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on an image below to view it as a larger image. The eleven
images are progressive.
Last
fall we began working with two 2 year old geldings: Decco
Chocolate Chip and Decco Sandstone. Our training style is
a modified version of the style used by my father when I
was a child. It is based on developing familiarity and a
trust between the trainer and the horse. Consistency, short
training sessions (approx. 15 minutes of actual work time
per session), daily workouts, and steady progression all
contribute to building confidence in the young horse. Praise
is their reward.
We do
include one photo of Pearl's first saddling, purely for
the entertainment value, just because our two subject boys
were not as entertaining. Sometimes the first saddling is
eventful, and sometimes it isn't. Either way, it tends to
identify to us how that particular horse will react in an
unfamiliar and stressful situation. The first ride is not
overly stressful to the horse, and is almost always uneventful.
The primary reason is that our training program tries to
keep that first ride easy on the horse by making everything
about it feel familiar and part of the natural progression.
As you can see by the last photo, the first ride was once
again uneventful.
Click
on an image to view it as a larger image. The eleven images
are progressive.