Many of the questions that we receive can be answered by mastering....MASTERING, the techniques that appear on Basic Groundwork and Basic Body Control.

As a challenge to yourself you should watch the DVD's and work with your horse until you are doing the exercises on the DVD's at the same level shown on the DVD's. Many people simply try the ideas once or twice and move on. They miss what can happen when you become dedicate to mastering a task.

Think about a child learning to write. How would it look if they only practiced three or four hours one week? What about an adult learning to type-how would that look with only three or four hours of effort?

To do something excellent you must practice with dedication. Try this and you will see most of your training questions answered by just those two DVD's.

 Unfortunately Stacy is not accepting horses in training at this time.

•  what type of training you are looking for (getting started under saddle, finishing in a specific event, problem solving)
• what length of time you are looking at having the in training for (1-3 months, 3-6 months, 1-2 years, etc)
• what your budget is for the training

Building a great relationship with a horse is not all that different from building a great relationship with a friend or a child. Think about great friendships you have had during your lifetime. One of the big components is T-I-M-E. Great relationships might start with just an occasional thing but for them to remain great (think about a great marriage) they take TIME.

They take more than just time though. They take common goals. Yes, I know it is hard to get a horse to set goals...but do make sure that your goals line up with your horse. For example if your goal is to enjoy slow, peaceful trail rides you may want to reconsider purchacing that barrel racing horse your friend has named 'Lightning'. Some horses will naturally lean toward one area more than another.

Once you have time, and a common goal, you need to take the steps to get there. Want to ride in a 100 mile endurance ride? Get started on a PLAN to work toward that. You don't want to go the full 100 the first week.

The same thing is true if you have smaller goals like learning to canter this summer. Break it down into stages, trotting faster, trotting over logs, trotting up and down small hills, etc.

Great relationships happen with time, common goals, and knowledge. So keep seeking all three and you will get there.

When I was a kid growing up in Maine I thought that groundwork was when you knocked the dirt of your horse and jumped on.

I have learned a lot as I have aged! As a kid I thought that it was a mystery (why do some buck, why do some spook, which one will do which)?

Now I know that much of the way a horse will respond to things undersaddle can be learned before hand by doing groundwork. The exercises in the Basic Groundwork DVD should be done with horses of all ages. If you did the exercises at one time but haven't done them for awhile you should review them at least twice a year (spring is always fresh and fun).

Much of the ground work can be done in small areas. Some exercises can be done in stalls (see stall training articles) or in the isleways of barns (see Bowing DVD).

There is information scattered all around the site (we are working on how to orginize it all) but the three locations to begin in would be 1) with the DVD's 2) the members site or 3) the articles page.

The DVD's were designed to answer your questions in the most complete method possible short of you attending a hands on clinic with your horse. The information covered in the DVD's, which range from 1- 2.5 hours long, includes both the spoken word and the visual of real life horses being trained. All of the DVD's, except the bridleless riding one, use horses that HAVE NOT DONE THE EXERCISES as well as horse that have so you can see the difference.

There are also articles on this website.

The members site, called 'The Herd', can be accessed by clicking here and joining for free. This will also place you on the list to receive our newsletter monthly..sometimes more often but mostly less often!

You can alsofollow this link to find articles that Stacy has written.

A horse that doesn't stand while being mounted is having a groundwork problem. I would suggest reviewing the Basic Groundwork DVD. If the horse is new to you and you are unsure of the training, or if you would like to improve the over all relationship you have with your hores,  I would also recommend starting over.

Consider pretending that they horse was never broke to ride and take the horse through the three DVD's- Basic Groundwork, Starting Young Horses, and Basic Body Control. These will teach you and your horse better groundwork skills, greater softness, more respect of the handler, more confidence with the handler and a greater understanding of each other.

When I am working a horse I usually guage the 'how hard' part on their breathing. I find this to be a better indicator for me then the amount that they sweat. Sometimes they are sweating on hot days or because they have heavy winter coats. Although sweat can be factored in (remember to feed your electrolites) it is rare to find the breathing rate to be inaccurate.

If your horse has been hanging out in the pasture it would not be surprising to see him breathing hard after just 5-10 minutes of work on a lunge line. As they get more fit you should notice that they can work longer and/or harder without breathing hard (sound familiar?). Remember slow and steady wins the race...and pays less vet bills along the way!