McCall Horsemanship

03/24/2025

Not the weekend we were hoping for but happy it’s show season!

03/12/2025

Are you getting trained with your horse?
So often, we hear, “they were good at first” or “their training didn’t hold up.” This can be hard to hear, but it takes a trainer to maintain training. That is why at McCall horsemanship we like to train you with your horse. While it’s unrealistic for everyone to become a professional, it’s always possible to improve.

Fortunately there are a few routes to take.
keep your horse in training.
Become more educated so that you can maintain the training- this is harder and a lot more time consuming than it may seem.
Work with horses that have been in training for a really long time.

No matter which option you choose, you will have to overcome some challenges, but it will at the very least encourage you to build a better relationship with your horse.

03/10/2025

📣 New Clinic Dates Announced 📣

McCall Horsemanship is excited to have Barb Gerbitz back at Honey Bridge Ranch for another great Horsemanship Clinic.

Barb has worked with many of our HorsePower horses and their owners over the years and we look forward to our new equine friends getting to attend this clinic!

Event details can be found below - spots fill up QUICK, so be sure to secure yours today! Auditors are welcome for a small fee.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BdGa4dSm6/

02/23/2025

This has been a hard decision to make but Ivy is for sale to the perfect home. She has been on my back burner for too long and it’s not fair to her because she loves to come out so much.

Ivy is a 2017, quarter horse, mare, 16.1 hh

Ivy does require maintenance; Hock Injections, SI injections and Chiro to keep her riding sound walk trott lope. Ivy sat for 2 years and had her baby. She makes an amazing mom! Takes care of her baby but is not over protective. Her baby is a blue roan 2023 foal. Under saddle Ivy is little behind due to time off and figuring out her health issues. But as long as you stay up to date on her maintenance she is good to go. She will start to hop in her lope if she is due for SI injections. Her body cannot hold up for hard work but will be perfect for someone wanting to love on her, go on trail and casually ride in the arena.

Selling as a light riding horse, broodmare or liberty horse.  Ivy stands for vet and farrier. Needs an advanced rider to keep her tuned up. Could be the perfect mom and daughter horse. Ivy can get pushy and will match people’s energy. She doesn’t do well being yanked around or manhandled. She loves kiddos and will take care of them always. At the therapeutic riding program she is my choice of horse for low functioning students to handle on the ground.

She lives in a herd and is in the middle of pecking order.

She is priced accordingly but just because she’s cheap does not mean you will be saving money*

Liberty video
https://youtu.be/2j_cC-3GvEo?si=TcFRfPXU2-II8SyH

Riding video
https://youtu.be/X5Bsn4Zkmqg?si=gsb1w4vCsbA3gIHy

Short lining video
https://youtu.be/LPlWgcPzUmY?si=LqR1iWO3FUo6zvEh

Located in St Charles IL

02/19/2025

Super cool example…

02/10/2025

*****^^Date Change

May 31 and june 1

There are a few spots still open!

Join us for another amazing horsemanship clinic. The clinic will run from 9-4 with an hour lunch break each day. There will be a mix ground work and ridden work. Barb works to develop the potential between horse and rider. No matter the next step in your horsemanship, Barb can help you out.

02/05/2025

Join us for another amazing horsemanship clinic. The clinic will run from 9-4 with an hour lunch break each day. There will be a mix ground work and ridden work. Barb works to develop the potential between horse and rider. No matter the next step in your horsemanship, Barb can help you out.

01/26/2025

We are proud to be apart of this special place that changes lives every day. We are lucky to get to train out of Honey Bridge Ranch and partner with HorsePower Therapeutic Riding as their equine managers.

01/12/2025

•Every teacher should have a teacher•

Jess and I have had the privilege of having some great mentors and learning under some amazing horsemen and women. Thank you to all who have shared their knowledge with us and helped us to do right by the horse.

We will forever be students as everyone and every horse has something to teach.

We are very excited for the upcoming year as we are getting clinics scheduled with some of our mentors!

01/06/2025

Happy Monday!

We’re ready for another great week of playing in our sandbox.

01/01/2025

McCall Horsemanship is accepting clients for the spring and summer.

You can expect to work with us to cater your horse’s training to your goals. Whether you are looking for starting, problem fixing, or refining, we can help take your horse to the next step. In training, you will receive one lesson a week to keep up with your horse’s progress. We prioritize the human’s education along with the horse’s and want to work with you throughout the whole process.

We have studied under a mix of talented performance horse and natural horsemanship trainers. Our goal is to take the best of both and make strong all around horses. We specialize in c**t starting and ranch riding, but have experience in other disciplines English and western as well.

Located at Honey Bridge Ranch in St. Charles IL

Please pm us for more information.

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas 🎁

Wish you and your family a safe and happy holidays.

11/28/2024

We feel so fortunate and blessed to be able to play in our sandbox everyday.

Thank you to everyone who trusts us with their education and their horse’s education.

Happy thanksgiving🍁🦃

11/27/2024

Trailer practice for the youngster!

Trailering is a common thing that horses and owners struggle with. We try to make the trailer somewhere they want to be by using their curiosity to our advantage and making it a great place once they are in. We do not normally bribe horses, but if we can teach the horses that they get to relax and eat food in the trailer we absolutely will do that.

11/14/2024

•When they react that’s when mistakes happen•

Reactive is acting before they think.
Responsive is thinking before they act.

11/07/2024

Nailed it.

THE LESSON HORSE…

When I was facilitating equine therapy for inmates in a correctional facility, I started to question… how do we utilize horses in therapy, without exploiting them?

I saw my fair share of equine therapy sessions where the horse’s well-being - physical, mental, emotional - was disregarded, because facilitators were fixated on sticking to a scripted lesson.

But really, the lesson participants were learning was, it’s ok to disregard another being while trying to fulfill our own emotional needs.

So I completely deconstructed my own sessions to be horse-centric, because I believe the best lesson for a human participant, is showing up for the horse.

I believe the same philosophy should be applied to lesson horses.

If we prioritize the lesson for the student, we risk disregarding the horse, and teaching the student the wrong lesson.

If we prioritize the lesson for the horse, it’s always going to be the right lesson for the student.

When we show up as our best selves, to serve the horse, to empower them be their best selves, we both ascend…