Small Steps Forward: How trailer loading training makes everything better for you and your horse

 by Mary Gallagher

I have always invested a great deal of time in training my horses for trailer loading. And I mean investment…a horse that loads and unloads confidently and calmly, ready to travel, is a horse that is a great deal calmer and more confident in general. I use principles I’ve developed over the years in trailer loading training every day in my training sessions, with a wide array of horses, whether they get trailered or not.

The key to successful training for trailer loading (that applies to every interaction with your horse) is remembering and advancing in a positive progression. Before starting your session, remember where you were the last time and advance in some small way from there to end the new session.

Colt Starting for Every Rider

by Mary Gallagher

We've just completed our clinic with Martin Black (March 2025), and I’d like to share some insights and thoughts here, while they are fresh, with thanks and news as well.

Colt starting for every rider. My favorite part of Martin’s clinic each year is the colt start. While we may think of colt starting as a whole other thing, separate from the familiar parts of a clinic, I consider it the most foundational and essential, and not just for the owners of the colts (and the colts themselves)! So much of what we expect from and do with our horses is distilled in every aspect of Martin’s guidance of the young horses, with their raw emotions and fresh view of nearly everything. To watch Martin work with them is to see horsemanship and horse psychology in its simplest and most direct form. You don’t want to miss it!

Happy New Year, with Gratitude for 2024

 

As winter deepens, the days are wetter, colder, and shorter, suggesting a time to pause, reflect and give thanks for all that we have done and learned over the past year. It was such a full and productive year, there is no way to include everyone and everything that made it special. So I’ll start with gratitude for what IS… Martin Black IS with us March 26-29!!! Reserve your spot ASAP. Every year brings new experiences and insights from Martin’s unique perspective on horsemanship. The clinic sessions are fun and engaging, the colt starting session is great to watch, even if you don’t have a colt—there is plenty of horsemanship insight to be gained from watching Martin engage them, setting positive patterns for their future. We also love the daily Q&A with Martin in the comfort of our classroom. I am very grateful that Martin spends time with us every March. And now back to Nature…. For me, I look to the sun, from which we get our life force … and it sure shows up beautifully on the Olympics! When I see the sun ignite the tip of Mount Angeles, I feel new hope. For me, it’s like a prayer warming the heart, sending away the damp and cold. It’s an inspiration to live with this level of beauty every day at Freedom Farm. And here comes 2025, full of possibilities!