Services

This overview will give you an idea of programs offered and what they are about! For you (lesson horses available), your horse, or both! Please chat with Katie for more in-depth discussion and seeing what might best fit your needs.

Positive Reinforcement (R+)

The R+ Spectrum ranges from those who are "purely positive" to those who rarely give any type of reward (although food being the most common yay/nay option). If you're brand new to R+ - let's explore the evidence-based science behind it: behavioral science, neuroscience, psychology all combined with horses! Learn the in's and out's, do's and don'ts. If you are a beginner to advanced level R+ user - we can troubleshoot, find new behaviors to teach, and work on how to incorporate your preferred style of R+ into your relationship. Horses can be brand new to R+, all the way to fancy finished with R+!

Food rewards are a method Katie always employs at least minimally, but she prefers a moderate to heavy use for both training purposes and fostering a positive relationship. Each horse and person are individuals!

Agility & Obstacle Work

AGILITY is its own fun sport, training method, and way to interact with horses. Excellent for maintaining fitness, training proprioception and awareness, plus thinking through puzzles/games that can be applied to real life situations! Available in-hand, under saddle, with or without liberty elements. Katie is a member of the International Horse Agility Club (IHAC).

OBSTACLE WORK is an umbrella term. This includes the trail challenge sports (several associations with different rules, applications and goals), using obstacles to train (building confidence, trust, 'controlled chaos to prepare for uncontrolled chaos'), as well as completely for FUN. Also excellent for rehabbing injuries, with unrideable horses, or youngsters. Also available in-hand, under saddle, with or without liberty elements!

Liberty

"Without restraints" is how Katie describes liberty. It can be taught with positive reinforcement (food, praise, breath) and/or negative reinforcement (pressure/release). Katie works with each horse and/or person to build their preferred style of liberty - because there are so many types, methods, and preferences out there!

Liberty, whether it is on the ground or under saddle (even completely tackless!), can at the very least showcase the skill of the horse or person. On the other hand, it can show the incredible partnership and communication between horse and person! Liberty can be competed in as a sport, added alongside any other traditional program, or incorporated into other alternative/newer types (such as agility or trail).