What an incredible year ‘23 was. But there is one moment that took the cake. Winning Pine Top with Kelty in Georgia. Some of the hardest conditions and she tried SO hard. The crew I had with me, made it seamless. Thank you Kelty for this moment ♥️ I cannot wait to see what is in store for FFE in 2024, I have a feeling it going to be a wonderful year!
Go Maggie Go!!! Her first canter under saddle and she acted like she has done this her whole life!
Clean sweep at our first jumper show of the year today! Chatter bringing home the blue in the beginner novice (his first time back in a ring in 6 months!), Kelty bringing home the blue in the Novice (and a third in the Training with one very cheap rail!) and Jupiter bringing home the blue over ground poles in his first show ever!!! Ridiculously proud of these horses stepping up today as we prep for Morven next weekend!
Every day. Every second. Every jump. This mare’s confidence continues to bloom. She has an exciting season ahead 🤩 #eventer #eventersdoitbetter #timetofly
Could NOT be more proud of Esmé and Jerry today! Just 4 & 5 year olds that have never seen hounds before took every moment in stride! We spend hour after hour after hour prepping these horses for this very moment. Hours of walking in small groups. Allowing the dogs to jump in and out of bushes at them hundreds of times. Showing them that there is nothing to be afraid of. Can’t believe hunt season has begun! Here’s to a great season behind the fabulous Blue Ridge Hounds 🦊
Duke quietly trotting doe the driveway toward the barn
Kilo and Chatterbox were in top form today out hunting! Gorgeous day here in Virginia lead to an eventful day hunting! Thank you hounds, staff, and masters for a great day! 🦊#horsetraining #horsetrainer #ottb #foxhunting #foxhuntinglife
We wanted to show every step of when we bring in a horse fresh off the track! This is Houlihan, a personal horse for Denya. He raced for 6 years running 55 times!
One of the first things we do is teach them to “ground tie”. This is so important in their future in any part of their life. People will see my leave horses in the aisle all the time to grab another horse, my gloves, etc.
when they are getting their tack set up before hunting and by the trailer I can drop the lead rope and they stand. All these things add up to having a very well behaved animal!
Start very slowly. 5 seconds maximum. If they move, put them right back where they were and say “woah”. They must have a word to know they must stand. Increase time as you go!
#horsetrainer #ottbtraining #ottb
When training a young horse teaching them to go off the path whenever asked is a valuable tool in working toward submission and trust.
Luna is quite spooky and teaching her to trust me is putting her in situations that she is unsure about and making it seem like nothing. Every uncomfortable situation that turns out fine is one more step towards building her confidence.
Slow and patient work will always out weight rushing! #horsetrainer #horsetraining #westphalianhorse
There are moments as trainers that you fill with pride for your horses. Many know Kilo’s story- for those that don’t, he has been with me for almost 6 months. He came to us as a very strong willed youngster that had many opinions about how he should live his life. He was very insecure and instead of looking for answers he would quite blatantly say “absolutely not”.
It took us almost 5 months to find his job in life. Many steps forward, many steps back. I started teaching my clients off of him when we were out in the countryside. He was perfection. Stood patiently and waited as I coached, no fuss when asked to go in the back even on the way home. All the makings of a true foxhunter.
Two weeks ago we introduced little Kilo to hunting- his whole world changed. He loves the hounds, loves the group, will walk through anything that’s asked. We have found his “job” and he thinks life is pretty fun 💙 I can’t say he has been easy, but it’s not the easy ones that make the most special ones- here’s to your new world buddy 💙
Taking a horse somewhere and doing nothing is equivalent to taking them hunting, competing, etc. A lot of people would say “what are they going to learn standing there?”
Today Kilo and Red learned that they can get on a trailer and nothing exciting happens.
Today they learned to wait patiently for 20 minutes watching Austin and Troll have their lessons.
Today they learned to stand quietly on the trailer as others got off.
Today they waited to get tack put on and taken off beside the trailer without moving.
Today they learned that their manners still were relevant even though we weren’t at home. Always incorporate “quiet” days into your training! #horsetraining #horsetrainer #ottbsofinstagram
It’s no secret that Kilo has been a challenging horse! However, today he showed me a hint of how cool he is going to be! First time ever properly jumping under saddle and he was incredible. I cannot wait to get this one out hunting!! Debbie Joseph Anderson you should be so proud of your boy!
A time lapse of the gorgeous sunrise over Kelty and Troll this morning 😍
I wanted to share this video to share what’s it like to take the blame. This is Chatter. He is a seasoned horse at this point that is coming back into jumping bigger fences after sustaining an injury. We came in on a bad angle and a horrible distance. Some people would say “well it doesn’t matter he should have left the ground”. I saw a bad distance and asked him a question that he knew the better answer was to not leave the ground. I wish the video kept going because you will see me stop him and pet him and tell him “hey it’s okay. My fault buddy. My fault. Let me try again”. The next time we came in more confident that I wouldn’t let him down and he left the ground without hesitation. It’s a consistent communication. Chatter doesn’t quit so I knew when he did that I truly knew that moment was on my shoulders not his. #horsetrainer #horsesofinstagram #ottbsofinstagram #ottb #horsetraining #horsetrainingtips
Baby Olive’s first jumps ever!!! Oh how I love this mare’s brain- anywhere we ask she goes. 🤩 #futurefoxhunter #horsetraining
Here at FFE the horses are all taught to ground tie. If they are tacked or washed or waiting for the next horse to come out of the stall, they all wait. You have to start out slow. A long lead rope so you always have a connection and being very patient. Always putting their feet back in the same place they moved from. Eventually you will get you can leave them anywhere. We always live by the saying “If you are fond of a horse and wish him to do him a real favour-train him well. Teach him good manners, good habits, both in the stable and under saddle. You need to never worry about such a horse if for any reason you may have to part with him. You assure him of friends wherever he goes. Perhaps the greatest kindness you can do any horse is to educate him well.” #horsetrainer #horsetraining #patienceisavirtue #slowandsteady #horsesofinstagram #horsemanship
Baby Olive is growing up! Steering and trotting at the same time! 🤣 Just love this mare’s mind.
A busy day at FFE! Here are clips of 3 of the 8 that went out today!! We are so happy with how all the horses are going! Olive (first video) learned what a creek crossing was today! It took some convincing that it wasn’t going to eat her but once she figured out she could play in it, it was game on! Kelty (grey) and Day worked hard doing field dressage today! Kelty heads to her first recognized dressage show in a week! We ride about 6-8 sets a day so stay tuned for videos! #horsetrainer #horsetrainerlife #babyhorses #horsesintraining
What a fun day at Loch Moy on Saturday! We aren’t 100% sure of Kelty’s past so we put her into the eventing world at Beginner Novice and I think she could have done it in her sleep! Been awhile since I have done all three phases together and it was fun being back out there! Good girl Kelty!
Two of the biggest things to remember when training young horses are, never ask them to do something you can’t make them do and never have a time frame for teaching them. If a horse learns that he can take advantage of you or know that he/she does not “have” to do something you ask, it becomes a domino effect ending in a horse that someone says “oh he/she just doesn’t do...” Time. In training horses there may be some days that I might have planned a 30 minute ride and now we are at a hour and fifteen minutes because a situation came up that has to be dealt with. Young horses need time to figure out what you are asking and they don’t understand why you are in a rush. Take you time. Make them understand. Kilo came to us with very little knowledge about the outside world. He had a severe fear of water and his first reaction was the turn and leave the situation. It took us about 25 minutes to get to this moment. His owner mentioned his fear of water so we did small things that he didn’t want to do (go through a narrow opening, go past a scary object) to allow him to understand that when I say go, I mean it. A big step for the little guy today! And remember, if you ask a question you have to finish it as frustrating as it may become. #horsetraining #horsetrainer #warmbloodsofinstagram
