TRAINING PROGRAM Q&A

WHAT IS YOUR GOAL?

TL;DR: TIER 1 - FOUNDATION / TIER 2 - SKILL DEVELOPMENT / TIER 3 - PERFORMANCE

LONG VERSION: I require everyone I work with to define and understand their goals for their horse and themselves. A clear direction dictates the roadmap ahead.

Whether the goal is simple or complex, it sets the tone, but it is not meant to stay fixed forever. As we learn your horse's true mental and physical capacity, and develop your abilities as a rider, the goal will evolve. Aligning expectations with that reality keeps progress achievable, sustainable, and enjoyable.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?

TL;DR: 6-12 month PER TIER

LONG VERSION: Getting a horse to become great, reach their potential, and sustain it takes time. Training is not a magic wand - Under the best conditions, with a "clean slate" horse (2-3-year-olds entering the program from day one with no prior or partial training experience) typically requires approximately 6-12 months of work per tier, at a rate of 5-6 days per week. Under ideal circumstances, it generally takes around two years to create a soft, consistent, and reliable horse before moving into performance and showing goals, should the owner choose that route.

Long-term results require consistency, not short sprints intended to patch an issue in a month or two.

MY HORSE ALREADY HAS PRIOR/PARTIAL EXPERIENCE - WILL IT TAKE LESS TIME TO GET TO NEXT TIER?

TL;DR: 6-12 month PER TIER

LONG VERSION: If your horse comes from a well-structured program, completed their education thoroughly, and has been kept in sufficient maintenance, some tiers may be achieved more quickly, allowing fine-tuning and performance improvements to occur sooner.

If not, additional time may be required to fill gaps in knowledge and address issues stemming from incomplete foundations, inconsistent training or maintenance, and missing pieces in understanding. Re-building and sustaining those missing parts often takes longer than building them correctly in the first place.

DO I HAVE TO BE A REINER?

TL;DR: 6-12 month PER TIER

LONG VERSION: No. Good communication, light cues, softness, and consistency are not discipline-specific. I welcome horses and riders from all backgrounds and disciplines.

HOW DO I KNOW WHICH TIER MY HORSE IS IN?

TL;DR:

TIER ONE - FOUNDATION - Your horse is soft to all cues, guides between the reins, transitions easily, stops correctly, and has full body control (all yielding exercises).

TIER TWO - SKILL DEVELOPMENT - Your horse can perform all Tier One requirements one-handed on a loose rein with minimal to no effort. FOR REINERS: All maneuvers meet industry standards (at least a zero), and your horse can confidently and consistently complete a full pattern at home to a minimum of a 70.

TIER THREE - PERFORMANCE - Your horse has been exposed to showing, completed schooling classes, and can reliably perform to their level of education and ability in unfamiliar environments and under pressure.

LONG VERSION: A horse's tier is determined by their consistency, understanding, and ability to perform to a reliable standard, not by age, pedigree, or how long they have been ridden.

TIER ONE - FOUNDATION

If your horse can easily be guided two-handed by direct rein and neck rein, is soft to light touch, accepts training willingly, can move each body part independently, respects physical cues (hands, legs, body) and vocal cues (stops from "whoa," moves from a cluck), and performs smooth transitions between walk, trot, lope, and stop in all combinations, it sounds like you have a solid foundation and are ready for Tier Two.

TIER TWO - SKILL DEVELOPMENT At this stage, the basics are no longer a conscious effort. Your horse can perform the foundational skills softly, consistently, and with minimal assistance, primarily one-handed and on a loose rein. The horse begins learning and refining discipline-specific skills while maintaining emotional control, responsiveness, and quality of movement. For reiners, this means understanding and reliably performing the core maneuvers to industry standards in a home environment.

TIER THREE - PERFORMANCE

At this stage, the horse already understands the job. The challenge is performing consistently under pressure. The horse has been exposed to schooling shows and unfamiliar environments, can recover quickly from stress, maintain focus, and perform to their current level of education and ability in a judged setting.

DOES MY HORSE REALLY NEED A MAINTENANCE PROGRAM?

TL;DR: Yes. There's no magical bypass to keeping your horses mental and physical shape.

LONG VERSION: If you went to the gym, built muscle, improved your flexibility, and developed skills, then stopped practicing, would you expect to stay at the same level? Horses are no different.

Horses reflect what they consistently practice. Maintenance is how you preserve clarity, muscle, confidence, and responsiveness. It keeps your horse's education active, their body prepared, and the standards you've achieved from slowly becoming "what they used to do."

Inconsistency doesn't simply pause progress. It often leads to uncertainty, confusion, dullness to cues, or over-reactions as both physical conditioning and understanding begin to decline.