bigger post and encouragement through her legs and seat and by the end a smaller post with half halts. Pnut is one of our more advanced horses and a great jumper. This was Maru's first time on Pnut and they made a great pair - we are excited to see them progress!

It's not always about jumping high! Today @lila_and_laurence and Romo worked on picking up the correct lead after the jump. The exercise was a figure eight where you had to get opposite leads after each jump. At first they struggled getting the left lead after the first jump. Rather than getting frustrated about picking up the wrong lead we discussed what was going wrong. Romo is an amazing horse that won't give you what you want unless you are very clear. We LOVE that about him - nothing comes easy. Laurence was putting too much weight in her left stirrup causing Romo to land more heavily on his left shoulder/leg and would then pick up his right lead. As soon as the weight shifted Romo picked up the left lead after the jump. Though this seems simple this practice at small heights is crucial to overall success. These micro adjustments allow us to jump beautifully at all heights and successfully complete jump rounds. It also allows us to connect with our horse and body creating an even better relationship with our horse based on mutual understanding and respect.

Sometimes our horses need to have our trainers ride them to check them back into doing what we want them to do. Laura has over 30 years of experience riding horses of all disciplines and breeds and can help riders and horses become more confident both in lessons and by training the horse herself. Here we see Laura working with Prince, owned by @cristinakal . Prior to moving to PEC Prince had 2 months off - he had an injury that could have forced him to retire. @cristinakal did a wonderful job of management and Prince is back in full force (and happy about it!) but understandably a little rusty. Georgian Grandes tend to be very wiggly horses that avoid the contact with the reins (they go past vertical). It looks pretty but is the opposite of what we want - we want horses accepting the contact and rounding through their backs. In this training session Laura changed up the bit to see how Prince would react to a simple snaffle - what we ride most of our horses in - and worked on contact and more precise reactions to aids. You can see through this video that at first Prince is avoiding the contact (past the vertical) and by the end he beginning to accept it! He's also marching along at a steady, rhythmic pace listening to Laura's aids and in tune with what she wants. These training sessions are reinforced with a lessons to cary over the training goals.

Laura showing us how to use serpentines and counter bending to help our horses keep contact with our outside rein. Listen 👂closely to hear her tips! Sorry for the bad videography 🎥 - sitting on a horse and taping doesn't work super well! P.S. doesn't she make no stirrups riding look super easy?!?!