The privilege to start a young horse is just that...a privilege. We take only a limited number of horses each month to start because we spend a lot of hours with each one. We believe in the respectful partnership between the horse and rider, so we take it slow and progress each day little by little on our successes from the day before. We build a strong bond of trust which keeps the horse quiet, calm and willing. If you purchase a riding horse from FWR...here's what our horses get...imprinting at birth, at weaning they get ground work. Then we turn them out to grow and become a sure footed horse....when they reach the age of two...we bring them back in and...we head back in the round pen to re-visit our ground work. Usually, they have not forgotten...and we are ready to take the next step and learn to ride.

The first saddling is at liberty in the round pen. Our first few rides under saddle is only with a halter and lead rope. We accomplish all three gaits on that first ride, turning, whoa and back up. We move up to an O-ring snaffle training bit by the end of the first week. We are careful to keep the horse's mouth soft and we will continue in a simple O-ring snaffle as we proceed to our outdoor arena which is 100' X 200'. There we practice and practice. We expose the horse to a wooden bridge, cones, ground poles, opening and closing gates, crossing water, and riding with other horses. We ride at night under lights. By the third week, we are riding in the pasture and going down the road! We still practice in the arena at the three gaits, lots of circles, straight aways, proper lead departures, and a good solid whoa! We encourage the buyers and owners to come out and ride with us...during the entire training or buying process. We have an open door policy with our clients and a long referral list.