Barrel racing QH with a major dropped shoulder working on finding his own balance
Training
Yoni's goal as a trainer is to help your horse become the best he can be in your desired discipline. He has a very diverse skill set with a strong dressage foundation that allows him to be very versatile in the disciplines he trains. Yoni creates a very well rounded and trustworthy horse.
Disciplines include:
Dressage, Western Dressage, Starting/Breaking, Jumping, Trail/Pleasure, Stallions
Yoni can design a program to fit the needs of you and your horse.
All horses in training receive all the benefits of boarding.
Training also includes:
Grooming daily
Minor hair/whisker trimming as needed. Body clipping can be requested at additional cost.
Leg wrapping (using your own polos/standing wraps)
Discussion with veterinarian and farrier as needed to ensure medical and trimming/shoeing needs are met.
2-5 training rides, groundwork sessions, and/or professional private lessons per week depending on you and your horse's needs. Minimum 1 professional training ride + 2 groundworks or lessons per week, or 2 professional rides per week to be considered "in training".
By doing 2 professional rides a week and riding on your own, Yoni will make sure your horse maintains correct movement and is light to aids. Depending on the horse, he may be able to slowly advance the horse's skills with only 2 lessons a week, but progress is generally much slower than with 3-5 training rides a week.
Ideally you want to optimize your horse's education and your own. By taking lessons and putting your horse in training, your horse will stay in shape, be constantly refreshed on old skills, and learning the next skill required for you to proceed with your lessons.
This plan works well for many types of riders. Serious riders that plan to become competitive amateurs or professionals need a horse that is consistently exercised and drilled to perform at their best. There are things called "life" and "work" and "vacation" that may get in your way of being able to ride every day. This program allows you to not worry about the days you can't make it. A professional trainer will be keeping your horse at the top of his/her game so that you can focus on making sure you are at the best of your game.
Yoni will do one training ride a week at his discretion, but there will not be a package discount.
Stallions on premises are required to be in training. Details of the training scheduled to be determined based on initial assessment.
Contact Yoni for additional inquiries and custom training/lesson packages. Contact information can be found on the "Contact and Location" page.
Starting
Starting horses - from halter broke on.
6-7 rides and groundwork per week, sometimes multiple sessions per day if needed.
Yoni isn't your typical 30 day breaker that just gives you the bare minimum. He is an educator for your horse - and the best education is to have a solid foundation. Starting a horse is for the horse, to teach it how to communicate with the rider and gain trust in the rider while also teaching it basic maneuvers. To just put "30 days" on a horse, you risk pushing a horse too fast or not completing the starting process. Some horses may learn everything in 1 month, but if you want your horse started correctly and to create a safe horse for the future, understand that Yoni may recommend keeping your horse in training for another 1-3 months on a case-by-case basis. He had one QH mare bareback and bridleless in 3 weeks, and he had a warmblood stallion that someone else failed to properly start (bucked owner off multiple times) that took 3-4 months before the owner was able to confidently ride outside of the roundpen.
The goal of the starting process is to create a sane and correct horse that has been given enough of a foundation that the owner can use the horse in whatever discipline safely.
Expectation for a properly started horse:
On the ground: Yoni expects the horse to be calm and respectful of the handler, and to be attentive to the handler rather than its surroundings. This is the beginnings of creating a safe horse.
Riding: Yoni expects the horse to be able to stay balanced in the gaits and during the transitions. This is much harder for a horse to do but is better for long term safety and health. A balanced horse is much less likely to injure itself or its rider by tripping/falling, and the horse will develop better back and neck musculature.
Some horses are practically self breaking, others need to hold the trainers hand for potentially a few months before it would meet Yoni's requirements to be considered a safe horse.
Some examples: He had one that all he did was ground work and a few rides with the horse and the owner pulled it from training and put it in a lesson program, of which they later said was their best lesson horse. Another one that he only did groundwork on before shipping across the country, the next trainer was able to mount him with no fuss within a week of starting.
3 Year old mustang mare 2 weeks under saddle
4 Year old warmblood stallion at 60 days of training
3 year old mustang mare 6 months partial training first time over jumps
12 year old amateur riding Valentine 12 weeks after Valentines first ride.
Lessons
Lessons from beginner to advanced
A helmet, boots with a heel, and jeans/breeches are required for lessons. Half-chaps or tall boots and gloves are recommended.
Lessons are designed primarily for people new to horses and riding, with the expectation that one day you will get a horse and start training.
Studies show that if you practice a new skill frequently (>2x/week), you progress faster because you spend less time reviewing old material from previous lessons. In the end, taking more lessons per week will give you more bang for your buck because you will be able to learn more per lesson than if you only take 1 per week.
Own horse: $240/8 lessons. $30.00/ 30 minutes, to be used within 45 days
Lesson horse: $45/ 30 minute lesson
We have a pony named Ginny(pictured below). She is a 9 year old Chincoteague pony.
We have a horse/pony named Kali who is a 7 year old Morgan.