CK Horse Training and Consulting

05/10/2024

Hi there! It's been a while since I've posted anything on my training page, but here's a fun video of Phantom and Bit doing a complex trail obstacle.

Sometimes you come across things on the trail that test you and your horse's capabilities. This tree was across a seasonal road that is in a deep trough in places. Here our horses have to go up a steep incline, bushwhack through saplings, go over a large log, and hop down on the other side.

I've never asked Phantom to do anything like this but he demonstrates willingness to try anything I ask and he has the fundamentals.

03/15/2024

This is an amazing opportunity for anyone who can participate! There are opportunities for every level of trainer this year. Apply to be a trainer before April 1st! (Mario and I are in this clip!)

02/22/2024

This is my c**t Phantom. He is a 3yo Tennessee Walking Horse/Rocky Mountain cross. This video shows the last few sessions we've done, which includes introducing some obstacles but more importantly, introducing gait training! I have labeled different parts of the video to help people identify what's going on.

I try to introduce gaiting slowly and not ask too much of the young untrained horse. He is currently barefoot and ridden in a solid snaffle. As you can see, he mostly sets himself in a natural frame. All of this will be refined over time.

As the weather improves we will start doing some light trail riding.

And as some of you know, since I decided to adopt Mario, Phantom will not be staying with me. He will be going to Maggie Folk this summer. They are going to make an AMAZING team and I'm so excited!

02/22/2024

Phantom update coming tomorrow!

12/14/2023

Phantom with some headgear! Plus my chunk of a dog.😁

12/13/2023

Update: SOLD
For Sale: 15" Imus 4 Beat Trail Saddle. Standard tree. Supracor roughout seat, center-fire rigging, pre-turned fenders, stainless steel hardware. Built in Colorado in September 2016. Great condition, ready to hit the trail! $1200. Located in Michigan.

12/11/2023

Rode 👻

12/07/2023

My dear friend and horse personal horse mentor is selling one of her mares! If you are looking for an awesome gaited trail horse you do not want to pass her up!

Ad:
"Surefooted, 100% sound, fast gaited mare
Location: northern Illinois
Stats:
Characteristics: 6 years old, unregistered TWH/racking horse, 14.3, buckskin, sensitive and willing attitude, NOT marish in herd or on trail
Trails she’s conquered: Shawnee multiple times, South Dakota—Black Elk Peak, Mt. Rushmore, etc; Hocking Hills—owned the goat trail!! I’ve camped with her many times. She’s been on a highline a lot and even has been left alone in camp on the highline.
Trail attitude: extremely willing and amazing endurance, has been ridden and trailered ALONE a lot; in groups she will ride out in lead or follows; not spooky and will go through obsticles carefully and without rushing
Gait: racks and was clocked at 22 mph; has a floating easy canter; will walk slow or fast depending on what rider asked for and the speed of other horses; can be easily ridden with gaited and non gaited horses.
Health: no past or present injuries; teeth done in September; current coggins; shod on all 4 but I always pull shoes in the winter; has solid feet
Ground manners: not pushy, leads quietly, clips, bathes, stands when mounting
Rider Match: I’ve ridden her the most and she does best under a saddle of a confident rider who recognizes gait. My kids and friends’ kids have ridden her without issue but were in a group not alone. She’ll be lazy and canter if you let her…which you might prefer. I prefer gait.
65🥕🥕"

Photo in comments

11/21/2023

Dear friends, family, colleagues, clients and followers:

2023 has been an amazing year, but unfortunately its ending on a somber note for me. If you've noticed a recent lack of updates and posts, it is because I have been dealing with a health issue that has and will continue to affect my ability to work with horses on a consistent basis. I had to send Knight home a month earlier than intended and canceled all my winter and spring clients. I hope to get back to training as soon as I am able. Thank you for all the love and support! -Chloe

11/17/2023

I don't know why my page doesn't let me share certain posts!

11/05/2023

Knight's progress!

10/26/2023

Knight and I took our first field trip because of the darn non-stop rain! Thanks for always having my back Northern Michigan Equine Therapy!

10/25/2023

Tuesday evenings have become a favorite of mine because I get to work with Susan and Cesor! Cesor is a retired Paso Fino used for showing and needs help turning the performance side of his brain off. Here, Susan is able to demonstrate a nice relaxed gait, which we have been working very hard on. Her goal is to have him be an enjoyable and safe trail horse.

PS. There were times tonight the rain was so loud on the arena roof I couldn't hear myself think and Cesor remained composed.

10/23/2023

Knight's first ride off the lunge line. He was definitely a little unsure about the idea but he did well.

10/22/2023

Rode two c**ts today! Phantom and Knight, though we only got video of Phantom. Thank you to Veronica Polniak for being my training partner this weekend!

10/19/2023

10/18/2023

Knight's first mounting! I really like the way he handled this. He made a few adjustments with his feet but didn't get all wigged out at the feeling of it changing my balance point on his back. While on his back, I am not asking him to bend to my knee, he is just doing that on his own to check me out.

10/17/2023

Getting there! Knight

10/15/2023

10/09/2023

Read this and many of the comments 👍❤️
There are a few great take-aways here

You’ve bought your dream horse and suddenly, the wheels have come off.

What’s gone wrong? He’s spooky, he won’t go soft and round, he’s hard to catch and now, he’s pulling back when tied! Don’t panic. There’s a chance you’ve bought the wrong horse... but there’s a bigger chance Mr. Right is homesick.

Stay in touch with his last owner or take some lessons with the former trainer, if you can. Stick with his old feed schedule and the same amount of turn out time. Double check that you’re using the same type of bit and that your saddle fits. Just do your utmost, for the next while, to replicate his old riding and turnout.

Yes, get riding. This flies in the face of a lot of advice but you want to keep him moving and keep going over the basics. You want to do this, for as a sale horse, it is likely that he was in a program with daily riding, before he sold. When we bring home this horse and just turn him out, he falls off the turnip cart of life.

I mention this because I have sold so many horses and ponies who were going beautifully at the time of selling and because the new owners were nervous, rather than ask for help, they did not ride the horse. Months later, they begin and now, they've the extra challenge of learning on an unridden, fresh horse.

Now, you mightn't always have to do it this way! But when you brought home your dream horse, you suddenly rocked his world. He has found himself among strange customs, in a strange land. His friends are gone and you’re in his space... a complete stranger who wants to bond. He’s the new kid in town and the new herd wants nothing to do with him.

It helps to meet him half way, by doing things 'his way', for a while. This isn't a contest. Nobody's keeping score. Yet how many of us feel that we need to 'reschool' a horse the minute we get him into our hands? We totally dismiss the idea that we liked this horse well enough last week, to buy him!

If this horse was a child, we'd know instinctively that he was homesick, that he was upset and that he wants to go home.

While he's working on acceptance, please don’t bribe him or try to remake him. Be safe, be fair, be constant. Give him lots of opportunity to work off his troubles. In time—six days? six weeks? six months? If he was a good horse when you bought him, if you do what you need to do to keep him in basic work with empathy and understanding, he will come around.

Remember, a horse’s level of homesickness has little to do with the level to which he is trained!

This is the horse who was (and still is) a good horse, though he may well feel different from the horse you met and bought. This is not the horse who was somehow 'misrepresented' and sold to you as a whole other bag of goods.

While many horses can change homes and not blink an eye or look back, there are a similar percentage of good, well-educated horses who have trouble with fundamental change in their lives (either in handling, herd life or location), or are challenged with regulating their emotions and stress levels.

They need patience and understanding. We sometimes forget that, in the excitement of writing that cheque...

10/06/2023

Last beautiful day before a week of rain.

10/04/2023

Dashing 🎩

10/02/2023

The first few interactions and training sessions are very important because it helps me as a trainer get to know the horse and how they react to different situations and also to establish the relationship and what I expect from them.

Knight did very well with his first session. Like any young horse, he has to learn to focus 🧘🏼‍♀️

10/02/2023

The biggest training tool you have is your time!

Quality time versus quantity time.

Your horse needs both, but honestly, quantity time is just as important if not more. Goes back to the old saying of “Wet saddle pads.”

Just showing up and being consistent is a powerful tool. The better quality time you have, sure the better results you’ll have, but it doesn’t matter how good your training is if you aren’t showing up for the quanity time, it’s not going to going to work. Of course that doesn’t mean several hours a day, I don’t recommend that. But it does mean sessions several days a week.

I’ve seen a lot of folks do some pretty remarkable things with not much training themselves just because they showed up everyday and worked at making it a little better with what they knew.

Photo with our young guy, Maverick and taken by Montana Canter Photography!

10/02/2023

Rode the new steps at Goose Creek today!