The Starting Program

For horses who are ready to start their riding journey.

Starting a horse’s ridden education is a big responsibility. In an instant, you can set the horse up for a lifetime of joy and fulfillment while loving and trusting humans on his back, or you can break his confidence and set him on a path of doubt, discouragement, and resistance. And as we all know, it’s easier to do something right the first time. The Starting Program at Harmonized Horsemanship takes pride in starting horses right… the first time. 

Now, as you can imagine, this is not a fast process. Other trainers may promise you a riding horse in 30 days, but that horse will have been pushed hard in certain areas and left confused and unsure in others. It’s crucial that the horse becomes well-rounded, confident, and joyful in all areas of ridden work.

Some of the steps of the Starting Program are:

• First, I will form a relationship with your horse. I will show her who I am and ask her to show me who she is. We will work on small tasks together to get to know how your horse learns and what her initial opinion of working with humans is.

• Next, I will work her at liberty to begin teaching her how to communicate with humans in a way that feels good to both human and horse. She must learn how to appropriately and effectively say no in order to keep her human safe in all activities. A horse who has an opinion and is not afraid to say no will never “explode out of nowhere” as she has learned to ask for extra time to process or deal with things when they come up.

• Then, we begin more groundwork exercises that set your horse up for success under saddle. This includes in-hand work, introduction of tack at liberty, and teaching the horse what it means to offer her back to a human. All of these steps help me to identify where your horse may be “sticky” once the under saddle training begins.

• Once she is offering her back willingly, I will begin to sit on her back and show her that this is a very nice experience for her!

• After this, we will begin moving while I am on her back. At this point, the “hard work” is done and the horse will let us know as she becomes ready for more time under saddle!

Prerequisites:

• Horses must be easily caught in a large space, halter broke with a simple understanding of halter pressure, pick up all 4 feet, and be safely handled. If the horse does not meet these requirements, they must complete The Harmonized Handling Program first.

• Horses must be a minimum of 3 years old to enter The Starting Program.

• Any horse under the age of 4 will not be trotted under saddle for more than 1 lap around the arena per ride unless radiographs show their growth plates are fit for more work.

Timeframe:

Most horses take around 6 months to complete The Starting Program. Not all horses will be done in 6 months and some may be done prior to that. To complete the program, the horse must be able to walk and trot relaxed with a human on their back. Depending on their age and development, canter will be introduced as well. 

Cost:

Average cost of The Starting Program is around $1700/month. This can change depending on the individual. A specific price will be discussed at evaluation.