What Makes a Well Trained Horse?

Suzanne has over 35 years of experience training horses.  In that time she has ridden horses of various disciplines and at all levels of training.  She spent many years starting colts which expanded her repertoire of tools for problem solving and making great partners of horses that may otherwise have been overlooked or passed on to unfortunate situations.  Her experience with gentling wild mustangs has honed her skills and given her even more tools for handling the most difficult horses.  And importantly, Suzanne’s show career within the Reining discipline has given her even greater skills in fine tuning and finessing the training of upper level maneuvers.

Suzanne knows what goes into the making of a well trained horse…

 

A Solid Foundation.

Many riding “issues” stem from a lack of basic fundamentals on the ground and therefore, countless improvements under saddle can be achieved when your horse becomes better on the ground first.

One theme that pervades among all well trained horses is a solid foundation.  It doesn’t matter if you want to show, trail ride, or just hack around the farm and over fences every horse deserves to get started right with a solid foundation in the basics.

At Next Level Horsemanship, your horse’s training starts with an evaluation of this foundation and filling in any wholes that may be present.   We will teach your horse to be light, supple, and respectful on the ground.

Our work building the foundation will include basic communication with your horse in the round pen, on the lunge line and in basic body suppling exercises  for specific maneuvers on the ground (yielding the forequarters, hindquarters, ribcage; backing, leading beside, desensitizing, etc).  When your horse improves on the ground you will notice a more respectful, light, willing and relaxed horse with more rhythm and cadence in what you are asking of him.

Once he improves in hand, the foundation training continues with work under saddle teaching your horse to move forward willingly and building his connection to your seat, legs and hand.

A Comprehensive and Thorough Approach

The Next Level Horsemanship training program is comprehensive and thorough.  We have the knowledge, experience and education to effect a great change in your horse for the better within the confines of its mental and conformational abilities.  We don’t skip steps and we pay great attention to detail in the feel of each maneuver and exercise that we ask of the horse.  Our standards are high because we know what a good horse is capable of learning and what the well trained horse should feel like – and we want YOU to experience that too!  We’re excited about training your horse because we know that when the training is complete it will open up so many Possibilities for the two of you as partners.  Whether you want to show, or trail ride with friends, you’ll have the ride you’ve been dreaming of for years.

A Well-Rounded Program

At Next Level Horsemanship, we believe that the training program for every horse should be balanced and well rounded.  We have a variety of amenities that enable your horse to be exposed to numerous training scenarios including both an indoor and outdoor arena, as well as access to over 800 acres of trails and wide open fields.  For as important as it is to have a horse that can perform patterns in balance and with collection and finesse, we believe that this same horse should be able to gallop through an open field  in a manner that is controlled and safe.  A balanced approach to the training program is critical in developing well-roundness in your horse and it goes a long way to maintaining a horse that is not only fit but of sound mind too.