Training Services

Three key elements to my training:

• Develop a willing, trusting, gentle and confident horse
• Teach tangible skills essential for their use as a ride/drive pleasure horse
• Develop desirable habits and transferable training exercises

I believe training should be fun for both the trainer and the horse. Using the principles of natural horsemanship, positive reinforcement (+R), my own experiences and creativity, I incorporate many tools and methods of communication into my everyday training. I strongly believe there are no good shortcuts to training a safe, reliable horse. I take my time, observe and listen to each horse and train at the pace they’re willing to go.

I believe in developing the horse’s mind and trust is more important than quick results achieved through aggression and excessive pressure. If I observe a horse to be too immature for the level of training requested, I will immediately notify the owner. No matter what the owner’s goals are for the horse, the rider’s and driver’s experience is always enhanced when the horse is able to maintain a positive attitude in the company of humans.

Often the highest risk time for a horse to develop bad habits is during the first year with a new owner. Undesirable behavior often forms from inadvertent digression training stemming from well-intended human handling. Here at LowCountry Acres, I believe the best method is preventing bad habits before they start in both horses and their owners. During training I teach some basic practices and exercises that I can then teach their new owners. These practices and exercises can be performed by anyone from beginner to advanced, eliminating many of the most common problems people encounter with horses. It is critical that these horses not only perform well for me, but that they perform well for their owners. This motivates me to focus on the transference and consistency of my horses during all stages of the horse’s education.

While I can focus on training specific behaviors at the owner’s request, below you will find the list of my basic training offerings.