I had owned Windsor for 6 months and he had never exhibited any kind of behaviour other than being gentle. He is a well broke 10 year old, and I am a new novice rider. Unfortunately, I was bucked off as I rode up a hill bareback and suffered a terrible wrist and hand fracture. Six weeks later, after not being rode, my friend offered to ride him in the roundpen. Only God knows why, but as soon as she got in the saddle, he pulled back in panic, burned the reins thru my hands, turned and bucked like a bronc and sent her flying.....straight into the ER with a concussion. I was devastated, scared and traumatized even more! There didn't seem to be a reason for him to do that. (Then it became clear to me as I learned about Parelli!)
I came across David on the web. I liked his attitude about training without intimidation or fear. It was Parelli based. Within hours, David came to Dallas to pickup my horse.
Being at Trugon Ranch was great. It was quite a drive, but I stayed very long hours, working with Windsor, watching David work his horses, and helping Denise bathe the horses that were being trained, and just hanging out with the boarders there and being at the barn. David and Denise were so inviting and treated me like an old friend. Their love for horses is so evident! It was a great laid back 'you're welcome anytime' atmosphere, and I hate that it is not closer as I would visit often!!
David always stressed 'Safety first' and he had a great handle and confidence with the horses. We put a new saddle on Windsor (as I had always thought his old one may have pinched him) and he bucked like a bull so fiercely.........so here I was again, petrified of my own horse. However, David remained calm, smiled big, did the pre-flight check and mounted Windsor....with no event. Then it was my turn....I got up, sat, and got back down. It was a big moment!
Because Windsor was already well broke, for the most part David focused on my skills, how to use my energy when I interact with the horse......how to ensure my safety, and helped me rebuild my confidence without intimidation or fear, never pushing me when I wasn't ready, and slowing me down when necessary and of course always keeping Windsors dignity in mind.
We are back home and doing great.....learning Parelli natural horsemanship.
Thank you so much David and Denise.
Deb and Windsor
I was at my wits end with my paint gelding Little Creek. He is the sweetest, calmest, horse on the ground but once you mount him that is another story. He was running off with me at times and had no stop again and in general I just had no control over him at anything faster then a very slow lope. Plus when I got on him he immediately wanted to run. I had bought him from a trainer and had sent him to another trainer again before finding David and Denise. So I gave them a call and explained to them the situation and how it could be my fault. I knew I was too heavy handed with him.
I planned on Creek being my barrel horse because he definitely has the speed just not the control. After spending the day with David I immediately knew it was my fault so I left Creek up there for David to work with. David put breaks and control back on Creek and showed me several things to do with him and on him. And now Creek just stands there until I ask him to walk off.
After David showed me how he worked with horses I decided to bring my Palomino Mare, Gracie, up for him to take a look at that we had trained ourselves. I was still having a couple of issues with her. She hated to be ridden; she would not give to pressure, and in general I just had never learned to completely trust her even though I teach children and beginner lessons on her.
David explained how horse’s minds work and told me how Gracie had been through something in the past that was not pleasant. Then he explained how to make everything a pleasant, positive experience for her. He also showed me the simplest game to get Gracie to give to pressure.
I recently took Little Creek to his first barrel race in Arizona just weeks after picking him up from David and Denise and we did GREAT for our first time out together. I made sure to make it a positive experience for him and he really took care of me. I was not heavy handed and did not push him at all since it was his first race. He did great!!! Since it was a positive experience for him he ran a full second faster on Sunday without me asking him to. All I am going to say is we beat some of the top contenders that were there without even trying too. J
Thank you David and Denise for getting me and my horses more in sync with each other.
I would like to thank all of the people at Trugon Ranch for working with my mare Millie. I appreciate, the work, patience, and care that everyone had with Millie. I enjoyed going over to Trugon Ranch, everyone made you feel at home. I appreciated the staff's professional work ethics.
I really enjoyed the trail ride it was very relaxing just to get outdoors and enjoy nature's splendor.
I look forward to seeing you all again soon!
Sincerely;
Mary and Millie!