Tonna's Training & Coaching

Tonna's Training & Coaching Horse training and client coaching geared towards achieving your goals. World Champions, reserve world champions, and many top finishes.

AQHA, APHA, and Versatility Ranch Horses. Carded POA and ASHA judge. With over 30 years in the horse industry and a Masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, I have a unique approach to assessing and assisting clients with their programs. Coaching is tailored to the students learning style with a focus on process which allows the client to problem solve and apply their skills for confid

ent independent riding. Growing up a trainers kid showing on the breed show circuit and through OHSET, I have trained and shown performance all-around and working horse all-around (Versatility Ranch Horses) horses and rode for a Division 1 school in both IHSA and NCEA.

Baby season is in full swing. The goats are all done: our two Oberhasli does each had a baby boy and a baby girl this mo...
05/14/2024

Baby season is in full swing.
The goats are all done: our two Oberhasli does each had a baby boy and a baby girl this month (all looking for new homes and can be registered)

Calving season started with a nice little steer. We’ve got three more on the way!

We’ve got 2 steers and a heifer calf from last year that could go to new homes as well as a long horn momma.

Last month Sandra Henry & Jason Nagel’s mare, Little Filinic, had a beautiful, strong stud c**t that we are excited to see grow!

Last baby of the season. Picture is at 1 day old. Full corriente bull calf.
08/01/2023

Last baby of the season. Picture is at 1 day old. Full corriente bull calf.

04/28/2023

2023 Ranch Rule Changes

View the recently approved recommendations from the AQHA Ranching Committee, which were approved by the AQHA Executive Committee.

All rules are effective January 1, 2024, unless noted otherwise. See them here: http://www.equinechronicle.com/2023-aqha-ranch-rule-changes/

04/18/2023
04/18/2023

I often have people ask me if I come across any wonderful youth horses when I'm judging or giving lessons. The real answer, is not very often. But... every once in a while I do :)

Friday I rode this lovely, youth and beginner appropriate mare.
12 years old
APHA
4-H, OHSET, WAHSET, Open Show
Flying lead change, haunch, forehand
Lovely and kind.
Located in Oregon
Please contact me for more information.
PM, Text or Call
503-706-8366

04/01/2023

ISO Barn Assistant-Walterville, OR

Independent Contractor needed for stall cleaning and barn chores. Horse experience required. Must be 21 years old and older. PM resume.

Congratulations to Lindsey Sargent on finishing out her second season as a Ranch Rider by placing 3rd in the Nation! So ...
03/29/2023

Congratulations to Lindsey Sargent on finishing out her second season as a Ranch Rider by placing 3rd in the Nation! So proud of you!

Congratulations Lindsey Sargent on finishing out her second season as a Ranch Rider with a 3rd in the Nation! So proud o...
03/29/2023

Congratulations Lindsey Sargent on finishing out her second season as a Ranch Rider with a 3rd in the Nation! So proud of you!

03/14/2023

Coaching needs both grace and truth...

12/25/2022

Grullo AQHA Quarter Horse Filly, Outstanding Ranch Versatility Prospect for Sale - Born Broke in Oregon. DreamHorse.com is the premier horse classifieds site with horses for sale, lease, adoption, and auction, breeding stallions, and more.

12/11/2022

💚💚💚 IMPORTANT WINTER BREAKOUT NOTICE 👇👇👇
🐎🐎🐎 FOR CUTTING, COW HORSE, REINING & RANCH RIDING
👉👉👉 JANUARY 18TH IS A FULL DAY OF CATTLE PRACTICE 👈
📬📬📬 You can sign up by emailing: [email protected] or text to 503-537-9845.
🐴🐴🐴 We have cutting, cow horse, reining and ranch riding.
👉👉👉Paid warm-up times: OQHA January 18 - Arena 1 👈
**OQHA reserves the right to change the block times as necessary.
📬📬📬To reserve a time slot email: [email protected] or
text / call: 503-537-9845. Spaces reserved on first come / first serve.
$25.00 plus cattle fees.
Settle Herd 7:30 am.

12/06/2022

👏👏👏Yaaay! 2023 WSSH Clinic & Show Schedule. 💥May 4th we are hosting an ASHA Judges & PARTICIPANTS Seminar that is open to anyone interested in becoming a certified judge or learning about the rules and classes offered through the show format.

format.

10/11/2022

I know you know what I mean. 😉

No matter what has happened in the past you have learned from it. Trust your growth. 💪 Take the lesson with you… and leave the fear behind.

Every day is a new opportunity for courage, success and solutions.🌞🌱🌳

www.tonyajohnston.com

09/24/2022

Jason Nagel and I had a great day judging the Oregon Association of Mounted Posses “Shodeo!”
We had such a great day we forgot to take pictures 🤦🏻‍♀️

It’s time to get ready for the 2023 show season! With the recent sale of Whizkey’s Cash Bandit, I have 1 open spot on th...
09/24/2022

It’s time to get ready for the 2023 show season! With the recent sale of Whizkey’s Cash Bandit, I have 1 open spot on the show team and a few lesson times available for haul-in lessons.

Experienced working with World Champions, Collegiate Equestrian, Stock Horse Teams, OHSET, and 4H students and horses.

For consideration:Whizkeys Cash Bandit  https://youtu.be/50WwCIlF7xA 2016 15h Sorrel Gelding By Whizkey N Diamonds and o...
09/04/2022

For consideration:
Whizkeys Cash Bandit
https://youtu.be/50WwCIlF7xA
2016 15h Sorrel Gelding
By Whizkey N Diamonds and out of a Big Chex To Cash mare
Location: Springfield, OR

Hiccup is a non-pro dream! Started his career as an NRHA Reiner earning over $5000 and easily made the switch to the ranch classes earning over 25 AQHA points in just a year and a half, placing 1st16 times out of 21 times being shown in the Amateur Rookie Ranch Riding earning a 6th in the Nation in 2021 and currently sitting 2nd in the Nation for 2022.

Hiccup is easy to prepare, he's the same horse each time you ride him, and he has a ton of heart and try. Has been tracking cattle as part of his training to do the VRH All-Around. Rides in the arena and out on the trails with ease. Easy to train on with no bad attitude. This horse is a dream to have in the barn. No vices. Easily clip, even ears, without assistance. Hauls like a champ; jumps right in the trailer and walks/backs out easy.

*Special consideration if he stays in the barn*

Accolades:
NRHA Lifetime Earnings: $5,216.19
AQHA Lifetime points (only shown AQHA since 2021): 27.5 pts
2021 6th in the Nation- Amateur Rookie Ranch Riding
2022 VRH World Show Qualifier
2022 Level 1 Championships-West Amateur Level 1 Ranch Riding- Finalist
2022 2nd in the Nation- Amateur Rookie Ranch Riding *as of August 27, 2022.

Contact:
Tonna Brooks
Tonna's Training & Coaching
[email protected]
979-571-4853

Full-length show videos are available upon request.
Full-Length show record is available upon request.
2020 Reining Video: https://youtu.be/iGkTNwsUEEM with the previous owner under the guidance of Matt McAuslen.

Congratulations Lindsey Paul and Whizkey’s Cash Bandit2021 6th in the Nation Amateur Rookie Ranch Riding2022 Champion of...
08/31/2022

Congratulations Lindsey Paul and Whizkey’s Cash Bandit

2021 6th in the Nation Amateur Rookie Ranch Riding
2022 Champion of Champions Qualifier- Amateur Ranch Riding
2022 2nd in the Nation Amateur Rookie Ranch Riding *as of August 2022



It’s all about being a better horseman!
08/01/2022

It’s all about being a better horseman!

I’ve coached literally thousands of riders all over the world who had hundreds of problems.
All different levels of riders from youth to seniors, green Reiners to aged event Open Champions.
The one truth that has evolved is, “there is not just one way to fix a problem “.
I don’t try to teach methods. I try to teach horsemanship.
It’s only through the desire to continually learn to understand “how” a horse thinks, that will improve your performance!
I see so many riders that get angry when their horse makes a mistake.
Those riders will always struggle to stay successful.
When a horse makes a mistake, smile! It just presented you with another opportunity to show them, no, not like that, like this!
I’ve often said horses are not very intelligent, but they have a VERY long memory.
Be very careful about what memories you put in your equine partner! Strive to see things from your horses point of view!

07/29/2022

Boots and bandages - are we harming our horses as we try to protect them?

Bandaging and booting our horses is becoming more and more popular, especially with the popularity of matchy matchy sets. But are we doing more harm than good? Most people will have come across the articles in magazines and comments from vets saying they are, and yet still they become more and more popular. Why is that? Why do riders still cover their horses in thick fleece bandages or fluffy boots despite the dangers? Tradition I suppose. Wanting to fit in. Or just habit, some will feel like they haven’t finished tacking up if they haven’t put the boots on.

I know this isn’t about dentistry (for which I apologise) but I am a vet first and foremost, and as a dressage rider I am asked why I don’t use bandages all the time. I’ve written about this several times now and no one pays attention, so rather than stating facts and quoting research, I’d like to take you through my journey of discovery, please bear with me. Facts and papers are at the end.

Rewind 12 years and I was in my final year at vet school. Prior to and during vet school I had a horse and we did dressage. I had planned to ODE but this horse pulled every tendon and ligament known to vet kind. He spent more time out of work than in. Each time I would up my game with the latest boots/bandages on the market. From fluffy boots to wraps to sports fetlock boots, fleece bandages to gamgee and cotton to the half fleece/half elastic bandages. I learnt new techniques for better support, figure of 8 bandaging to cradle the fetlock etc etc. I’d been there and done it. My collection was extensive.

Right at the end of vet school I had my rotations. I chose Equine lameness as one of my options. During in this I very vividly remember a wet lab with Dr Renate Weller where she had a skinned horses leg (showing all of the tendons and ligaments) in a machine that mimicked the pressures a horse applies to their limbs. She took us through walk, trot, canter and gallop, loading this leg so we could see the inside workings of the horses leg without the skin. It was fascinating I can tell you, and I very clearly remember thinking about my horse and wondering how on earth we are suppose to support this limb when it undergoes these incredible forces! Half a ton of animal pushing down a tiny spindle of a leg held by tendons barely thicker than my thumb. Craziness!

Fast forward just a few short months and I was a fully qualified vet in the big wide world. I attended my first BEVA Congress and during the break I wandered around the stalls looking at the latest inventions and technologies companies bring to these gatherings. Here I came across a company with the Equestride Boot which caught my eye. Now if you haven’t seen this boot, it’s wonderful and I’ve since used it a few times in rehabbing very severe tendon and ligament injuries with great success. The boot is a carbon fibre boot that stops the fetlock dropping, which stops the tendons and ligaments being fully loaded while they heal. This boot is super strong. You couldn’t ride a horse in it as it is limiting the range of motion so much, but they can move about easily enough at the lower settings to rehab etc. The guy on the stand (I’m afraid I can’t remember his name) showed me their research and in the straight talking Irish way explained the stupidity of expecting a thin piece of material to support a horse. And of course it can’t! Literally no bandage or boot (short of this very expensive carbon fibre rehab boot) is capable of reducing the amount the fetlock drops. Thinking back to Dr Weller’s demonstration, I could very clearly see how ridiculous I had been to ever believe a scrap of material could do anything to reduce or support that pressure.

But the boots/bandages don’t actually cause any harm do they? Surely it’s ok to use them on the off chance they might help and if we look good in the meantime, great! Well, not long after this, research started appearing that got me very worried about my bandage collection. Heat. Anyone that uses bandages and boots will not be surprised to see sweat marks under their bandages/boots after they’ve been removed. They trap a lot of heat. The horses body and legs generate a lot of heat when working. The tendons/ligaments in the leg, along with an increased blood flow generate ALOT of heat. Fleece bandages/boots in particular, hold this heat in the horses leg. Very few boots and virtually no bandages (especially if you use a pad under) allow the legs to breath adequately. This heat is easily enough to kill tendon/ligament cells. Each tendon/ligament is made of thousands and thousands of cells all lined up end on end and side by side in long thin spindles. They stretch and return to their original shape and size like an elastic band, absorbing and redistributing the pressures applied from further up the leg and from the ground impact below. All of these cells must work together as one to do this effectively.

Just a little side step here to explain how tendons/ligaments heal. A tendon/ligament cell can not be replaced like for like. They always heal with scar tissue. This is why reinjury is so much more likely if a tendon/ligament is blown. The fibrous scar tissue doesn’t stretch, it isn’t capable of stretching or absorbing the impact of a horses movement. It will always be a weak spot. In a full blown sprain/strain the whole (or most) of the tendon has been damaged. But this heat injury might just kill a few cells at a time. Those few cells are replaced by fibrous scar tissue, then next time a few more etc etc. Like a rubber band degrading over time the tendon/ligament loses its elasticity and eventually goes snap. Then you’ve fully blown a tendon/ligament. The injury didn’t start to happen at that moment, but that was the final straw. The damage adds up over time, each time thermal necrosis (vet word for cell death) occurs.

So if using boots/bandages can not offer any sort of support, and using them generates heat that slowly damages the tendons/ligaments until they give way. Why use them? Protection. This is the only reason to use boots. To stop the horse brushing, injuring themselves catching a pole or over cross country. But for goodness sake make sure your boots are breathable! If the horse is sweaty under the boot but not above or below, the boot is not breathable enough. And don’t use fleece bandages just because you like the colour. These fleece bandages are the worst at holding heat in the leg, way above the threshold for thermal necrosis to the cells of the tendons and ligaments. If your horse doesn’t need protection, don’t use boots. I haven’t for the last 12 years and *touch wood* I haven’t had a single tendon/ligament injury in any of my horses. I will never go back to boots or especially bandages now. I don’t use them for schooling, lunging, jumping, travelling, turnout, stable, in fact I don’t use them at all. Ever. But I don’t hunt or XC.

I hope you have found my story useful and can make informed decisions on boots and bandaging going forward.

For more information on the Equestride boot and their research into support offered by boots and bandages, visit http://www.equestride.com/ and https://www.equinetendon.com/services/equestride/

The horses leg under the compression machine at the Irish Equine rehabilitation and fitness centre https://fb.watch/cmVMt6-iOJ/ (I highly recommend you watch this incredible video. It clearly shows the amount of force the leg goes through and demonstrates the real purpose of boots)

Other relevant papers-
https://equimanagement.com/.amp/articles/horse-skin-temperature-under-boots-after-exercise
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8f15/0ea480edca142260d01f419f80d2e7e7fb29.pdf
http://www.asbweb.org/conferences/1990s/1998/59/index.html

Edit 1 - I am getting asked about stable wraps very frequently. This post is about riding, the tendons and blood flow create heat which is trapped by bandages/boots during exercise. This doesn’t occur in the stable stood still. If the horse has a strain/sprain resulting in inflammation, then there is an increase in blood flow and there is heat being created. In this situation you should not be bandaging. But if it’s cold and an old horse needs stable wraps to keep the joints warm and improve sluggish blood flow (filled legs) you can use the heat trapping to your advantage. But you need to be careful in summer.

Edit 2 - the other thing I’m being asked about is compression. Compression DOES NOT control inflammation. The inflammation still occurs, but the swelling can not escape the bandages and the increase in internal pressure reduces blood flow, causing ischemic damage. Like laminitis within the hoof. The hoof capsule prevents swelling so the inflammation expands inwards and cuts off the blood supply. This is why laminitis is so painful and difficult to treat. Compression is only useful in the case of leaky vessels, for example reduced blood pressure, reduced movement so the blood isn’t being pumped backup the legs, or osmotic imbalances eg low protein with diarrhoea. In these situations, compression of the legs can encourage blood to return to the vessels and continue circulating.

07/14/2022


The Summer Clinic dates are now posted! Cow Clinics July 2nd and August 27thRanch Trail Clinics July 3rd and August 28th...
06/11/2022

The Summer Clinic dates are now posted!

Cow Clinics July 2nd and August 27th

Ranch Trail Clinics July 3rd and August 28th

Please PM or Text to reserve your space early
979-571-4853

Address

Springfield, OR
97489

Telephone

+19795714853

Website

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