TRAINING

Our philosophy is that all horses are unique individuals and all horses have value, whether or not they are ever ridden.

But if we are to ride, what do we need to learn, what do we need to do, so that we make riding a positive experience for the horse and rider?

It starts with understanding. 

Fundamental to any program we offer, we seek to understand the behaviors of the horses entrusted to our care, whether bred by us, or brought to us for rehab or training, because we don't usually have a complete history of what each horse may have experienced.

We acknowledge that for domestic horses, nearly all behavioural "issues" are either a result of pain (we always must rule out pain), and these issues are nearly always human induced.  We all must own that responsibility. 

 Current research has demonstrated that we can cause pain and lasting damage to our horses both physically and emotionally with improper application of training aids, improper saddle fit, poor attention to farrier care, riding horses before their spine has fully developed (before age 4-6 years), or without first preparing them to be ridden from a biomechanical perspective so that they can physically carry a rider without damage to their bodies. 

There has been ongoing abuse of ridden horses for many years. Tragically, some of this abuse is intentional or regarded as unimportant, all a result of an ego-based pursuit of a goal, but more sadly, so often it is unintentional.

 There are wonderful trainers in the horse world, but it can be difficult to know who to trust, until we have direct experience with them, and their results demonstrate that they do, in fact, have the knowledge and skills to do the best for our horses. At Untethered, we connect with and build relationships with trainers who advocate for equine welfare, and practice the application of correct training methodologies. This includes the important ground exercises that promote balanced and relaxed movement and strength before the horse is ever ridden. These trainers in turn we recommend wholeheartedly to our clients. 

The essence of horsemanship starts with a deep love and respect for the horse, a bond of friendship. 

TRAINING PROGRAMS AT UNTETHERED

 Untethered Spirits Farm offers a breeding and training program producing warmblood foals from proven bloodlines registered with Hanoverian, Holsteiner, Dutch, Oldenburg, Westfalen, and Jockey Club registries. Should you purchase a foal or young horse from us, know that these are healthy, happy, well bred foals, produced in a raising program that provides a solid foundation to prepare your next horse for a future riding career. Combining positive and relaxed training practices with research into herd dynamics, we selectively use liberty training and positive reinforcement as we learn to understand and mirror the language of the herd. We bring a fresh outlook on equine care and development. 

Above all, the welfare of the horse comes first.

For breeding, we select proven bloodlines from top performance sires, which also are known for their wonderful temperaments. Most of these horses are quite versatile in their sport potential, but people get so focused on the pedigree. The pedigree represents who your horse is on paper and what it's potential might be, but the pedigree does not capture the essence of who your horse is as an individual. That is for you to discover as you spend time with your horse and engage in its program of development. 

How the horse is raised is vital to setting the horse up for success in a world it did not choose: life as a horse in a domestic environment.

Mare and Foal Care

We have limited spaces at the current time for outside pregnant mare care and foaling, but a limited number of our beautiful mares are available for lease to produce custom foals. If interested in options for 2024 breeding, or in-utero purchases for 2024 foals, please contact us. We offer flexible payment terms. 

 We handle our foals from birth, but do not over-desensitize. In fact, we allow the mare and her newborn foal many hours together the first few days without interference, once the medical aspects of the foal's care have been assessed managed. After a few days, perhaps sooner if the foal is strong, mare and foal will have their first outing and introduction to the herd (across the fence). It is always a joyful occasion to see and hear the excitement in the herd when welcoming the newest member's arrival! 

Mare and foal pairs are kept separate from other horses, generally for about a month, before we attempt to blend with another mare-foal pair. This is encouraged for safety, and to give mares and foals time to interact first through a fence as the foals develop social skills. As the foal grows, it is all about health and safety. We introduce the halter early , but only with the lightest touch, so we do not end up teaching foals to push against pressure. For horses purchased in-utero or as foals, there is no additional board charge until the foal is 6 months old, and generally we wean sometime between 7-9 months, when mare and foal are ready. We do this by simply moving the mares across the fence, and exchanging them for one or two of our experienced older mares to help provide security and order in the small group of foals. This way there is less stress on the newly weaned foals, because their dams are nearby. Without a special "foal raiser" mare in a group of weanlings, interactions can become rather chaotic quickly. 

Young Horse Development

Raising the yearling to 3 year old horse is a process of careful, progressive development over time. There is a wonderful, intrinsic value in purchasing a foal in-utero, or prior to weaning, and then to participate in the process of the young horse's development. It does take considerable time to produce an athlete who is healthy, strong and willing, but at the same time, consider how wonderful it would be start out with a clean slate, rather than bearing the cost to undo problems or manage physical issues that have occured as a result of injuries or a horse's prior owners lack of knowledge. The young horses we raise are social, friendly, and eager to engage in training, as a result of how they are raised. These attributes significantly fast track their progress in training, reducing initial costs, once the horse is ready for a full training program.

In raising a young horse, honor the spirit of the animal, and never give the horse a reason to mistrust humans.

Rest and Rehabilitation

Acknowledging that nearly all unwanted horse behaviors are human induced, we really believe that in most cases this is unintentional. Thus there is a huge opportunity for us to work together to learn and to do better. 

We have some horses that were rescued from various situations, that we keep until we can rehabilitate and rehome them to a situation well suited for them. Some are available as companion horses, recipient mares, older mares or geldings who are wonderful companions for young horses, a few of which could be ridden if brought back into work.

 We take in a small number of sport horses needing rest and rehabilitation, as space allowed. Our goal is to expand that program in the future, in order to give these horses all the support they need to have second chances, establishing educational programs and a network of trainers and horse owners to help us rehome these horses. The ultimate goal is to keep more horses out of the auction pipeline and out of the rescues who are so overcrowded and underfunded. The rescues do some of the most amazing work, often in the face of unfathomable adversity and at huge costs, financially and emotionally. We honor the commitment of those organizations who provide dedicated, compassionate care to horses who so desperately need it. 

What a better world it will be if we as horse owners consider our responsibility seriously and value horse ownership as a gift, and in turn, offer a life long commitment to the horse.

Toni Petersen, Owner and Founder, Untethered Spirits Farm