That’s a great question! The most honest answer is…IT ALL DEPENDS. Your initial evaluation with me is a 2-hour minimum. In that time, I will assess your horse, what type is he? Where is he in his learning? Where are his holes in his foundation? What are his current issues?
Then there is you! Yes, you too. I will assess where you are in your horsemanship and help you HELP your horse. I don’t judge that by if you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced rider. It’s not about riding the pretty picture. So many advanced issues can be fixed by going back to the basics. Filling in the holes in foundation and experiencing the changes your horse makes when you make adjustments by learning a strategy you might not have known about.
It’s also about how you “offer a feel” to your horse. Can you handle him with empathy, yet still move his feet, without getting mean or mad? Do you understand what’s important to the horse? I’ll explain the mental, emotional and physical aspects of horsemanship for both horse and rider. I’ll show you how to move your horses, hind end, front end and back him up with steady pressure and rhythmic pressure. I’ll help you get your horse soft on the ground and then we’ll take what I’ve shown you on the ground and move it to the saddle. I’ll offer suggestions for bridling and saddling. I will assess your saddle fit. Once you’ve mounted, I’ll go over seat position with the idea of staying out of your horse’s way while asking the horse to move his hind end, front end and back up. We’ll talk about energy and how that relates to moving your horse. We’ll talk about teaching your horse a responsibility and expecting him to stay honest, without micro-managing him. Depending how quickly you and your horse progress decides how much of the above is covered in those 2 hours, that fly by!
The next lessons after that are usually 1 hour and we go over anything you had problems with between my visits. Then we’ll progress from there. The list of “things” to do and learn is endless! So stating a list is difficult. It depends how good you want to be and how far you want to go. What your goals are etc. So I leave it up to you. As good as my horses are, I am always striving for better, myself. Horses and people never stop learning.
To summarize, the lessons are personal. There is no set agenda. However, where I see holes in the foundation, that’s were we start. It could start at catching your horse! It can end where ever YOU decide.
