TIMING, FEEL, AND BALANCE…You’ve heard it, others have said it, and great trainers LIVE by it…but what does it really mean?

For Suzanne it defines the foundation of her training methods. It encompasses many things that make her successful in training which so often cannot be described in words at a given moment but is better described as a prescription for success in training based on years of experience interacting with horses and having developed a level of understanding of how to respond most effectively in a variety of training scenarios.

“Timing can be release of pressure at a precise moment in response to a horse’s try or it can mean that ‘now’ is not the time to introduce a new concept to a horse…it can mean back off sooner than later or it can mean raise the bar to challenge your horse to a higher level of learning. Feel can be knowing the precise amount of slack to leave in the reins or it can describe what you know is coming next in response from the horse…it can be realizing where that horse is underneath you as his feet hit the ground or it can be knowing that one wrong move can get you killed. Balance can be the difference between why I can make it happen and my student can’t seem to pull it off…or it can simply mean mix up the routine for your horse. It can be why one horse and rider exude cadence and rhythm and why another pair seems to have irreconcilable differences.

Each of these is such a basic element for sound and successful training and so intricately intertwined yet can barely be defined at the risk of reducing their true meaning…the deliberate and honest attempt at masterful execution of each in a day’s work with your horse is what truly separates good trainers from great ones.”~ Suzanne Myers

At NLH, we assure you that the methods we use for training are based on solid principals of natural horsemanship and classical dressage which inherently teach horses by using minimal pressure to achieve exquisite softness or lightness in your horse’s response to new cues.

Our methods draw heavily from an understanding of equine behavior and the horses’ natural means of communicating with each other to maximize the development of partnership and performance without fear based tactics. The underlying fundamental elements of our training program are consistency and repetition, the principle of pressure and release in the application of our training techniques, setting each horse up for success in their training by using and building on their natural curiosity and playfulness to enhance their learning, and the individual assessment of each horse’s response to our methods.

At NLH we place a strong emphasis on treating horses as individuals and necessarily will adjust our approach as needed to develop the relationship between your horse and you while maintaining the natural spirit deep within each and every horse.

“At the end of the day we are happy with what we do and the manner in which we do it” ~ Suzanne Myers