C & J Horse Breaking, Education & Pre-Training

23/04/2025

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1187993239787684&id=100057310576056

30 Days Does Not Make a Broke Horse! But 60, 90, 105, 121 days doesn’t either!!!!

Read on!

When you take an unbroke (or worse, poorly started) horse to a trainer, thirty days is not enough for the vast majority of horses if you are expecting a confident, quiet horse that is responsive yet not overreactive to the environment. And since you sought out a trainer, you’re probably not one. What your horse and trainer can do after 30, 60 or 90 days is probably not what you and your horse can do together when you take him/her home.

A more realistic expectation of a 90 day horse is that they now have a solid start of a foundation of the basics. What those basics actually are will vary with each horse, their temperament, and the amount (and quality) of handling they had previously received, but regardless, you will not have a finished horse. The expectation that you could is unfair to the horse and the industry, including all trainers. Additionally, he/she may not retain what he learns, unless you continue to work with the horse with a similar skill set and regularity. Key word regularity, if you take a young horse that’s coming out of a 5 day a week 2 hour a day work week, with daily pasture turn out and put it in a box stall, with no turn out and you’re only able to ride twice a week. You’re creating a situation destined for disappointment and despair.

30 days in a month, averages 20 working days, based on a 5 day work week. Take away a week (5 days for ground work) that leaves 15 rides. That’s not even the 21 day minimum to establish a habit, mentally! And that’s assuming that horse is mentally and emotionally on board for 15 rides in row. Some need a ground work refresher, some to go back to foundation basics for a day.

Now every horse is different. I’ve had some that after 30 days are riding one handed in a bit (sister: Carrie, your filly is still the overachiever lol) and some that come in with holes in their foundation, that we are able to pinpoint right away and build on and instead of the 90 days they came here for, they are ready to go home in 45 days. I love it when that happens! Others are like uncovering layers of an onion, it takes time and sometimes it’s 10 steps forward and 12 back the next day, but if we rebuild the foundation solid, you’ll be able to rely on it and build on it forever. But that might take 65 rides or 85 rides, we wont know until we get there. Be flexible, your horse learns at its own pace and rushing, pushing or intimidating it to meet a specific ‘end date’ for training is a sure fire road to disappointment for all involved parties, horse included. I can transfer my tack to you, my facility, my training tools, my feed program, but I can’t transfer the respect and trust I build with your horse. You’ve got to be willing to build that on your own, if you expect the same results.

The moral? Be fair to your horse and your trainer. Throw away the calendar and base your horses profess by it’s improving training skills not an hourglass!

28/02/2025

Not my post but this needs to be read !
Nearly every second question I get asked when a potential client is considering my training is how long?
I can give you an estimation but I can’t tell
You that until I start working with your horse.

There’s a few factors to consider
1) how handled is this horse to start with
2) does the horse have any “baggage”
3) how solid foundation would you like ?

You dont send a kid to kindy and expect them to come home with a year 7 education and it is the same with you horse.

https://www.facebook.com/share/15oTiJwDcV/?mibextid=WC7FNe

You pay that hefty training bill for the month.

You look to have you horse in training as little as possible so it doesn’t break the bank.

You’re disappointed when after 30 days or 60 days or 90 days, there’s still more work to be done or the goal hasn’t been met. Worse yet, it looks good, you take the horse home and it unravels piece by piece. All that money “wasted”.

When you pay a trainer, that money isn’t paying for a result, it’s paying for someone’s skilled effort.

At least for me, when someone gets unhappy that their horse “isn’t fixed yet”, or comes “untrained” after it’s been home a while, makes the task of training horses for other people, discouraging. Discouraging because the efforts are being made, usually my best efforts that are filled with compassion, determination and lots of ruminating on how to fix complex issues a horse may have. Their disappointment becomes my failure basically. I know that’s not an actual truth but it’s never rewarding when someone is disappointed due to their own expectations.

Training a horse is NOT like being a mechanic on a car. Its not a tune up, it’s not the simple replacement of a part. It’s an animal with thoughts, feelings, emotions, habits, talents, etc. You don’t just program them, tune them up or replace a faulty part and send it back good as new.

You arent paying for results to happen within your timeline, you are paying for the time it takes to reach a desired result. The more complicated the project, the bigger the investment. The more baggage a horse has, the more effort it takes to unravel the mess. The bigger the goal, the greater the investment.

People send their horses to certain trainers because they want the outcome that trainer proves they can achieve. The problem is, people want that result in the shortest time frame possible because time, again, is money. It takes the time it takes to create the vision and time costs money. People who have a diy mentality, value the effort so much more when they themselves invest their own energy into a horse rather than just paying for it. I really feel that those who do it themselves, come to appreciate the efforts it takes far more than those who sign the check.

Be nice to your trainers, they work hard. 🙂

Credit goes to:
Katy Negranti Performance Horsemanship https://www.facebook.com/share/1BPC3yLZYx/

28/02/2025

When riding towards home is the same as riding out, it makes the whole ride enjoyable.

22/02/2025

Another one of my own (I do have client horses in I swear 😂🤦🏼‍♀️) the little man has come so far over the last few months in-between harvest, Xmas and holidays. We got to a point and we have been stuck there.

He needs to build a lot of top line muscle but he has a very backwards way of getting around and more go then whoa. His behaviour under saddle doesn’t match his sweet nature on the ground so we ditched the saddle and are building that muscle up from pole work in hand. I do think his behaviour under saddle has a reason so he has a date with a body working from Perth (that’s exciting!) who will hopefully give us some direction and answers but for now we are enjoying a whole new path.

This horse has really changed the way I view pole work and I thoroughly enjoy our time spent out in the paddock. We can learn from every horse we come across IF we allow them to teach.

22/02/2025

Things are back ticking over slowly! This is one of my own little projects ! He is a 9yr old highland pony. His handling was somewhat limited but he has come along hugely in the weeks I have owned him. The plan is to get some more miles under him the get him out and about.

This video is is 4th ride, 2nd ride out and his first solo ride !! He is one cool pony.

24/09/2024

Something a little different for the last few weeks!

27/05/2024

Something to think about ! No horse is set and forget

https://fb.watch/skcsalF_03/

23/05/2024

Tying up hack!
With young/uneducated/unhandled horses, hard tying is a recipe for disaster and unfair on the horse. This little hack offers release but enough resistance to make them stop and think.

5.5 snaffles are ideal as you can use both sides once you cut them in half. I have them hung up everywhere 😂.

15/05/2024

Ponying is a must for my breakers, untill they can be ponied quietly, at all 3 paces, both directions and have me lean over them I won’t get on them. If they can’t handle me up on my lead pony they are not going to cope with me on their back.

And how good is my lead pony! He is really starting to do the job on his own now, at rising 7 him self and off the track I couldn’t be prouder of the horse he is maturing into.

20/04/2024

Something on the smaller end! Little pony having a ridden outing before going home. She is on wk 5 here, just over 3 wks under saddle.

12/04/2024

A thought for your Friday !
This week I rang a client and told them their horse had had enough, I simply could not do any more with him at this point and I felt they would be wasting their money if they left him here for the remainder of the week, not to mention opening a door for bad habits. He was 3 1/2 weeks into a 4 week starting program. His owner was thrilled (& I am so thankful for that) that I had stopped and listened to their horse.

Why am I telling you this ? Because I feel the pressure of handing back a finished horse in 4 weeks and sometimes, it’s just not possible. They are not machines, I am on the horse’s team, I am his speaker. I am given the privilege of starting and correcting so many horses now but each one is different, each one has different limits, each one learns at a different pace, each one comes with a different upbringing, just like people.

Horses come to me at all different stages of their life, some are handled, some are not, some have developed habits that have the potential to be become dangerous, some are willing and some
need to be talked around that I am actually on their team and yet, not very often does anyone say, take as along as he needs.

Starting young horses under saddle is setting them up for life and it’s expected for your horse to grip the foundations that will set him up for life in 4 weeks! That’s around 24 sessions! Let’s break it down, say you start him at 3yrs old and he is ridden till he is 18, that’s 780 wks of ridden life, yet he was expected to learn the foundations to get him through that in 4 weeks.

On the other foot, you bring a 12yr old horse that has developed some bad habits, it took 12 yrs for them habits to be present, I might be able to correct them in 4 wks but it’s going to take a lot longer for them habits to be erased from his muscle memory.

I guess I’m trying to say is the next time your go to a trainer or a lesson or even do something for your self, is to give it time, don’t put pressure on to have it achieved in so many days.

I am guilty of this and this last breaker has shown me I have fallen into that pattern of wanting to achieve x by day x so that I can get x amount of rides done by the end of week 4. I will no longer be doing this, when you bring your horse to me, I am on his team, it will be done at his pace. If it takes 3 weeks before he’s ready to be ridden well then it’s takes 3 weeks, if he needs a spell and then come back to be finished, I’m going to say that. Some go home at the end of wk 4 like they been ridden their whole life but not all.

Please remember that the time your horse is here with me to be set up for life is a slither of his a total life, a blink. Please trust in me to do right by him and by you, I promise you it will be worth it.

09/04/2024

2024 books are full!
Next available spot is March 2025