KBH Horsemanship

Who takes their 3 yo on her first off property trail ride without stirrups?....this gal! And riding Unicorn Annie is my little soul sista Nataleah, also on her first off property trail ride To say we had a great time is an understatement, both ponies were perfect and the sunset welcomed us back to the truck #nostirrupNovember #2hrswithoutstirrups #Imfeelingit #perfectponies #StarbertBluQueen #SweetAnnie #AQH #MorganDraftX

Time spent together doing nothing is time well spent #gentlealwayswins #bondingtime #grazefordays #aqha #apha #blueroan #starbertbluqueen #hancock #jetssilverspur #scenicjetalito

Look at the size of this mushroom!!!

Im so in love with my filly, she's only had one real spook since starting her under saddle, the rest of the time she has been unflappable and brave. We've been going on solo rides around my property and up the road behind my farm, taking advantage of it being closed for construction and nothing phases her. The big rigs were actually moving when we passed this time and she just stopped to watch for a sec, took it all in then proceeded forward on her own accord. A few deer came... popping out right in front of us, not even a muscle twitch. Two large dogs came barreling down to the edge of their yard barking like crazy, she just calmly walked us over to the other side of the street but she never missed a beat Raising a baby is always so rewarding #takeyourtime #gentlealwayswins #raisingababy #fromgroundtosaddle #trailride #buildthemupslowly

Teddy looking handsome as always, complete with bedding in his Fabio forelock

Welcome to the family Cisco #apha #jetssilverspur #scenicjetalito #hesagoodboy

The one on the right is here for KBH Boot Camp, the one on the left is here to be cute and is also supplying emotional support for his neighbor! Do you remember Rhett? Well he's here at KBH for a month of desensitizing and confidence building. After working with him at his home barn since June, its time for this boy to learn how to be an independent thinker without having explosive reactions and complete mental meltdowns. Rhett was making progress at home but to complete his journey, he needs to be challenged without having his barn and friends to lean on. Taken out of his comfort zone, he's already showing signs of being more chill and I haven't even started yet! #gentlealwayswins #tennesseewalker #learningtotrust #learninghislegs #passionforprogress #takeyourtime

A sunny stall for Bunny and an extra stall for my training horses! All good things come to those who go out and make it happen

Its officially on the books! Her first real lesson since Sammy passed away Thank you for sharing your sweet pony Kim

Desensitized ponies are confident ponies

The biggest 's the littlest

Sorry for all the photo spam, my albums got deleted somehow Sorry for all the photo spam, my albums got deleted somehow

Welcome to the KBH family Scout and Teddy. These are their intake photos taken the day after their arrival. Their Mom, Crystal Hoover was in a bad spot, boarding at a facility that was neglecting her horses, no water, not feeding properly, a small flake of hay A DAY! (Ikr) and no grass in the pastures These boys are already looking better and its only UP from here I look forward to providing these boys with all the love and care they need and to share their glowups in the very near future!

It was a bittersweet moment to see my first home base trainee go home. Thank you Sandy for trusting me with Jasper, he was a pleasure to work with. I look forward to hitting the trails along side you guys. #gentlealwayswins #startemright #cartstosaddles #offtrackstandardbred

Im super proud of the horse that Quin is filling out to be! He's starting to build a top line, is understanding how to lift his core and stay soft on contact while maintaining the speed I asked for and his canter transition is on point! He still has baby brain from time to time throughout our rides, mostly if the herd can be seen from the arena but overall, he gives me most of his attention. He's such a fun ride! I cant wait to start him over fences next year and see what else he can achieve #gentlealwayswins #startemright #takeyourtime #themightyquin #swirishheis #ottb

What a beautiful example of the Standardbred breed, he is absolutely gorgeous

Welcome Sandy and Jasper to the KBH family. Jasper is an OTSTB that was an Amish road horse after his career on the track until his wonderful Mommy rescued him and has been letting him be a horse for the last couple years. As far as we know, he's never been backed, so I started working with him at his place a few weeks ago to get him started and now he's with me to learn to be a trusting, willing mount for his Momma. He picks up on everything so quickly and nothing phases thi...s guy. Sandy had a bad accident while mounting and has since developed severe anxiety to the mounting process. So I'm spending extra time and attention with Jasper on his manners at the block. I'm teaching him to move his hips to and from me so when out on trail, if she has to dismount, getting on with anything close by will be made easier. Her goal is to get back out on the trails and enjoy her pony time again. My goal for Jasper is to have him moving walk/trot/canter under saddle this next month and get him some trail experience down the Rail Trail. (yes I know my saddle doesn't sit level, he needs a rear riser, I'm not sitting on him yet) #gentlealwayswins #offtrackstandardbred #OTSTB #PassionForProgress #dontrushtheprocess #learningtotrust #nomorefear #byebyeanxiety #hellohappy

Welcome to the KBH family Kim and Rhett! Rhett is a TWH that I started working with who I believe has the horsey equivalent to ADD and his Mom Kim is having a hard time enjoying her time with him due to his constant over-observance of his surroundings. After assessing him on the ground and under saddle, I'm seeing that he lacks a complete trust in his handlers. He's great on the ground but he thinks his Mom is an equal part of his herd and doesn't look to her for comfort when... he gets worried. He has a bit of herd bound behavior, he likes to call for friends instead of paying attention and he has an affirmation for the gate. He lacks some foundational understanding and is leg confused due to having two extra speeds naturally built in. Together we will help Rhett understand how to use his body properly, how to understand the difference in his gaits, how to clearly understand and execute transitions and most importantly how to pay attention to the person on his back and to look to that person first before reacting. Thank you Kim for giving me the opportunity to assist you on your journey with Rhett, I look forward to our time together #gentlealwayswins #tennesseewalker #learningtotrust #learninghislegs #passionforprogress

Back in the saddle! It was so nice to see Sarah up on Quin this evening after not riding in what felt like forever She looks good up there and she had him moving so nicely!

Rosie loves helping me with daily care before turnout, her favorite is my boarder Jill's horse Annie, she never just calls her Annie, its "beautiful Annie" or "pretty Annie girl" and sometimes "Annie-ba-nannie". And Annie is one of the rare unicorns (in many ways) but she is always so mindful of the little human at her side (check that side eye ). #gentlealwayswins #raiseemright #barngirl #prettypony #unicornsdoexist

I'm dying to get back to doing what I love I've got some new horses and people I'll start working with as soon as the restrictions are lifted, but the more they tease us with possible dates, the more my skin crawls with anticipation! How is everyone doing with their horses? Are you still able to be with/see them? I've been lucky enough to move to my own facility during all this and have been focusing all my time on making improvements to the property, so my horses have been getting lots of down time. Pic is my filly looking out at all her new surroundings #starbertbluqueen #aqh #aqhaproud #readyforadventure

The nose that knows? I'm curious where we stand as a society of equestrians when it comes to the age old debate of to shave or not to shave their whiskers? I, personally, dont think the act of shaving/cutting actually hurts them but I also don't go out of my way to remove them either. What's popular opinion these days? And please don't get all shame-y on anyone else, I'm not trying to start an ugly post, I just genuinely believe that humans are starting to get softer towards... animals and the days of cowboy, hard handed horse wranglin' is starting to wane #toshaveornottoshave #thatisthequestion #SWIrishHeIs #theMightyQuin

If you're still able to visit with your horse(s) and you're staying out of the saddle to avoid possible injury/hospital visit, now is the best time to learn new things you can do on the ground. Ground driving is fun and rewarding for your horse. It opens up a whole new way to learn and play. Its also a great way to see where your communication stands. Do you talk to your horse while riding? Perhaps you talk to them while lunging, but do they know what the word walk means with...out needing any other cue? How about your body language? Ground driving can show you where your communication is lacking, both verbally and by body. You may even be surprised how well your horse takes to listening to you from a distance behind them. Take your time, do it gently, here I'm pictured with Rocky who I was purposefully ground driving to meet a goal of becoming a cart horse. I used a rope halter to remove the possibility of hitting him in the mouth while he tried to understand. I love this picture because it shows him waiting for me, he has an ear turned and he wants to look at me but also knows that I will correct him to remain forward so he's slightly looking in my direction. #gentlealwayswins #restartrelaxreward #takeyourtime #yourhorsehasnogoals

Balance training - learning to relax and reach for contact and properly use her hind end

Active inside leg, she's still learning not to heave herself around turns

Problem Solving - nervous behavior, explosive handling of emotions. Balance training - learning to carry herself as best she can, learn to accept contact and not "blast off" when given aids.

Restarting - balance training and learning to trust and enjoy his time under saddle.

Restarting - balance training, learning to trust and enjoy his time under saddle.

Ground up training to learn to accept a rider and become a cart horse.

Excuse my face....I'm a firm believer that the first few interactions with a young horse, getting them started and ready to be ridden, should be all about trust. Without anything between the horse and rider, leaves nothing for the horse to fear. No fear of a saddle, no fear of a bridle, and if you've done your ground work there should be no fear of you (the rider). So I trusted her to allow me to sit on her with nothing to fear, knowing she didn't fear me. #startemright #gentlealwayswins #starbertbluqueen #trustinme

This may not look like much but to me and her Mommy it was a HUGE success! Sometimes our training methods may have good intentions, or perhaps they had good results with another horse, so we apply those same practices to all horses and expect it to always make the same horse at the end. Well Daisy here was a victim of "hot feet" lunging methods, where the person (not her current Mommy) immediately gets the horse going in an effort to "work" or "tire" the horse before riding.... But with a personality like Daisy's, that type of handling was very detrimental to her progress. Naturally being sensitive and reactive, "hot feet" made for "hot Daisy" and did NOT set up our time together to be relaxed and enjoyable. This video is from when I first started with her last year, within a short amount of time she was able to relearn what lunging could be and quickly learned that I wasnt asking for anything more than a walk and walk was an acceptable, even rewarding, pace! #gentlealwayswins #restartrelaxreward

Have a horse that tends to lean into the turns like a motorcycle? Ever feel like you have to pull on your horses mouth more than you should? Have a horse with a nice trot but feels strung out and flat at the canter? Whether you said yes to one or all of these things, they are all related to the same area of weakness. Feel like you go into the arena and do the same things, w/t/c, do a few circles, maybe feeling fancy and throw in a figure eight....allow me to help spice up your routine and while we're at it, strengthen a few things for your equine partner!

This is Sweet Annie, one of my newest students. She's a genuine green been, needs to learn what yielding to pressure is and all the basics to become a well rounded trail blazer for her Mommy. We've been working on the ground and we just started transferring some knowledge into the saddle. Today was only her second time under saddle with me and she already figured out how to get soft in my hands and create a nice relaxed swinging walk. She already has a super nice trot that I can sit to for days, I cant wait to see how she'll improve once she learns how to carry herself better! #startemright #gentlealwayswins #sweetannie

When you refuse to allow bad lunging behavior continue, you go sand skeeing then leave a butt print

So excited to be launching my page today! Here's to the next chapter of my life So excited to be launching my page today! Here's to the next chapter of my life