Programs

Programs

We offer several programs to meet you and your horses needs.

Colt starting includes ~ ground work (lots and lots of ground work), desensitization to being touched all over the body, picking up feet, flexing both sides, ground driving, disengaging the front end and hindquarters, backing up, carrying the saddle and rider, mounting and dismounting from both sides. Colts are direct reined, learn to give to pressure and are taught to stop with one rein. I like a nice stop and when I sit deep the colt’s feet should stop moving. My pet peeve is a horse that moves off while you are mounting, I want them to stand still and be relaxed.

First and foremost is to give the colt a good foundation to work from with some flexing and giving to the bit and working on seat cues. The colt will work off a loose rein in a snaffle bit and will almost be ready for neck reining, however that can get confusing to a young horse learning so much. Colts learn to work off leg pressure along with direct reining. I really try to get colts to collect themselves and work off their hindquarters, some catch on and some just do not until later down the road. In a month colts will receive minimum 30 hours of groundwork and saddle time; most colts get 45 hours of training depending upon weather conditions and time of year. My goal is seat and leg cues and no hands on the bit – that is the last thing to be touched.

Colts are taken to the National Forest and worked on trails for 10 - 15 mile minimum rides weekly or 3 to 4 hour rides as their learning and fitness levels improves. Colts are worked at walk and a lot of trotting only for the first month of training. I do get them to lope out a few times and a good full out run so that they can feel the rider movement and not stress out and potentially start bucking when asked to in the future. Trotting builds lung endurance and builds all the muscles.

A green colt is not finished in a month, they are just getting the foundation of groundwork down. So if someone says they can train a colt – one that has never been worked before in thirty days time… it can be done ‘but’ they will overwork the young horse and either blow the colt up or shut them down or turn them into champion bucker – none of which I want to own. Not only does the horses mind need to be conditioned for response’s so does the body and that takes time. I know I cannot do that to my body let alone a horse’s. So for a green colt at 30 months of age they need about two to four months with a trainer, if you want your horse started correctly and for a lifetime he needs slow methodical work. Two months will get you a good foundation and the start on leg and seat cues and ready for at least six months of this type of riding before they are moved up into another level. Keeping them at this level and adding to it slowly conditions them and more importantly keeps them sound mentally and physically. If your looking for quick training to make a buck out of a horse, then keep on looking, I will not be that type of trainer.

Basic training includes ~ Everything under the colt starting plus roll over’s and lots of backing. The colt learns to really sit back and roll over on the hind quarters, collection posture is improved upon and they learn to really work from the rear instead of pulling with front end, half pass, tracking, backing, opening gates and to learn their lead changes.

I add more backing to this category due to it being really hard on a colts body. Backing is not a natural movement, horses will turn or step to the left, right, or spin over on a foot rather than back and some may just jump or try to jump the object. Just watch a herd move around a pasture (say a group of brood mares or colts-not riding horses), you will hardly ever see one back up as it is not a natural movement for them. The young horse in training must learn to collect himself for backing and use muscles, ligaments and tendons in a way that is really not designed for this movement. Horses are built for fast forward movement it is in their DNA genetic makeup.

My Vent. A friend of mine for many years, and no we do not see eye to eye, will go through 30 or more prospects each year to get one to make it. So 29 colts are trashed or cut from the program so that one can become a futurity/reining prospect. Some of these two year olds are getting hock injections at TWO, this just boggles my mind. Here is some math on this: man and saddle weigh 350 pounds on the back of a 900 pound two year old for a 45 minute workout. Hummm. Futurity horses are generally not ridden past the age of 10 or 12 years as their bodies are shot from too rigorous a workout at too young an age.

Re-conditioning or tune ups includes ~Gound work and being touched all over the body, picking up feet, flexing both sides, teach one rein stop, backing up and miles and miles of National forest, lots of trotting, some loping and walking. I never take someone's word that their horse is broke unless I have seen them being ridden, even then I go back and reinforce the basics.

Trailer Loading includes ~ teaching the horse to approach a trailer and load confidently and quietly. Horses are worked in a 2 horse straight load bumper pull and goose neck open stock. I want a horse that loads each and every time with no issues; I want them to really enjoy getting on the trailer and being comfortable in it. Horses that do not load or have loading issues are afraid of the trailer or what the owner will do to them getting them in the trailer.

Desensitization/spook proofing includes ~ Ground work, being touched all over the body, picking up feet, flexing both sides, teach one rein stop, work with scary objects (plastic bags, umbrella, things that flap or blow/roll in the wind), noisy items (such as: kids toys, fire crackers, whistles, firearms, 4-wheelers, dirt bikes), object that owner specifies. We diligently try to teach a horse to spook in place and expose them to as much as possible.

I keep a log on each horse in training and the log includes:

• What exercise is being worked on

• What they do for each exercise (flexing, baby give, lounge for respect etc.,)

• How well they have learned a cue

• What needs to be worked on (not flexing as well to left as right)

• Photos of horse being ridden (round pen and trails)

Contracts are located on the Information Tab of the sitemap.

Copyright 1995 Kimalot Ranch, LLC. All rights reserved.

All photos were taken or given to and are the property of K. Christian and may not be used or reproduced without the permission of

K. Christian or Kimalot Ranch.

All articles are property of K. Christian and may not be used or reproduced without the permission of K. Christian or Kimalot Ranch.

Web design and graphics given to or created by K. Christian