Training, in its essence, is to take the horse's raw power, leave it intact, but channel it to the purposes we the riders ordain.

"I bought this horse eight months ago. Rode him a few times, then it turned off so cold. He has been in the pasture all winter, when it finally warmed up I took him for a ride. He is not the same horse I bought!”

This is all too familiar a story. What went wrong? Some might say that this was the buyer’s fault. The horse was neglected. In reality, this story is about a horse that was not completely broke. The horse’s training was too shallow. If the training is not deep enough to dominate the horse’s thinking, it can easily come undone. Sure, the problem can be covered up through frequent riding by the new owner completing the training, but if the training was adequate before the horse was purchased, he should still be a trained horse after months or even years in a solitary pasture.

Think about it this way. Suppose you were to drive a needle into an onion. If you drive the needle only into the outermost layer of the onion, it is not very well set. Can easily fall out. Drive it in a little deeper and it will stay longer. Then if you drive the needle all the way to the core it will not ever fall out. This story is analogous to horse training. Once the training reaches the horse’s core no amount of neglect or lack of skill by the rider is going to undo the training. The next time he is ridden and given the proper instruction he will respond as he was trained. Taking the analogy a bit further, the needle can be driven in through an unending flow of small taps, or it can be driven in, in much less time through skilled administration of well placed and properly administered pressure. The buyer taking an inadequately trained horse home and riding him every day, or at least once a week is the flow of small taps driving the needle toward the horse's core. But let's face it, most people do not have the time or the inclination to obtain a fully trained horse through this method. At Rocky A Ranch we operate under the philosophy that skills, talents, and responses properly and fully taught to your horse will never be forgotten. We have designed a training regimen that drives the concepts learned deep into the horse's psyche so that no matter how long it has been since the horse has been ridden, or who the rider is, the horse will not forget his lessons.

To be sure, there might be a few things the horse may forget. He may need to be tuned up a bit after a long hiatus. Should that occur with a horse you buy from us, we will design a training regimen that will plant those concepts deeper into your horse's brain.