11/21/2025
Harmony Equine Center
19 November 2025, Franktown, Colorado
The Humane Society of Colorado’s Harmony Equine Center, a 168-acre rehabilitation and rehoming facility in Franktown, requested assistance from Elliston Equine Solutions, LLC. Harmony specializes in rehabilitating, refeeding, and rehoming horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules that have been seized by law enforcement, surrendered, or brought in through emergency intake.
At the request of their staff, Martina (2021 U.S. Cavalry National Champion), my “lead”, coordinated a one-day private clinic for the barn manager, primary trainer, and assistant trainer. Jay Hizer (2025 U.S. Cavalry National Champion) volunteered as our driver. I attended as the primary instructor—on crutches with a broken hip—serving as the main “talking piece,” while Martina conducted demonstrations and provided hands-on refinement of feel and timing.
Throughout the day, 20–25 staff members and volunteers observed the clinic.
- Evaluate the horse with the primary trainer and offer corrections using “back to basics” principles (escalation of aid, slow is smooth/smooth is fast, body position, and reading patterns early to make corrections before they happen). Backing a horse up with “hot hands”.
- Demonstrate round-pen techniques: having the horse look to the trainer, rating up and down through gaits, turning both into and away from the fence, keeping the horse mentally guessing, and drawing the horse in to relax.
-Introduce the bit for the first time using a lead rope; explain loose-ring snaffle function, wrinkle philosophy, and how to let a horse pack the bit safely in a round pen.
- Teach signal → feel → action → release principles using loose-ring snaffles, slobber straps, and gag bits; discuss tongue issues and how to prevent the horse from putting its tongue over the bit.
- Reinforce snaffle-bit rules: one rein per side, no two-handed pulling; emphasize safety and clarity for troubled or rehabilitating horses.
- Demonstrate body control with a snaffle: hindquarters, forequarters; reinforce the three rules of training (trainer safe, horse safe, horse better at the end).
- Teach bridle control from the ground: following the bit, shaping a conditioned response to prevent bolting, framing up, maintaining frame during hindquarter disengagement, backing softly, and performing lateral movements.
- Transition to first mount-up safety: reading tension, preventing mental trigger stacking, and positioning for safe acceptance.
- Demonstrate the Friendship Circle with two unfamiliar horses to show proper introduction, space management, and herd-dynamic awareness.
Despite my injury, the clinic was highly productive. Harmony’s trainers and volunteers demonstrated professionalism, humility, and a sincere desire to improve their skills for the benefit of the horses in their care. Working alongside Martina, we delivered clear, practical training rooted in safety, clarity, and classical cavalry–vaquero horsemanship.
It was truly wonderful to work with such awesome, experienced, and talented trainers from this organization. The professionalism, heart, and dedication shown by the Harmony Equine Center staff were evident in every moment of the clinic. Hopefully, in some small way, we were able to add to their already strong foundation of knowledge and help them continue making a difference for the rescue horses in their care.
I’d like to tip my hat to these trainers for being open-minded, receptive, and willing to explore new techniques, reminders, and best practices that I utilize when working with horses. Their humility and desire to learn… despite already being highly skilled… speaks volumes about their commitment to the horses and the mission of this organization.
Thank you for the invitation. We were all honored to be there, and it was a privilege to share the day with such dedicated horsemen and horsewomen. Cheers- Travis
