McCall Horsemanship

09/15/2024

•Tools in your tool box•

For our training program it is important to keep as many tools in our tool box as possible. For us this means to watch and learn as many techniques as possible, but most importantly to not over use any tools. A tool can be considered any thing from your legs to your bit or a dressage whip. If you do not stay effective with these tools it is easy for your tools to become “dull”. In most cases it is much hard to sharpen your tools than to use them with caution and keep them sharp.

08/28/2024

•How available is your horse•
While there is something to say for natural athleticism and papers; I’ve also found horses are capable of more than we think. We have had several situations where people (including us) think a horse isn’t capable of something. I like to think about watching them in turn out or in a herd. If they can do it out there they are more than capable of doing it under saddle and it is up to us to convince them that they can. Most of the time horse can do things fast or better than they offer, but they try to convince us they can’t. In order to make sure I’m bring out the most potential in my horses possible I like to see how available they are by asking for things randomly and expecting them to do it quickly with out me setting them up. If they can do this at all speed any time than you’re horse is available. If they can not than challenge your horse to be more available.

08/27/2024

Successful ILRHA show this weekend. We feel super proud of how all the horses came out and tried their hardest.

08/26/2024

08/20/2024

“Work hard, stay consistent and be patient, nothing happens over night.”

If you apply this to your horsemanship you have everthing you need to succeed.

08/19/2024

We feel blessed every day that we get to teach horses and humans to communicate better:)

08/04/2024

•Choosing the right horse•

Finding the perfect horse is such an exciting prospect, but there are a lot of things to consider before jumping into it. The first thing to note is that you get what you pay for. Soundness, youth, and training are expensive. In order to get a “deal” you are typically sacrificing one of those things.

The most common mistake we see for green/newer riders is sacrificing training to get a better price. Training takes time and resources. A good rule of thumb is your education and your horses should work on a sliding scale. If you are green (working on balancing, walk/trot/canter, learning to ask for maneuvers) then you should be riding a very broke horse. An intermediate rider can begin to work with more intermediate horses.
Our biggest tip is to find someone with a lot of horse knowledge to consult and help you find the perfect fit.

07/31/2024

•Supporting people in the horse world•

Nearly everyone in the horse world has been judged for one reason or another. It can be easy to fall into a trap of judging others especially when the stakes are a horse’s well being, but as horseman we have the opportunity to constantly seek to bring people up. Every discipline that I have studied has its pitfalls and strengths. When you take a step back from it all, there are so many opportunities to learn from the people around you and share what you’ve learned.

No matter where you are at, if you continue your education, you will look back someday and be amazed by your growth, so it’s important to remember that everyone starts somewhere.

07/28/2024

•Put your horse first•

This is a topic I am always emphasizing to horse owners, students, and instructors. Honestly most of the time it is inconvenient to out the horse first. It means spending extra money, putting in more time, skipping riding some days, loosing money because the lesson is not a good fit etc. The blessing and the curse of horses is that they cannot speak to us, so it is our job to make sure we are listening and advocating for them. Horses need brain breaks, they need days off, they need play time, and they need to be out of a stall. Our inconvenience means our horses happiness.

07/18/2024

Daisy is back on the market.
This post is going to break some hearts around the barn.
We had posted her about a year ago but something fell through on our end. Unfortunately I lost all of the contact or people who were previously interest, so if we have talk before PLEASE reach out again!

Daisy is a 19yr old draft cross. About 17hh.

She is a dream to be around. She has amazing ground manners and is a blast under saddle. She is always ready to go as soon as you’ll let her. Truly is the most handy and fun big horse I’ve ever ridden. Daisy has tendon issues so she is only trail sound. She will get sore if she is ridden more than 2x a week and can’t be worked hard. She would benefit from equinox but is not currently on it. she loves to work and come out.
We will be extremely picky about her home. Please reach out for more information.

07/15/2024

HorsePower Volunteers: Don't forget to RSVP to July's HorsePower Hour hosted by Jessica and Karly McCall - our Equine Managers from McCall Horsemanship!

They will be conducting a hands-on demonstration and practice focusing on the HorsePower Way: Proper Tack Fitting and Placements.

We look forward to focusing on rope & paddock halters, saddles, pads and girth fittings and how to make sure our equine partners are comfortable for long-term success:

Be sure to check the Volunteer Portal for more details for July & August HorsePower Hours!

07/12/2024

Little tip to keep your horse safe tying.

07/10/2024

Thank you Jaton Lord Performance horses for another amazing clinic! We had some fun and learned a lot with a great group of people.

Thank you Sue once again for the amazing photos.

07/05/2024

The Jaton Lord clinic starts tomorrow at 9-4! We will have a pot luck on Saturday for lunch. All auditors and participants are invited to join. It is $25 a day to audit. You will just pay Karly when you see her. Please bring your own chair. If you have any questions text Karly 630-818-0122.

07/04/2024

Celebrating strength, sacrifice, service, and spirit!

07/02/2024

PRICE DROP

Beau is a 2021 15.2hh black gelding.
He has just as much personality as he does looks. Beau would love to be your personal dog and follow you around everywhere. He is goofy but has all the try in the world. Beau can go absolutely any direction. He’s a pretty enough mover for the dressage pen and sturdy enough for the roping pen. He will truly make someone an amazing horse. Ride him in or out. Beau would excel having a job weather he’s and eventer or a ranch horse. Pm if you are interested.

Located in St. Charles IL
Best for advanced rider or intermediate under a trainer.
6,5🥕🥕 obo

https://youtu.be/RZHGBfhZcv0?feature=shared

06/30/2024

WRHA June show was a success. Super proud of how our horses handled it for the first show of the season!

06/29/2024

Jess and I are going to start posting some short videos on different topics that we see a lot or get asked about a lot.

Today is fly spray Friday

06/01/2024

We are only a month away and have a handful of spots left. Please reach out if you are interested in participating. It is a super friendly and welcoming learning environment.

We are super excited to have Jaton Lord back for another clinic at Honey Bridge Ranch July 6&7. Jaton is an accomplished showman and trainer in the cow horse industry. Jaton studied under Ray Hunt and Annie Reynolds. Being Ray Hunts grandson has given Jaton a unique perspective on training performance horses. Jaton trains by trying to put horses in suecessful situations. He works to bridge the gap between horsemanship and performance horses. His clinic will cover horsemanship, rein work, flag work and cattle work. Please reach out if you are interested.

05/31/2024

•let the horse teach you•

Often we hear, “my horse is bad at backing or my horse can’t do (blank).” The truth is most of the time it is the human’s fault. Once you begin to train/ride enough horses you will know what horses feel like yours. It is beautiful and an art but also telling. Horses are the first ones to let you know when you have an area in need of fixing or refining. Your struggles are reflected in the horse you create. It is humbling and difficult to swallow at times, but the best thing you can do is learn from your horse and decide to continue learning on your training journey. Karly and I base our success on the horses that we create, and no matter how long we are training, our goal will always be to improve our process, communication, and connection.

05/28/2024

Let us remember all of our heroes ❤️🤍💙

05/19/2024

•Fill their confidence tanks•

My first mentor Dale McCerall used to say one of your fundamental jobs as a trainer is to fill your horses’ confidence tanks. Since Karly and I have begun working with more and more people, we’ve found that one of the best ways that we can help is by instilling confidence in our students. The quickest way to build up a horse’s confidence is by giving them a confident and worthy human to follow.

05/15/2024

This weekend we had Barb Gerbitz out for a clinic at Honey Bridge Ranch. Everyone learned so much and really enjoyed it. Thank you Barb for sharing your knowledge with all of us.

Once again thank you Susan Jaeger for these amazing pictures.

05/14/2024

First, first ride of the summer and first, first ride in the new round pen🤩 
This a Jessica’s personal horse ”One Roan Jewels” aka Koozie. We’re super excited to see what her future holds.

Thank you Barb Gerbitz for your support and guidance.

05/06/2024

📣It’s time to grab your tickets to Rockin' at the Ranch, June 15th from 4-8PM 📣

Join us for our annual night out to raise funds for HorsePower Therapeutic Riding!

Enjoy relaxing to great music, fun games, delicious food and drinks, while visiting all of our animals at our home at Honey Bridge Ranch 💙

Advanced sale tickets and event information can be found at:
https://horsepower.ticketleap.com/rockin-at-the-ranch-2024/

04/01/2024

•When your horse is scared, try not to make it a big deal.•

We try to teach our horses to look to us for the answer when they are scared. Horses are prey animals that are conditioned to respond accordingly, so they feel the need to act when they feel afraid. We try to give scared horses something to do with their feet to help them calm their mind. Eventually, the horses will start to seek out their rider for guidance.

When humans apply excess pressure during a scary situation, it can increase the horses anxiety and fear rather than teaching them to work through it.