Cliebrig Equine
Information and costs
I travel around the country in my campervan, coming to you and staying for a few days or weeks, depending on your needs. I will work with your horses and with you, so that you have the skills to go on handling and working with them yourself. My aim is to encourage you to read, understand and empathise with your horse. I use a variety of methods which are base
d on what we know about how horses process and learn, and on how you think, process and understand. I have worked with all sorts of horses and ponies from well schooled and competing at advanced levels to straight off the ranges Kaimanawa and other feral horses. One of my cornerstones is not to place any time pressure or expectations on either myself, you, or the horses we are working with. I like to spend at least a few days working with the horses loose. I usually do this in a yard that is big enough for the horse to feel that they can get away from me, and high enough so they don’t try to jump out. If you do not have such a space, we can look at your facilities and work out if we can adapt them, or if you can make some alterations to make them safe and useful for me, you and your horses. I might ask or suggest that you purchase other equipment which will help you working with your horses. I might also suggest dietary alterations. Some of our grasses and feeds can affect horses neurologically. We cannot ask them to work quietly, learn well and be calm if they are hyped up on the wrong type of food! When I come to stay at your place, I need a flat area, with grass around it to park my 8m camper van and tether my dogs. I have three Jack Russell terriers who have kennels in the back of my camper. I walk them twice every day - they are much better behaved when they get lots of exercise! If I am going to stay for more than about 4 days, I may need access to water to refill my tank. I may also need to empty my toilet. I usually do this at a public dump station. If it is winter, or we are having cold weather, I may need to plug in to a power supply. I have all the correct connections for this. I charge $80:00 / hour for working with horses and / or people, in ½ hour increments. My preference is to work with multiple horses because then I can rotate through them, working with each for around 10 minutes. Some horses can cope with 10 minutes work per day, others can cope with 2 hours of work. I want to do what works best for your horse/s. I do not know how long it will take to handle your horse to a particular skill level. I cannot put a timeline on that - even once I begin handling them. It might look like my initial handling takes a long time. I want to be thorough and ensure the horse knows what is wanted of them, has the skills to work out solutions when new situations arise and trusts me or their handler. This builds a broad and solid foundation on which all other learning and training is built. If the foundation is deep and broad and strong, the rest will grow easily. I also want you to be sure that you can continue the handling yourself - this process is as much about you learning to work with your horses as it is about me doing the work. Once the basic training has been done, I will encourage you to start doing some fun things with your horses. If I join you for these, there is no charge, as long as you pay all costs: registration or entry fees, ground fees etc. Fun things are hacking in groups (once the horse is trained to cope with a group), jump training of all sorts including cross country schooling etc, practice days, swimming, fun get togethers etc. Because of my methods, it is very difficult to set a definite date that I will arrive at your place. If you want me to come, I can give you a rough idea of when I will be in your area. I will then contact you closer to the time that I have stated, letting you know what I am doing. I will contact you a few days before coming to confirm that you want my services and to set a definite date. I am happy to add horses in. I can work with other people’s horses at your place if that means that I have multiple horses to work with. We can work out how to share costs across all the horses that I am working with.
