Projects
Our Horses
Faith is the horse that started our natural horsemanship journey. Her owner could not handle her and was looking to rehome her. He had bought her for his daughter and Faith had thrown his daughter off. He left her in the pasture for 3 years and he could not even catch her. Faith was reactive, scared and even dangerous. No one wanted to take on a project of that magnitude, but when we met her, we fell in love and decided to take her in. Working through her trauma has been an eye opening and at times difficult process, but Faith has taught us to listen to our horses. For most of her life, Faith was trying to tell her owners that she was uncomfortable or scared and instead of listening to her, they used heavy bits and tie downs. She reacted with the only voice she had which was rearing and bucking. Now that she is being heard, she can be ridden on trail bareback in a halter. She has found her forever home with us after a lifetime of trauma, and we continue to work daily on listening to her.
As a child, Amy was obsessed with a book called King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry about a bay Arabian named Sham. As an adult, she has retained her love for the beauty of Arabian horses. When a friend asked her if she knew anyone who wanted a free Arabian, Amy of course emphatically answered: "I do!" The Arabian turned out to be a young bay gelding, so she decided to call him Sham and fulfill the dream of her 10 year old self. Sham has the reactivity and sensitivity common to Arabians, so he has been a wonderful teacher on managing energy. Amy and Sham have been working through the Parelli Levels Program together and has almost completed Level 4. Through the communication taught in the Parelli Program, Amy can now ride this reactive young horse tackless. She has been inspired to apply what she has learned to all her client horses.
Client Horses
Kahili is the great humbler of horse trainers. When Amy first met him, she entered the pasture, confident that she could protect her space. Within only a few minutes, Kahili had Amy backed up into a tree, terrified. He is extremely dominant and had zero respect for her space or fear of the whip she was carrying. He saw the whip as a toy and the more Amy swung it at him, the more he came at her, rearing and biting, trying to grab the tool that should protect her right out her hand. Kahili had been worked with by professional trainers and sent back as being too difficult. Amy found him fascinating and was determined to find a way to work with Kahili. His owner, Bonnie, taught Amy how to protect her space with him and from there, she has closely studied the Parelli method of natural horsemanship in order to safely work with him. Amazingly, she has also been able to ride him. He gives Amy challenges everyday and she learns more from him than any horse.
Shamrock was terrified, all the time, of everything. When Amy first started working with Shamrock, Shamrock didn't trust Amy. The horse was reactive and explosive when faced with minor stimuli. Instead of needing to push the horse out of Amy's space, Amy could not get Shamrock to come into it. The horse avoided Amy when she came to the stall to take the horse out, and Shamrock would run to the other side of the arena when taken off the line. Shamrock kept her head high and neck stiff, always on the alert for danger. Getting her to lower her head to touch her nose to something on the ground was difficult. Amy's time with Shamrock has been working on trust. Shamrock has taught Amy to lower her energy and to be a reassuring comfort. Through hours and hours of trust work, Shamrock is now relaxed around Amy and seeks her presence. With daily work, they are making slow and steady progress in Shamrock carrying a rider and working through the scary things she encounters.
Sugarfoot is sweet as can be. From the outside, he seems to be an easy horse to ride and work with. He is not aggressive and he is quietly tolerant of stimuli. However, Sugarfoot is an incognito ball of anxiety. While he tries so very hard so hold in his fear, it builds and builds until he explodes. Learning to read his cues has been paramount to staying safe with him. Wood Horsemanship trainer Aurora has made excellent progress with Sugarfoot by earning his trust and listening to his cues. She continues to work on helping him process through his anxieties as they work on dressage training.
Midas's owner wanted to start riding him and needed some help getting him tuned up. He is a sensitive soul, playful and very smart. He also remembers his negative and positive experiences and held some trauma from people falling off of him. Through consistent work in offering him leadership and listening to his emotional cues, he has made wonderful progress and his owner is now able to ride him with confidence.
