Swartz Performance Horses

  • Home
  • Swartz Performance Horses

Swartz Performance Horses Educating today for better horsemen tomorrow.
(4)

16/08/2024

Construction for the new arena has finally started! Stay tuned for progress!!

We are back! Life has been a little crazy, but I got to ride for the first time in over 5 months. Huge thank you to Meag...
06/07/2024

We are back!

Life has been a little crazy, but I got to ride for the first time in over 5 months. Huge thank you to Meagan Brockhoff over at Rafter B Ranch. She did awesome bringing Oakley back to work for me.

We had yet another great Saturday full of trial lessons. We really look forward to potentially putting new students on t...
15/04/2024

We had yet another great Saturday full of trial lessons. We really look forward to potentially putting new students on the schedule for July! 😊

Shoutout to our amazing helper and dedicated lesson student, Kaitlyn!

⭐️Don’t forget, all students who like and give us a 5 star review will be entered to win a free t-shirt or 1 free lesson! ⭐️

April special:
Book your spot in April and save $20 for a package of four 30-minute lessons. All four lessons must be prepaid for the month for the special. If you would like to take advantage of the special and reserve a spot for our lesson program in July, all lessons will need to be paid by May 1st for the April special via cash, check, or Venmo.

It’s a beautiful day to be riding horses! Our students are enjoying the day learning to ride. Don’t forget, all students...
06/04/2024

It’s a beautiful day to be riding horses! Our students are enjoying the day learning to ride.

Don’t forget, all students who like and give us a 5 star review will be entered to win a free t-shirt or 1 free lesson!

April special:
Book your spot in April and save $20 for a package of four 30-minute lessons. All four lessons must be prepaid for the month for the special. If you would like to take advantage of the special and reserve a spot for our lesson program in July, all lessons will need to be paid by May 1st for the April special via cash, check, or Venmo.

Special thanks to Jek Sako for letting us use Woody today!😊

We couldn’t be happier with the quality and craftsmanship of this new custom Truth Saddlery saddle. 🤩 (Excuse Oakley loo...
28/03/2024

We couldn’t be happier with the quality and craftsmanship of this new custom Truth Saddlery saddle. 🤩 (Excuse Oakley looking a little rough. 😂)

We are honored to support another business that spreads the gospel and can’t wait to see it in the show pen later this year. Go check them out!

Smoky did a great job this evening teaching horsemanship skills. Not many people are willing to start at the bottom and ...
27/02/2024

Smoky did a great job this evening teaching horsemanship skills.

Not many people are willing to start at the bottom and truly learn. We love encouraging the enthusiasm in young students who start right. 😊

Another great night, another great lesson! 😊
22/02/2024

Another great night, another great lesson! 😊

Busy day ended with a couple great lessons! Such gorgeous weather too. 😌☀️
21/02/2024

Busy day ended with a couple great lessons! Such gorgeous weather too. 😌☀️

12/02/2024

As I drive through these gates to go to work this morning I am reminded of why I show up.
I show up not because of any success I’ve had, I show up because I want to overcome my failures.
I want to find my weakness and look him in the eyes. That weakness is me.
Excuses are so easy to pass around when we refuse to face the problem. If I don’t face them my Horses and my family pay the price.

I show up for my students and mentors so I can share with others of what I have overcome.

May you show up today with Passion Determination Love and Faith.

Total Feeds, Inc.
Priefert
Triangle C Ranch
StableComfort
Pinecone Shavings
Kiser Ranch Development
American Hat Company
Olsen Equine CJF
Signature Equine Hospital
Zoetis Equine

Much needed day outside in warmer weather. ☀️😎We are gearing up for another busy spring!
30/01/2024

Much needed day outside in warmer weather. ☀️😎

We are gearing up for another busy spring!

Oakley is learning all sorts of new things this week. ✅ Hobble training.✅ Standing hobbled while I’m riding another hors...
25/08/2023

Oakley is learning all sorts of new things this week.

✅ Hobble training.
✅ Standing hobbled while I’m riding another horse.
✅ 11th ride today.
✅ Riding in the big arena.

We couldn’t agree more.
22/08/2023

We couldn’t agree more.

817 likes, 16 comments. “Horses are the best 🫶 And finding the right partner will set both you and your horse up for success.”

Horses are ridden and hosed off before 9am today. Heat won’t stop progress this week! 😎
21/08/2023

Horses are ridden and hosed off before 9am today. Heat won’t stop progress this week! 😎

20/08/2023

This is the kind of week we just ended and it looks like this coming week is going to be a killer. 🥵🥵

We hope all horses and humans stay cool and safe this week! We’re definitely ready for fall weather.

Day 2Kaitlyn and Cruisin Wright On aka Cruise had a great day of showing. They were up against some good riders and mana...
06/08/2023

Day 2

Kaitlyn and Cruisin Wright On aka Cruise had a great day of showing. They were up against some good riders and managed to pull 6th place in two classes. They stayed determined and finished the day strong.

Bullet got pulled from the pasture on Friday last minute to stand in for Hoss. He was a champ all day with reining being one of his best classes.

Smooth Oaks Cat aka Oakley is prepped and ready for showmanship tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone that helped make today run smooth! Rhonda Miller Roxanna White Jek Sako Jeff Swartz

05/08/2023

Day 1 (posting a little late 😂)

Oakley, Bullet and Cruise are settled in at the American Royal for the open show! Bullet was ready to go to bed. 😆

What a great day! The Lord kept away the heat for most of the morning and we were able to do some showing. 😊Kaitlyn and ...
29/07/2023

What a great day! The Lord kept away the heat for most of the morning and we were able to do some showing. 😊

Kaitlyn and Cruise came home with two first place ribbons! The improvement this pair has made over the last couple months is amazing. They have put in the hard work and it showed today. Great job you two!

Hoss and Smooth Oaks Cat aka “Oakley” had a day of learning too. Hoss kept his head on and gave me a good ride, coming away with first place in a small class. A win nonetheless! Oakley showed for the first time and learned a lot. He pulled away with 4th in a large halter class.

We are very pleased with our practice round of showing. Now we are off to the American Royal!

We are surviving the heat…barely. 🥵We are currently prepping for a practice round of showing on Saturday at Leavenworth ...
27/07/2023

We are surviving the heat…barely. 🥵

We are currently prepping for a practice round of showing on Saturday at Leavenworth County. Next weekend we are headed to the American Royal. Back to work! 🫡

There would be no need to grow without the wisdom of the older generation.
17/07/2023

There would be no need to grow without the wisdom of the older generation.

08/07/2023

Every horse you encounter will add to your experience as a horseman. Each horse is an individual, and as a trainer you must be willing to adapt to each individual horse. What worked with 10 horses before may not work with the one you've got now. Each horse will teach you a new way of expanding on what you already know and make you a better overall horseman. – Clinton

Here it is! You can now officially purchase a t-shirt, hoodie or tank top from our store. Go check it out!
07/07/2023

Here it is! You can now officially purchase a t-shirt, hoodie or tank top from our store. Go check it out!

Check out Swartz Performance Horses on Bonfire and shop official merchandise today! Featuring limited edition custom apparel, printed with care in the USA just for you.

04/07/2023

Respect is #1

Check out our recently updated website!
03/07/2023

Check out our recently updated website!

At Swartz Performance Horses, we offer training, lessons, and tune-up's depending on the need of you and your horse. Our training program helps you achieve prominent results for you and your horse. Need help finding a horse? Contact us today! SPH, Educating today for better Horseman tomorrow!

03/07/2023

Here it is ladies and gentlemen, another successful first ride of 2023. 😊

01/07/2023

Something exciting got dropped off today…our new arena drag! This must mean an arena is coming soon. 😏😏

30/06/2023

Productive morning! 💪

I moved more of Oakley’s groundwork under saddle and Hoss helped me chase a rogue calf. 😅

29/06/2023

Oakley passed all his tests today! ✅✅

This horse needs everything broken down into small steps. Today I got on and disengaged his hind end and encouraged forward, confident motion in small circles. His first real “ride” will be in the coming days with a helper in the middle of the round pen.

So much great information here to read! Learn from the wise...
25/06/2023

So much great information here to read! Learn from the wise...

Yesterday, I met and watched the teaching of one of my honest-to-goodness horsemanship heroes.

Al Dunning—for those of you who either live on another planet, or are not followers of western performance horses—is a master trainer of cutters, reiners and working cowhorses, pleasure horses, rope horses, trail and even barrel horses. His barn has been home to a number of hunters and jumpers, too. He has won more world and reserve titles—48—than any other trainer in the NCHA, AQHA, NRCHA, and NRHA. He is a carded judge in all four organizations.

As he says about old-time versatility, “If they opened the gate, we rode in.” As a young rider, he apprenticed with Jim Paul and Don Dodge for eleven years, before going out on his own.

“Learn. Just learn!” he says, from the oldtimers around you and then, from the young guns who are blazing new trails.

Two of his books—Reining, published by The Western Horseman and The Art of Hackamore Training, co-authored with the late Benny Guitron—are staples on the bookshelves of keen horsemen. The man has evolved with performance horsemanship over six decades. He has been married to his college sweetheart for 52 years, which is accomplishment enough. Al still maintains a thriving teaching and training business, along with a social media presence, hosting famous guests on his regular Facebook live videos.

Best of all, when one meets a hero such as this, is finding that he is also a fine and caring human being, with a genuine sense of humour for people and an undying love of the horse.

The occasion was a two-day clinic, hosted by the Canadian Quarter Horse Association. I had wanted very badly to ride in this event, to learn in the saddle from this great man, but with a shortage of hay staring us in the face and two horses newly on ulcer meds, it just wasn’t in the cards for me. Undaunted, I showed up to audit the clinic with my notebook and pen in hand.

Here are just a few ‘Al-isms’ for your learning pleasure… and probably about one-quarter of all the gems I wrote down.

• “Ride the backend! Forget about the front!”

• “Legs on with rhythm to go! Slow and stop the rhythm of your legs to slow and stop your horse…”

• “If you want your horse to go right, then sit right. Stay in the centre! Be athletic! Be able to rise straight up from where you sit. Get your legs under you!”

• Basic Western Horse Training means that every horse needs: 1) To go forward happily and readily, from leading as a baby, to riding later on. 2) To turn, steer or guide easily, equally, both left and right. 3) To stop! 4) To back up, for this is the way to get the hocks involved, ‘accordioning’ the horse’s body. 5) To find collection, which means understanding the legs, two-tracking, lead changes, all up into a round feeling. All riding horses should be able to build on these steps and add to them throughout their life. Just build and add!

• Once we get the horse to soften, we want to convince him that he can stay there, or find self-carriage. How do we do this? With the rhythmic legs…

• "A soft poll will stop a gaping mouth, not a noseband. That is up to us!"

• Legs help and correct a busy mouth, not the hands.

• "Learn from Dressage! Yes, even in the western performance events."

• “Inside rein first for bend, outside rein for roundness!” (Which I loved, for so much of this went back to my days with Mrs. Boerschmann. It truly is a small world.)

• "On a green horse, you are building a triangle between his bit and your two hands. Help and support him!"

• "Stop and transition down with the outside rein, not the inside rein."

• “Ride those shoulders where you want to go! The head is just ‘hooked on’ to the rest of the horse.”

• “Trust in the pattern! Don’t fight him!”

• “Close your hand, you’re not drinking tea! If that little finger is stiff, it means that your hand and arm are stiff, too.”

• “Pull that back cinch up a hole!”

• “Pull back, the horse goes out… pull up a bit and the horse’s head naturally goes down!”

• "If your horse keeps bending out, don’t ride with so much outside leg… or, are your reins even?"

• A weaker rider, the horse always fades in on the turns; a stronger rider who uses her legs, the horse will stay out…

• Keep your counter-canter smooth, subtle, simple. It is one sure sign of the working relationship between you and your horse. Until you can counter-canter, you have no real control over the shoulders or hips and you should not be changing leads.

• "Horses do not change leads UNTIL you change your legs!"

• A saddle should be big enough to have some room, a hand’s breadth at least, behind your backside. You want to be able to slide around a bit.

• "It is a fallacy that snaffle bits are for pulling. No! They’re made to slide a bit, from side to side, so ride with one rein, then the other. Use a straight line between the elbow and the bit, no limp wristed stuff! Thumbs are up, elbows work like pistons, so bend them!"

• “Sit still, don’t pump. The lower body does the work, not the top. Eyes forward and be balanced, like a tennis player receiving a service. You are not on a couch; don’t disappoint me!”

• “Don’t stare across the circle, unless you’re jumping horses. Ride while looking over the inside eye. Mind your track! Don’t be wandery!”

• The turnaround (spin) and the lead change is built on what comes before. If it isn’t there, don’t even try it. Fix the before, first.

• “Be a stickler with your equipment. If that bridle, or saddle, or breast collar has a keeper on it, then tuck your darned straps in!”

• “Constantly—constantly—self-check your own position by standing up in the stirrups slightly and lowering yourself back down… without using your hands.”

• Practice shortening and lengthening your split reins, one-handed, in front of the TV. You don’t need to be bumbling around on your horse.

• If your horse is front-end heavy, sit the large fast circle in your reining, don’t stand up over his neck. He doesn’t need that extra weight.

• A horse who won’t guide one-handed yet, cross those reins under his neck. Just get riding! So many broke horses go better if we trust them with one hand, than micro-manage them with two… Too many of these horses are ‘hand oriented’, rather than taking direction from the rider’s legs!

• “Talk about it less and do it more.”

• “This isn’t about me; it’s about you today. The student steers the lesson! The teacher sees and answers what is needed at that time.

• “Do as little as possible and as much as necessary. Building good horses is like building a house; don’t go on if the foundation is crumbling. Fix that, first!”

• “Horsemanship is somehow making each horse in your hands as good as it can be. Don’t ever cross beyond what his mind or his body can take… but build up to sometimes come close to it. Learn that line and don’t push over it.”

• “Don’t ever be afraid to ask.”

• “Don’t be one of those people who will not allow a horse to make a mistake. When he does, just teach him, don’t overreact. So many people don’t understand that the ‘punishment has to fit the crime’. He made a mistake; don’t sentence him to ten years! There’s a lot of ‘jerk and spur’ that doesn’t belong here, folks.”

• “If it’s not working, stop doing it. Find a new tool.”

• “Your horse has enough to do, he doesn’t need to ‘hold that bit up in his mouth’, (sorry Tom and Ray)… adjust that bridle to put the bit where it should be, in the first place!”

• “Make a strong enough aid that you don’t need to keep making it! Then, you can lighten it as you go along.”

• “If you ride with spurs, put your heels down and use your legs.” (Which made me laugh, just a little bit, for it’s true.)

• "Sit up! Look up! Don’t ride around like you’ve dropped something in the arena dirt!”

• "If you use cheap, garbage bits and gear, stop expecting great results."

• "Slow your hands down. Slow your hands down. Slow your hands down!"

• “Ride them five days a week but train them only two days a week. Turn them out as much as you can. Remember, they also need one or two days without you doing anything at all, but their chores.”

This day was a real highlight for me, meeting this man who has done so much good for western horses and their people. Thank you, Al Dunning, for always being willing to share.

23/06/2023

This. This is why we wait and take our time to start colts.

Oakley has been a little bit of a challenge, but we’re excited about the cool horse he’s becoming. ❤️

19/06/2023

As a horseman, as a husband, as a father... "Your most important work is done at home." –af

Address


Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Swartz Performance Horses posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Swartz Performance Horses:

Videos

Shortcuts

  • Address
  • Telephone
  • Alerts
  • Contact The Business
  • Videos
  • Claim ownership or report listing
  • Want your business to be the top-listed Pet Store/pet Service?

Share