It’s not that I didn’t notice! It’s like watching your kids grow up; from one day to the next there really isn’t any change in size. Then one day they’re taller than you are. That’s how this winter felt to me; each day blended into the next and I thought for sure it was never going to end. Finally, spring is in the air!

Yes, and even with a winter blanketing program, the amount of hair my horses are now shedding is nothing short of amazing. I’m legging them up slowly to avoid any physical injuries, I want to have them in reasonable good shape to start what will be an exciting summer of clinics, workshops, and demonstrations, and of course a whole lot of traveling down the road. Hopefully, I’ll be seeing you on my travels.
 
On a personal level, one of the more exciting things for me this summer will be my colt starting workshops. I’d honestly have to say that I absolutely love watching these colts getting connected with their owners and then gaining the confidence in themselves to accept a saddle and rider. Giving a colt the right start in life goes a long way when you think of his future years. After all, don’t we all want a horse that is pleasant to be around and a real pleasure to train? It all boils down to building that solid foundation, a foundation that can be expanded upon as they continue to mature and grow. If there is a secret to producing a willing attitude and creating a horse that is light and responsive to your cues, it would be found here.

I’m limiting my colt starting workshops to four horses and riders simply because I want to give everyone a maximum amount of my personal time. When you leave this workshop, you will be leaving with a whole lot of my personal experience, knowledge and understanding of how to start a colt the right way. I want each participant to start their own colt under my guidance, I want them to learn and understand each step of the way. I will not have them hanging off the fence watching me start the colt. Being involved is how you learn. When they go home I want them to leave with more confidence in themselves than when they first arrived.
 
These workshops will be the number one ticket for this coming season, especially for anyone who is truly interested in learning how to start a colt correctly. I’ve always wondered how anyone can learn colt starting in a group of ten or more horses. In a situation like this it’s the trainer that does all the work because there just isn’t enough time to spend on either individual horses or their riders.
 
One of the things I always pride myself in is that I teach transferable skills and anyone taking this workshop is going to go home with a lot of knowledge and understanding.
 
Well, if you let me start rambling, it seems that I never stop, so on that note, I’ll just say – “keep on keeping on” as you prepare both yourself and your horse for another season of horse’n around.

A new episode of One Man, One Horse - A Mustang Story is out today! 

At this point in the series, Jay has been able to touch this scared and wild mustang, and get a halter on her. But, the horse is still quite frightened. Jay uses his three principles of training – cause movement, follow a feel, and yield to pressure – to help the horse recognize him as a leader. So it makes sense that this episode is called “Respect and Control“!

The thing I like about this episode is watching Jay how takes control and leadership of his horses peacefully and not using brute force. It’s in the little reinforcements like getting the horse to move out of his personal space. Jay’s always working on how quiet he can be around horses and still be in full control of them. I think that’s really great because it gives horses the respect they deserve!

We’ve got another segment of the interview with Matt Ford up today, too. He tells us the story about how he got the Mustang to begin with… and how he got a sore toe that day! Definitely a must-see!

Hello everyone! Colette here, from the Jay O Jay Inc. team. Some of you may know that I’m the one who’s doing the editing of the footage for the mustang series. Well, I’m happy to announce that today we released the latest episode of A Mustang Story. This episode is called “Building Trust“. I think my favourite part of this episode is when our mustang goes back in the program a little bit, and Jay says, “This is where some people give up, but this is where I get strong.” And it’s true, he does have a lot of patience and confidence with horses.

One thing I’ve learned from Jay while watching and editing these video clips is that patience does grow out of understanding. This is true of people as well as of horses. At first, I’m sure it’s easy to get angry when your horse seems to always run away and forget what you teach it. But then when you work to understand what the horse is feeling, it helps give you patience. When you remember, horses are prey animals and predators sometimes try to jump on their back when they attack, then it’s quite easy to understand why horses can be fearful sometimes! I find it’s the same thing with people, too. When you really understand where someone’s coming from, you can be more patient with them and their mistakes than you would be if you didn’t know anything about them.

Something special about the release of this episode is that also on the Jay O Jay website, we’ve released an interview with Matthew Ford, the owner of the mustang. This is a great inside peek at how he got the horse and what he was feeling when he first saw the wild mustangs. I remember when Matt came into our office to do these interviews with Jay. He was a little shy at first but he really got the hang of it fast. And what a nice guy he is! I think the mustang is lucky to have such a loving owner. There’ll be more segments of the interview to come, so that’s something to look forward to. Until next time!